Picnics are basically the done thing in Melbourne these days because you know exactly why. Make the most of your time outdoors with these curated picnic packs from some of Melbourne’s favourite restaurants, bars, cafes and hospitality ventures.
Morning Market
Hospitality veteran, Andrew McConnell, has just opened a grocery store on Gertrude Street called Morning Market, and it’s expectedly premium. McConnell and the team has also launched a picnic box for two, perfect for Carlton Gardens just around the corner.
- Baker Bleu seeded baguette and cultured butter
- Mount Zero organic olives & house-made pickles
- Local Buffalo milk Burrata with caper & parsley salsa
- Roasted nuts with rosemary, Espelette & honey
- Sliced prosciutto di Parma
- Pickled rockmelon
- Roast Bannockburn chicken & tarragon mayonnaise
- French breakfast radish
- Watercress
- Raspberry tart with vanilla cream
A fine selection, and at a price that’s relative to a pandemic paycheck.
Cost: $68 ($34 per person)
Order here.
King and Godfree
King and Godfree, Carlton’s purveyors of fine Euro-inspired goods, of course, have a picnic box. It’s quickly become a favourite with Melburnians and includes more than enough for four:
- Prosciutto, tomato and mozzarella fior di latte baguette
- Tomato, fior di latte and fresh basil baguette
- Sirena tuna, spicy mayonnaise and rocket baguette
- Mortadella giardineria and sopressa roll
- K&G mixed nuts
- Packet of Proper Crisps
- Four cans of Ichnusa beer
Pick it up from the King and Godfree Deli and Espresso bar or for delivery.
Cost: $65 ($16.25 per person)
Order here.
Maker & Monger
Cheese and picnics go hand in hand. Leave it to the professionals with a picnic pack for two from Maker & Monger.
- Brigid’s Well Holy Goat organic cheese
- Stone & Crow’s Nightwalker or Galactic cheese
- Shaw River’s Annie Baxter Special Reserve cheese
- Berry’s Creek Riverine Blue cheese
- Honeycomb from the Dandenong Ranges
- A selection of fresh and dried Victorian fruits
- Water crackers
- A bottle of Pennyweight’s biodynamic 2019 Gamay
Available for click and collect or delivery.
Cost: $70 ($35 per perons)
Order here.
Cookes Food
If you’re looking for bang for your buck, grab a Park Life picnic box from caterers turned picnic purveyors, Cookes Food. They have a few options available which will serve three, like the Brunch Box:
- Blood orange juice with Meadowbank Harvest sparkling
- Little croissants with local butter and spring poached berries
- House smoked ocean trout with dill horseradish cream
- Baby tomatoes on the vine with buffalo mozzarella
- Smoked salt and extra virgin olive oil
- Australian brie with seasonal grapes
- Shaved Donati's ham
- Cookes pickles and dijon
- Sourdough demi baguettes
- Fruit crostini and gluten-free biscuits
- A bottle of Bannockburn 1314 A.D. Pinot Noir 2018
Follow the link to check out their other picnic box options or go ahead and order that Brunch Box as is. All three options come with bamboo cutlery and plates.
Cost: $130
Order here.
Stokehouse x Clamms
Collaborating with Clamms Seafood, the beachside stalwart is serving up a seafood picnic box to rule all picnic boxes. It will serve four to six people and includes the following:
- 1x bottle Bollinger
- Oysters with cucumber mignonette
- An 800g crayfish cleaned & served in its shell with tarragon dressing
- 200g handpicked spanner crab served in its shell, seasoned with fine herbs in its shell
- 4x XL King Prawn cocktails with spiced Mary rose & baby cos
- Slices of yellowfin tuna crudo, burnt citrus salt & Mount zero olive oil
- Spencer gulf kingfish with burnt citrus dressing
- Cured ocean trout, crème fraiche & garlic caper flowers
This one’s for ballers who aren’t on a budget. Follow the link to purchase and for several more modest boxes.
Cost: $600 ($100 per person)
Order here.
Horn Please
Modern Indian in the lush grass of Fitzroy North’s Edinburgh Gardens? Done. The picnic pack will serve the current picnic capacity of five comfortably. This is what’s included:
- Three curries served
- Samosa
- Rice
- Raita and pickle
- A six-pack of Kingfisher beer
The choice is yours in terms of curries. Take your pick from butter chicken, lamb curry, beef madras, Punjabi, kadhi, dhal makhani and chana masala. Pick up from their Fitzroy North locale. Available Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Cost: $90 ($18 per person)
Order here.
Tall Timber x Friends of Mine x BAWA x Splash Vodka
Three of Melbourne’s favourite cafes have got together with Splash Vodka for a bargain, boozy picnic box. This is what you get:
- 2 x Ham, cheese and tomato croissants
- 2 x Slices Banana Bread
- 2 x Double choc and walnut brownies
- 2 x cans of splash vodka
This one’s pick up only from Tall Timber in Prahran, Friends of Mine in Burnley or BAWA in Hawthorn. Place your preorders the day before directly through the cafes.
Cost: $35 ($17.50 per person)
Oriental Teahouse
Mix things up from the usual block of brie and bring an excessive amount of dumplings to the park instead. The picnic pack from Oriental Teahouse will comfortably serve four.
- Pan-fried pork and chive dumplings (15pc)
- Chilli wagyu beef dumplings (15pc)
- Mixed golden fry box including veggie spring rolls (4pc)
- A serving of salt and pepper calamari
- Fried chicken ribs (6pc)
- Football dumplings (4pc)
- Mixed bun pack including BBQ pork buns (2pc)
- Buddha buns (2pc) Shiitake mushroom and mini bok choy buns (3pc)
This one’s available for pick up from Oriental Teahouse at their South Yarra restaurant.
Cost: $150 ($37.50 per person)
Order here.
Now that you've sorted the food, throw down the rug at Melbourne's best picnic spots.
Image credit: supplied