Jess Ho

December 2024: "It's the most wonderful time of the yeeear" goes that old classic Christmas croon. But let's be real: it certainly doesn't feel that way when you're staring at a rapidly dwindling bank balance. The festive period in Melbourne can quickly rack up unexpected expenses, which is where our handy cheap eats guide comes in – a monthly-updated list to help you fill your social calendar with more affordable dining out options. The late and great respected chef Anthony Bourdain once famously said: “I'd rather eat in Melbourne than Paris." It goes without saying that Melbourne has long been revered as one of Asia Pacific's most exciting food cities, but that status isn't just attributed to our fancy restaurants – special as many of those upper crust institutions may be. Our laneways and hidden alcoves are brimming with cheap street eats, smashable pub deals and dinner options you can enjoy for $20, $15 or even under $10, so you can stop counting your hard-earned pennies and start eating instead. Lauren Dinse is Time Out Melbourne’s Food and Drink Writer, and has spent an impressive time scouting for the city's tastiest cheap eats – from her early student days spent wandering around Carlton and the CBD in search of a pocket change lunch, to the present day covering fun new openings for Time Out.  For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. If you'd rather not spend any money at all right now, we've got you covered with our guide on the best things to do f

When they came up with the phrase ‘west is best’, they must have been thinking about Footscray. This inner-city suburb is the brightest jewel of Melbourne’s west, primarily thanks to the migrant communities that have come to call Footscray home. A melting pot (or wok pan) of cultures spanning from Vietnam to Ethiopia have given the suburb touches of their home countries, which means you can scoop up a goat curry with fresh injera, slurp up pho and hunt down the best cannoli in town all in the same street. Jump to a section: EAT DRINK COFFEE THINGS TO DO SHOPPING What’s Footscray known for? Footscray is located only six kilometres from the CBD, right beside the Maribyrnong River. It’s lined with a few main shopping and eating drags – the main one is Barkly Street, close to where you’ll find the large mural of Franco Cozzo (which has now been transformed into Moon Dog's giant drinking playground, Wild West). The migrant communities that call Footscray home are why the suburb is one of Melbourne’s most thriving and exciting – especially if you’re into food.  Why do the locals love it? When Footscray was voted the coolest neighbourhood in Melbourne in 2019, one Time Out reader put it best: “It’s multicultural, has great bars and food, and it’s cheap(er) and has fewer annoying wanker bros than other parts of the city.”  We asked the staff at Footscray Community Arts Centre (FCAC) for their top picks of Footscray, so look out for them in the below sections. How do I get to Foots

Since the 1960s, Lygon Street has been known and loved as Melbourne's Little Italy precinct. Locals and tourists alike flock to the leafy strip – abuzz on weekends with the roaring of fancy cars and roaming of uni students, teens and families – for proper espresso, pasta and cake, and a true taste of Italian-style al fresco action.  Sure, you might get a bit of hassle from the sales-y footpath waiters trying to lure you in, but true Melburnians know that's a part of the street's charm. And though much has changed in the last decade, there's no doubt that if you want to sit out on a terrace with a pizza bigger than your head or sip Spritzes on a rooftop, Lygon Street is still the place to be.  In 2024, there's a much larger and more diverse culinary offering in this area than ever before. Particularly on the southern end of the Carlton stretch, you'll discover incredible eateries for Egyptian, Japanese, Indian, Thai, plus a variety of other cuisines. No longer just the domain of spaghetti and salumi, Lygon Street is now also worth heading to for a bangin' biryani or world-class Asian fusion. And that's not all. Take a stroll up towards Brunswick East and you'll discover trendy wine bars, pubs with live music, American barbecue, Polish dumplings, Sicilian food and one of the best taco joints in town. Hungry yet? Let's go for a wander! We've listed Lygon Street's best restaurants in Google Maps-checked order so you'll know where to find them. Looking for the cream of the crop?

In Sydney, there’s good Thai and there’s great Thai, and we’re all about the latter. From the best deep-fried snapper to the finest pad Thai outside of Chiang Mai, Time Out Sydney critics, including Food & Drink Editor Avril Treasure (who has spent weeks happily eating her way around Bangkok, Krabi and Phuket), have rounded up our list of the best places to get your Sydney-Samui on in town. BYO milk. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. Want more? Check out the Secrets of Thaitown Food Tour here. Craving carbs? Try one of Sydney's best Italian restaurants. RECOMMENDED: The absolute best restaurants in Sydney

1. Travel by public transport. Not only will you save carbon emissions created by individual cars, but Melbourne’s tram network is entirely offset by solar power. 2. If you do need to travel by car, consider joining a car share service, like GoGet. After all, most cars are parked 95 per cent of the time. 3. Walk or cycle when you can. Melbourne has just been ranked one of the best cities in the world to live car-free. 4. Buy (and use) a reusable cup for your takeaway coffees. See responsiblecafes.org for a list of cafés that will give you a discount for using a reusable cup. Need more than one coffee in a day? Consider a Huskee cup, made from coffee plant husks – bring your cup into a participating café and you can swap it for a fresh one. Or you could drink your coffee on premises – what’s five minutes? 5. Learn about urban beekeeping at Somers Bees or Rooftop Honey, then start your own hive on your balcony, backyard or roof to encourage biodiversity. Plus you’ll get free, delicious honey. 6. Buy your fruit and veggies from an accredited farmers’ market. 7. No time to get to the market? Ceres Environment Park will deliver fresh, seasonal, organic fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy items, as well as bakery goods, home and beauty products and pantry staples. All items are sourced locally and support local farmers. 8. Buy your dry goods in bulk at the Source Bulk Foods, in BYO containers. 9. BYO containers and get your cleaning products from Roving Refills. These folks travel

It’s common knowledge that carbs make everything better – and this science applies to soups, too. Steaming broths enhanced with thick, chewy noodles are the most practical (and delicious) way to ensure you stay warm in the cooler months. If you like them spicy, meaty, or somewhere in between, we’ve done the research and rounded up Melbourne's best for your slurping pleasure. Looking for cheap eats? Check out our favourite lunches in the CBD. Craving a cosy tipple? Why don't you head to one of these wine bars?

Have you lived in Melbourne all your life or did you defect here from another Australian city? Maybe you moved here, loved it so much and decided to become a permanent resident. Whatever your situation, we think you must have done these 40 things to qualify as a true Melburnian... 1. You wear all black all the time, even on a 40-degree day. 2. You kick and scream about crossing the river despite how harmless it actually is. 3. You’ve jumped on a reverse-loop train to catch the express train you missed by intercepting it at Parliament station. 4. You’ve gone the long way to avoid walking down Swanston Street during peak hour. 5. You've attended a gig at the Forum but spent half the night gazing up at the faux starry ceiling. 6. You have very strong opinions about cafés. 7. You have argued with anyone who says Melbourne coffee is not the best coffee in the world. 8. You’ve been to every single hidden bar in Melbourne. 9. You’ve been out so late at night that you’ve treated yourself to fancy cheeseburger at Bar Margeux before heading home. 10. You’ve planned your whole day around doing the 1,000 steps, only to realise it actually doesn’t take that long. 11. When tourists are complaining about a lack of public toilets, you know where to go when you really need to go. 12. You went to Saint Jerome’s before it was a music festival. 13. You’ve seen the wandering Carrot Man so many times that he doesn’t even turn your head anymore. 14. You're obsessed with the Instagram account about

There is so much more to do in the Victorian High Country than ski and snowboard (though of course, the region is justly famous for its snowfields), and it's a perfect destination for a week or long weekend any time of year. Roughly three hours drive from Melbourne, the High Country region has award-winning craft beer, wine, spirits and produce, a rich history to explore and hundreds of kilometres of breathtaking scenery to walk, cycle or even paddle through.  Looking for other weekend trips? Check out Victoria's best national parks and some of the best quirky getaways in our state.

A hangover is like a slippery little snake in that it will slowly creep up on you while you're just out there living your life. You start with one innocent little drink, and all of a sudden it's been a full night of boozing and you wake up with all of the telltale signs. We’ve compiled a list of foods, drinks and even things in between that can help ease the pain of the morning after. We’ve separated this guide into two sections, based on the severity of your hangover: meals for those who are dried out like the Sahara and probably very close to alcohol poisoning, and meals for those ready to eat everything in sight, including the hummus with the layer of pink fuzz that’s been hanging out in your fridge for a bit too long. Whatever path you choose, don’t forget to hydrate. If you think about it, you’ve just spent the entire night before poisoning yourself.  Planning a big night out? Consult our top 50 bars. Would you like to eat while you're out? Check out our 50 favourite restaurants.

Melburnians are notorious coffee snobs. We are proud of our coffee culture, the quality and standards that we have set for ourselves and the rest of the world recognises that. It is not unusual to come across a commercial set up in someone's home or be served coffee out of an Aeropress in an office. Thankfully, along with the gadgets, quality beans in whatever form designed for your ideal preparation is always available to be delivered to you – these are the cream of the crop.  Need some food to go with that delivery coffee? These restaurants will sort you out. Need more deliveries? These are the best cheese shops that deliver.

If spending all this time at home has made you start thinking about growing some food for yourself, then listen up. Being self-sufficient is a brilliant step in the right direction for sustainability and filling in all those extra hours in the day that we now have. But, there's no denying it, growing food can be hard for the most advanced gardeners. Growing your own food is not as easy as throwing a few seeds into a pot and feasting in a fortnight. So, to help out, we spoke to Mat Pember, co-owner of the local, independent nursery Little Veggie Patch Co, about how to grow food anywhere, successfully, and in a calm and rational manner.  Infrastructure is the first big mistake people can make when they first start gardening “People think that the more pots they have, the more food they can grow. This isn’t necessarily true. Pots can be too small for what people want to grow and it can lead to the plant dying too quickly, there is not enough nutrition in the soil, there is no room for the plant to move and it becomes pot bound and stunted.” There is no such thing as a bargain with soil “The quality of soil correlates to how you grow things. There is only one soil supplier who supplies all the nurseries in Melbourne. Even if you buy cheap soil, you will have to add nutrients to it which will end up costing you more in the long run if you are to successfully grow anything in it.” It is important to know when to plant things “Planting out of season is probably one of the biggest m

Believe it or not, you can now receive small-batch artisan cheeses delivered straight to your door which have been perfectly turned, aged and portioned for your enjoyment.  Here is a list of the best services available in Melbourne so you don't have to live by the mercy of what's available at the supermarket deli. Keep supporting your favourite restaurants even though you can't dine in. Here's how you can do it.

Update October 2024: This piece was originally written in 2018, so please be aware that some elements may have changed since. It wasn’t long ago that Melbourne was considered the runt of the litter with our limited choices in Thai restaurants. But we’re catching up, with Dodee Paidang joining the authentic ranks of Jinda, Tom Toon Thai Noodle and Soi 38. Dodee Paidang is a Sydney import from Somporn Phosri – the fourth store of the family. After winning the hearts and tongues of Thai locals in Sydney, he thought it was time to conquer Melbourne. Hidden in the basement of Hotel Causeway 353, off Little Collins Street, you’ll find the colourful, low-fi and community-driven 150-seater packed to the brim with Thai natives. Thai is the first language spoken here by guests and staff, but service in English is no less friendly or accommodating. Just be sure to project when ordering, as the ‘90s song-stylings of Celine, Mariah or the Backstreet Boys will be blaring over the speakers. Some nights Thai cover bands will be singing their favourite hits. We hope you like Coldplay. The main event is the signature tom yum noodle, coming in a clean, sweetly porky, hot-and-sour broth hit with generous spoonfuls of fried garlic and topped with crispy wonton strips. Each comes with toppings ranging from seafood to soft pork bone and can be customised with a choice between seven types of noodles, such as glass, rice, instant and supersized, for those with an appetite. Caddies with chillies in fi

2024 update: The below review was written in 2018, and some details may have altered since then.  Dining on Flinders Lane requires a game-plan, because more often than not, you’ll be lining-up for a table. This is especially true for Supernormal, which is, after seven years in the game, one of those restaurants people are willing to wait hours to eat at. But is this Asian-influenced, McConnell diner still worth the queue time? Definitely. A few things have changed since opening back in 2013. Firstly, you can book a table up until 5.30pm, then it’s first come, first served. Secondly, Supernormal is no longer just Tokyo-inspired; it now lends its flavours to some other big cities like Seoul, Hong Kong and Shanghai as well. Thirdly, you can order some of your favourite dishes like the lobster roll, chicken dumplings, Szechuan lamb or even peanut butter parfait to have take-away. What hasn’t changed is the frenetic energy in the space; the team work like a well-oiled machine with military precision and they look happy (rather than stressed) to be taking care of hundreds of people at a time. The room is still light, sparse and warmed by the glow of pink neon, but what of that karaoke room? It’s still there for private parties. Dishes like the New England lobster roll and the twice-cooked duck leg bao have never left the menu (and have followed McConnell from Golden Fields), but there are new items like the tonkatsu sandwich (lunch only) and the sweet, soft, double-steamed, once-fr

Angel Music Bar is the meeting of two very different minds.  In one corner, you have Con Christopoulos, the powerhouse restaurateur with City Wine Shop, The European, Syracuse, Neapoli, Spring Street Grocer, Kirk’s, Kirk’s Wine Bar, French Saloon and Butchers Diner under his belt. In the other, you have Georgina O’Connor, one of Melbourne’s best-dressed, Gen-Y artist types, who is the ultimate cool girl. On paper, it is an odd pairing, but together, they’ve brought the sometimes low-key, always pumping Angel Music Bar to the CBD where the old Korova Milk Bar used to be. Music is front and centre, with a collection of records pumping out of Funktion One speakers specifically installed to fill the room with one of the most enjoyable soundtracks we’ve come across in a bar. We visit on a Tuesday, where it is unofficially Jazz Night, and Angel Music Bar’s definition of jazz is pretty loose. The speakers drip with John Coltrane, Susan Wong, Esther Phillips and Ute Lemper with scatterings of David Bowie and the newly released Tarantino playlist while the laid-back, midriff-baring bartender, who is the very embodiment of contradictory cool, is mixing a Martini while admitting that she is a teetotaller. Gotcha. So how does a Martini by a non-drinker taste? Not wet as requested and a little over diluted, but it does the trick. At $20 a cocktail, it isn’t the worst version of a Martini we have received, so colour us stunned.  Wines and fortifieds get a bit more consideration, as they’re

Update: We attended this venue in October 2019 and some details may have altered since then.  Provenance has been operating from the gold rush-era Bank of Australasia since 2009 and has inspired many a Melburnian to make the three-and-a-half hour journey to Beechworth, in the High Country. Although you might eat one of the animals from our coat of arms on your visit, the flavours will remind you a little bit of Europe and a lot of Japan – and will be distinctly the signature of chef and co-owner Michael Ryan and the Australia he has built for himself. And trust us, it is bloody brilliant. You could opt to order your dishes from the a la carte menu, but you just drove for a whole afternoon – go all in for the six-course tasting menu. You’re worth it. There is always an optional starter, and on our visit, it is a house-made silken tofu that has been set just before service, topped with pickled pine mushrooms suspended in a dried mushroom dashi and accented with slithers of ginger that leaves you wanting more. Without letting go of his European training and the Aussie dining expectation, Ryan always begins the meal with house-made sourdough accompanied by miso butter (both the miso and the butter are also made in house). Want more? No worries. It won’t even cost you extra. Deviate from the tasting menu if you want to try everything. We recommend ordering the duck lap cheong – Ryan’s version of a Chinese sausage – made six months prior, which arrives confidently unadulterated at

Update: We attended this venue in March 2018 and some details may have altered since then.  We’ve waited a long time for this in Melbourne. The new generation of restaurateurs is rising. They’re the experienced, fiercely educated alums of the juggernauts of the previous era. Andrew Joy (who worked under Andrew McConnell: Cumulus Inc, Cutler and Co, Marion) and Travis Howe (who worked under Mykal and Kate Bartholomew: Coda, Tonka) have taken over the flailing Carlton Wine Room and enlisted McConnell’s longtime right-hand man, John-Paul Twomey, to head the kitchen. Essentially, they’re the dream team. After a quick refurb, the venue feels dusted off, opened up and less stuffy. They’ve made use of the abundant natural light and licensed footpath, which shakes off the austerity of the past. A lick of white paint and classic Thonet furniture, and they’re laughing. It seems the neighbourhood has taken to the facelift, as the venue is packed every single night, inside and out, rain, hail or shine since it opened. The good news is it takes bookings. It’s important to note the beverage offerings; this is first and foremost a wine room. When you’re seated, the crew hands you a one-pager of aperitif and cocktails before you even see the food menu. This is an old-school dining sensibility that has been lost in the casual dining culture of today. Needless to say, we are glad to welcome it back. One does have to whet one’s appetite, after all. The full wine list contains 100 bottles. This

Update: We attended this venue in June 2019 and some details may have altered since then.  You’d think that when the electricity is cut in the middle of Friday night service, the guests, staff, bartenders, chefs and owners would freak out. Not at Daughter In Law. Owner and chef Jessi Singh says with frustration, “Of course,” and lets out a sigh of relief because he knows that the worst thing that could happen has just happened. He starts lighting candles and placing them in front of guests. Singh and his veteran right-handers, Sacha Imrie and Shane Barrett, are on the case of reconnecting the high-energy Bollywood soundtrack, making sure people can see what they’re eating while sitting in total darkness, and have the lights, fridges and the projection of the 1960s Bollywood epic Mughal-E-Azam back up and running within minutes. Not a single guest has moved from their seat, complained or attempted to run away from their dinner bill – they’re all having too much fun.  Daughter In Law is the latest restaurant by Jessi Singh after setting up the Babu Ji empire in Australia, selling them off, opening to critical acclaim in New York and California, and returning, but not before opening Don’t Tell Aunty in Sydney. The only difference between this and his previous restaurants is that Daughter In Law is not steeped in any sense of authenticity; this restaurant is meant to break the rules, dabble in fusion, and much like the women of arranged marriages after whom this restaurant is nam

Update: We attended this venue in September 2018 and some details may have altered since then.  Not long ago, Bridge Road was the epicentre of discount fashion, but in recent times, retail’s had it tough and the strip has slowly transformed into a hill of tumbleweeds. Enter Jan Chi, one of the many independent hospitality businesses taking on the tough real estate to give Richmond a second chance at life. Jan Chi means ‘to feast’ in Korean, and there’s truth in advertising when the jewel of the menu is a 530 gram plate of braised Angus short rib. Korean may be the flavour of the moment, but owners Steven Ryu (chef) and SJ Min (venue manager) aren’t jumping on the bandwagon - they’re dishing up flavours from home with their own personal twist. Ryu has made his way to Melbourne by way of New York, working the line at the revered Japanese restaurant MASA and revolutionary Momofuku Ssam before doing his time in Melbourne’s Lucy Lui and Spice Temple. Min is considered the MVP of the Lucas Group, holding the fort and her cool in an impressive six-year stint at the juggernaut known as Chin Chin before being part of the opening crew of Kisume - no easy feat. It makes sense, then, that the two are bringing together their traditional sensibilities with a laid-back, party attitude to this casual diner with very serious food. We may have mentioned it earlier, but it’s worth restating: order the braised short rib. It will comfortably feed a group of four and will allow you to share a rang

Update: We attended this venue in October 2017 and some details may have altered since then.  Twenty-four hours. Twenty-four freaking hours, seven days a week, is how long Con Christopoulos is keeping his new CBD venture open for. It’s a compelling reason to grab dinner late or have a steak for breakfast. Please welcome Butchers Diner to the growing ranks of venues keeping the Melbourne CBD up all night. Simon Poole, who has been a longstanding meat-obsessed member of the European Group, breaking down the animals and churning out all things cured and aged for venues such as the City Wine Shop, the European, Kirk’s and French Saloon, is now heading up Butchers Diner. While the menu is meat-centric, it is not as carnivorous as it may first appear. You’ll clap eyes on a cabinet taking up the entire back wall filled with hanging meats when you walk in. Sadly, it’s stock for all the other restaurants, but the offering in the diner is compelling in its own right. There is a definite European lean on the menu, but there are touches of Japan, America and China. Burgers starting from $9.50, made up of cuts of the day sit alongside lightly battered, sesame-spiked Japanese fried chicken ($12) comprised of marinated dark meat, Kewpie mayo and piquant pickled daikon. There are skewers of offal ($7.50 for 2) cooked over Japanese white charcoal and come unapologetically chewy, bouncy or irony (and depending on the cut, served medium); and you can get a soft, spiced house-made blood sausage

Bowltiful serves the Chinese-Muslim style of beef noodle and Bowltiful keeps it as traditional as possible. Choose from nine varieties of hand-pulled noodles that vary in shape and thickness to go into any of the eight dishes available. Beef and lamb offal feature in the noodle soups, whereas ground bean pastes, eggy tomato and a garlic-bomb gravy top dry noodle dishes. A mark of a great hand-pulled noodle is when the gluten in the flour has been worked so hard it produces a bouncy, chewy single noodle, which is the case at Bowltiful. If you opt for the thickest noodle, be warned, it is definitely excellent eating, but you will need to be deft with your chopsticks as it is as thick as a credit card, makes for messy eating and could result in mega splash-back.

Have you ever been to a wine bar and wondered where you can buy that bottle to drink at home? Well, Punchin' Bottles is the answer to these questions. Christian McCabe (Embla) and Patrick Sullivan (Patrick Sullivan Wines) have teamed up, taken over the space next to Embla and opened up a specialty bottle shop with a focus on terroir-driven wines from Victoria and Europe produced with organic and sustainable farming practices. While the wines available in the shop may be on the list at Embla, do not expect to be able to get everything on the pour next door at Punchin' Bottles.  Expect expert advice on choosing your next bottle if you're overwhelmed, confused or have never seen any of these small-batch producers before, just as you would if you were drinking at Embla. There will also be weekly wine tastings held in-store by local and international producers. 

They say that you are only as strong as your weakest link, and at the Shady Lady, you’d be hard-pressed to find one, which is why its crew has earned the title of Best Bar Team in Time Out Melbourne’s 2020 Bar Awards. The Shady Lady is a dive bar, but not in the way that Melbourne normally does dive bars; the vibes are sassy and unpretentious, the drinks are cheap, the tunes are from yesteryear, and it’s the place to get rowdy any night of the week (the bar has a strict no-dickhead policy). It’s like your grandma’s house, if your grandma’s a bit of a fabulous alcoholic. Think orange tassel-covered lampshades, blue painted brick, a leather-wrapped bar, disco balls and velour, cabaret curtains. Delightful.  Drinks are fun instead of pensive, so expect frozen cocktails all year round. Lean into the dagginess and order a frozen Piña Colada, which is a perfect blend of coconut, pineapple juice, ice and a generous glug of rum. Is it garnished with a maraschino cherry? You betcha. Margaritas come frozen, on ice or served up, and it doesn’t matter which way you have it, your lime-and-tequila-based cocktail is consistently balanced, never saccharine and always with a half-salt rim. There is also a stable of interesting, local craft brews from Colonial, Bodriggy, Stomping Ground and Young Henrys and a well-stocked back bar that means bartenders can mix up any classic you desire; just ask nicely. Wine is available, but it isn’t the focus, with red, white, rosé and bubbles available by t

Owners Almay Jordaan and Simon Denman are describing their East Brunswick wine bar spinoff, Old Palm Liquor, as a pub. We’ve never been to a pub that serves over 300 low-intervention and biodynamic wines alongside 12 tap beers and a super-slick menu cooked over coals with a South African inflection before, but we like it. It might be useful to note that Old Palm Liquor’s wine list is built off the same principles as Neighbourhood Wine’s. The majority of the list, except for a literal handful of wines, are low-intervention wines that have either received extended skin contact, have been aged in amphora, have little to no sulfur added to the bottle, or are several of these things all at once. Confused? Don’t be. Each wine has been coded with its farming practices and processes so you’re not reaching for service every time you get to the end of a glass. Old Palm Liquor even point out which reds are served chilled, in case you’re expecting a full-bodied drop to warm you up on a winter’s night. Suffice to say, if you prefer conventional wines or have a more traditional or austere palate, it is best to stick to beers and spirits unless you’ve got a particularly fat wallet.  A nice touch for wine enthusiasts who want to try something different but don’t want to be put off by overly oxidative, mousy, cloudy or acidic examples (and hey, let’s face it, at times these characteristics are downright faults) is the ‘Everyday Wine’ page, which lists not only approachable minimal-interventio

We all like to think we know what we're doing when we dine out. Obviously, we've all done it before. We’re set to wine, dine, socialise and have a great time. But how often do we think about the people on the other end who make our food, pour our drinks and take our orders? Being a chef, bartender, host, server or manager isn’t easy, and we’re not just talking about the hours on end without sitting, not being able to take a toilet break, working in (mostly) very hot and cramped spaces, being at constant risk of injuring oneself or being starved out on shift. Believe it or not, the hardest part of any hospitality professional’s life is us, the diners. So, here’s our guide to dining out without making anyone else’s life a living hell. Make a bookingAt many of the city's most loved restaurants, you can’t just turn up on a Friday or Saturday night and expect a free table unless you’re specifically trying to dine somewhere that doesn’t take bookings. In which case, good luck. Making a booking allows the restaurant to prepare and plan ahead and avoids any disappointments on your end if the joint's bursting at the seams when you arrive. Honour that bookingBooking times are not suggestions. Arriving early is fine as you can usually have a drink at the bar, but show up significantly later and you’re putting pressure on your server and the kitchen to get more food out at a required time than was planned. No-showing is not just rude, it can break a restaurant. In a time where margins ar

UPDATE 04/08/2020: Great news, coeliacs! Felix has added to his product range which now includes sourdough bread, nougat and caramel cookies, Japanese green tea canelés, cinnamon doughnuts and more. Check out the full gluten-free menu here – and yes, they deliver!  In the future, we will look back on this time and think of it as the Great Isolation Bake-Off. We will talk to future generations and tell them of the great flour shortage, the time we were unable to freely shop for butter, speak of the amazing yeast disappearing act, and of the collective comfort baking (and eating) we all participated in. That is, unless you are gluten-free. Because no matter how hard you bake, how many changes you make, what flour you use, you always inevitably end up with either a dense mass or en eggy clump. Sucks to be you. The Hotel Windsor agrees, so after months of testing, it has announced the launch of its gluten-free kitchen. This is a project involving the ex pastry chef of Sunda, Felix Goodwin, and he is turning out brioche, babka and chocolate chip cookies. Granted, $24 for six cookies seems a bit steep (plus delivery fee), but the chocolate babka for $16 has our name all over it. Especially because the idea of turning out a successful enriched, yeasted dough that has been properly plaited and completely devoid of gluten on our own sounds like the kind of perfectionist, mental torture we wouldn't even inflict on our worst enemies.  For the moment, there are only three items being chu

How many times have you tried to make gnocchi at home and ended up with a boiling pot full of mush or ended up eating bullets? Sometimes recipes may sound simple, but without an expert eye, can easily lead you astray. How helpful would it be if you could have someone look into your kitchen and tell you that you've added too much flour, have overworked your dough or even tell you that your pan isn't hot enough? Tipico is offering you this service on Saturdays and will even deliver the ingredients you'll require straight to you (enough to feed four people), so there won't be a chance of having forgotten a main ingredient to the dish. The lessons will be conducted via Zoom, fortnightly on Saturdays at 11am. All you need to do is email Tipico for your ingredients box ($60 each), the team will deliver it and you'll receive instructions on how to connect to your masterclass. You can also purchase a bottle of wine with your ingredients box for $30. Drink it while cooking, or enjoy it with your meal once it is cooked. Both options are valid. The upcoming class schedule is as follows: July 25 – PappardelleAugust 8 – Gnocchi Want more online classes? Read this. Spent your time in iso realising you can't cook? No judgement, get take out from one of these restaurants instead. 

During Lockdown 1.0, South Yarra Italian restaurant Cucinetta introduced a take home version of its popular cheese-loaded dish. And now the 29-cheese gnocchi is back to help get you through Lockdown 2.0 – albeit in extremely limited quantities. Cucinetta is selling 29 packs of cheesy heaven every Sunday over the five-week lockdown, starting July 19. Each pack contains a two-person portion of gnocchi along with arancini, salad and tiramisu, plus instructions on how to finish the dish at home. It's a collaboration with the incredible That's Amore Cheese, so you know the cheese is going to be of the absolute best quality.  So what are the cheeses? They are: fior di latte, buffalo mozzarella, burrata, scamorza bianca, caciotta, pepper caciotta, chilli caciotta, truffle caciotta, ricotta delicata, ricotta salata, mascarpone, squacquerone, buffalo bocconcini, buffalo ricotta, buffalo caciotta, buffalo mozzarella (smoked), smoked bocconcini, smoked scamorza, smoked caciocavallo, diavoletto, secret of the forest, drunken buffalo, lavato, panettone, panettone with truffle, caciocavallo, bufalotto, blue cheese and formaggio di vacca. Each pack will set you back $99.99 and will feed two people. Pre-ordering your pack is essential, and you can do it here. Do you need more cheese in your life? Order from one of these companies. What about booze? These bars are delivering. 

UPDATE 14/07/2020: Black Pearl's Time In award-winning delivery service is back! The team's pre-packaged cocktails are available for delivery within an 8-kilometre radius of Fitzroy. Otherwise, you can score any classics which can be made to order. All you need to do is pop into the bar to order. More info at the website.  Words we previously thought we would never see together: tiger and king; Bondi and closed; exercise and kebab; Black Pearl and delivery. But hey, now we have it. You read that correctly, Black Pearl is now delivering. For the first time in 18 years, Black Pearl will personally walk a cocktail to your door for contactless delivery if you're lucky enough to live within four kilometres of the venue.  The theme of Black Pearl's isolation cocktail list is all about escape. Think Mojitos on a rainy day, a Piña Colada in a Melbourne winter and an ice-cold Martini for your steaming hot shower. Individual cocktails will start at the $15 mark, but you will also be able to purchase 'Wine Serves' which is the equivalent of a 750ml sparkling cocktail, starting at $40 and a Luxury Manhattan at $60 for two serves. The menu will change weekly and can be visible on its website.  If you're out for your iso-walk, swing past for some takeaway booze as well. The doors will still be open for you to drop by for a drink, you'll just have to drink it at home instead. Delivery is $5, but it is free if your order is $50 and above. Wait, you need some food as well. Pick up some takeaw

Have our restaurants and bars not been through enough? As the hospitality industry banded together to support one another during the catastrophic bushfires across the country and both restaurants and farmers were starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, a global virus pandemic has broken out. The measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus might seem extreme, but it is our social responsibility to self-contain, self-quarantine, engage in social distancing and generally be more aware of our personal hygiene. This is causing even more strain on a restaurant industry that is already operating at a loss after a major disaster on wafer-thin margins. To ensure that your favourite diner, bar or eatery is going to remain open, here are some things you can do to help. 1 Buy a gift voucher When you purchase a gift voucher, the money goes directly to the restaurant right now, which means the venue can keep the doors open another day. Gift vouchers generally don't expire for at least 12 months, so you will be able to claim your meal back at a later date. 2 Buy merchandise Does your favourite restaurant sell a branded tote bag, T-shirt or any other sweet merch you've been eyeing off? Buy it. If your local is technology savvy, it probably has an online store to back it up. Every dollar will help keep the lights on. 3 Get take away Restaurants and bars are changing up the way they do business to get through tough times. This means that even if they haven't been able to previous

Restaurants, bars and pubs are finally reopening. Sure, with some restrictions, but it finally means you won’t have to eat food from your favourite restaurant out of plastic containers at home any more and washing up will be left for someone else. As of June 22, Victorian premier Dan Andrews has officially announced that you can get on the beers without a meal, but until then, this is what dining will look like in our brave, new world. You will have to make a booking If a venue is large enough, it will be able to hold a maximum of 20 people per enclosed space (until July 22, where it is capped at 50 while still operating under the same density guidelines). Very few venues are large enough to fit 20 people in it, let alone have several areas where you can be served. This means everyone who was griping and moaning about no-bookings restaurants can now live their best lives. Bookings are essential (almost) everywhere, but if you’re trying your luck, be prepared to wait.   Prepare to pay before you dine If you’ve managed to make a booking at your desired restaurant, don’t be surprised if they ask for credit card details or for you to pay a deposit before you dine. It’s been hard enough for restaurants already with being unable to serve people for a few months, so no shows would be the death of them. Understand that we are all experiencing collective trauma and paying before you dine ensures your favourite restaurant will be open tomorrow. Menus will look different With fewer peop

It's that time of the year again where every food fanatic locks themselves into a set menu with a $50-$100 truffle surcharge. Truffles are a food normally associated with luxury, excess and class. Only those with the most finely tuned palates can appreciate the fine shavings of this subterranean fungus (or underground mould, to us mere peasants). But, that's no longer true. Seeing as restaurants will be operating at partial capacity for the foreseeable future, Robert Perrone from Premier Foods is now selling (and delivering) truffles around the Melbourne metro area for the whole truffle season. Depending on the truffle, you're looking at $1.50-$2 a gram. The truffles he is currently selling around town are from Ballarat, but will soon switch over to Manjimup from WA as the season progresses. In case you're wondering, Perrone is the real deal. Restaurants that he stocks truffle to include Ides, Amaru and Carlton Wine Room.  At those prices, you can live a bit of that scum-luxe, 'gram food lifestyle. Shave some truffle on some Indomie mi goreng, add it to your takeout pizza, sit it in a carton of eggs and turn it into truffle pasta or put some power behind some steak if you really want to be self-sufficient. The way it works is, you DM Perrone on Instagram (technology really is a beautiful thing), arrange a time for him to come to you and he will turn up with a box of truffles that you can pick and choose from. Perrone will weigh the truffles and calculate the price in front of

One of our favourite basement bars, Beneath Driver Lane is reopening on Thursday, June 25 after being closed for three months. You've probably enjoyed its whisky flights and online tastings during the lockdown period, but there is a certain romance to eating and drinking in the venue that is lost in translation when you're drinking individual nips delivered to you in a box. From June 25, Beneath Driver Lane will be offering its new format of old school dining in the form of dinner and a show. It will be open from Thursdays to Saturdays from 5.30pm with two dinner seatings ($75 per person) and a supper seating ($50 per person) from 10.30pm. Each ticket will include one cocktail, a three-course European dinner (vegetarian is available) and a live blues performance (by either Frank Sultana, Jimi Hocking, Nardia Rose, Jesse Valach, Lisa Baird or Stella Anning). Of course, if you wish to drink more in your seating, additional spirits, cocktails, beer and wine will be available for purchase.  Who knows, a night in the basement might make you feel normal again. Bookings are essential and can be made here. Want to dine out again? Check this list out.

If you haven't heard of QT Kitchen, it is a modern Vietnamese restaurant in Glen Iris dedicated to using fresh, Australian produce. This also means that during the time of restaurant closures, the only way to enjoy its pho was to receive it in multiple plastic containers and marry it in a bowl at home that is probably too small. Well, now that you can dine in restaurants again (albeit, with significantly less people), QT Kitchen is relaunching with 'hot stone pho'. What is that exactly? Think of it as hot pot (yes, perfect for this weather) in a heated stone bowl, filled with pho broth, where you cook all the pho accompaniments. Unlike traditional pho, you'll be able to cook the meats to your own liking and retain the bounciness of the fresh rice noodles over the duration of your meal. Definitely something you can only dine in for.  Think about it, if you don't have a bowl large enough to house your takeaway pho, you definitely don't have a hot stone bowl to heat up pho broth in.  Each hot stone pho gives you a choice between chicken or MBS 9+ Master Kobe Wagyu beef and comes with herbs, a 63-degree egg and mushrooms to round off your Vietnamese hot pot experience (and if you think about it, a free facial).  Bookings are essential and available via its website.  Looking for more venues to dine in? Check this list out. 

Saba's is back. Why are we excited? Well, aside from the fact that you can bring any of your friends with dietary requirements (celiac, vegetarian, vegan) to enjoy a meal with, the food is of outstanding value, full of variety and are time-honed family recipes.  Yes, you eat with your hands. For those of you who are a little wary about minimal-waste, communal dining – wash your hands. By now, you should know how to. If you don't want to share, Saba's is now serving individual bowls during lunch service on Fridays to Sundays. These lunch bowls are built on either a bed of rice, injera (fermented teff seed flatbread) or salad leaves and you can top it with any combination of vegetables (beetroot, pumpkin, potatoes), legumes (lentils) or meats (slow-cooked lamb, spicy chicken, lamb and okra stew). For dinner, you will receive the usual colourful, injera-lined basket – veggies, stews and all, next to each other in a wheel of delicious fortune. Bookings for Saba's can be made via its Facebook page or by calling 03 8589 0442. Takeaways will still run for those who cannot be seated and you'll also get a 15 per cent discount off your bill.  Would you like more options in where to dine out? Check out this list. Still want takeaway? Refer to this handy list.

For months, restaurants, bars and cafes have been unable to serve people in the way they were designed to. Rooms that were once filled with waitstaff, diners, outrageously designed furniture, endless bottles of wine, the clang of crockery and upbeat playlists are now empty. If the doors are open, tables have been pushed to the side, chairs are stacked, and you shuffle to the counter, where a lonely member of staff (most likely the owner) takes your order and unromantically hands your food to you in a sweaty paper bag. Cash might not be an acceptable form of payment. Staff have been stood down, bills are unable to be paid, stock has been sent back, and in most cases rent is still being charged.  So what can we expect when venues are allowed to reopen to a maximum capacity of 20 diners per enclosed space on June 1? We spoke to restaurateurs, bar owners and distributors about their plans and projections for dining in Melbourne. Be prepared to provide credit card details when you book a table It’s no secret that hospitality is a hard industry in which to make a buck. Even in the Beforetime, a survey conducted by the Restaurant and Catering Association of Australia reported an average profit between 2 and 4 per cent for hospitality – and this is when businesses were capable of running at 100 per cent capacity. With reduced numbers allowed in venues at any one time, it’s impossible to simply break even. Jessi Singh, owner of Daughter In Law, Mrs Singh, Horn Please and Sydney’s Don