There is such a diversity of cultures and people here we have enjoyed a wide range of foods - Asian, Southeast Asian, Middle Eastern, Indian, Turkish, Greek, Itallian to name just a handful.
They do not have a very good impression of American food and dinning here - it is characterized as fast food, bbq, doughnouts, fried chicken, hamburgers and some ideas about Cajun dishes. Melbourne itself however is a great food city - it shows up in a number of top 10 lists for best food cities in the world. There is a real cafe culture which I will miss when we are home - there is something much easier about ordering and paying upfront, get your number to take to the table and no one bothers you.
Cavallini in Clifton Hill
Issus Cafe & Bar in the CBD
Cafe Lucio - our local breakfast & lunch spot
The dinning scene is very relaxed and many of the truely great eateries are small intimate cafe's that look more like a bar but serve spectacular food.
Cafe Rimba in Mcleod on the edge of the La Trobe Campus
Hells Kitchen in the CBD
Cafe e Biscotti in the CBD
Espresson Alley in Northcote
There are also a number of unique places as well. Rooftop bars are a popular feature in Melbourne:
Rooftop bar at the Niagra Hotel
And if you don't want to be on the roof you can be in the river - Ponyfish Island is actually under a footbridge that crosses the Yarra River:
There are great places to eat everywhere, in every suburb, seemingly along every street.
And there are some marvelous higher end restuarants as well. Gross Florentino is a spectacular Itallian restuarant
I had what was one of the best meals of my live at Estelle Bar & Kitchen in Northcote
And of course, afternoon tea at the Hotel Windsor
Even the quick bites are memorable
Haregraves Brewery & Restuarant in Yarra Glen
Ciao Bella in Bundurs - great pizza
Great bratwurst at Queen Victoria Market
We have barely scratched the surface - of course nothing is cheap in Melbourne, particularly food. The cost is ofset a little by the fact that you don't tip in Australia - they actually pay food service workers a decent salary. While a soda may cost you 3 or 4 dollars (with no refills) you can get a great bottle of wine with your meal for $30 or less - go figure.
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