Directory

Barman and owner Max Ware always knew he wanted to open a bar after years of experience in other prominent Melbourne destinations. He just wasn’t sure what kind of bar.

After a while it became obvious: Mama Manoush was gonna have to move. The Nicholson St favourite, which has been dishing up lip-smacking Lebanese cuisine for years, had become too big for its boots. Owner Anthony Hachem realised they needed larger digs, and he’s found the perfect spot—right at the top of Lygon St.

I strip off and climb into the giant, neon-lit pod, feeling only slightly self-conscious about the whole thing. This is float therapy—anti-gravity, sensory deprivation—a giant enclosed bath containing 500L of super-saturated Epsom salts. It’s about as close to the Dead Sea experience as you’re gonna get in Collingwood’s backstreet warehouse district.

Next time you’re chowing down on a burger at Skipping Girl Takeaway, grab one of the staff and ask them—very discreetly—if they can take you to the bar. They’ll wink, give you a secret hand signal, then lead you upstairs to Skipping Girl’s secret new speakeasy, The Vedette.

There’s only one hawker cart in the Michelin Singapore guide, and this is it. Hawker Chan, the runaway culinary phenomenon, and one of the most affordable Michelin starred meals you’re ever going to eat, has officially arrived in Melbourne.

Everyone’s got a favourite fish and chip shop, but we’re going to chuck another one into the mix: Hunky Dory in South Yarra.

Stix is pretty up front about its mission: it takes delicious things and puts them on sticks. The rest is kind of up to you.

Men of Melbourne, put down the clippers. Your barber has arrived.

Industry Beans has been pumping liquid gold into the veins of Fitzroy hipsters since 2013, when brothers Trevor and Steve Simmons set up shop on Rose St. The warehouse cafe and roastery quickly became a staple on Melbourne’s hyper-caffeinated food scene, and you can get their award-winning beans in dozens of venues all over town.   

BlendCo started from humble beginnings—a festival food truck slinging health bowls to hungry hippies. Then came the Hawthorn cafe. The business grew, more and more people learned the value of acai. Yep, the superfood specialists have proved the blend bowl is here to stay.

Hello Lilydale. It’s Harry. And he’s wondering if after all these years you’d like to meet (thanks for the intro Adele, we’ll take it from here).

What is it about the word ‘loft’? It instantly makes any space sound at least 25% better.

Owner Hamish Goonetilleke was sure of one thing, Beneath Driver Lane wasn’t going to be one of those melancholy, stare-deep-into-your-glass type blues bars. This place was going to ROCK.

Let’s get real; Fenton & Fenton is without a doubt a furniture and homewares mecca. It’s like walking into your dreams, you know the ones you have of your house featuring on the cover of Vogue Living? (no? that’s just us?!).

Next time you’re walking up Swanston St, you might notice a bit of a scrimmage. This isn’t the queue for a new iPhone. It’s a bunch of hungry cheesecake enthusiasts, standing in line to score an Uncle Tetsu Japanese cheesecake.

Don’t get mixed up with the alpine village in Switzerland—St Moritz is a new St Kilda eatery, inspired by the iconic St Moritz Ice Rink. 

Melbourne pizza tends to come in two speeds: cheap and cheesy or wood-fired, thin-based and topped with delicate, seasonal deliciousness. One style isn’t necessarily better than the other, just like apples aren’t inherently better than oranges (who are we kidding—apples leave oranges for dead).

It’s nine o’clock on a Saturday...regular crowd shuffles in...

Dunkeld's fine dining Mecca just got a little bit fancier. Welcome to Wickens At The Royal Mail, the latest in pinkies-out regional gastronomy.

Ever dipped your hand into a bowl of nachos, reached for the PS4 controller and had it brutally slapped away? You monster. But hey, now you can dip and pick…We found a new bar that's combining your love of jaffles and booze with your love of pwning n00bs.

Mozambique Bar & Grill is the culinary fusion you didn’t know you needed. This little baby is the perfect addition to Sandringham, bringing something different to your lips (and hips)...and just in time for summer.

Hold on to your hats and loosen your belt buckles, coz Huxtaburger is coming to Footscray. Yep, you read that right. Your favourite northside burger joint is opening yet another store, and to celebrate they have some seriously good deals going on.

The Hof Downtown is back, renovated and better than ever. Injecting a much-needed dose of European flair into the Docklands precinct, The Hof is here and ready to serve you up some Bavarian goodness...with a modern Aussie twist. 

This one’s for you on-the-go city slickers.

If you prefer to stay away from the unisex hair salons that reek of mystical chemicals and overly fruity shampoo, Smith St has a barbershop that will both reaffirm your manhood and give you a damn good haircut.

Considering Brunetti's burst onto the Carlton scene in 1991, before the wheel was invented, you've got to applaud their stamina. What doesn't get talked about so much is their invention. But that's exactly what the team are trying to change with their brand new cafe, which has just popped up on Flinders Ln. 

Growing up in Melbourne, you learn a few food truths: use chopsticks for sashimi pizza, there's no such thing as too much Sriracha, and you’re not a wanker for having a coffee order longer than eight syllables.

Listen up, health nerds. Organic juice just got seriously jazzed up with Superfluid Cafe. It's a new takeaway juice bar at the bottom of Carlton Club in the CBD. Just the thing you need when you stumble out, head spinning, and realise two Panadol isn't gonna cut the mustard. 

The Arts Series has done it again. After expanding with Larwill Studio in North Melbourne, they’ve unleashed a brand new boutique hotel, this time in Box Hill—and damn, will you look at that view.

It’s safe to say a lot of us know Smith Street pretty damn well. We know the best tables at Kent St and which Sunny's banh mi to order (it's the chicken). So it might come as a surprise to hear a sneaky lil’ cocktail bar has been operating off Smith Street for the last few months...and boy oh boy is it good.

Rivalling its mighty Hardware Lane sibling, Hash has landed in Camberwell. And yes, they're bringing the hot choc. You know the one—the decadent Mörk hot chocolate poured over a sugar white cloud of fairy floss. Totally drool-worthy.

It’s unisex, edgy, and very farrsshuunnn—it’s Collingwood’s Spacebound Store. If you haven’t heard of this local independent label before, then are you even Melbourne? Jokes aside, Spacebound really needs to be on your list if minimalist t-shirt designs, faux suede, and monochrome detailing makes you first-world broke.

The Melbourne food scene rumbles on, and this time, it’s Templestowe’s turn. It’s not a suburb that generates a lot of foodie hype, but with cafes like this, that could change.

Just imagine kicking back with a slice (or three) of a Velvet Choc Raspberry Cake and NOT feeling sickly sweet, heavy, or totally guilty afterwards. May sound impossible, but the team at RawLove Superfoods are determined to burst our bloaty hangovers.  

The first of its kind in Spotswood, Hudsons Road Wine & Beer store is your one-stop shop to wine, dine (there’s cheese), and bask in the glory of over 200 assorted bottles of vino, and another 200 different craft beers. AKA your new happy place. 

Shake up your palate (yep, we got fancy) with Melbourne’s newest Peruvian cocktail bar and restaurant. Brought to life by the Meza family, El Tumi is all about sharing authentic Peruvian cuisine, which means no fancy fusion or any Melbournesque twists.

With the recent opening of Benny Burger, the balance on Swan St has been swinging due to the bacon, so it’s probably good we get another healthy cafe to help even the score. Plus, our pants were starting to shrink mysteriously. Presenting the highly anticipated Laneway Greens’ Richmond store. A clean-eating, superfood-sprouting, soul-nourishing temple of purity, and the second location for the successful city cafe.

Prepare your taste buds for some seriously delicious eats people because from the ashes of Sydney’s famous Bao Stop, rises Cloud Thief!

We’ve had our fair share of spring rolls, but no joke, Paper Plate's take the crown. Now that’s a bold statement to make, and we may have been sceptical ourselves when co-owner Quoc Nguyen told us the Imperial spring rolls were their most popular dish…but after one bite, we were converts.

When Emporium landed Din Tai Fung a year or so ago, it was a serious coup. A culinary signpost saying, ‘We may be a fancy shopping centre, but we’re gonna do proper food too.’

The Tuckshop guys have done it again. Clinton and Karina Serex, the masterminds behind Caulfield’s kickass retro ventures (Tuckshop, and the now defunct Karton) have just opened a proper American ice-creamery. And we mean proper.

Up top, Carlton! You just got a sweet new organic grocer and juice bar.

Kim Stark and Hannah Dupree wanted to do something different. Both had already established successful start-ups (Kim created Wheatbags Love and Hannah is the genius responsible for tea company Storm In A Teacup).

What happens when a Press Club and St Crispin chef decides to open his own solo eatery? Saxe. Saxe is what happens.

If this place isn’t a living, breathing ad for why you should pack up and move to Elwood, we don’t know what is.

The Waterside Hotel has been a mainstay of Flinders Street since 1853, when it had a licence from 6am when the wharfies working on the Yarra River knocked off.

Want to save money off your final bill at Yagiz? Feast your eyes on Urban Feast, the ultimate card for foodies. For just $100 you'll get $500 worth of value and will see you heading to some of the finest eating establishments in town. Find out more about Urban Feast here.

We don’t know what laser tattoo parlours are meant to look like, but they shoudn’t look like this. They’re meant to be scary places, run by bikers called ‘Butch’, not classy AF industrial offices in Collingwood. They’re not meant to have apartment-porn leather chairs either, or artful hanging plants and modern art on the walls.

There’s a pretty simply concept behind Dunning Kruger: “Victorian beer, Australian wine, small producers and a damn good pie.” Sounds like the ingredients for a happy life, really.

Southbank’s been battling an image problem for a while now, but it’s a worm that’s beginning to turn—thanks largely to venues like Left Bank. The prejudice doesn’t make much sense anyway. There’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to get world-class food, buzzing atmosphere and a properly shaken martini south of the Yarra, right? Especially not when your refurb looks as good as this one.

Melbourne’s theatre district just got a dose of late-night 1930s charm. Introducing The Mayfair, a swanky new supper club, courtesy of David Mackintosh, with new partner Joe Jones (from Romeo Lane) and chef Ron O'Bryan (ex Church St’s Enoteca and The Vine).

Want power brows that’d make Cara blush? Looking for a long-term solution to lip colour and lash length? Might be time to give cosmetic tattooing a try. It’s not as scary as it sounds. Feather-touch brows and lip blush tattoos are pretty common now, and there’s a place in Collingwood that specialises in quick, (relatively) pain-free treatments.

Right off the bat, we’ve gotta mention Park Hyatt Melbourne’s latest employee, Mr Walker the hotel's canine concierge. A profesh guide dog, Mr Walker busies himself with friendly welcomes at the lobby and accepting belly rubs in his custom-made Tasmanian Oak bed.

There are two types of people. The ones who follow an F45 session with a high-protein shake, fresh berries and a chia pudding; and the ones who think even walking PAST a gym totally justifies a double-stacked cheeseburger and Snickers milkshake.

The Cullen was one of The Arts Series’ OG hotel ventures (along with The Olsen, just down the road), and like all Arts Series hotels, it’s got a bit of a reputation.

Whisky lovers, listen up! The Whisky Boutique is coming to fill all your whisky needs. Make like Ron Swanson and keep the ordering simple—these guys do whisky one of two ways: neat, or on the rocks. Finally.

Hola amigos, do we have something damn special for you. It's called South of the Wall, a brand spankin’ new Mexican margarita bar and restaurant in Cremorne. This place has it all—flavour, good vibes, ten different margaritas, even a giant mural of Donald Trump peeking over a wall. Trust us when we say, this is your new summer hotspot.

You can’t buy views like this. Well, you can. You can buy them at Doubletree By Hilton, perched opposite historic Flinders St station. In terms of location, Doubletree can’t be beaten. You’re 50m from Fed Square, a stone’s throw from the greatest laneway in the city (Centre Place), and surrounded by more bars, restaurants cafes and bruncheries than any normal human could visit in one lifetime.

Contemporary painter David Larwill was known for bright, punchy colours, and you’ll cop an eyeful as soon as you enter Larwill Studio’s dreamy lobby space. Six giant canvases hang on the wall, paired with some slick mid-century furniture. You wouldn’t expect anything less from The Arts Series—these guys have pretty much redefined boutique Melbourne accommodation over the last few years.

Looking for a classy stay in the CBD? It’s hard to go past QT. You can’t knock a place that picked up #1 Hotel In Melbourne on Tripadvisor, right?