Melbournians are serious about good food and fine wine. Get chatting to a local and you’re sure to learn their hot pick for a quick tipple or top tip for a table in the city, whether you asked for it or not.
It still comes as quite a surprise to find a relocated, and atypically glossy, Fat Duck – one of Britain’s most celebrated boutique eateries – nestled next to a spa and swimming pool amid the opulence of the Crown Tower’s polished malls but, as incongruous as it may seem, Australia’s culinary capital, Melbourne, was always the logical destination for Heston’s best restaurant.
It’s not a British invasion that makes the foodie scene so special though: rated by the Economist Intelligence Unit as the world’s most liveable city and, with Asia on the country’s doorstep, immigration has made Melbourne a multicultural melting pot. Couple this with the state’s agricultural backdrop and homegrown kitchen talent, and Victoria is a gourmand’s dream.
Buzzing Victoria Street, located on the city fringe in Richmond, is replete with authentic Vietnamese dining, and also where you’ll find one of Melbourne’s best breakfast options, Top Paddock: a destination cafe lauded for its commitment to the provenance and traceability of its ingredients as much as dishes like their gin and lime cured ocean trout (accompanied by baby beetroot grown in Victoria’s Yarra Valley, in case you wanted to know).
Spice in the city
Melbourne’s CBD is also riddled with labyrinthine laneways: a network of backstreets secreting eclectic eateries. Notable among them are Chin Chin and Tonka, respectively delighting diners with vibrant Thai and modern Indian cuisine. Both are Melbourne institutions, offering a lively atmosphere and casual dining experience in the city’s unique style.
Anyone who has ever visited Melbourne will tell you it’s also Australia’s most vibrant city too. A short walk north of the CBD takes you to bohemian Fitzroy, crammed with crumbling colonial facades that give way to shabby chic interiors, knocking out some of the nation’s finest vegetarian and vegan fare, and home to the city’s near-fetishistic coffee and ice-cream scenes.
It’s hard to believe that Melbourne’s hottest restaurant right now is a vegan one. Smith & Daughters serves Mexican and Spanish-inspired plates, such as the surprisingly vegan “tuna” and green pea croquetas (the tuna is actually seasoned, shredded soy protein) and their super-secret (and, again, plant-based) prawn and scallop paella recipe. Local institution Vegie Bar does a dizzying array of international vegetarian and raw food dishes, while Messina and N2 create world-class gelato on-site, the latter’s being whipped up and frozen with liquid nitrogen before your eyes. Providing the hipster neighbourhood’s obligatory caffeine fix, Industry Beans independently sources, roasts and brews an extensive array of coffees across a wide variety of brewing methods, all under one roof. A stomp around Fitzroy is not complete without a rooftop tipple at Naked for Satan where the house infused vodka is highly recommended, including violet, watermelon and mint and chilli.
Paddock to plate
With a kaleidoscope of fruit, vegetables and grapes being grown in the surrounding countryside, modern Australian cookery is less about flavour-masking sauces and all about “putting produce centre stage”, a mantra repeated by chefs across the city, often heard alongside reoccurring phrase “paddock to plate”.
A great example of this is chef Ben Shewry’s Attica restaurant, a short stroll from seaside suburb, St Kilda. Known for his ethical approach to cooking, Shewry’s signature dish is potato cooked in the same earth in which it was grown, and many of the raw ingredients for his imaginative dishes are foraged around the Great Ocean Road region of Victoria, famed for its bucolic beauty and striking limestone cliff formations such as the 12 Apostles.
If you fancy foraging for yourself, a much quicker daytrip from the city is Green Olive, south of town on the nearby Mornington Peninsula. This vineyard offers the ultimate “farm to fork” experience with its cookery classes in which you first freshly pick your own ingredients and then sample the fruits of your labour over lunch, accompanied by a glass of the area’s celebrated pinot noir.
Early-birds can make it their second sip of the day after enjoying a champagne breakfast and sunrise balloon tour over the renowned Yarra Valley wine region, just an hour’s drive north of Melbourne. There’s no need to rush though, instead designate a driver and take a tour along the area’s Cider & Ale Trail, making stops at each of its seven artisan cider and beer producers. And don’t forget to pick up a bottle to stick it in your suitcase: you never know where you might meet a non-believer on your travels.
Getting there
Singapore Airlines has five daily UK departures to Melbourne via Changi airport in Singapore. You can travel straight through so you get to Melbourne in less than 24 hours, or stop off in Singapore for a day or two. Get in the mood for Melbourne’s culinary delights by enjoying gourmet menus in every cabin, and pair your meals with a range of Australian wines. Fares from Heathrow and Manchester to Melbourne with Singapore Airlines start from £710. Book online at singaporeair.com and discover what you can look forward to at visitmelbourne.com.
.png?w=600)
