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Joe Taylor sits one what could be Melbourne’s most beautiful strip—the highly underrated corner of Errol St, North Melbourne, just near the Victoria St intersection.

There’s something interesting brewing in Docklands. Literally. Because Urban Alley just opened its doors for the first time.

Tuan Tuan is the latest in a string of overseas success stories to land in Melbourne.

It’s been quiet for 18 months, but the East Brunswick Hotel is finally back. New management, new menu, pretty much new everything.

Seriously, Jerome Borazio, when do you sleep?

It’s an understatement to say The Astor Theatre has been around for a while. The building (formerly known The Diamond Theatre) was showing flicks from 1913 (when moving pictures were probably kind of terrifying). It was renamed and revamped into Astor Theatre in 1936.

“We’re Chinese-ish,” says Super Ling manager, Mir. “That’s the best way to describe it.”

It’s Friday night on Bridge Rd. Where do you go?

There’s something sweet happening out in the Dandenong Ranges, and its name is Only Mine.

Things in Melbourne always come in threes, even dedicated katsu restaurants. So far we’ve had Ton & Co in Prahran, Kyodai Katsu in Carnegie...now we’re just waiting around for the third one to drop.

Hey, bubba! Yeah, you. We know you’ve been looking for some real Kansas City BBQ and we found just the place. Big Boy BBQ in Caulfield is serving up the most American barbecue in Australia and you're gonna need napkins for this.

Moonee Ponds is really starting to deliver on the restaurant front (and cafes like Sir Duke are certainly leading the brekky charge).

Things were getting a little out of hand at Moroccan Soup Bar, with lines of devoted, Tupperware-carrying customers lining up out the door. So owner Hana Assafiri has thrown us a line and opened a takeaway spot, Moroccan Soup Bar Two Go. 

Readings Carlton always felt a little bookish (in every sense of the word). It was never flash or ‘cool’ exactly—it just had a quiet, tweedy, folded-page dignity. Like a lot of its authors, I guess.  

Nestled among the coastal tea-trees of Fingal and only 90 minutes from Melbourne, Peninsula Hot Springs has remained a key attraction on the Mornington Peninsula for good reason. The award winning natural hot springs, thermal springs, and their relaxing facilities make it an obvious choice for a visit in 2024, any time of year, at one of Victoria's ultimate wellness destinations. 

Self-help, philosophy classes and emotional intelligence don't sound like a barrel of laughs, but that's what makes The School of Life so interesting.

Anyone who’s throwing the old ‘Depreston’ tag around better check themselves. It’s been a good five years since you could say “Preston’s a bit shit, eh?” and really mean it.

My Mama Said is a bit like what would happen if someone went out and built a fitness studio immediately after watching Flashdance.

It took a while, but Sydney-born success story, Bassike, has finally joined the Emporium flock. It’s good to see the CBD’s premier shopping destination embracing more local designers (not that we don’t love cruising Superdry and Uniqlo with the best of them).

Alfred Place is one of the city’s forgotten laneways, which might have been the problem...

You know dinner’s gonna be meaty when your menu is upholstered in cow. The drinks menu at Asado looks like a skilled veterinarian could still save it. I handle it gingerly, half expecting it to moo.

So long, Beaufort. We had some good times.

In the 1850s, prisoners at Pentridge would trudge into this red brick workhouse to make shoes and boots for the prison guards. It wasn’t a happy place: the smashed av’ was well undersalted, and the coffee lacked body.

It’s been a long wait, but the Embla team can finally say, “Have you seen upstairs?”

The best restaurants know that change is the only constant. In the take-no-prisoners jungle that is the modern Melbourne dining scene, it’s either adapt or die.

Want to find Melbourne’s new adults-only arcade and cocktail bar? Look up.

If we were showing a Sydneysider the good places in Melbourne, we’d take them here. Brixton Pound in Seddon.

A cafe on a traffic island? Sure, why the hell not? This is Melbourne after all. Guys, meet Parco. It’s a super cute brunch bar that’s popped up next to Carlton's Argyle Square.

We don't know about you guys, but we get SERIOUSLY excited about croissants. Especially the buttery, flaky, I'm-never-washing-my-mouth again ham and cheese croissants from Faraday's Cage in Fitzroy.

If the name Changz rings a bell, it’s probably because you’ve screamed it at some point in your life while searching for a glass of milk. These guys do, hands down, the best hot sauce going around.

Looks like the secret’s out. When we rock up at Veneziano’s new roastery cafe, there’s already a hungry hoard inside. Waiters are zipping everywhere, and people are ploughing through French toast and Kenya roast like their lives depended on it.

Pork lovers, get the hell excited. Good old Windsor has just opened its doors to Ton & Co. Seriously, can this area get any cooler?

Finding the perfect pair of jeans is like finding a good-looking guy with nice intentions under the age of 25: close to impossible.

A lot of Melbournians still don’t know about Golden Monkey, which is weird. It’s an underground Shanghai dumpling bar that’s been kicking around since 2005.

Feeling a bit stressed? Overwhelmed by the impending doom or just plain over life? We feel you, guys. And so do our friends at Beyond Rest in Hawthorn.

You’re walking down Gertrude St when a pop of yellow catches your eye. It’s either a rogue canary, or this place—Variety Hour.

Wabi Sabi Garden may not be running in St Kilda anymore, but it never really closed. It just turned into this place: Fuji Tei.

Some people will tell you Hardware Lane is for tourists. That there aren’t any proper bars here (at least nowhere you’d choose to impress a Tinder date).

You don’t much around at Huff Bagelry. This family-run joint is modelled on classic New York-style bagel houses, and no-one walks into those expecting hipster fireworks. You walk up the counter, state your order, step to the right and eat your bagel. It’s damn good, and you’re happy to get it.

It’s hard not to get excited about suits when you’re chatting to Miles Wharton. He’s the kind of guy that makes James Bond look underdressed.

There’s really two Bombas in Melbourne. One is Jesse Gerner and Andrew Fisk’s downstairs tapas bar, famous for bodega vibes, jugs of Sangria and enough tapas to make your belt buckle explode.

All Melburnians know that Merrywell Burger Bar is a true hospitality classic when it comes to dining at Crown Casino. Their award-winning, juicy, American-style burgers have a special place in our hearts.

If you’ve never done reformer pilates, it probably looks a lot like a bunch of ridiculous active-wear people stretching their legs across a moving torture platform. Is it just one of those ridiculous fitness trends that don’t do actually do much?

The clue's in the title with Cumulus Up, Andrew McConnell's lofty wine bar. It's upstairs, above its sister restaurant Cumulus Inc.

If someone told you they just found Melbourne’s “best new restaurant”, you’d expect it to be in the CBD. Or maybe down an alley in Fitzroy, hiding behind a sign for ‘vegan tyre supplies’ or something. What you wouldn’t expect is a quiet suburban street in Yarraville, a wrought iron awning, and some gauzy grey curtains.

We’ll try not to geek out too hard with this one, but it won’t be easy. The Store Of Requirement lends itself to multiple exclamation marks, obscure Harry Potter puns and dressing in wizards robes like nobody’s watching.

Ah, Melbourne Museum. You guys probably remember it as that place you used to get dragged along to for school excursions or uni assignments.

You might have heard of K-Kore before. You know, the guys giving you the courage to ditch your personal trainer for faster results and strange exercise machines? Yep, that’s the one.

These days most people want their hotels to be chic, contemporary, zoom-zoom sort of establishments.

Leroy Espresso is hard to miss. You'll spot the slick frontage on the corner of Barkly and Acland St.

We don’t know what we were expecting at The Elk Room—South Yarra’s new hidden cocktail bar—but this wasn’t it.

You walk into Brixton Pound like it’s no big deal. Past the Oakland A’s flat caps, Champion sweaters and achingly cool Vans high-tops. On the left, there’s a ribbed door, painted grey, with a little neon keypad on the wall.

You might have spotted something weird on Gertrude St lately.

People who sigh and say Bridge Rd is dead—book a date night at ONDA immediately. It’s a new South American fusion restaurant near Church St, and it’s already our favourite eatery on the strip...and potentially in Richmond as well. Yep, it’s that bloody good.

Hibiki specialises in two things: “Japanese brunch and beats”. Any cafe with that motto is somewhere we want to get to know better.  

The Provincial is pretty much the Grand Old Dame of Brunswick St pubs. If you don’t have three stories of loose nights here, you’re not a true Northsider.

Of all the hot colour Pantones we thought we’d see in 2018, purple wasn’t on the short list. But here it is anyway, covering the ceiling and walls of The Vale, Ascot Vale’s brand new wine, pizza and charcuterie bar. It’s like someone spilled a Grimace in here.

In 2015, Chef Tom Peasnell, his mate Adam Goldbatt and brother Sam launched Dexter: a ‘no-rules’ approach to an American BBQ that champions meat and buns. In that order. 

Usually, you’d be heading down Mornington Peninsula to indulge in a bit of crisp pinot noir in a rustic setting, but if you fancy doing something a little bit different on your trip down the Nepean Highway we’d recommend poking your head into Rebel Donuts of Mornington.

Eureka Tower is hard to miss. Literally.