Where to find the best street food in Melbourne

Falastini began as a pop-up and catering operation before launching a bright red food truck earlier this year. It’s currently based at Pony Club Gym in Preston where owner Rahaf Al Khatib is serving seasonal Palestinian dishes learnt from her grandmother like musakhan, a flatbread topped with confit onion, sumac, fennel and sumac-spiced chicken or fried cauliflower and eggplant for vegans. 

Nearly every country has their version of skewers. In Italy, they’re called arrosticini, traditionally made with mutton or lamb and cooked over an open flame. If you want to try them in Melbourne, head to Abruzzo Lab which specialises in arrosticini (Italian skewers) from the Abruzzo region. The $2.50 pecora (lamb) skewers are a great place to start but you’ll also find variations made with the likes of pork, crumbed swordfish or liver and onion.

Tawooq is a stylised version of tawook, a marinated grilled chicken kebab popular in Lebanon and surrounding regions. It’s also the name of a Beirut-inspired street food eatery in Brunswick East. The chicken tawooq (marinated chicken, slaw, fries, toum and pickles rolled in a flatbread) is a must-try, though the salty soujouk (spicy fermented sausage) and pickle baguette is also a solid choice.

Wazzup Falafel was previously a Preston food truck before they got so popular that they opened a brick-and-mortar in Northcote. The concise menu mostly centres around Jordanian and Palestinian-style falafel, available as a box, salad, wrap or even 'FSP' piled with sauces, pickles and olives on a bed of hot chips.

This Thornbury institution has had a long local following for their American-style hot dogs which come loaded with a classic ketchup-mustard combo; chilli and cheese or bacon and fries. But unknown to many, they also serve one of Melbourne’s best Colombian street foods – a beef frank topped with a sheath of melted mozzarella, pineapple sauce, shoestring fries, Colombian 'pink sauce' and some quail eggs to top it all off.

With more than a dozen vendors in one, EziStreat in North Melbourne is a one-stop shop for street foods from around the globe. Start at Galaxy Taste to try Germany’s favourite street snack currywurst (curry-spiced bratwurst with chips) before making your way to Berbeo Bros for Colombian arepa burgers (beef patty and cheese in a corn-based flatbread) or Jymmanuel for Taiwanese-style popcorn chicken. 

Bánh mì are one of Vietnam’s most popular street foods and in Melbourne, no one does them quite like Ca Com. Unique fillings and top-tier ingredients are their point of difference, with options ranging from turmeric and coconut chicken to Laotian pork sausage to tomato and sardines, a Vietnamese staple not often found in Melbourne.

In Mexico, it’s common to find street vendors slinging tacos with nothing more than a table and a flat top grill. CDMX’s Melbourne Central outpost is not as bare bones, but it still evokes the fast-paced service style you’d find in Mexico City. And if you can’t make it over there yourself, the CDMX al pastor (spit-roasted pork, pineapple, coriander and house salsa) is the next best thing. Read our five-star review of the Brunswick East outpost.

This pint-sized shop on Swanston Street specialises in Jingzhou-style guokui, a piping-hot, sesame-coated Chinese flatbread. At Wang’s, they’re filled with your choice of protein before being rolled out thin and cooked in a cylindrical charcoal oven similar to a tandoor. 'Spicy beef' and 'yummy lamb' are two of the most popular options, but there are also tasty cheese and red bean versions to appease vegetarians and sweet tooths.

Gilgeori toast, translated literally to 'street toast', is a popular South Korean night market snack made with egg omelette, cheese and cabbage between soft white bread. Seoul Toast Bong in Koreatown does several variations of the sandwich with your choice of filling plus heartier varieties stuffed with beef bulgogi or Korean fried chicken – and they start at just $10.

If you’ve ever been to Taiwan, you know it's renowned for street-food-filled night markets. If you haven’t been to Taiwan, this King Street eatery is the next best thing. Get in early for dan bing, a rolled crepe filled with bacon, pork floss, Taiwanese sausage or cheese, or stop by later for a bento-style lunch box with your choice of protein like Taiwanese fried chicken or braised pork.

This little sibling to Mamao offers just a few main items: fried meat skewers (fish balls and bacon-wrapped sausages are two popular options), hot chips with your choice of seasoning and pancakes. Nutella banana or custard cream are the safe options, but it’s worth straying for the signature – a delightfully sweet and savoury combo of minced pork and sausage wrapped in a buttery, paper-thin crepe.

This mini food hall on Elizabeth Street is just as the name implies – a market full of various street foods that you can mix and match as you please. There’s a skewer shop at the front serving a DIY array of Chinese meat and vegetable skewers, an oden station where you can make your own Japanese-style personal hot pot and a shaved ice spot. And to sweeten the deal, they’re open until 1am on weeknights and 2am on weekends. There's no website so just head to 440 Elizabeth Street in the CBD when you're ready to check out out the action. 

Decennium is another favourite for Taiwanese street snacks including the stuffed glutinous rice rolls known as fantuan. Filled with youtiao (long, neutral-flavoured crullers), pickled vegetables, minced tofu and your choice of protein like pork floss or salted egg, they hit all the right flavours and textures and are perfectly portable.

Located in one of the CBD’s tiniest shopfronts, Eek Charm churns out Thai-inspired noodle boxes starting at just $11.90. It’s a customisable situation – choose your noodle (egg or rice) and your sauce (soy, tom yum, chilli pork or yen-ta-fo which is made from fermented bean curd). Most come standard with some shredded chicken, quail eggs, chicken balls and fried wontons but you can also add on extra helpings.

Cevapi is one of the most popular street foods to come from the Balkans, made with skinless sausage that’s chargrilled and stuffed into flatbread. Stan’s Grill is a tiny shop wedged between two buildings but that doesn’t stop them from pumping out some great ones, made here with pork and beef sausage, pickled slaw, white onion and ajvar.

With 40-plus unique food and drink offerings, as well as views overlooking the Yarra, Grazeland makes for a great way to spend a day in the west. It’s home to all sorts of popular street fare. Start savoury with Argentinian barbecue from El Gaucho or African barbecue from Zuya before moving on to Dutch pancakes from Little Miss Dutchy or loukoumades from Lokma Lokma.