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Australia
Hotel Phillip Island is centrally located in Cowes on the esplanade with simply one of the best views from any eatery I have been in. The food is good with a quite extensive menu with plenty of seafood listed.
Quite a nice spot to while away the time with a drink, a meal and the view.
11-13 The Esplanade
Cowes 3922
Phone +61 3 5952 2100
www.hotelphillipisland.com/
Melbourne's tallest building now has a viewing platform on level 88 which is approx 300 metres above sea level. The view from there is amazing, being able to see across to the Dandenong ranges or across Port Philip Bay.
However, for the adventurous and definitely not the faint hearted, there is the 'Edge', a box of glass (with a steel frame) which slides out about five metres from the viewing platform, so you can also look DOWN!
Go for the view at the Southern Hemisphere's highest look out!
Skydeck 88
Eureka Tower
Riverside Quay
SouthBank
phone: 96938888
www.eurekaskydeck.com.au
Great for lunch. Go to the deli section, order a pie, sandwich, coffee etc. They have Greek, Italian, Vietnamese - you name it. Then find a seat in the alley out back and they will bring it to you. It is a sunny spot if the weather is fine. Afterwards you could stock up on bargain souvenirs to take back home. There is often some kind of street theatre going on too. It is a lively, vibrant place and definitely should be included on a visit to Melbourne.
A city tram drops you near to the market.
Yarraville Village is an area about 7km from the CBD (Inner West). The village is fantastic little hideaway and very cute with loads of little cafes, restaurants, art deco cinema, unique little designer shops and fantastic jazz bar.
Yarraville Village is an area about 7km for the CBD (Inner West). Catch the Weribee Train.
Another nice little find in my local neighbourhood... Sarands presents a Mediterranean-based menu of seafood or meat dishes. The restaurant itself is light and airy (with an upstairs private dining area for functions), service is pleasant, the wine list small but well chosen and the (mains) servings huge. The prices are reasonable too. Coffee is excellent.
532 Hampton St, Hampton
3188 Vic (200m south of South Rd)
Ph 9598 8944
www.greateats.com.au/restaurants/au/Melbourne_Inner_South/Hampton/14489/Sarands_Mediterranean
Ten years old this year, makes the Gin Palace a venerable old man among Melbourne's hip young cocktail bars. It has lost none of its greatness though. Well trained bartenders, a bookshelf of cocktail books, hundreds of bottles (including dozens of types of gin) means that if you want to stray from the ten martinis printed on their cocktail list, you can have just about anything. Also, the chairs are stuffed with goose feathers, the music is never too loud and it is open every day of the year (including Christmas). I don't live in Melbourne any more but if I did, I'd be there right now.
Russell Place, Melbourne
A beautiful temperate rain forest. Rolling hills covered with magnificent tree ferns and mountain ash (a form of Eucalypt and also Australia's tallest). The freshest air you could imagine and wildlife (including Lyre birds) to boot!
1.5 hrs drive from Melbourne. Take the train to Fern Tree Gully, Belgrave or Lilydale.
Named after a notorious Victorian brothel keeper, Madame Brussels has a deliciously kooky garden party theme, complete with grassed interior, trellising and parasols.
Bright young things in tennis whites will bring you iced Pimms and cucumber sandwiches. Scrumptious in every way.
Level 3, 59-63 Bourke Street, Melbourne
www.madamebrussels.com
+61 (0)3 9662 2775
Dining at Mirka is a tasty visual experience. Surrounded by murals by Mirka Mora, you dine on food from the kitchen of Melbourne's famed Guy Grossi. Based widely on a mediterranean style (Grossi is Italian), the menu here is about making one feel cosseted and at home.
The wine list is superb with wines from France and South America as well as the best of Australia. Superb service along the art of the dining room makes 'Mirka' one of Melbourne's best culinary experiences. We will be going back.
42 Fitzroy St
ST Kilda
03 9525 3088
100m from St Kilda Light Rail station
www.mirkatolarno.com/
There are two Melbourne observation decks, both giving you amazing views over the city and the bay.
However, I prefer the Rialto. There is a coffee shop and place to sit and hang out for a while - it is quiet.
The Eureka overwhelms you with an artificially created noisy Melbourne soundscape. This takes away from the viewing experience.
Armistice day (was Nov 11) and so the Remembrance day ceremonies at the Shrine have passed but Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance is still worth a visit as it hosts a number of exhibitions throughout the year. The latest exhibition is 'Passchendaele: the Australian and New Zealand experience' and it's very good, very simple, very powerful in its message and very moving. ANZACs involvement in the 3rd battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) cost many Australian diggers their lives and this exhibition lets us not forget.
The Shrine was built over six years from 1928 to 1934 as Victoria's memorial to the men and women who served Australia in all armed conflicts throughout Australia's history.
Our Shrine is worth a visit for the
simple message it tells...Lest we forget.
St Kilda rd
Melbourne
www.shrine.org.au
A pub with a view, a great view across Melbourne's bay. A pub with decent food in the bistro, a TAB, a lounge bar and accommodation all within 15km of the CBD.
A pretty good local pub with one of the best outlooks in Melbourne.
Cnr Beach & Bay Road, Sandringham,
just around the corner from Sandringham station
Telephone: 9598 7255
www.sandringhamhotel.com.au/
Strange name for a new restaurant in suburban Hampton. However, it's one with an upmarket atmosphere, very good food and superb service and that makes for a very fine dining experience. It's a touch above our other local Chinese restaurants.
356 Hampton St Hampton 3188
ph (03) 9521 6066
100m south of the railway station
Salix restaurant at the Willow Creek Winery on the Mornington Peninsula south of Melbourne is simply superb.
Local produce and seafood, a great view and the fine wines from the winery and other areas create a high-class dining experience. Go for lunch or dinner and enjoy!
Willow Creek Vineyard
166 Balnarring Road
Merricks North 3926
Salix Restaurant
ph: 5989 7640
www.willow-creek.com.au/index.php?page=salix_restaurant
Melbourne might be addicted to great coffee bars and a second rate form of football, but to really taste its gritty, multicultural heart visit
the Queen Vic. It’s enormous – it claims to have 1,000 stalls and be the largest in the southern hemisphere – with Greek, Italian,
Vietnamese and Yugoslavian flavours of local flogging everything from fresh fish and pets to rugs and furniture.
The food stalls are unforgettable: every variety of olive, glistening slabs of fresh fish
and walls of cheese. So that’s why Melbourne has so many epic restaurants.
It's a two hour hike to this little bit of Thai splendour a couple of hours from Melbourne. A forested swamp meets the sea in a golden crescent of sand hemmed in by mountains. Granite headlands keep the warm, clear waters nice and calm; continue on to Refuge Cove (2hrs) for a more exclusive swim before a long walk out.
wilson's prom national park
Recently renovated inside, the Flinders Pub has moved to improve its eating areas with a formal dining room in addition to the bistro.
The pub is a favourite of motorcycle riders (it's a great place to start or end a ride) who frequent the bistro but the dining room is a nice place for those wanting something more formal... nice thick linen and quality tableware. It's a nice place to eat for those who have been tramping the wineries in the area or having a hit at Flinders Golf Club.
Cook St
Flinders
Mornington Peninsula
about an hour from central Melbourne
ph 59890201
www.flindershotel com.au
The 'Show' - where city and country get together! Once a year, the country invades the city at the showgrounds and lets city families see what the country has to offer.
In addition, there are quite a few competitions where our farmers and country folk can show off the best bull, pig, horse or who can cook the best sponge or grow the best pumpkin.
Sheepdog and poultry competitions are favourites. City kids also have a chance to see new lambs or piglets or chooks. There are enough circus rides, face painting areas and handicraft stalls to keep everyone happy.
Adults have flamenco, hip hop, capoeira performers, belly dancers and others to keep them entertained.
And of course, there are fireworks at night. Everyone should go and don't forget to grab a ShowBag.
Sept 20 - 30
Royal Melbourne Showgrounds
Epsom Road, Ascot Vale
take a tram or train there from the CBD (car parking is available too)
www.royalshow.com.au/
Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Or, so it said in Lewis Carrol's Jabberwock!
Cafè Callooh is a new cafè in Hampton with an unusual interior, great coffee and snacks. Soup of the day and other eats are great. Kid-friendly too. Tucked away from the main part of Hampton's High street, Cafè Callooh is well worth a visit! Enjoy the wall writing....
75 Ludstone Street
Hampton Vic 3188
T: 9521 6865
Situated not far from the CBD, Sandown racecourse was the home of some of the first car races in Australia in 1904. Since then a horse racing track and lake have been built inside the motorracing circuit.
Since its early days, Sandown has hosted a variety of events with the EasterNats, Historic Sandown and Sandown 500 featuring the V8 Supercars, being regular events.
Being so close to Melbourne's centre, Sandown is also used for new car release and corporate drive days. Mercedes Benz and BMW conduct driver training there
Princes Highway Springvale
entry via Sandown Rd or Racecourse Drive
Ph +61 3 9518 1300
Fax +61 3 9518 1353
on race days, Sandown's own railway station comes into operation
www.sandown.net.au
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