Where to source a free meal during Melbourne lockdown

New Quarter is cranking up the flavour this Easter with thrilling modern Vietnamese specials, and the restaurant will be open from midday to late all Easter weekend except Monday 21. Sink your teeth into seared scallops slathered with house XO butter, kumquat and persimmon, or indulge in chocolate fondant with spiced butterscotch, coconut flakes and sea salt. This has cute Easter dinner date written all over it. Reserve a table at the website.

The Stokehouse precinct is putting on an exclusive offering of Easter feasting delights this year, from Friday April 18 to Monday 21. Opt for an opulent four-course seafood meal at Stokehouse (including Angelachu anchovies on late-season tomato brioche; spanner crab dip with crisp crudités; and crumbed Southern calamari with caviar gribiche and dill; wild barramundi with mussels and baby vegetables in a light bouillabaisse; and an epic vanilla white chocolate mousse Easter egg to finish on a sweet note. It's $185 per head, and will be available alongside the regular menu from midday daily. Make a booking here. If you're after something more casual, head to Stokehouse Pasta and Bar downstairs instead for a range of seafood-led specials all long weekend. 

This Easter, the swish Chapel Street bistro Omnia will be serving up its seafood special Fruits de Mer. The lavish platter showcases oysters, mussels, clams, prawns, smoked ocean trout, crab salad, scallop, Parker House rolls, apple cucumber and verjus dressing and Marie Rose sauce – and it's guaranteed to get any seafood lover into the festive Easter spirit. The deal costs $75 per person and will be available for dinner only, from Thursday to Saturday over the Easter weekend. Find out more and make a booking here.

Dessert lovers, you won't want to skip this offer. Melbourne's most playful modern Japanese restaurant is serving up a sweet Easter special in collaboration with viral treat heroes The Cake Club from Tuesday 15 to Sunday April 20 and we're in love. It's a miso choc oreo tart for two – salty, sweet, rich and all 'round irresistible. It'll be available for Mr Miyagi's dine-in patrons this Easter weekend, including Good Friday. Make a booking here. 

If a fancy-fied fish and chips will steal your heart this Easter feasting season, then look no further than Lillian – the refined brasserie from restaurateur Chris Lucas, housed in the same luxe Collins Street precinct as fine diner Society. The dish will be served throughout the weekend (except Easter Monday), available alongside the venue’s regular à la carte offering. Walk-ins will be welcomed, but your best bet is to make a reservation here.

Il Bacaro serves up a modern twist on classic Venetian fare in its small, crowded restaurant. This Easter long weekend it's open on Good Friday for dinner from 5pm and Easter Saturday for both lunch and dinner (a 15 per cent public holiday surcharge applies). It's closed on Easter Sunday and Monday.

At Fitzroy's extraordinarily cool new StandardX hotel, the onsite restaurant Bang is a highlight. Its relaxed share-style tasting menu showcases Thai-leaning fusion eats, and this Easter weekend it'll be open daily for breakfast from 7am until 11am. If you'd rather a festive dinner, it's also open from 5:30pm on Good Friday – find out more or make a booking here. 

Snugly situated in the basement of Le Méridien Melbourne, Dolly is an immersive restaurant and cocktail bar that transports its guests back in time to the glamour and mystique of 1930s cinema. This Easter Sunday, it's throwing a stylish (and rather affordable) feast at just $69 a head. Dig into a generous roast with all the accoutrements – think Loddon Valley lamb, succulent pork loin or Hazeldene's chicken, served up alongside grainy mustard-mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, golden Yorkie puddings and an indulgent rosemary gravy. And for dessert? It's no less than an all-you-can-eat sweet treat buffet. Bookings can be made here. If live music and cocktails is more your vibe, you're in luck: Dolly's also open the night before, Saturday April 19, with a jazz performance from vocalist Emma Gilmartin.

When it comes to kid-friendly dining options this Easter weekend, Scott Pickett's fabulous new South Yarra eatery Como Lane comes out on top. Not only will the actual Easter bunny be making an appreance on the Sunday from 10am until 2pm, there'll also be free Easter eggs for the kids, freshly baked hot cross buns and pastries, plus coffees and delicious brunch options in Como House's gorgeous lush garden setting. It'll also be open Easter Saturday (minus the bunny and freebies) from 9am until 3pm. 

This glamorous two-level dining and drinking space is all about good music, good Italian-inspired food and good vibes – oh, and amaro, of course! This long Easter weekend, it'll be open from noon until late daily (except Easter Monday). Indulge in the chilled seafood plate special, which features poached prawns, pickled mussels and a zesty amaro and pepperoncino marie rose sauce – and don't forget dessert: a stunning ricotta Easter tart served with limoncello crème. Make a booking now.

Delicious food, gorgeous views and excellent service: honestly, what more could you want? The fact that Taxi Kitchen has nailed these factors for over a decade perhaps goes some distance in explaining why it's stood the test of time. It's an iconic meet-up destination for locals, interstate visitors and passing tourists alike. This Easter weekend, the restaurant will be open daily (except Good Friday) for both lunch and dinner.

Transport's ground floor public bar will be open all Easter weekend long, from 11am until late. Pop in for live DJs, footy on the big screens, pints and all the good vibes and action of Fed Square. The rooftop bar will be open from 3pm on Good Friday, and from noon on Saturday and Sunday (note on Easter Monday, this space will be closed). 

Popular for its sausages, schnitzel and Hofbräuhaus beer, this haven for all things Bavarian will be keeping its doors open all Easter weekend from noon until late (except Easter Monday). The special will be 'biergarten fisch' – a pan-fried morsel of ocean trout with cauliflower purée, charred cabbage and fennel and burnt butter lemon sauce. Find out more or make a booking here.

Hit up one of Brunswick East's most happening restaurants this long weekend for an authentic Polish Easter feast. Chef Ola Gladysz has curated a special set menu complete with a sharing platter (think herring tartare, salmon-topped devilled eggs and pickle salad), rainbow trout pierogi in lemon butter sauce (um, yum), a traditional Polish Easter soup, and traditional honey cak from Ola's mum's secret recipe. Fun fact: Eat Pierogi Make Love won the Best Relaxed Dining award at Time Out Melbourne's recent Food and Drink Awards! The feast will be available on both Friday April 18 and Saturday April 19 during two sessions: 12pm or 2pm. Make a booking here.

At the Victoria Hotel, the old suburban atmosphere has been preserved with paint peeling off bricks, concrete floors and the occasional floral print rug straight out of 1972. If a pub feast is what you're after this Easter and you're near the 'Cray, you're in luck. This popular watering hole is keeping its doors open all weekend long – even the Easter Monday.

With commanding views over the city skyline, Johnny’s Green Room is the most picturesque place in Carlton to sip Peroni and smash pizza this Easter. There'll also be a tasty crumbed barramundi sandwich special available from Good Friday to Easter Sunday and if you're keen on a drink, $12 Gum wines perfect for pairing. The tunage? Hope St Radio DJs. Yes, it'll also be open on a Monday to battle those end-of-long-weekend feels.

Marameo is giving Italian party vibes – what more could you want this Easter long weekend? It's open on Good Friday for dinner and Easter Saturday all day (a 15 per cent surcharge applies). Note that it's closed on both Easter Sunday and Monday.

Good for dates and family outings alike this Easter weekend, Moonhouse invites you to linger over some truly tantalising Easter specials. Try the lobster bao with garlic and ginger butter, spring onion and pickled chilli or the five-spice custard tart with black plum and chantilly cream. It's open every day this long Easter weekend (except Easter Monday) and you can make a booking here. Note that a 20 per cent surcharge applies.

Forget a fancy Easter dinner, why not just go to one of Melbourne's best cafes for a casual festive brunch? Better yet, South Melbourne fave St Ali has introduced a lineup of Easter specials this year to get coffee lovers excited. Try the Crossed and Cozy, an iced mocha finished with house-made sticky raisin date cream, or a Hop and Spice, which blends a spiced dulce de leche with double shots of coffee,  dried orange and cinnamon –served with your choice of milk. Don't forget the caramel panna cotta for dessert, layered with sticky gingerbread cake, butterscotch sauce, honey tuile and roasted pistachio. Caffeinated Easter treats never tasted so sweet.

Everything tastes better charred – and Firebird got the memo. A restaurant dedicated to smoke, flames and fire, every dish in some way, shape or form has been licked by the fire, and it’s all the better for it. It's open from 5:30pm until 10pm on both Good Friday and Easter Saturday this year (with an extra lunch sitting on Saturday), and lunch and dinner on Easter Sunday. A 20 per cent surcharge applies.

Hungry for a modern Japanese take on your Easter feast this year? Tokyo Tina has you sorted. It's serving up all its funky faves this long weekendl. You can make a lunch or dinner booking at the website all weekend long, except Easter Monday. 

This Easter, this luxe hotel invites guests to celebrate in the form of an indulgent chocolate-driven afternoon tea. From April 17 to April 27, Valrhona Regional Pastry Chef Guillaume Lopvet is partnering up with the hotel's master pâtissiers to offer an exquisite three-course dining experience the whole family will enjoy. Set on Level 80 against the breathtaking backdrop of Melbourne’s skyline, this is Easter feasting in style. Find out more here.