Updated 5 July 2016

Here are some of the places we went to eat and drink in Melbourne!

Just before I begin, I like to mention Melbourne’s independent coffee culture. It’s so entrenched that Starbucks was forced to close 16 outlets in Melbourne. This city is practically the coffee capital of Australia. In the CBD, the air is filled with the aroma of espresso coming from a myriad of cafes.

Be sure to check out Degraves Street (see below) for awesome food and coffee! Further afield, Richmond, St Kilda, Fitzroy (see below), South Melbourne and Prahran also offer great cafe strips. If you are a coffee lover visiting Melbourne, drink good coffee to your heart’s content!

1) KOKO BLACK 

Before heading to Australia, our friends who stayed in Australia for a period of time highly recommended us to go to Koko Black. It’s a Melbourne based family owned business, famous for their handmade chocolate and gourmet desserts. They also have outlets in Perth, Adelaide, Sydney and Canberra.

And so we took their recommendation and went to the one in Melbourne. I love the exterior and interior design of the shop with it’s art nouveau-style chandeliers. Having good vibes even before we stepped in. Rows of chocolate welcomed us as we stepped in.

There’s also a seating area at the back for us to rest our tired legs and enjoy their desserts. We wanted to try a variety of their offerings and hence ordered from their tasting menu designed for sharing.

This is the Belgian Spoil at A$17.00. This is their traditional chocolate tasting plate including two pralines, Chocolate Cherry Royale, Chocolate Alchemy Gâteau, Chocolate Mousse and chocolate ice cream. I think it’s expensive for such a small serving, but well, they are of the gourmet category.

I wished I would say this tasting plate was really good, but I think our friends raised our expectations too high. It was nice, but there’s dime and dozen of such goodness elsewhere. Still, it’s a chocolate shop you can only find in Australia. So give it a try and maybe your tongue can appreciate them more than me. :P

Nevertheless, their packaged chocolates looked so pretty! Hence bought some of them back as souvenirs.

Website: www.kokoblack.com
Melbourne Store: 167 Lygon Street, Carlton Victoria, Australia 3053
Opening Hours
Monday to Thursday 12pm – 11pm
Friday 12pm – midnight
Saturday 11am – midnight
Sunday 11am – 11pm

2) Degraves Street – Grill’d (Burger) | Central Place

Dining at Degraves Street

Our friends also recommended the Degraves Street to us. It is a short, narrow laneway near to Flinders Street railway station. It stretches from Flinders Street to Flinders Lane.

At Degraves Street, you can find Degraves Espresso, one of Melbourne’s signature style cafes with excellent coffee. There were no seats and hubby just drank coffee before we reached, hence didn’t try it. The cafe adds a Parisian feel to the street. Other than coffee, the cafe has vegetarian soups to grilled sandwich to in-house desserts.

In the end we settled our dinner at Grill’d located at Degraves street. They have locations all over Australia. They pride themselves in sourcing best local ingredients and supporting local communities. Choose the bun then the type of burgers you want. We added thick-cut chips with Grill’d herb mix because how can you have burgers without chips?! :P

Pardon my tired look, it doesn’t justify how good the meal was! The burger was simply one of the best burgers I have ever eaten. The fries was good with its herb mix too. Do try the food at grill’d!

Website: www.grilld.com.au
Address: 15 Degraves Street Melbourne 3000
Opening Hours:
Sun – Thurs 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Fr – Sat 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM

After dining at Degraves Street, you can walk around to explore quirky shops and appreciate the street art along Degraves Street and Centre place. Centre Place is a lane similar to Degraves, just across Flinders Lane.

Dining at Centre Place

If you found no dining place on Degraves Street to your liking, head over to the nearby ‘Centre Place’.

Look for the long-standing hole in the wall Jungle Juice Bar where they served good and exotic coffee creations, New York Style bagels, soup, sandwiches, and freshly-squeezed juices in an intimate space.

Address: 20 Centre Pl, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Opening Hours:
Sat – Sun 8:30AM–5PM
Mon – Fri 7AM–5:30PM

If not, you can head up to Hell’s Kitchen above the Jungle Juice Bar. Food is available from noon to 10pm, with a Middle Eastern inclined food menu. At 4pm, Hell’s Kitchen starts to become a bar with a cocktail and wine lists available for order.

3) QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET

Continuing on the short introduction of Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne City Attractions for First Timers (Part 2), here are some photos to show you what food to expect at the market.

You can find artisan eggs and jams displayed in hipster style to preserved meat hanging from the ceiling.

From casual dining to a selection of wine to go along.

We saw a long queue at this food van (original 1950s van) and decided to join in without knowing exactly what we were queuing for. Queuing is more of an Asian thing, so if the ‘ang-mohs’ are queuing, something good must brewing there.

Sure enough, the hot jam doughnut was SWEETLY GOOD! As you queue, you can see the sweet jam-filled doughnuts prepared on the spot. It’s an affordable snack to munch as you wander around the market. Try to arrive early, as they operate until sold out.

More about them on their website: adk1950.com.au

We ended off our trip with a Turkish wrap from the other side of the market. It was alright, not exciting for the taste buds but sufficient for the stomach.

Opening Hours
Sun 9am – 4pm
Closed on Monday & Wednesday
Hours vary much for other days, hence visit their website for the trading hours.

www.qvm.com.au

4) Fitzroy | Martha Ray’s Coffee

And finally Fitzroy! People don’t normally go to Fitzroy on their first Melbourne visit. However, I wanted to go to the Haji Lane of Melbourne, except Fitzroy was much bigger than expected.

Fitzroy was planned as Melbourne’s first suburb and after undergoing urban gentrification since the 1950s, it is now a historic preservation precinct. More than that, Fitzroy has retained a creative edge with its art galleries, studios and specialist bookshops, making it a hipster heaven.

Read about shopping at Fitzroy: ‘Shop and Eat at Hipster Fitzroy’.

How did we go to Fitzroy?

We first took the free City Circle Tram and went to tour the Parliament. From there, we walked less than 1 km, about 10 minutes to reach Gertrude Street. Be sure to walk down Gertrude and Brunswick Streets and explore.Along Gertrude Street, you’ll find bars, restaurants, boutiques, vintage wares, costume hire, cool barber shops and old-school pubs.

Fresh Fruits, Pre-packed Food and Juice

Attn: Coffee Lovers

There are a few cafes in Fitzroy to enjoy a cuppa of coffee.

Martha Ray’s is highly recommended by the locals, with good ratings in food review websites–on both their coffee and food. Too bad our stomach didn’t have space for food. I don’t drink coffee, so can’t comment about it. Hubby said it’s good coffee, but not that good for you to specially make a trip down to Fitzroy, especially when you are not into creative scene.

The wait for the coffee was a bit long even though the cafe wasn’t crowded. But at least their ambience was good, a small cosy cafe for you to rest your legs and chill.

Address: 85 Brunswick St Fitzroy Victoria 3065
Opening Hours: 
Mon – Fri 7:30 am – 3:30 pm
Sat 8:00 am – 3:30 pm
Sun 9:00 am – 3:30 pm

Do you have any other food and coffee recommendations? :) Do tell us below or on our Facebook Page or Instagram.

Travels During October 2013

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