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/

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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.

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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

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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/

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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/

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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Just opened, Kushi Indian Flavour Restaurant (strange name) presents seriously good Indian food in a restaurant setting that has some class. Nice seating, crisp white tableclothes and super service from the young black-clad waiting staff.

The wine list has been well thought out and there is also a good range of beers (which suit Indian food). A choice of the various Indian breads are offered on the menu. Vegetarians are not forgotten with quite a few selections in the Entree and Mains area of the menu.

504 Hampton St
(near cnr with Littlewood st)
Hampton 3188
ph 95984023

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A local hotel with plenty of different beers, decent service and an interesting food menu.

157 Moray Street, South Melbourne Tel. 9690 4511

www.melbournepubs.com/v/59/

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Cafe Latte is not a drink, it's a nice little Italian restaurant in swanky Toorak. Great pasta dishes (mainly southern Italian style), nice wine list, central bar and a fantastic atmosphere make this a place 'to eat out' at.

521 Malvern Rd, Toorak, VIC, 3142
Phone: (03) 98265846

www.cafelatte.com.au

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De Bortoli, Tarrawarra and Chateau Yering are three of my favourite. De Bortoli, one of the oldest estates in the Yarra Valley, has a great restaurant for dinner and a cheese room. Tarrawarra has a good lunch restaurant with lovely views of the valley and a modern art gallery. Try their Tin Cows line - it's very good. All do tasting.

De Bortoli
www.debortoli.com.au/
Chateau Yering
www.chateauyering.com.au/
Tarrawarra
www.tarrawarra.com.au/

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The Boundary is a pub with a history,
although today it fronts as a pub with decent food, kid-friendly even for those with ankle biters or rugrats who want a meal out and, of course, it has the obligatory pokies and TAB. Oh, and a decent wine list in the dining room.

The history bit? The Boundary pub gets its name from being on East Boundary Rd which gets its name from being the former east boundary of a large farming estate (back in the 1880s through to the 1920s)

Take the kids (leave them in the playroom) and have a meal or play the pokies.

cnr East Boundary Rd and Centre Rd
East Bentleigh
Vic 3165
ph 9570 7044
free on site parking

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Wheelers is a pub that has gone through a bit of a transformation and turned into a top class hotel with good food, good entertainment (especially Thursday and Friday nights) and a view to die for.

Having a lazy lunch in the fancy class restaurant overlooking the valley is a great way to spend a Sunday. The Wheelers is a fave with locals. And did I mention the views too?

Wheelers Hill Hotel
Ferntree Gully Road (cnr Jells Road), Wheelers Hill (about 20 mins from the centre of the city along the freeway) Tel. 9560 8922
car parking on site is free

www.melbournepubs.com/v/794/Wheelers-Hill-Hotel.html

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Tucked up in the ranges overlooking Melbourne is a series of small villages, most with little restaurants, cafes and bistros. At the small village of Olinda is 'the Cuckoo' restaurant probably one of the best known and famous for its Bavarian (German) based entertainment and food.

It's been there for about 50 years and thrives with families going there for a great night out.

The food? A huge variety of seafood, meats, side dishes, hot and cold. The freshly made pancakes are a favourite for desert, with cream of course!

The music and entertainment? Bavarian with something for all the family.

508 Mount Dandenong Tourist Road, Olinda Victoria
Australia 3788
phone: +61-3-9751 1003
Fax: +61-3-9751 2229

www.cuckoorestaurant.com.au/

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We found this restaurant provides quick takeaways and decent sit-down dining. The menu covers all the traditional stuff, like pad Thai, satay stir-fries and curries.

You can try Poppy's 'Anna and the King' dish - a combination of Penang curry with mushrooms, tofu and vegies, which apparently won them a food award.

298 Bridge Rd
(straight across the road from the Town Hall)
Richmond 3121 VIC
Phone: (03) 9428 7222
www.poppys.com.au

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Melbourne's famous cupcake shop situated in the Prahran Market. An array of beautiful little cupcakes served by friendly staff. Only for those with a sweet tooth! Try the jaffa!

Prahran Market, Commercial Road (off Chapel Street).
www.crabapplecupcakebakery.com.au

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The best Chinese food in Melbourne. Simple surroundings, so the decor isn't great but the service is fast! Been there 21 years and I have it on good authority from a chef friend that lots of chefs in Melbourne go there to eat. Beware of the queue but if it's out as far as the door you won't be waiting more than 20 minutes.

15 Celestial Avenue (Chinatown)
Melbourne
Tel: 9663 4753

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