Directory Search

Almost at the Spring Street crown of Bourke Street, Bottega is a beautiful little Italian bistro with cosy leather banquettes and a great imported wine list that also favours local heroes. With a focus on sharing, grab lots of little things like oysters or an antipasto platter. The house made pumpkin and potato gnocchi is a treat at Bottega. 

The battle for the crown of Melbourne's best burger continues unabated in the city, with South Melbourne's Big Huey's Diner on Coventry Street a great south side contender. Go for a spicy southern fried chicken burger or an old school classic like the Big Huey – two beef patties with Dijon mustard, house made beetroot relish, lettuce, sautéed red onion, grilled cheese, bacon and tomato chutney. The Huey combo offers a cheeseburger with a side and a vino, Heineken or soft drink. 

Housed in a historic bluestone on Brunswick Street, Smith & Daughters is one of Melbourne's coolest new vegan restaurants.

Bourke Street's Earl Canteen is all about the sandwiches. Their pork belly baguette has been labelled one of Melbourne's best, the crispy crackling, tart apple and fennel slaw and wilted silverbeat combination never failing to draw a crowd come lunchtime. While sandwiches are the standout, their salads and sweets, both made fresh on premises, won't fail to please either.   

Earl Canteen's Collins Place shop serves up the best sandwiches in Melbourne. You won't find any pre-made ham, cheese and tomato focaccias here; all baguettes are made to order and filled to the brim with everything from crispy skin pork belly (to die for!) to wagyu meatballs and sugo.  Their salads and sweets, also made fresh on premises, are equally as delicious. 

Latin American eatery, Popol Nah, is the latest restaurant to spice up Lygon Street. New York-based, Honduras-born chef Cali Rivera has crafted an impressive Latin-fusion menu, with dishes such as the lamb shank with spicy tomato and fresh chilli, chicken in adobo sauce and prawn ceviche offering a refreshing break from the street's pizza and pasta offerings. They're also open for brunch, serving up buttery breakfast empanadas and delish vegan superfood smoothies.  

If you're on the lookout for a hairdressing salon that'll turn your limp strands into glossy celebrity-like tresses, then look no further than Meddlers. Centrally located on Toorak Road in South Yarra, Meddlers has long been considered one of Melbourne's best hair salons, boasting multiple cutting and colouring stations, a relaxing 'chill out' zone, and cutting edge styling services for both women and men.

When we're stuck in the CBD on a Friday night and someone says, 'Okay, what's for dinner?' Most of the time the answer comes back: 'Dunno. Fonda?' 

Located where Josie Bones once stood, The Meatball & Wine Bar's Smith Street post is every bit the meatball mecca. Like at the Flinders Lane and Swan Street branches, the menu asks you to pick your ball (beef, pork, chicken, fish or veggie), select your sauce and something for your balls to sit on, while also offering a selection of sliders, charcuterie and other delicious, non-ball specials. Make sure you leave room for their legendary Whoopie Mac: a chunk of ice cream sandwiched between two huge, decadent cookies. Drool!

Located on Toorak Road, Me Skin and Body is a boutique specialist skin clinic that’s all about a personalised, holistic approach to treatments. They’ve got skincare experts at your service, offering a stacked menu of treatments. Some lean more in the rejuvenation and pamper space, whilst others tackle anti-aging and acne management.

Responsible for some of the best hair in Sydney (think Harper and Harley's Sara Donaldson and Elle Ferguson of They All Hate Us fame), superstar hair and beauty salon, Edwards and Co, has set up shop in Melbourne CBD, and the city is abuzz with our squeals of glee! The slick Punch Lane space is your one stop shop for all things beauty – make an appointment at Edwards and Co today for the best colour and cut in Melbourne, or be pampered with a Priori peel, lash extensions or luxe manicure. The freelance team of beauty pros each has an area of niche expertise, so you know you are in the very best of hands. Edwards and Co also specialise in event and wedding prep to have you looking your most impeccable self on the big day.

A one-stop-shop for all your beauty needs, Ella Bache is your go-to salon on bustling Chapel Street in Prahran. From body treatments, massages and customised facials, to waxing, nails and spray tans, Ella Bache Prahran's expert therapists will ensure you walk out feeling amazing. They also stock the full range of Ella Bache skincare products, along with Jane Iredale mineral makeup, so you'll be able to maintain the results at home. Make sure you enquire about their Frequent Visitors Card (visit the salon eight times to receive a free facial!) as well as the complimentary parking for treatments over an hour.

Let's be honest - when it comes to something as personal as waxing, we only want to book in with Melbourne's best. Hence why when The Urban List team is in need of facial, body, or Brazilian waxing, we head straight to the expert team at Waxed, Melbourne's waxing specialists. Their newest salon is centrally located on Winter Street in Malvern (just off Glenferrie Road) and delivers exceptional, affordable and efficient waxing services for both women and men.

Kid Boston's takeaway breakaway, Boston Sub, serves up piping hot poutines (French fries topped with gravy and cheese…drool!) and American style subs from their Windsor digs. Pack your sub with pulled pork and coleslaw - it's possibly the coolest (and tastiest!) late-night snacking spot on Chapel Street. Make sure you check out Jungle Boy, the hidden bar within.

Tucked away on Little Collins Street, Green Press is a superfood goldmine that never fails to draw a crowd of hungry workers come lunchtime. Everything Green Press serve is nourishing and delicious, with cold pressed juices, superfood smoothies, nut milks, tasty salads and raw vegan fare ready to fuel you through your day. They also host workshops and events with notable nutrition bloggers, keeping us all informed (not to mention well fed)!

Tucked away in a beautifully spacious Elwood studio is Miss Eyelash, Melbourne's leading eyelash extension specialist. Miss Eyelash is a pro when it comes to eyelashes offering everything from natural to va-va-voom eyelash extensions, along with eyelash perming, tinting and rescue & recovery packages (for when you've had an eyelash experience go wrong). To achieve those fabulous lashes, Miss Eyelash uses the latest ‘Lash Lift’ eyelash perming technology along with ‘Volume Lashes’, of which there are only a handful of trained technicians in Australia.

In the running for best eyelash extensions in Melbourne is Miss Eyelash, a luxurious 'eyelash spa' located in Mount Eliza, an easy one hour drive south of Melbourne.

Located on High Street in Northcote, Shoku Iku is an organic, raw vegan cafe that specialises in superfood smoothies, healing elixirs, freshly-made salads and raw desserts. Run by Japanese chef and blogger Yoko Inoue, Shoku Iku's menu is based on the macrobiotic philosophy and raw food diet, changing daily depending on what's in season and what Inoue feels like 'cooking'. While they're open for lunch Wednesday to Sunday, make sure you attend one of their Saturday dinners for a nourishing feed. 

A local hero on Ripponlea's Glen Eira Road, Bala Da Dhaba is one of Melbourne's best Indian restaurants. Jumping around the rich regions of said country, as well as incorporating a Nepalese kitchen influence, Bala Da Dhaba whip up some of the best curries in town. We particularly love the hot and spicy South Indian lamb madras. 

While Melbourne's laneway culture tends to favour the top end of town, Cherry and Twigs, one of the city's cutest cafes, is hidden away on a tiny lane joining Flinders Street and Flinders Lane at the Spencer Street end. A serene place to escape the daily grind, a pale wood-carved tree sprouts up one wall. The avo and honey granola brekkie pudding is a treat, as are the single origin coffees provided by the Maling Room. 

Located in Oakleigh, The Blo Bar is a blow dry-only hair salon that specialises in va-va-voom waves and red carpet ready 'dos. It's the ultimate one-stop-shop before a big night out, also offering a full range of make-up services including air-brushing, brows and lashes. All this fun isn't just for adults – little princesses can also enjoy a day of primping and pampering with The Blo Bar's mini me beauty menu.

The Italian experts over at South Yarra's Pinocchio have worked their magic to bring you Geppetto's in Burwood. Expect inspired Italian cuisine bound to tantalise the tastebuds with fresh ingredients and traditional methods of cooking. Whether rumbling for lunch or dying for dinner, Geppetto's handmade options like duck ragout risotto with lemon and orange confit zest and beef paccheri will not only satisfy the belly, they'll have coming back time and again for more!

Located in the heart of Lygon Street in Brunswick East, Bar Idda serves up delicious Sicilian-Italian cuisine in a homely, authentic environment. With its lively ambience, be sure to bring along a bunch of family and friends to savour Bar Idda's fantastic Sicilian menu, influenced with Middle Eastern and African flavours. You'll feel as if you're dining in a cosy Italian home. A Northside gem!

It’s hard to believe there’s a slice of Italy living in Melbourne CBD, but at Italian restaurant +39 Pizzeria, that’s exactly what you’ll get! Not only is the restaurant the original home of the Nutella doughnut in Melbourne (which they unfortunately no longer sell—hey, they’ve got to keep surprising us!), it’s also one of the best Italian restaurants in the Melbourne CBD for a midweek lunch, a relaxing evening meal, or a weekend banquet of authentic Italian flavours.

Simple. Fast. Healthy. Cafe Babbo in Madame Brussels Lane is home to some of the best handmade pasta in Melbourne. With their famous menu passed down over the generations, the Babbo family delivers not only scrumptious dishes of Italian goodness straight from the heart, but also, their warm hospitality and quaint decor is sure to make you feel the love!

High Street, Kew has a hero in Lil Boy Blue Kitchen & Bar—one of Melbourne's best cafes! The Lil Boy Blue team have poured their passion into this place, open all day long, serving Allpress coffee in the morning and winding down with a cocktail or two in the evening. We love the fried egg tacos with ham in the A.M. and the sticky pomegranate pork ribs come the evening. Whichever way you look at it, Lil Boy Blue is a Melbourne cafe winner!

Bringing some much-needed life to Docklands with a stiff caffeine shot in the arm, Long Shot on Collins Square is a gorgeous haven. With its chess board floor, tiled and padded walls and wooden plantation shuttered bench seats, it's as cute as pie and the homemade fare is magnificent too, including sodas in glass milk bottles, with beans provided by St Ali and cakes by the talented Maria Lantelme.

Sake is all the rage in Melbourne these days and one of the best spots with the biggest collections is Maedaya Sake & Grill on Bridge road, Richmond. With a dizzying collection, have no fear, owner Toshi Maeda is all about spreading the sake knowledge/love and the guys will guide you through tastings with matched nibbles too, or head upstairs for the full menu. A pleasingly dark space with ropes stretched out in force on the walls, it's pretty styley too. 

Bentleigh's Merchant's Guild cafe on Centre Road dishes up some hearty feeds including doughnut French toast with vanilla mascarpone, peaches and pistachios, and Pumpkin, feta and harrisa polenta biscuit with eggs and za'atar. Showcasing a revolving turntable of coffee from some of the city's best roasters, there's a big list of exotic teas on offer too, including Jasmine Pearls and Golden Monkey, and you can also have cold pressed prana chai over ice (arguably the best chai in Melbourne). 

A South American gem in Carlton, Piqueos has been treating Melbournians to traditional fare for three years.

You'll find Susie Wong at the tippy top of Chapel St in Windsor. Right before the suburb drops off the map and becomes St Kilda East.

Recently opened Kong BBQ on Church Street Richmond is the younger cousin of Chin Chin and Baby Pizza, so you know it's going to be good.

Nestled on Toorak Road in South Yarra, Urban Provedore provides an urban oasis for those living the city life but craving the goodness of the country. A cafe, lunch spot, general store and bar, Urban Provedore ticks a lot of boxes. Enjoy Axil coffee and produce from Mornington, the Yarra Valley and Red Hill, while watching the day go by. 

If someone had told us that there’s a picture-perfect slice of Paris hiding in St Kilda, we would have laughed them out of town, then gone on our Flinders Lane-eating way. That was before we discovered Luxembourg, the jaw-droppingly beautiful Fitzroy Street eatery which is co-owned by food scene superstar Andrew McConnell.

Chapel Street Windsor is the latest spot to get your Pressed Juices fix, ensuring your mind, body and spirit get the day off to a good start. Combining the freshest fruits and vegetables, the cold press juicing method creates the most nutritionally rich complete juice available. Enjoy Pressed Juices as a breakfast, energy boost or cleanse program. Your body will thank you! (Hot tip: the almond espresso milk is liquid gold).