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We're big fans of lots of yummy nibbly bits at The Urban List, and Bar Nacional has the Spanish flare for pinxtos and bigger raciones down pat. Inspired by the flavours of San Sebastian, Bar Nacional is an earthen-coloured hideaway in an otherwise sparse part of Docklands that wears its Ibérian colours with pride, with cured meats hanging from the ceiling. Head Chef Scott Spence has curated a menu of incredible Spanish-style food (think braised beef shin empanadas, pigs head croquettes, chicken liver parfait with quince and brioche) that will have you drooling for days. Book in now, Listers!

At the Abbotsford Convent end of Collingwood, Anthony Brem's Bluebird Espresso is a cute little cafe serving up espresso syndicate coffee that pairs perfectly with a hearty breakfast of dukkah-sprinkled poached eggs with spinach and feta on multigrain. If you like your brekkie more on the wicked side, the brioche French toast with salted caramel, banana, mascarpone, ginger crunch and maple syrup is divine.

We can’t get enough of dumplings, and thankfully Charlie Dumpling brings our favourite silky bags of tasty goodness to Prahran’s High Street. Banquette seating runs along a wall of kooky coloured doors opposite a bar perfect for perching at. Ex-Claremont Tonic and Cutler & Co chef, Dylan Roberts, is on hand making the perfect little morsels, with the snapper, chilli, lime and black bean and the Peking duck and spiced plum sauce kings of the savoury selection, but if the waist band is of no consequence, why stop there? Sweet dumplings include a milk chocolate, chilli sugar and raspberry sorbet offering that will blow your mind and your diet. There's also a great private dining space upstairs, which is perfect for hosting your next function (or as we like to call it, your next dumpling feast!). Regardless of whether you're visiting for a quick dinner for two, or a larger sesh with friends, if it's Melbourne's best dumplings you're looking for then look no further than Charlie Dumpling!

Lovers of Brunswick's gorgeous Greek tavern who happen to find themselves based out east will rejoice at this second outpost in Kew. Lauded chefs George Calombaris and Travis McAuley keep the focus on heartily traditional food with a unique contemporary twist, and banqueting is king.

The gods of chocolate heaven came down to earth and gave us their messenger, East Brunswick's place of all things wickedly delicious, Monsieur Truffe. Sharing the warehouse spot with East Elevation cafe, Truffe's chocolate factory and store is a thing of beauty indeed, with chocolatier Thibault Fregoni a much nicer chap than the prickly Mr Wonka. You can plump for single origin dark chocolate bars of varying strength, to hazelnuts encased in melty milk chocolate, or pretend you're being healthy with Goji beans shrouded with the white stuff. 

One of Victoria's best craft breweries is situated within the shadow of the bright city lights in Richmond's Mountain Goat Beer. What started out as a backyard outfit in the early '90s with duo Cam Hines and Dave Bonighton, is now a pretty swish affair, where you can enjoy a few beers and pizzas on Wednesday and Friday nights while watching the guys and their crew at work. Call us sentimental, but we still love their very first brew the best – the malty and hoppy Hightail Ale, but it's subsequently been joined by a host of other tipples, from the crisp Organic Steam Ale to the chocolatey Surefoot Stout. Brewery tours are also available on Wednesdays. 

A beacon of budget awesomeness on the Windsor end of Chapel, the brick and dark red paint daubed façade of Lucky Coq contains a pub/bar/club famous for super cheap pizzas and good times. For a measly $4 every evening, you can grab a disc of Italy's best fast food offering, with options that include the El Greco – haloumi cheese, green olives and lemon, or the Mexicoq – chicken mince marinated in taco spices with lettuce, salsa and mozzarella. The beer's pretty cheap too, including Mountain Goats' finest, so you can scoop yourself dinner for a tenner and wander home happy. There's a great courtyard upstairs, too, with cute lanterns overhead. It's not fancy, but that's half the charm.

The Corner Hotel, a short stagger from Richmond Station, is one of Melbourne's most popular live music haunts. The Corner has been serving up some of the city's coolest gigs for 15 years now, with the sticky-floored gig venue downstairs and a great big roof terrace up top. Whether it's Scotland's Chvrches, hometown boy Dan Sultan or the US' Public Enemy, The Corner keeps things on the edgier side and draws in a young crowd of cool hipsters. There's something cool about the rumbling of the trains trundling by too, and the pub grub's pretty ace as well, whether it's a classic parma or a fat steak sanga. 

The fine folk of Ascot Vale are lucky to have a gem in the form of Mister Nice Guy's Bakeshop – a bakery specialising in kosher, vegan and largely organic baked goodness. Thank the heavens that husband and wife team, Lucas Cook and Deb Kantor, really love to bake, otherwise the world would be deprived of their crazy clever concoctions – think donuts, cupcakes, truffles and the like! We love the fact you can feel semi-righteous while stuffing their delicious cakes in your mouth. Cupcake varieties include the likes of the Rocket Shot, with espresso frosting on chocolate and coffee cake, and the Neopolitan with strawberry frosting on vanilla layered cake. If a cupcake isn't gonna cut it, you can get proper big boy cakes too, and there are savoury options like jalapeno cornbread muffins and pretzel dogs. 

The latest addition to former paratrooper and yoga devotee Duncan Peak's Power Living Yoga empire sits just north of Carlton Gardens above the FILA store on Nicholson Street in Fitzroy. Power Living Yoga Fitzroy boasts two yoga and meditation rooms plus a large community room, community being a linchpin of the P.L.A.Y. approach to yoga teaching. P.L.A.Y. offers a range of classes to suit all experience levels, starting with Power Basic, and focuses on the spiritual as well as physical and mental benefits of yoga. Awash with natural light, the Fitzroy studio is the perfect place to find balance. 

Former paratrooper and Modern Yoga author, Duncan Peak, discovered yoga as a teenager and has subsequently transformed this early passion into a successful business in Power Living Yoga, with studios in Melbourne and Sydney. The South Melbourne outpost of Power Living Yoga is a great spot to get your zen on, with a range of classes including Power Vinyasa and Power Revive/Yin suited to all experience levels. There are also a range of retreats on offer that promise to give you a whole new outlook on tackling life head on. The 40-day challenge promises to deliver subtle but sustained shifts in your life and increase self-confidence, acceptance and love. What's not to love?

Le Bon Ton is a late-night speakeasy style bar and restaurant, bringing the best of New Orleans to Collingwood. With the brothers behind Chingón at the helm, you know you're in for good ol' southern hospitality with a smile. Dine on oysters, sip on some of Melbourne's best cocktails and get a little absinthe-minded into the wee hours at this cosy drinking den cum southern smokehouse.

Take Off Skin & Body is one of North Melbourne's best skin and beauty clinics, located a stone's throw from the Queen Vic Market. Enjoy warm and welcoming customer service, and a wide variety of professional services, from cosmeceutical facials and medical grade peels, to IPL hair reduction, microdermabrasion, waxing and spray tanning.

Melbourne's cycling community has spoken – Reid Cycles is one of Melbourne's best bike shops! Located in North Melbourne, Reid Cycles is a one-stop-shop for anything to do with bikes – from road bikes to beach cruisers, vintage wheels to the fixie (a northside staple!), they have it all. Reid Cycles also stocks a huge range of top quality cycling gear, spare parts and accessories, so whatever your bicycle needs are, make sure you pay a visit to the Reid Cycles store.

Formerly known as La Chinesca, Harley House is a Peruvian-inspired bar, eatery and art space. Head underground on Collins Street and you'll find a sexy space, perfect for canoodling in the corner on a first date (floozy!), or grazing on the inspired share-friendly menu with a bunch of mates. Don't miss the deep fried chicken wings in aji panca masterstock! Open 'til late Tuesday to Saturday, this favourite Melbourne CBD bar is perfect for the late-night indecisive diner. 

Nestled behind a graffiti tagged garage door in Fitzroy, Third Drawer Down is an art studio, museum and souvenir shop all in one. This flagship store boasts the title of Australia's only trading museum, housing a curated array of art and designer products, either made in the studio or sourced from artists around the world. What's more, this eccentric emporium hosts an impressive range of weird and wonderful knickknacks, with everything from brass form tea sets to hamburger stools making for the perfect gift. 

The colourful shopfront, hand painted by French artist Camille Walala, certainly makes Third Drawer Down's new Prahran store hard to miss. Inside you'll find the same eccentric and witty taste as the Fitzroy flagship, with a curated selection of art and designer products housed alongside wonderfully wacky gifts. As if it could get any better, this Southside store is also home to bi-weekly workshops, where you can flex your artistic muscle under the guidance of the artists and designers featured in store. 

Located in Richmond, The Nutrition Bar is a clean eater's paradise, with green smoothies, protein shakes and salads galore. A sweet tooth will be kept at bay with one of their many raw, vegan and deliciously deceptive desserts, including chocolate and vanilla protein balls, raw carrot cakes and raw 'cheesecakes'…completely guilt-free and delicious! Their acai bowl, made with frozen acai and coconut water and topped with bananas, blueberries and caramelised buckinis, is a truly noteworthy breakfast worth rolling out of bed for. Also offering up ready-made, nutritious 'n delicious take home meals, The Nutrition Bar is perfect for the clean-eating and time-poor. 

Founded by the boys at The Pantry, The Royale Brothers is a hip new burger joint that has taken the Brighton dining scene by storm. Their burgers are already proclaimed to be some of the best in Melbourne, and it's easy to see why: softer-than-soft milk bun, charred beef pattie, oozy Kraft cheese and their house-made Royale sauce…drool! They also have jerk pork, chicken, fish and veggie options available, while burger fanatics can take on the Royale Joker, a mammoth triple beef, triple cheese, triple bacon burger. Glorious, greasy fun guaranteed. 

Tucked away in a carpark near Woolies, Balaclava's Monk Bodhi Darma is a charming exposed brick cafe known for its heavenly house-roasted coffee, high-end healing teas and delicious, cruelty-free menu.

Located in St Kilda, Grass Roots Yoga is the ultimate hot spot to lengthen your muscles, clear your head and sweat, sweat, sweat! The studio embraces its Moksha-inspired roots, and delivers one-hour hot yoga classes designed to open, strengthen and detoxify the body, all the while promoting mindful and sustainable living. For those who can't handle the heat (a toasty 37 degrees!), Grass Roots Yoga also offer other styles of yoga, including vinyasa flow, slow flow, and yin yoga classes. There's also an in-house remedial massage therapist, and nutritionist if you're looking for a more holistic experience.

Sitting in the heart of Collingwood, SHU is a Chinese fusion restaurant that we can guarantee that you’ll have so much fun at.

Ba'get, a Russell Street food store devoted entirely to bánh mì, is the perfect place to go for a quick, delicious (not to mention cheap!) bite on the run. There's something to suit all lunch time fancies, with everything from grilled lemongrass pork to Buddah's tofu set to line your baguette. Along with their glorious bánh mìs, they also offer vermicelli bowls, hot and flaky pork puffs, Vietnamese sesame donuts, cavassa cake and coconut and durian buns, plus potent quantities of traditional Vietnamese coffee stained with condensed milk to wash it all down. Easily some of the best cheap eats in the CBD. Yum!

Admiral Cheng-Ho cafe – the latest outpost on Johnston Street in Abbotsford – is the latest addition to the awesome coffee and mind-bending tea outfit that is Martin Shaw's southside cafe, Monk Bodhi Dharma. Taking the coffee genius northside, Admiral Cheng-Ho has six single origins on the go at any one time and yum vego food like zucchini fritters are menu heroes for hungry mouths looking for a good feed. All industrial chic, the Admiral looks pretty good, too. 

Nieuw Amsterdam bar and eatery is a welcome addition to the CBD's ever-increasing laneway scene, tucked away on Hardware Street. Owner Michael Roszbach, formerly of Cookie, has gone all New York with marble and dark wood Eades & Bergman interior. Nieuw Amsterdam serves great dishes like the Yam Gnocchi with goats curd, maple pecans, thyme and parmesan. The desserts (pumpkin doughnuts with Jack Daniels cream!) are killer, and there's a fab cocktail bar downstairs, too.

Cobb Lane is a scrumptious addition to cutesy Yarraville's Anderson Street, with English owner and cake king, Matt Forbes, mixing up a storm in this cafe slash bakery. Having trained in Michelin-starred restaurants in England, he worked with Vue De Monde's Shannon Bennett over here before going it alone. Sleek and stylish, Cobb Lane's dinky space if the perfect spot for good coffee and even better cake. If you can't make it here, you can also pick up Matt Forbes goodies at a number of the best cafes across town. 

Specialising in kickass fish and chips, Hooked Fish & Chipper’s original outpost was one of the early adopters. One of the businesses making the Windsor-end of Chapel St a destination for tasty food on-the-go. With a monster octopus mural, big wooden share table and knotted ropes everywhere, Hooked had the whole nautical thing down pat. It serves up super-fresh, healthy seafood with a traditional British vibe—think battered fish, tasty hand cut chips and minted peas, plus calamari and chunky fish burgers.

Hooked Fish & Chipper on bustling Brunswick Street brings the South’s original healthy seafood concept to the Fitzroy masses. Expect British classics, like mussels and minted peas, from the new-look Hooked. As well as healthy fresh-caught fish—you can get it either tempura battered or grilled—you'll find calamari, fish burgers, salads, and tasty hand cut chip, fried to golden perfection.

Elwood's Jimmi Jamz is a funky spot for cheap pizza and pasta, with exposed brick walls covered with big blackboards announcing the bulging Italian menu.

Babu Ji have brought the intense aromas of classic Indian cuisine to St Kilda’s The George building on Fitzroy Street. Babu Ji are experts when it comes to both classic and non-classic curries, filled with sophisticated and fresh flavours. Having recently reinvigorated the menu, the team are insistent on plating up sharing dishes, making sure that everyone gets to try a variety of mouth-watering bites.

A big, funky open-air space housed on a corner block of Commercial Road's boutique Art Series Cullen Hotel, Gramercy Bistro embraces a sleek New York deli style. Go for the Gramercy breakfast hash for a filling feed in the morn, have a Reuben sandwich for lunch, or wash down dinner with a with a cocktail in the evening.

Producing some of Melbourne's best macarons, Hardware Lane's La Belle Miette in the city is like teleporting back in time and across space to La Belle Époque Paris. The dinky French patisserie is a thing of beauty with its tessellated tile floor, fabulous wall mural and glass cases festooned with macarons. Who doesn't love macarons?

Everyone's favourite spot for a pre-theatre nosh. Fatto's got one of the most infamous dinner rushes in the whole city. Its dinner tides ebb and flow, depending on what's showing at the Arts Centre and Hamer Hall, but the food is always top notch.

Gertrude Street's Charcoal Lane in Fitzroy is all round fantastic. Offering contemporary Australian cuisine in sleek surrounds, you can chow down on tasty feeds like wallaby sirloin or twice-cooked caramelised saltbush lamb and the best bit is, Charcoal Lane is doing great work with aboriginal youth too, training them up in the kitchen. Charcoal Lane offers fine dining with a social conscience. Win, win. 

Home to some of Melbourne's best burgers, Brunswick Street's Brother Burger in Fitzroy is a big, dark and cosy space offering up possibly the finest combo known to mankind… We're talking eight craft beer taps and wagyu burgers using beef from Mayura Station in South Australia, alongside sandwiches and slow-roasted meat. There will be pumping tunes, too, to take you through the evening.