casual

HOT: Von Haus, 1 Crossley St, Melbourne

April 7, 2010 ⋅ 15 comments

Von Haus. I’m imagining a private club for beardy little men with a penchant for tweed knickerbockers. The reality is much more cool. Von Haus is a café/bar with an almost invisible doorway on achingly stylish Crossley Street. Step inside and it’s like being in your best friend’s cosy, rustic dining room with perfectly distressed [...]

HOT: The Tofu Shop International, 78 Bridge Rd, Richmond

April 6, 2010 ⋅ 3 comments

If you overdosed on chocolate after the Easter Bunny’s visit, now might be a good time to head over to The Tofu Shop International. This Bridge Road casual dining spot has been in business for around 25 years, before tofu/vegetarianism became trendy, so it must be doing something right. It’s a pretty pared back approach – [...]

Ask the Doctor: Upmarket restaurants that welcome solo diners

April 4, 2010 ⋅ 2 comments

Help me Doctor!: I travel to Melbourne for a few days several times a year (for the shopping/galleries) and on the past two trips have had real issues with being a solo diner… MoVida -was ignored and watched people being sat ahead of me, had to argue to be given a single seat available at the bar. Gills Diner – [...]

HOT: Coffee Hit, 81 Church Street, Hawthorn

April 3, 2010 ⋅ 7 comments

One of the pieces of feedback I received from the MEL: HOT OR NOT Reader Survey 2010 was that you wanted to see more reviews from other people. I’m decisive, but I’m not necessary the Gospel According To Joyce. That’s why you’ll be seeing more guest posts soon, from previous guest-posters to newbies. Today we [...]

NOT: Mezina Cafe, 176 Smith St, Collingwood

April 2, 2010 ⋅ 9 comments

There are heaps of trendy places for breakfast in Collingwood (check out Gluttony It’s a Sin, Proud Mary and Cibi)…and Mezina isn’t one of them. It looks trendy on the outside – it’s housed inside the ground floor of the refurbished Collingwood post office with a touch of a Middle Eastern vibe in the decor [...]

NOT: De Los Santos, 175 Brunswick St, Fitzroy

April 1, 2010 ⋅ 8 comments

De Los Santos is an old Fitzroy stalwart, back before the days Spanish food became the hippest cuisine in town. Frankly, I don’t think it’s the best Spanish food in the city – that award goes to MoVida Aqui (and the other MoVidas). The ambience is pleasant inside the quiet, dark dining room, the food [...]

NOT: Naked Japan, 99 Victoria Avenue, Albert Park

March 29, 2010 ⋅ One comment

As promised last week, here’s another guest post from the lovely Gourmet Chick, this time venturing to Albert Park. Gourmet Chick is a Melburnian living in London who writes about food in London and around the world (including Melbourne) at www.gourmet-chick.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @msgourmetchick. Thanks Gourmet Chick! It’s not that Naked [...]

NOT: The Soup Place, 14 Centre Place, Melbourne

March 26, 2010 ⋅ 15 comments

Before I have a mob of art school students boycotting the blog in protest at my NOT, let me get a word in edgewise. The Soup Place isn”t bad. It’s just that compared with all of the cafes in Centre Place and the vicinity, I wouldn’t particularly recommend it as a must-visit. From the bustling [...]

HOT: Siglo Bar, Level 2, 161 Spring St, Melbourne

March 23, 2010 ⋅ 10 comments

The summer heat is fading, so now’s your final chance to lounge around in the breeze of Melbourne’s open-air rooftop bars. Melbourne’s CBD offers a rooftop aesthetic for everyone, from kitsch (Madame Brussels), funky (Rooftop Bar) to corporate (Collins Quarter). The classiest of them all is Siglo Bar, which sits atop of the elegant restaurant [...]

NOT: Min Lokal, 422 George St, Fitzroy

March 3, 2010 ⋅ 9 comments

My friend M is moving into Fitzroy next week and for our Sunday catchup he wanted to try a place around his new hood. Min Lokal is Swedish for ‘my local’ and I thought it’d be the perfect venue for this northside newbie. Evidently lots of other locals treat Min Lokal as their neighbourhood cafe [...]