Looking for a standout bar and restaurant in Port Melbourne? There's a particular kind of restaurant that Melbourne does better than almost anywhere else in the world, and it's not the degustation temple or the hatted fine-diner chasing a third chef's hat. It's the neighbourhood room that shines so that locals want to keep coming back - a bar you'd happily prop up alone with a negroni, and a restaurant serious enough to warrant a special occasion booking six weeks out. The Gilroy, tucked into Bay Street in Port Melbourne, is exactly that rare, difficult-to-pull-off thing. And having spent an evening working my way through its menu, I can say with some confidence that Port Melbourne has just landed one of the best openings anywhere in Melbourne this year. It's a bold claim in a city that produces new contenders for that title every month, but The Gilroy backs it up with a level of consistency, from front door to final course, that's genuinely hard to fault.
Melbourne loves its doughnuts and we are somewhat of a "doughnut capital" of Australia. We queue for them at 7am in the cold outside a vintage van, we drive across town for a "bronut" stuffed with brioche and Biscoff, and we still argue about whether a hot jam doughnut from a market van beats an artisan number with a name longer than the ingredient list. We enjoy institutions like American Doughnut Kitchen, the Queen Victoria Market icon behind Melbourne's most famous Hot Jam Doughnut, who marked 75 years in business in recent times.
Every venue below is one we celebrate - from the third-generation family van that's been frying dough since 1950, through to the newer wave of Melbourne doughnut specialists doing genuinely inventive things with brioche, brûlée and everything in between. Whether you want nostalgia, novelty or something dangerously close to dessert, here's where to go.
Truffle lover? Then let me tell you about the night four of us sat down at Lord Lygon Dining + Bar at Zagame House for their Truffle Dinner Experience - and walked out convinced it's one of the ultimate truffle events of the Melbourne winter.
Running 1 July to 22 August, the Truffle Dinner Experience at Lord Lygon pairs a four-course, truffle-driven menu at $85 with a flawless matched wine list for an extra $45 - and after working through all four courses I can tell you every dollar of it is worth it.
Melbourne is fast becoming a city of aperitivo excellence and at the forefront is the Italian community. We enjoyed a stellar evening (invite) at the Italian International Chamber of Commerce (ICCI) hosted Una Cena Raccontata - "a dinner, told" - at Al Dente Enoteca in Carlton, one of Melbourne's best Italian restaurants and a venue I've appreciated for years.
This great event was a guided journey through the Italian aperitivo tradition, built around a bespoke four-course menu from Al Dente Enoteca and Carnegie's Nuvoletta Gelateria, paired course-by-course with Cocchi Vermouth - the storied Piedmontese house that's been quietly shaping Italian drinking culture since 1891.
Upstairs at the old Melbourne Supper Club on Spring Street, this authentic Greek taverna is quietly one of the city's most underrated dining experiences — and our second visit only confirmed it.
We were invited to dine at Kafeneion. As always, our thoughts and opinions are entirely our own.
Melbourne has a little slice of Athens hiding above Parliament, and we couldn't wait to return. Kafeneion — a play on kafeneio, the traditional Greek coffee house — occupies the first floor of 161 Spring Street, in the storied space long known as the Melbourne Supper Club. Created by acclaimed restaurateur Con Christopoulos (City Wine Shop, The European, Siglo) alongside Stavros Konis, the taverna began life as a pop-up before proving popular enough to become a permanent fixture. Our second visit confirmed why: this is home-style Greek cooking, made with heart, in one of the city's most atmospheric rooms — and one of the standouts in our guide to the best Greek restaurants in Melbourne.
Truffle season in Melbourne is one of the great annual rituals for anyone who loves food — and this year Cha Ching on Flinders Lane has jumped headfirst into the celebration with a limited-time Winter Truffle Banquet that makes a strong case for being the city's most exciting truffle dining event right now. I've long been a fan of Cha Ching's bold modern Asian banquets — the venue consistently punches well above its price point — and this seven-course truffle feast at $99 per person confirms everything I love about eating here.
The menu showcases premium Western Australian black truffles across every course, weaving them through the kitchen's signature flair for big, confident flavours. It's indulgent without being overwrought, and it captures exactly what truffle season should feel like: luxurious, seasonal, and best shared with people you like.
Some nights in Melbourne's food scene remind you why this city punches so far above its weight. Monday, 6 July 2026 was one of them. At Il Caminetto in Moonee Ponds, two of Australia's most awarded pizzaiolos — both ranked among Asia's Top 50 Pizza makers — joined forces for a one-night-only collaboration dinner. The result was one of the finest pizzas I've eaten in fifteen years of doing this.
Winter means one thing for Melbourne food lovers: truffle season. From decadent long lunches and luxurious banquets to affordable cheese-laden indulgence, Melbourne knows how to celebrate one of nature’s most prized ingredients. Whether you’re after fine dining or comfort food elevated by generous shavings of black truffle, the city offers no shortage of memorable experiences.
Here are four of the best truffle dining experiences in Melbourne this winter.
