May 2012
2 posts
4 tags
Los Latinos, Maidstone
Where:128 Mitchell St,Maidstone When: Weds, Thurs 5-9pm, Fri: 5-10pm, Weekends: 8.30am-10pm Contact: (03) 9318 52 89 Vego friendly Licensed   A far cry from all-you-can-eat and novelty sombrero-dishing establishments, Los Latinos prefer to call their cuisine “Latin”. But for those who have a soft spot for comfort-food Mexican fare, fear not, you can still have your burrito and giant...
May 31st
4 tags
Manchester Press, Melbourne
Where:8 Rankins Lane,Melbourne When: Breakfast and Lunch 7 days Contact: (03) 9600 4054 Vego :)   It’s easy to presume without visiting, that Manchester Press would be merely another over-hyped, over-crowded café, pushing fashion over quality of experience. Thankfully it is not, and yes, the hype is completely justified. Melbournites might roll their eyes when I explain that Manchester Press...
May 21st
1 note
3 tags
Balderdash, Port Melbourne
Where:295 Bay St Port Melbourne When: Weekdays 7am-3pm, Weekends 8am-3pm Contact: (03) 9077 3813 Vego :) Avocado, lime and goat’s cheese on Turkish bread, topped with a soft poached egg ($14) Port Melbourne is a strange sort of place; Lycra-swathed cyclists, dogs, and lots of affluent white people, When I was strolling up Bay Street a mother called out, “Sienna and Beau get out of the way!”...
May 7th
April 2012
4 posts
3 tags
Ici, Fitzroy
Where: 359 Napier St Fitzroy When: Weekdays 7.30-4.30, Weekends 8-4.30 Contact: (03) 9417 2274 Licensed Cash Only   Little Ici is a well loved favourite in Fitzroy, and it’s easy to see why. While undoubtedly cool, the tiny café is not so edgy as to sacrifice comfort and functionality. The chairs are old and heavy; wood with leather seating pads. Parisian little lampshades jut out from the...
Apr 24th
6 tags
Red Spice Road, Melbourne
When: Monday-Friday 12pm-late, Saturday 6pm-late Sundays: December, functions. Where:27 Mc Killop Street Melbourne Contact: (03) 9603 1601 Banquet is not vegetarian friendly CC & EFTPOS available  My first initial impression of Red Spice Road was mixed; it was huge and with the majority of the space occupied by a few single monster tables, it felt more like a function venue than a...
Apr 12th
2 tags
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Apr 8th
1 note
6 tags
N's Satay Bar, Melbourne
When: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner during the week Where:296 Russel Street Melbourne Contact: (03) 9671 4815 Licensed   Grilled Beef Satay ($8) I don’t know about you guys but I have lost count of the times I’ve had bad satay in Melbourne. Fortunately that’s all changing and you can now get great satay at (almost) rupiah prices at N’s Satay Bar in town. The restaurant is a square little room...
Apr 1st
2 notes
March 2012
3 posts
5 tags
People’s Market, Melbourne (Docklands)
Where: 453-507 Docklands Drive, Melbourne When: Saturdays 10am-9pm (currently closed for Winter, back soon!) Contact: (03) 93646631 Vego :) Licensed   While this isn’t exactly a restaurant review, People’s Market at Docklands offered plenty of culinary options to be enjoyed. Heading down on a grey Saturday morning was still plenty atmospheric even with the trademark Docklands winds howling down...
Mar 23rd
1 note
3 tags
SNAPSHOT REVIEW: Crumbs, Nth Melbourne
Where:16 Errol Street, North Melbourne When: Weekdays 6:30am-6pm, Saturdays 7am-3pm Cash only Primarily take-away Vego :) Something quite special has popped up on Errol Street in North Melbourne. Crumbs Bakery; a sweet little slice of a shop bringing a breath of fresh air to the stale part of the shopping strip. They offer freshly baked bread, coffee and a small but thoughtful range of...
Mar 9th
2 notes
6 tags
Senor BBQ at Pure Pop Records, St Kilda
Where: 221 Barkly St St Kilda When: Tues-Fri 5pm-Late, Weekends 12pm-Late Contact: 1300 274 227 Eat in/Take-away   Nostalgic: The view from our table What’s the perfect rock food? Why it’s chunky, oily, char-grilled meat of course. Argentinean BBQ is no doubt going to be big in Melbourne and Pure Pop Records in St Kilda are right on trend, serving up a limited menu of meaty treats in...
Mar 3rd
February 2012
4 posts
6 tags
Backstreet Cafe, Fitzroy
Where: 152 Kerr St Fitzroy When: Weekdays 7am-10:30pm, Weekends 8am-10:30pm Contact: (03) 9417 1212 CC & EFTPOS available   Fitzroyers may already be savvy to Backstreet Café which opened up on Kerr Street in January. Even if you’re not a local, you’re bound to hear all about it sooner or later, primarily because of the success of its big sister, Birdman Eating just around the corner....
Feb 24th
2 notes
Anonymous asked: Hi Lunchosaurus, Mikey from Grigons and Orr here. Thanks for the review. Just want to correct a couple of things. The Eggs Benedict is $14.50 with bacon/spinach or ham and the Coddled Eggs are $12.50. Can I check the low service rating was because you have to get your own water? Just hoping we were polite and looked after you! Oh and our number is 0487 608 489 - we're open 7am till 4pm...
Feb 14th
5 tags
Grigons & Or Corner Store, North Melbourne
Where: 445 Queensberry St North Melbourne When: Weekends 8am-4pm, Weekdays 7am-4pm Cash Only Vegetarian :) Dine-in, take-away for milk-bar items Contact: (03) 9663 5192   Remember the days when you could get everything at your Corner Store? All your groceries and a milkshake too? If you don’t remember then it’s probably because this distorted piece of nostalgia owes itself to something out...
Feb 12th
1 note
6 tags
The Tramway Hotel, North Fitzroy
Where:165 Rae Street, NorthFitzroy When: Tues-Fri from 4pm, Weekends from midday CC and EFTPOS Veg and Vegan friendly Dine-in Contact: (03) 9489 6100   It’s no secret that Melbournites love their pubs, and amongst the leafy streets of North Fitzroy there’s nearly one on every corner. The Tramway Hotel is one of many historic watering holes in the area, with the building dating back to the...
Feb 1st
January 2012
3 posts
7 tags
Mr Mason, Melbourne
Where: Shop 10, 530 Collins St (enter via Little Collins St) When: Mon-Fri Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. Weekends: Private Functions Credit Cards avail. Dine-in Vego :/ somewhat friendly Contact: (03) 9614 4500   Mr. Mason, a new restaurant in the Collins Street Stock Exchange Building strives to give the Business Lunchers something ritzier than food court take-away. However one need not...
Jan 24th
9 notes
3 tags
Friends of Mine, Richmond
Where: 506 Swan St Richmond When: Mon-Fri 8am-4pm, Weekends 8.30am-4pm Cash Only Dine in/Some take-away Vego friendly Licensed Contact: (03) 9428 7516 The “good room” Friends of Mine in Richmond seems to be milking the best of both the café and restaurant worlds. Walking in off the street, the initial room is industrial-chic with polished concrete floors, wooden communal...
Jan 16th
1 note
7 tags
Snag Stand, Melbourne
Where: Cnr Latrobe and Swanston Streets, Melbourne When: Mon-Thurs 10am-10pm, Fri-Sat 10am-12am, Sun 11am-9pm EFTPOS Available Take-away/ Very limited dine-in Vego :/     (1 main option available) Contact: (03) 9639 6544   I’m just as vulnerable to a tasty new fad as anyone else and in case you haven’t noticed, Melbourne is getting sausage-happy at the moment. While the Bratwurst shop at QV...
Jan 8th
8 notes
December 2011
4 posts
4 tags
Trunk Diner, Melbourne
Where: 273 Exhibition St Melbourne When: Mon-Fri 7.30am-4pm, Weekends 8am-4pm Contact: (03) 9663 7994 Payment: EFTPOS and CC Dine in/Take-away Vego :) If Trunk Bar and Restaurant is too fancy pants for you, then you’ll dig its stingy little sibling; Trunk Diner. The philosophy behind the Diner is “food that people really love to eat”, meaning all that comfort stuff with none of the...
Dec 30th
With the shops rearing their little heads again this week it’s time to start enjoying the local food talent again… New review coming soon!
Dec 26th
4 tags
Da Noi, South Yarra
Where: 95 Toorak Road South Yarra When: Tues-Saturday: Lunch and Dinner, Monday: Dinner, Sunday: Closed Contact: (03) 9866 5975 Payment: CC and EFTPOS Vego :)   Da Noi in South Yarra is intimate high-end dining. The petite front room is small and white with restrained flourishes of tasteful art and cheery yellow light shades. The menu arrives as a handwritten piece of paper on a glass...
Dec 14th
11 notes
5 tags
L’atelier de Monsieur truffe, Brunswick
Where: 351 Lygon Street Brunswick East When: Tues-Fri 8am-4pm, Weekends 8.30am-5pm Contact: (03) 9416 3101 Payment: CC and EFTPOS Vego friendly   I must say, my pretentious-radar went a bit psycho when I arrived at L’atelier de Monsieur Truffe the other morning. It doesn’t help that the entrance is completely unsigned, with only a closed red door to show the way. It feels very weird to go...
Dec 4th
13 notes
November 2011
7 posts
5 tags
The Crimean, North Melbourne
Where: 351 Queensberry St North Melbourne When: Tues, Weds Dinner, Thurs-Sun Lunch and dinner Contact: (03) 9329 3353 Vego: Mildly Friendly :/ Payment: CC and EFTPOS The peeps at The Crimean in West Melbourne don’t want to put a label on their cuisine but the general consensus is that it is of Eastern European influence. To me, it tasted like stuff my Slovakian mother makes, with lots of...
Nov 28th
2 notes
3 tags
The Winners! Lunchosaurus' Top 2 Melb Eats
It’s here! In partnership with Hide & Seek I’ve published my Top 2 Melbourne Eats. CLICK HERE TO VIEW WINNERS Thanks to hideseek.com.au for hosting my writing so hospitably! Make sure you check out their website for all the inside goss on what’s good to eat, see and do in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane!
Nov 23rd
1 note
3 tags
Click to see Lunchosaurus' TOP 5 EATS in Melbourne →
Recently I wrote an article for Hide & Seek all about my favourite 5 places to eat out in Melbourne. It wasn’t easy that’s for sure! Today you’ll see my favourites in 3rd, 4th and 5th places and tomorrow my top 2 picks will be available so stay tuned:) xLuncho
Nov 22nd
7 tags
Wall Two 80, Balaclava
Where: 280 Carlisle St Balaclava When: Breakfast and Lunch 7 days Contact: (03) 9593 8280 Vego friendly Payment: CC for orders $20+ Wall on Carlisle Street has a good thing going that’s for sure; they practically invented the hole-in-the-wall genre of café and they don’t show any signs of slowing down. In more recent years they’ve expanded to include more seating while managing to retain...
Nov 9th
1 note
New-Look Lunchosaurus
Lunchosaurus has some sweet new digs! Take a look around and make yourself at home. You may also have noticed that the blog now has it’s own dot com… lunchosaurus.com So no need to laboriously type “.tumblr” ever again! Phew. Improvements and tinkerings will be continuing for the next few days until Luncho is looking and functioning at her very best. Until next meal...
Nov 6th
6 tags
Nov 2nd
4 notes
October 2011
5 posts
ywouldyou asked: hello, only just started following you, and was wondering if you have ever being down in Ormond and being to cafe called Gauge?
Oct 31st
5 tags
Luncheonette, Kensington
Where: 173 Rankins Rd Kensington When: Tues-Sun 8am-3pm Eat-in and take-away Vego :) Payment: Cash Only    If you are ever driving through Kensington, down Macaulay Rd and a little corner-store catches your eye, follow your instincts and stop. For too long I’ve driven past Luncheonette, wondering what was behind that cute retro window signage. Finally, I made a date for a weekend breakfast and...
Oct 30th
12 notes
4 tags
Mister Close, an update
Where: Shop 13 Midtown Plaza (Cnr of Bourke and Swanston Streets) When: Mon-Fri 7am-4pm Sat 9am-4pm Sun 11am-4pm Contact: (03) 9654 7778 Pricing: Mains under $25 Vego Friendly Cash and Card Sandwich special: Chicken shnitzel with avocado and corn salsa and lime mayonnaise with a side salad ($14.95) So it seems my favourite CBD eatery is pushing my limits a little bit. Today I ordered the...
Oct 27th
1 note
7 tags
The Lounge, Melbourne CBD
Where: L1, 243 Swanston St Melbourne When: Mon,Tues 11am-12am, Weds, Thurs 11am-3am, Fri 11am-6am, Sat 1pm- 6am, Sun 6am-1am Contact: (03) 9663 2916 Vego :) Payment: Cash and CC accepted   If you’re from Melbourne you no doubt have been to or at least heard of The Lounge. For over 20 years this venue has been feeding, watering and boogying the locals. It interests me that this iconic venue...
Oct 23rd
2 notes
7 tags
Rue Bebelons', Melbourne CBD
Where: 267 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne When: Mon 9am-8pm, Tues-Weds 9am-Late, Thur-Sat 9am-3am Sun 9am-11pm Contact: (03) 9663 1700 Dine in/Take-away Veg & Vegan :) So the last time I went to Rue Bebelons’ the guy who served me tried to charge me more for a cappuccino than for a latte, because you know, “cappuccinos are harder to make”. I was quite able to talk myself out of paying the...
Oct 13th
7 tags
Boulevard Café at Poynton’s Nursery, Essendon
Where: The Boulevard (Cnr Vida St), Essendon When: Mon-Sat 8am-5pm, Sun/Public Hols 9am-5pm Contact: (03) 9337 8111 Cash & CC Dine-in Vego :) Outdoor & indoor areas   Browse while you bite on the balcony at The Boulevard Cafe If you’ve ever been to the very extensive Poynton’s Nursery you’ll know how easy it is to exhaust yourself traipsing up and down the many levels of this vast...
Oct 10th
September 2011
3 posts
Lunchosaurus is on holiday
Lunchosaurus is away on Honeymoon in Hong Kong! She’ll be back for more reviews in two weeks.
Sep 24th
5 tags
Beatrix (revisited for sweets), North Melbourne
Where: 688 Queensberry St North Melbourne When: Breakfast and Lunch Wednesday-Monday Contact: (03) 9090 7301 Pricing: Mains under $15 Vego :) Cash only Dine in/Take-away Passionfruit yoyo ($3) It seemed a shame not to return for a special dessert-orientated visit at Beatrix, after all, sweets seem to be their shtick. So with fellow ‘sweet connoisseur’ in tow I returned for afternoon...
Sep 21st
4 notes
7 tags
Pho Tam, Footscray
Where: Corner of Leeds and Ryan Streets, Footscray When: Breakfast, Lunch and Dins everyday Contact: (03) 9687 2680 Vego friendly   Another Vietnamese place in Footscray with hospital-grade lighting and plastic cups? Well yes, and while Pho Tam is so much like all the other local eateries on a surface level, stay for a meal and you’ll see what sets it apart. As the name suggests, Pho is...
Sep 7th
1 note
August 2011
3 posts
4 tags
FOOD SNAPSHOT- Kenzan, Melbourne
Where: Shop 28G 350 Bourke St Melbourne (behind the pizza place in the GPO lane) When: Mon-Sun Lunch, Thurs-Fri Dinner  Contact: (03) 9663 7767 Cash & CC Licensed Cooked tuna and cucumber hand roll ($3.40 each T/A, $3.60 eat in) Five years ago there seemed nothing more cool and convenient than grabbing a fresh sushi hand roll from a hole-in-the-wall restaurant and garnishing it...
Aug 30th
11 notes
5 tags
Mister Close, CBD
Where: Shop 13 Midtown Plaza (Cnr of Bourke and Swanston Streets) When: Mon-Fri 7am-4pm, Sat 9am-4pm, Sun 11am-4pm Contact: (03) 9654 7778 Pricing: Mains under $25 Vego :) Cash and Card   I don’t know about you, but the thought of eating a weekend lunch in the city usually sends shivvers down my spine. Melbourne, as cosmopolitan as it is, has not yet blossomed into a 24/7 food haven. There...
Aug 20th
1 note
7 tags
Choukette, Brunswick
Where: 318 Sydney Rd Brunswick When: Mon-Thurs 7.15-5.30, Fri & Sat 7.15-6, Sun 7.15-4.30 Contact: (03) 9380 8680 Pricing: Under $15 mains Vego :) Cash only   Brownie ($3) Chouk-ette Noun, plural –s A delicious French pastry A delicious French Bakery in Brunswick If you’re looking for a take-away option on Sydney Rd that isn’t a bland, overpriced focaccia then Choukette is...
Aug 8th
1 note
July 2011
2 posts
8 tags
Beatrix, North Melbourne
Where: 688 Queensberry St North Melbourne When: Breakfast and Lunch Wednesday-Monday Contact: (03) 9090 7301 Pricing: Mains under $15 Vego :) Cash only Dine in/Take-away   I’ve eaten at many places in the last week and a half but I have not been able to publish a word on any of them. Sometimes it’s difficult to find anywhere worth writing about. Then I found Beatrix; a tiny café getting a...
Jul 23rd
1 note
4 tags
Chin Chin CBD
Where: 125 Flinders Lane, Melbourne When: Every day lunch and dinner Contact: (03) 8663 2000 (no reservations) Vego friendly (but not many options) So I ate lunch at another of Melbourne’s new designer restaurants, which was fitted out in the shiny warehouse look which is so hot right now. Chin Chin is a large room of a restaurant, appropriately situated right in the designer part of...
Jul 12th
1 note
June 2011
3 posts
6 tags
Fandango, North Melbourne
Where: 97 Errol Street North Melbourne When: Tues-Sat 7.30-3pm Contact: (03) 9329 0693 Vego :) Cash Only Chai Tea with Soy $4.50 As I’ll be moving into the North Melbourne area in the next few months I decided to check out my new local food haunts. I was pleased to find that although the very average Hot Poppy and Rubicon were still going, Errol Street had moved into brighter...
Jun 29th
5 notes
4 tags
Wide Open Road, Brunswick
Where: 274 Barkly Street Brunswick When: Mon-Sat 7:30am-5pm, Sun 8am-5pm Contact: (03) 9387 6079 Dine in/take-away Cash Only Vego :)   A long-standing favourite café of mine (A Minor Place) has spawned another creation in Barkly Street, also in Brunswick. Wide Open Road is all about the coffee; describing itself as a “boutique micro coffee roaster”, they’re hyped about roasting single origin...
Jun 20th
2 notes
4 tags
Sugarbeat, Ascot Vale
Where: 5a North Street, Ascot Vale When: Weekdays 7am-4pm Weekends 8am-4pm Contact: (03) 9372 7118 Dine –in/Take-away Vego :)   Sugarbeat in Ascot Vale has a lot to battle with; an uninspiring location (tucked away on a suburban street corner next to a beauty salon and gym) and a daggy fit-out which looks more like a Puckle St (Moonee Ponds) dive than a nice place to eat. It took years of...
Jun 11th
May 2011
3 posts
4 tags
Misschu, CBD
Where: Shop 2/297 Exhibition St, Melbourne Contact: (03) 9077 1097 When: Mon-Sat 11am-10pm Licensed Dine in/Take-away Vego :) :) Misschu’s mysterious interior It’s been a while since I’ve been so excited about a place that I’ve wanted to re-visit it as soon as I’ve left. Indeed if Misschu were more conveniently located to my work and home I would’ve been eating dumplings all week....
May 28th
1 note
4 tags
Auction Rooms, North Melbourne
Where: 103-107 Errol Street North Melbourne Contact: (03) 9326 7749 When: Mon-Fri 7am-5pm, Sat-Sun 7.30am-4pm Dine-in CC accepted Vego: :) :)   Lemongrass and ginger tea  Walking into Auction Rooms on a Sunday morning is risky business, with lines of patient people and tiny expensively-dressed children waiting for a table. The place has a loud buzz to it with voices bouncing off the hard...
May 16th
2 notes
4 tags
Le Traiteur, CBD
Where: 552 Lonsdale St CBD Contact: (03) 9670 0039 When: Monday-Friday: 7am-6pm Dine-in and Take-away Licensed Vego :) Mustard-rubbed roast beef, gruyere cheese and caperberries baguette $11* Gourmet take-away for the discerning CBD worker is a relatively new but fast-growing market. People want more than bad fast-food or eerily sterile food-court options. Le Traiteur is targeting this...
May 12th
1 note
April 2011
2 posts
4 tags
Naked for Satan, Fitzroy
Where: 285 Brunswick St, Fitzroy Contact: (03) 9416 2238 When: Sun- Tues, Midday-Midnight and Weds-Sat Midday-1pm Dine-in Licensed Payment: Mastercard, EFTPOS Vego :)   So primarily Naked for Satan is a bar, it’s just they have been doing little snackables called ‘pintxos’ which can turn into a full meal if you eat enough of them. A pintxos constitutes a little piece of bruscetta-sized...
Apr 26th
2 notes
3 tags
Julio, North Fitzroy
Where: Cnr Miller and Ida Streets North Fitzroy Contact: (03) 9489 7814 When: Daily 7:30-4pm Dine-in/Take-away Pricing: Mains under $15 Payment: Cash Vego :) :) Even if you’re not old enough to get the Paul Simon reference, Julio still comes off as a clever little café. There’s a carefully thought-out feeling of serenity in the homely corner-shop location. On a sunny day the light...
Apr 18th
2 notes
March 2011
3 posts
4 tags
Libertine, North Melbourne
Location: 500 Victoria Street North Melbourne Contact: (03) 9329 5228 When: Tues-Sat Lunch 12-3pm, dinner 6-10pm  Licensed Dine-in Pricing: Mains under $40, entrées under $20 Payment: Cash and CC Vego barely-friendly :/ French restaurant Libertine in North Melbourne likes to squeeze as much old fashioned glamour as it can into it’s petite single-fronted fit-out. A large chandelier...
Mar 27th
4 notes