The best all-you-can-eat restaurants in Melbourne

The legends at Eat Pierogi Make Love told Time Out that this winter, they want to "offer a torch to cut through the depressing grey sky and return smiles to happy diners dreaming of catchups since lost to bad tv on unhappy couches". And how do they propose to do that? By offering all-you-can eat Polish dumplings, of course. The offer is on every Monday night from 5-10pm and costs just $39 per person. Eat your winter blues away with any mix of our 5 different pierogi flavours – ad infinitum, of course. All pierogi come served with sour (or vegan) cream and dill. 

Seaside suburb St Kilda is often thought of as more of a summer destination, but this winter, there's a very tasty reason to catch the tram south of the CBD – thanks to Flour Child. The modern Italian restaurant is throwing a 'Gnocch Yourself Out' bottomless gnocchi dinner every Tuesday night, and it'll only set you back an $39. That's pretty great value, considering some pub mains alone can hit that mark these days. For the price, you'll get a drink on arrival and your choice of bottomless fluffy, ricotta gnocchi in five different pasta sauces. Be sure to try the Bolognese for the ultimate winter warmer! The bottomless essions runs from 4pm until 9:30pm. Make a booking at the website.

Love Thai food? This relaxing Hawthorn eatery may appear like your average café at first glance, serving up sangas, coffee and cakes. But Thai chef Nobphadon Kaewkarn (AKA chef Bird) recently introduced some wonderful, authentic Thai offerings to the menu – the easiest way to taste the best of them is Vivid's all-you-can-eat lunch on the weekend. Available on both the Saturday and Sunday from 11:30am to 2:30pm, the deal features a 90-minute sitting of dishes like spring rolls, curries (red, green and Massaman), pad Thai, pad see ew, Thai fried rice, rice and roti. At $29, it's one of the best value offerings in this guide. Check it out! 

Hit up at Welcome to Brunswick's food hall every Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evening to enjoy an all-you-can-eat bottomless dumplings feast for just $29. What a steal! Bookable across two 90-minute sessions from 6pm or 8pm, the dumpling dinner includes roving dim sims, steamed buns, street dumplings and tasty plant-based options, too (get a sneak peak of the full menu here). Every Tuesday and Wednesday night, too, local DJs will be spinning tracks to keep the party pumping. You can make a booking here.

If all-you-can-eat wagyu beef sounds like a good time to you, make a beeline for Lygon Street the next time hunger strikes. You’ll have to weave your way around the hustling restaurant hosts lining the strip, of course. But once you catch the aromas of Shinbashi’s smoky BBQ on your nose, you’ll be glad you made the journey. From Monday to Wednesday, you can get an all-you-can-eat DIY Japanese grill extravaganza, premium cuts included.

This stylish South Melbourne eatery offers a “Feast and Flow” package, a two-hour bottomless brunch sitting including a sumptuous buffet of sweets, savouries, and made-to-order hot dishes, with rivers of unlimited house and prosecco wine, beer, non-alcoholic options and cocktails. A little fancier than what you’d get at other all-you-can-eat restaurants, Half Acre’s experience resembles that of an elevated hotel buffet in New York or Paris. You’ll find wood-fired veggies, coal-roasted meats and even a build-your-own pavlova section. Two-hour sessions are available on Saturday from 10.30am-5.30pm and Sunday from 11am-6pm. It’s $69 per person for just "The Feast" (if you’re happy to go alcohol-free) and $98 per person for the full "Feast and Flow" experience with drinks included.

Nothing hits the spot quite like an unlimited yum cha. Many Melbournians would argue that the Shanghainese one at David’s is among the best and we tend to agree. From juicy xiao long bao soup dumplings and chicken ribs to Peking duck and pork belly bites, everything is made fresh and the attention to quality sings. Gorge on as many housemade pork buns, bao and forkfuls of veggie-loaded fried rice as you can manage, and then wash it all down with a frosty Tsingtao or a pot of premium Iron Buddha oolong tea. There’s white chocolate dumplings for dessert, and your vego mates won’t be left hungry; an optional plant-based yum cha menu is on hand. The cost ranges from $58 to $78 per head, depending on which banquet you choose.

Been down to the Conservatory yet? It’s Crown’s upmarket buffet restaurant and it’s one of the city’s most popular. The globally diverse menu covers fresh Aussie seafood, sushi, curries, stir-fried dishes hot off the wok, salads, meat carving stations, pizza, pasta and more over the course of three sittings per day. Go in for a bottomless brekky, laze around for a luxurious lunch or take dinner up a notch before you hit the surrounding Southbank bars and nightlife. Just be sure to leave room for sweet treats at the end. The bar’s glorious chocolate fondue fountain provides plenty of scope for a choose-your-own-dessert adventure.

The holy grail of cheap eats for students and budget-conscious city workers, Crossways can be overlooked as just another Hare Krishna vego joint. But in terms of value, taste, and nutritional bang for your buck, there’s not much better in Melbourne. The eatery serves dahl, plant-based curries, rice and wheat-free sweet treats, all of which are healthy, wholesome and surprisingly satisfying. For lunch or dinner, the unlimited meat-free meal will set you back only $9.50 (or a paltry $7.50 if you’ve got a concession card.)

Unlike traditional all-you-can-eat situations, dinner at Okami doesn't involve food sitting out for a questionable amount of time. There’s table service, and the food here is made to order, coming to you fresh out of the kitchen. In a boon for budget-conscious indulgence, you only pay $42.80 per person and you can order anything off the set menu with over 30 authentic Japanese options. The atmosphere is cosy and relaxed, ideal for a casual catch-up with family or friends. Or how about a low-key date night?

If you love your buffet fun in the early hours, Sofitel’s sky-high No. 35 restaurant is worth a look in. Offered daily from 7am to 10:30am, the brekky selection boasts feather-light pastries, housemade jams, toast, fruit platters, omelettes, yoghurt, French and European style breakfast, eggs cooked however you like, coffee, smoothies and juices, pancakes, waffles and crepes – plus some of the best city and river views of Melbourne. If you’re not a guest of the hotel, bookings are required. The experience will cost you $50 a head, not bad when you consider all that’s available over the sitting.