This family-owned Lebanese bakery in Brunswick, a largely Middle Eastern neighborhood, has been going strong for more than 25 years. A favorite of students and locals alike, the place — a veritable institution around these parts — is as unfussy as it is sublime. Prices start at 1.50 Australian dollars ($1) for just-out-of-the-oven za’atar pizza covered in thyme, oregano, sumac, sesame seeds, and olive oil, and don’t go over 15 Australian dollars ($10) for a generous chicken tawouk and falafel platter. In between, you’ll find a thick pie filled with hunks of haloumi, fresh tabbouleh, and ful medames. While you’re there, grab a bag of one of the freshly baked flatbreads to go. [$]

The name gets it right: Very Good Falafel has easily the finest in town — bright green and chunky on the inside, crisp on the outside. Friends Shuki Rosenboim and Louisa Allan grew their business from a temporary stall at local markets to a permanent shop a few years ago, but sometimes they still stuff pita at the University of Melbourne farmers market. The cute Brunswick storefront is seemingly always packed with young people in search of a quick bite, maybe a crisp salad, velvety hummus, or sabich bursting with eggplant — and falafel, always. If you like heat, ask for extra zhug, which is house-made and loaded with cilantro and green chile. [$]

After working as a pastry chef in Napa Valley’s three-Michelin-starred Restaurant at Meadowood, Boris Portnoy moved to Australia for a change of pace. His community-focused bakery, All Are Welcome, is located in a converted Christian Science Reading Room in the hip neighborhood of Northcote. Viennoiseries go way beyond the classic croissant — expect to find bostock piled with fruit, gooey chocolate babka, and a fancy spin on the Georgian khachapuri. During the colder months, don’t pass up a slice of the medovnik, an impressive 10-layer Slavic honey-and-buttercream cake. [$]

You’ll find plenty of industry types hanging out here — even Heston Blumenthal has been known to spin records behind the bar. For nearly 10 years, owners Gerald Diffey and Mario Di Ienno have been the jovial characters that this bar embodies, full of laughter, good cheer, and happy times. The drink list is interesting and far-reaching and there’s a simple bistro menu to keep you well-fed. [$$]

Want to feel like a local? Join the early morning line for the best croissants outside of Paris. Siblings Kate and Cam Reid have an A+ recipe for these dreamy layers of pastry and butter — they take three days to make. For an insider’s perspective, try booking a stool at the experiential Lune Lab, where you get a bird’s eye view of the action and a three-course pastry flight. [$]

Wine bars are having a moment in Melbourne, and Carlton Wine Room is one of the best. Now led by a team of hospitality superstars (vets of Marion, Cutler & Co., and Coda), this popular haunt has a comfortable dining room with banquettes upstairs and a lively bar downstairs. The menu leans European, with dishes like duck and pork croquettes, tripe and cuttlefish gratin, and a classic rum baba. The revolving wine list satisfies both lovers of traditional drops and offbeat natural ones. Melbourne’s beloved arthouse Cinema Nova is just around the corner for a perfect date-night pairing. [$$$]

Melbourne loves a wine bar, but the rapscallion owners here call Bar Liberty an “alcohol bar” because they serve way more than their favorite wines, like the locally distilled aperitif Okar (like Aperol, but better), sour beers, and a solid lineup of bourbons and rye. Food is also important at Bar Liberty, and locals keep coming back for brilliant dishes like XO pippies with savory doughnuts, and burrata with black garlic and soured cucumber. This place is capital-F fun and this plays through the drinks list, which includes quirky notes on wine throughout. [$$$]

When a restaurant’s entrance involves sidestepping through the kitchen, you know the place is more focused on the food than the trappings. That said, the Old Raffles Place is quite charming with its fairy lights and photos of old Singapore. The owners opened the restaurant as their retirement project. Two decades later they’re nearly 80, and having too much fun to quit. The Singapore-style char kway teow (rice and Hokkien noodles cooked with sweet soy sauce and packed with shrimp, Chinese sausage, and squid) and the Hokkien mee (Hokkien noodles, rice vermicelli, shrimp, squid, and pork belly braised in savory broth) are impeccable, but the favorite might be the char koay kak. Also called “carrot cake,” it’s made of radish and rice cakes fried with sweet soy sauce, egg, garlic, bean sprouts, and chile. [$$]

This Collingwood warehouse is an intimate shop and tasting room for Melbourne’s Proud Mary Coffee. If Proud Mary Cafe (with a second branch in Portland, Oregon) is a brunch destination, Aunty Peg’s is all about the coffee. Sit down for a flight of single-origin espressos or try the super-smooth cold brew on tap. It’s a welcoming space — free community cupping events are held every week — just don’t ask for cream in your coffee. (A barista might let you know that “no milk is kept on the premises.”) Stock up on freshly roasted beans before leaving. [$]

Chef Andrew McConnell put Fitzroy’s Gertrude Street on the map when he opened Cutler & Co. Since then, it’s had a few refurbishments, and this latest incarnation nails it: In the dining room, a showpiece green granite wall and exposed brick surround sexy leather booths. This is modern Australian cooking at its best, and the menu covers its bases with a la carte and tasting menu options. The bar at the front of the restaurant is a hot spot, and the abalone katsu sandwich and fruits de mer platter are masterstrokes. Plus, there’s sister wine bar Marion next door for a jolly night cap. [$$$$]

The Queen Victoria Market is mentioned in every Melbourne travel list for a reason. It’s the largest open-air market in the Southern Hemisphere, housing more than 600 stalls and small businesses, and it’s still the de facto grocery store for thousands of locals. You can also, of course, grab an exceptional bite to eat here: Start with a borek or a bratwurst in the deli section, and then follow up with chocolate from Koko Black, a hot jam doughnut from the American Doughnut Kitchen, and a flat white from Market Lane Coffee. On Wednesday evenings, street-food vendors take over the market. [$]

Bar Margaux is the latest Central Business District (CBD) venue from Michael and Zara Madrusan, the duo behind some of the city’s most acclaimed bars, like the Everleigh and Heartbreaker. Walk down a flight of stairs and through the door marked “MGX” to discover a New York-meets-Paris brasserie. On weekends, it feels like you can find half of the city there. Come for a cocktail or stay for a full French meal. Locals like to stay up late so steak tartare, snails, and lobster croque-monsieur are served all night. [$$ - $$$]

Jessi Singh — the chef behind Babu Ji in St Kilda and New York and Bibi Ji in Santa Barbara, California — is back in town. His latest restaurant, Daughter in Law, is pure exuberance: blue velvet banquettes, live DJs, and Bollywood films projected on pink walls. The food pushes the “unauthentic Australian-Indian cuisine” concept he started years ago in Melbourne even further. It means dishes like naan pizza, oysters with pickled mango, and beef tartare in crisp papadum cups. The lunch thali is a steal at 15 Australian dollars ($10). [$$-$$$]

Eating a simple plate of spaghetti Bolognese at the Pellegrini’s counter is a quintessential Melbourne experience. Opened by Italian immigrants postwar, Pellegrini’s was one of the first espresso bars in the city and is largely considered the birthplace of Australian cafe culture. Not much has changed here since 1954; the food is the same and so is the narrow room with its checkered floor and red-vinyl stools. There’s no menu so you’ll have to chat with the staff to learn what’s on offer that day. Your best bet is one of the old-school plates of pasta and a glass of the signature melon granita. An espresso is also a must. [$]

Ask Australia’s most famous chefs about their favorite Melbourne restaurant, and many will namecheck Flower Drum, the 44-year-old Cantonese fine dining institution in Chinatown. Take the elevator up from the host stand to the large red-carpeted dining room and be awed by the besuited waiters who deliver some of the best formal service anywhere in the world. There are dumplings and noodles, a legendary Peking duck, and seafood fished out of tanks and sold by the kilo just prior to cooking. Most dishes are served with some level of tableside preparation and panache, adding to the pure theater of the experience. [$$$$]

Each day, office workers make a beeline for this dumpling shop nestled in a CBD arcade with retail stores and a smattering of other restaurants. The Shandong-style fish dumplings from this mother-daughter team are nothing short of iconic. Cylindrical and filled with a puffy mackerel-and-herb mousse, they are pan-fried till crisp and juicy. Also worth braving the crowds for: the veggie dumplings with zucchini, tofu, black fungus, and noodles, and the squid-ink dumplings with garlic oil. [$]

Ask a bunch of Melbournians which place makes the best banh mi and brace for impact. You’ll hear about Bun Bun, Trang, Nhu Lan, and To’s, but the name that will be mentioned most often is N. Lee Bakery. There are two locations in the CBD, but the one on Smith Street is the best. Don’t be afraid of the quick-moving lunchtime queue. The fixings are traditional: house-made pate, mayo, cucumber, pickled carrot, cilantro, a choice of pork, chicken, or tofu, and a secret sauce. The freshness of the bread, the quality of the pork, and the sheer size of the sandwich make it one of the best deals (not to mention meals) in town. [$]

This wine bar is a must-do in Melbourne. It has a sleek, modern vibe and is always buzzing, as the kitchen (and bar) is open all day. Chef Dave Verheul uses the wood oven as the centerpiece of the kitchen and is punching out wine-friendly food to suit the boundary-pushing wine list. Upstairs, Lesa is Verheul’s full-blown restaurant where you can settle in for a set-course menu. [$$]

Named — with good reason — for the super-fine Italian flour, the pasta dishes here are legendary. Tipo 00 has a light and bright room that fills up quickly with the nearby business crowd day and night, so book early or arrive outside peak times. [$$-$$$]

Chef Victor Liong is delivering a new-style Chinese cuisine with finessed flavors and a deft touch. The crispy eggplant has reached cult status as the must-have dish and Lee Ho Fook’s relocation from Smith Street to a hip hidden laneway in the city has only increased its appeal. [$$$-$$$$]

Find the doorway on this graffiti-covered laneway and on any given day you’ll meet a friendly bunch of strangers perched on stools at the bar — probably sipping on a glass of sherry and tucking into a delicate plate of Ortiz anchovy and smoked tomato sorbet toasts. There are a few offshoots of the brand, but this original location is still the best. [$$]

Amidst the office buildings in the CBD, walk downstairs to this basement gem and prepare to be dazzled by the luxurious space. Chef/owner and TV presenter Shane Delia travels frequently, discovering new flavors and recipes for his modern Middle Eastern menu that takes hints from Malta, North Africa, Iran, and Turkey. For a more casual experience, check out the newly opened Maha East in Windsor. [$$$-$$$$]

The oldest continuously running food market in Australia, the Prahran Market is a local go-to for specialty and gourmet foodstuffs, and the perfect place to assemble the ultimate Melbournian picnic. Start with a visit to cheesemonger Anthony Femia at Maker & Monger. His “chapel of cheese” is fitted with a large fridge filled with local and international cheeses, a maturation room, and a kitchen to produce cheesy dishes featuring produce from his friends at the market. Round out your basket with a baguette from Q Le Baker, some wagyu pastrami from Gary’s Quality Meats, unusual produce from Damian Pike, fluffy chickpea-broad bean falafel from the Falafel Man, and a heap of colorful Turkish delight from Naheda’s Choice. [$-$$]

It’s a family affair with brothers Michael and Jason Lau, sons of former Flower Drum patriarch Gilbert Lau, running the floor of this busy eatery in the heart of St Kilda. There’s a simple menu of home-style Cantonese food including the renowned mapo tofu. Bookings are recommended, as locals love this place and snap up all the tables in advance. [$$]

A list of Melbourne essentials wouldn’t be complete without a pub, those sacred drinking dens where townies come for cold beer, hearty meals, and live music. St Kilda’s Espy is like a pub on steroids, with its five levels of eating, drinking, and music. Once an elegant hotel, the 140-year-old building has had a massive makeover to bring it back to its former glory. Think tropical wallpaper, velvet couches, and chandeliers. The seaside pub has 200 beer taps and two kitchens, one for classics like parma and fish and chips, the other for Cantonese. If you’re after something less flashy, check out the Napier Hotel in Fitzroy. [$$]

Burger joints are a dime a dozen in this town, but this one stands out from the crowd with its collection of old-school furniture, hip-hop on the stereo, and soda counter. Oh, and the burgers are kick-arse. A few doors down, sister shop Sundae School Ice Creamery churns fun flavors like orange and poppy seed and natural bubble gum. [$]

Pita-wrapped, french fry-stuffed lamb souvlaki is Australia’s favorite late-night snack, but Oakleigh’s Kalimera Souvlaki Art is all about the traditional spit-roasted pork that owners Thomas Deliopoulos and Sylvia Gabriel pack into chargrilled pita along with onions, tomatoes, tzatziki, paprika, and fries — always fries. Attica’s Ben Shewry is a vocal fan of the pork platter here. [$]

Igni is one of those tasting-menu-only restaurants where you definitely want whatever the chef is offering. In this case, the chef is the brilliant Aaron Turner (Loam, Husk, Hot Chicken Project). The menu has a regional focus and draws on unique home-grown offerings from friends and suppliers. The dining room is urban chic with light wood furniture, polished concrete floors, and a cascade of windows that look out onto the alleyway. This is intimate and relaxed dining, and it’s worth the hour drive out of Melbourne to get there. [$$$$]