Turn Up The Heat This Valentine’s Day At Melbourne’s Most Romantic Restaurants
Here’s how to do a romantic dinner in Melbourne. First step: book early. Many of the city’s swankier eateries fill up weeks in advance. Second: pick somewhere small, cosy and intimate. Candlelight if you can get it. Avoid the frantic hotspots where it’s too loud to deploy all that witty and seductive banter.
This list was tough because there are a lot of great restaurants in Melbourne who fit these criteria, but we managed to do it (just). Here are our favourites, chuck on some Barry White and enjoy.
Poodle
81-83 Gertrude St, Fitzroy VIC 3065
The Poodle menu takes a more playful approach with Chef Josh Fry (ex Marion and Cumulus Inc) looking to classic Euro-cuisine for inspiration. The menu does change, so your best best is to check their IG for the latest updates, but think punchy bites like raw runa with green tomato sauce and fennel pollen, and flavour-packed larger plates like wagyu rump with Bordelaise sauce and half duck à l'organge. Bonus points for taking your date to a table in the intimate, upstairs cocktail bar.
Ines
150 Chapel St, Windsor VIC 3181
Chapel Street has plenty of slam dunk date options, if you know where to look. Our pick? Ines, Matteo Bruno’s Italian ode to all things velvet. The lighting here is so moody and warm that you'll feel right at home the minute you walk in (it’s a well-known fact that romance increases as restaurant light decreases…up to a certain point anyway).
Brico
555 Nicholson St, Carlton North VIC 3054
While a candlelit able, tucked into the corner of a quiet restaurant might be what immediately springs to mind when romance is top priority, we're big advocates for bar seating on a date—as long as you're at the right bar. Enter: Brico. Sit close on the high stools, knees touching and nothing but a couple of wine glasses and share plates between you.
Chancery Lane
430 Little Collins Street, Melbourne CBD
Step back in time at restaurateur Scott Pickett’s charmer, Chancery Lane. The 100-seat bistro is laden in romance with its antique-inspired interiors and classic European menu, set inside the historic walls of the Normanby Chambers building. Think luxurious gold and brass fittings, dark timber, checkerboard tiles, and hand-crafted finishing touches—classic European sophistication. On the menu? Plenty of caviar, oysters and a wine list that'll charm the socks off your date if you're having no luck.
Punch Lane
43 Little Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Punch Lane is timeless. It’s one of the few venues in town for which we'll bust out the word ‘institution’. Exposed brick, warm, honey-toned lighting, a 200-bottle wine cellar, it all adds up to romance. Pro tip: book a table for after 7:30pm. The theatre crowd will have mostly shuffled off by then, so you’ll have the place to yourself.
Kisumé
175 Flinders Lane, Melbourne CBD
From the powerhouse Lucas Collective comes Kisumé, a Japanese fine diner with the perfect balance of spunk and charm in everything they do. The wine list here matches up perfectly with the wagyu, sushi, sashimi and everything in between, but for a moody evening at one of Melbourne's most romantic restaurants, why not tap into the whisky menu?
Cutler & Co
55-57 Gertrude St, Fitzroy VIC 3065
For all of Andrew McConnell’s flair and pizazz (and there’s a lot of both), he knows how to create restaurants with soul. Jumpstarting Melbourne romances since 2009, Cutler & Co might be his best. You can go a la carte here, but generally, it’s best to strap in for the Chef’s Selection menu and get the full experience. If you want to save some coin, dine in the bar instead. Here you'll find the Prime Cheeseburger, known to change both hearts and minds.
Capitano
421 Rathdowne St, Carlton VIC 3053
A table for two, a white table cloth, pasta and a banging wine list. That's Capitano. The flavours are big and bold but the menu is refined. Opt for the vodka pasta for something easy and accessible, otherwise go all out on a grandma pie to share with your significant other.
Gimlet
Melbourne CBD
Andrew McConnell's renowned restaurants were always going to make this list at least a few times, with his fine-diner Gimlet being a shoe-in. The menu mirrors its refined—yet grand—aesthetic, covering off everything from grandiose cocktails and oysters by the French marble bar, to signature McConnell style dishes in one of the leather-clad booths or clothed tables in the upper dining level.
Navi
83b Gamon St, Yarraville VIC 3013
If you really want to pull out all the romantic stops (or you’ve got a lot of apologising to do), there are a few restaurants that exist in a sort of low-oxygen culinary stratosphere. We’re basically talking IDES, Vue de Monde and Attica. But there’s one more restaurant that deserves to breathe the same rare air: a tiny, inconspicuous spot in Yarraville called Navi. Book well in advance (there’s often a three-month wait list), ask for a seat up at the pass, and get ready for one of the finest degustation menus in Australia.
Maison Bâtard
23 Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000
This list would simply be incomplete without a mention of Melbourne's four-storey love letter to all things French, Maison Bâtard. It's sophisticated, it's sexy and it's serving some of the city's favourite French fare—need we say more? You truly can't go wrong on any level, but for romance, we'd opt for a booking on the first floor, featuring a stunning Parisian chandelier, grand bar and mood-setting lamps on every table, or a trip to the La Terrasse, the chic indoor-outdoor rooftop built around a 50-year-old maple tree.
Looking for something else to do? Check out our Things To Do section.
Image credit: Gimlet | Supplied