Despite the plethora of restaurants that exist in the city, I always struggle to think of a mid-tier dining option – somewhere not so fancy that I internally wince when the bill arrives, but with a warm and inviting décor. Dao Noodle nails the brief.
Chef David is serving up a diverse mix of charcoal barbecue and hot pot-like fish dishes that are gaining fans far and wide due to the restaurant’s TikTok notoriety
If you’re not willing to balance precariously on a high stool at the bar or firm up your Thursday night plans six weeks in advance, Tipo 00 is off limits, which is why it made foodie news when the team behind the famed pasta bar opened sister restaurant Osteria Ilaria a few doors away.
French Saloon is an airy and light-filled bistro that is perched atop Kirk’s Wine Bar — exemplifying much of the casual chic vibe that you find downstairs but with decidedly more flourish and pomp.
Banish all thoughts of McCain’s cheese and bacon pizza pockets (as satisfying as they can be) because Melbourne chef Guy Grossi has opened up a casual eatery called Pezzo, which specialises in pizza pockets that house ingredients decidedly more gourmet than homebrand cheese and bacon – think calamari, polpette (meatballs) and cotoletta (veal breaded cutlet).
A few happy hour wines deep one Friday night, Beer Jenga Master, Gingko Leaf Girl and I hatched the idea to form a Fine Dining Club.
I’m not averse to lunch being my first meal of the day, especially on a Saturday, which is how I found myself at Garden State Hotel ordering a steak at the early hour of 11.45 in the morning.
I must be the person in my friendship circles who is least familiar with the cult favourite Chinese dating show If You Are The One and its host, Meng Fei, but I am familiar with the Melbourne dining scene and jumped at the opportunity to sample Mr Meng Chongqing Gourmet, the Chinese noodle chain’s first Australian restaurant.
It’s no secret that I prefer fake meat to real meat, which is how I found myself at Gong De Lin mid-last week.
“This menu is designed to be shared” is a phrase that strikes fear into the heart of every FODMAP-intolerant person out there.
Whatever Floats Your Bloat 