South
New York Tomato
On the corner of New and York streets, embedded in the back alleys and one-way streets of Richmond, is a garage roller door with the wonder that is New York Tomato hiding behind it. It is not the newest cafe round the traps but it is one of the Melbourne definitive brunch spots. If you haven’t been there, you just haven’t been to Melbourne
Mart 130
Nestled behind the Middle Park tram stop, Mart 130 is quaint and irresistibly delicious. Hidden from the road, this charmingly refurbished station master’s house can be a little tricksy to find. It’s worth persisting though. Decked out with all sorts of vintage maps and knick-knacks, Mart 130 exudes a quiet confidence, that comes from knowing [...]
Dr Jekyll
Dr Jekyll is a really enjoyable coffee experience. It’s a hang out that considers their customers to be part of the family, so much so, that they take customer suggestions to heart. One of these being to expand their premises. Previously, Dr. Jekyll was unable to cope with the constant flow of patrons wanting to take cover indoors instead of on their outside terrace. As winter hit Melbourne like a high-speed train, Dr Jekyll expanded to the shop front next door with a massive bay view window, allowing patrons to sit right on Grey Street and watch the cross-section of St. Kilda’s inhabitance walk past, definitely a source of conversation starters.
Round She Goes
If you’re up for the challenge, get prepared to jostle, sort, pram-dodge scrounge, bargain, be overwhelmed, underwhelmed (and sometimes just plain whelmed,) for the possibility of coming away empty-handed or in fact with a three piece sailor suit you never knew you needed.
QEleven
OK – so you head down one drizzly morning to South Melbourne Market to pick out some clothes, maybe buy some fresh mint and then what do you do? Well, if you’re any kind of real Melburnian, you stop off for brunch, of course. But down Coventry Street there are so many choices – this quandary confronted me just last week. Nonetheless, as luck or maybe divine intervention would have it, Qeleven entered my field of vision, and the rest as they say, is history.
Glicks Cakes and Bagels
I will readily admit that I am addicted to carbohydrates. I love pasta. I love rice. I love potato. But most of all, I love baked goods. To me, hot bread is one of the best scents in the world and I am not one to walk by a bakery without grabbing a custard tart [...]
Red Door Antiques and Yum Cha
Red door is not only laneway yum cha in Windsor but also an oriental antiques store. The floor is scattered with four poster beds, drawers, tables, chairs, books, tea sets and other tidbits to keep you entertained while you wait for your delicate morsels of chinese food. Even our table and chairs were complete with price tags.
Lucky Coq
If you live in or around Melbourne, and haven’t been to Lucky Coq for $4 pizza, you’re one of very few. A Chapel Street institution and sister of Bimbo Deluxe in Fitzroy, Lucky Coq is a reliable, endearing, comfortable and adaptable watering hole on the corner of High and Chapel Streets.
Easy 15
When you speak to Ide, the Irish bred owner of Easy 15, she’ll tell you that she named her café after the street number and its own easy going feeling. It could just as well refer to the easy 15 steps it would take someone to head down from the café-laden corner that is Glenhuntly and Ormond Rds, Elwood. And what a worthwhile 15 steps it is too.
Tucked away a couple of doors down on Ormond Rd from the hustle that is The Turtle café, you walk into a place that is small and upbeat. It’s simple to see why that in just the space of a few years, this meeting place has become the favourite of locals who swear by it.