Dining in Melbourne
Journal Canteen
While communal tables and bookshelves create a reading-room atmosphere, there's no need for quiet. Get café fare during the day.
Shop 1, Level 1, 253 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Wall Two 80
In the middle of the strip, this hole in the wall café with its street seating has become popular for relaxed coffees and hearty breakfasts.
Rear 280 Carlisle Street, Balaclava
Mario's
Crisp linen and waist-coated staff add formality to this otherwise casual café. Indulge in the all-day breakfast or move on to pasta.
303 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
Baristas 101
Simply decorated with old-fashioned elegance, this coffee-focused café serves up a steady stream of steaming cups.
100 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Breadwell
Old-fashioned comfort comes in the form of this quaint space. Simple soups, pies and comfort food are served on vintage crockery.
135 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Il Fornaio
This rustic bakery/café is open late for dinner, so you can feast on pizzas and quiches and the aroma of fresh bread until late.
2 Acland Street, St Kilda
Piadina Slowfood
With a few booths up against an olive-green wall, it's worth squeezing in for the grilled Italian flatbread and hearty slow food.
57 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
Degraves Espresso Bar
Convivial and cosmopolitan, this art deco espresso bar attracts a crowd who linger over excellent coffee, soup or desserts.
23–25 Degraves Street, Melbourne
Pellegrini's Espresso Bar
This institution serves massive portions of hearty Italian food. Loyal clientele appreciate the authentic food and great coffee.
66 Bourke Street, Melbourne
Federal Coffee Palace
In the style of the vast coffee palaces of the 1880s, this GPO café is a little more hedonistic with snacks and wine to supplement the coffee.
GPO, Shop 23G, Melbourne
Laurent Patisserie
Ahhh, the spiral staircase, the display cases full of decadent French pastries and cakes, the coffee – Laurent's is gorgeously French.
306 Little Collins Street, Melbourne
Mr Tulk
Located within the library's Victorian edifice, this café is a bookworm's dream, providing communal tables, coffee and simple food.
State Library of Victoria
328 Swanston Street, Melbourne