48 Hours in Melbourne with Sarah

Just a hop, skip and a jump across the Tasman, Melbourne awaits, rich in art, fashion and of course incredible food! I took a weekend to explore and report my must-do activities for your next Aussie adventure.

Lune

It’s easy to plan a trip to Melbourne and arrive at the perfect time for a coffee pick-me-up at one of the myriad of amazing cafés. One of my top picks is the gorgeous Lune Croissanterie where the laminated pastries are, appropriately, out of this world. They describe themselves as “... not a shop, nor a factory. It is a celebration

of the creation, complexity and ultimate enjoyment of a croissant.” And although ‘not a shop’ they do in fact sell merchandise such as tea towels, books and tote bags alongside their incredible food, which delivers more than just a croissant. They serve up delights such as the kouign amann, a traditional pastry from the Bretagne region of France, laminated with sugar and baked in a mould lined with butter, sugar and salt until caramelised. Each creation is a work of art with exceptionally good coffee on the side. In Melbourne they can be found in Armadale, Fitzroy and the CBD. lunecroissanterie.com

Good Measure
193 Lygon St, Carlton

Another awesome spot for a different kind of coffee experience is Good Measure in Carlton, home of the original (and now much-imitated) drink, the Mont Blanc, which pairs lightly sweetened filter coffee with a creamy head, topped with nutmeg and orange zest. By night the café transforms into a cosy cocktail bar – reason to visit morning, noon or night!

Phillip and Lea
65 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy

For food-lovers and home cooks, Melbourne provides loads of inspiration and shopping galore. I often find those who love to cook also enjoy a good potter in the garden – two experiences that require us to slow down, enjoy the process and appreciate the results of our efforts. With both cooking and gardening equipment for sale, Phillip and Lea in Fitzroy is a brilliant spot to check out. With everything from Japanese knives to copper pots and pans, splitting axes, loppers and secateurs the merchandise is exquisitely presented. Who knew a shovel could look so chic?! phillipandlea.com.au

Caretaker’s Cottage
139-141 Little Lonsdale Street

behind Wesley Church If it’s cocktails you’re after, then a trip to the wildly fabulous Caretaker’s Cottage is a must-do. Built in 1914, the tiny bluestone cottage still has bedrooms upstairs, and although not utilised, the overall experience of drinking there is akin to being at some mad English house party with shenanigans aplenty. There are options to sit at the bar, a corner table and even outside on the steps in the sunshine, but be warned this place can get packed – and yet if anything it adds to the utter sense of chaos and joy that is the experience here. The service is on point, the drinks inventive, strong and delicious and the food beautifully matched. caretakerscottage.bar

Bistra
157 Elgin Street, Carlton

From cocktails to dinner, there are innumerable options – so how to choose? I’m lucky enough to have a ‘man on the ground’ in Melbourne, my darling eldest son, so it was with true unbiased insider knowledge we headed to the appropriately named Bistra, a modern Australian bistro complete with white tablecloths and pepper grinders on the tables (love that).

The menu is diverse with one unifying principle – simply delicious with a modern take on the classics. Think rich Onion Soup with Comté and a Toasted Crouton, nostalgia-inducing Baked Scallops with Garlic and Parsley Butter and epic Cheeseburgers with Dill Pickles and Fries. And for dessert, Rhubarb and Kiwifruit Trifle or Baked Apples with Vanilla Crème Anglaise. The wine list is equally impressive with Italian, German, Greek, Spanish and Portuguese wines featuring alongside the Aussies. bistracarlton.com.au

Queen Victoria Market
Queen St, Melbourne

Both Melbourne locals and visitors are blessed with options for fine and casual dining, but if you’re wanting something more low-key I’d recommend heading to the famous Queen Victoria Market, which is jam-packed with producers of beer, wine and spirits, speciality foods, meat, poultry and game as well as restaurants, cafés and speciality stores. There are far too many for me to mention here, but a couple of highlights were the American Doughnut Kitchen, serving up the most luscious, golden, hot jam doughnuts, and Ripe, who sell up to 50 varieties of cheese. Ripe founder Hakim Halim was awarded Small Business of the Year in 2023 by the City of Melbourne, in recognition of his success in championing Australian producers, but Ripe is also known for selling beautiful cured small goods and wickedly good triple-cheese toasties loaded with gooey mozzarella, tasty vintage cheddar and a smear of blue cheese with caramelised champagne leeks. Phwoar – how good does that sound?!

To really sink into the experience, you can book in for one of the Queen Vic Market Tours including the ‘Ultimate Foodie Tour’. qvm.com.au

Morning Market

In contrast to the sprawling assortment of vendors and producers at the Queen Victoria Market, Morning Market located in Fitzroy and Prahran is the stuff of Nancy Meyers’ dreams. Like something straight out of a movie, Morning Market is a café and shop with chic corner-store vibes. Head here to pick up a coffee and some exquisite sandwiches packed with poached chicken, walnut, apple, pickled celery, cress, cos and jalapeño mayo, then peruse the cookbooks, glassware, candles, ceramics and curated grocery offerings. morning.market

The Royce
379 St Kilda Road, St Kilda

With so much to see and do in Melbourne, finding the perfect place to rest your weary head is important. Just three kilometres from the CBD near South Yarra, The Royce is an exquisite five-star hotel with a distinctly sexy atmosphere. The Showroom Bar is indeed a show-stopper, sleek and spacious, with a nine-metre, marble-topped bar and swish mauve seating, setting the scene for Jay Gatsby to rock in for a Tom Collins or glass of Champagne at any minute. And while cocktails are non-negotiable, the dining here is just as important as the drinking, if not more so. I sat down with Pawan Dutta, executive chef at both The Royce and sister hotel The Lyall, to find out about his journey to The Royce and what can be expected from the menu. Dutta has spent years travelling the globe to exotic and luxurious spots during his career – in his time as a yacht chef he visited as many as 80 locations. From head chef experience in hotels such as The Conrad and The Ritz Carlton in places such as the Maldives, Tokyo, Dubai and Qatar, he is extremely comfortable in the rarified air of luxury dining. It seems a good thing, then, that Dutta didn’t follow his parents’ wish for him to take biology as a major at university, instead opting for a Bachelor’s in Hospitality.

The menu for The Royce has a British/ European slant, while also embracing the use of local products. Think Artichoke Velouté with Crispy Saltbush, and Grilled Scallops with Cauliflower Pureé, Macadamia, Peas and Warm Bacon Vinaigrette – both of which I can confirm are utterly delicious. Another favourite I sampled was the Chicken Liver Parfait Pâté Éclair with Raspberry and Apricot Chutney.

The menu is cleverly thought out, providing travellers and local diners with the option of diving into familiar ‘Comforts’, such as a Butter-poached Lobster Roll or Flame- grilled Black Angus Burger, or heading to the ‘Mains’ for more complex dishes, such as Roasted Duck Breast with Heritage Bendigo Beetroot, Chestnuts, Carrot-celeriac Pavé and Cherry Balsamic Jus. As with the rest of the hotel experience, the food and drinks offering is exquisite, well thought out and perfectly executed. Pawan Dutta is keen to create his legacy here, and by crikey I think he is well underway!

Away from the glitz and glamour of the Showroom Bar, The Royce offers 94 guest rooms, many with balconies, and all beautifully appointed with soft leather upholstered furniture and Italian white Carrera marble bathrooms. The rooms are spacious, the beds outrageously comfortable and the interior design echoes the luxe 1930s mood present in the rest of the hotel. In addition The Royce features a gloriously decorated breakfast restaurant, three boardrooms, The Library and Ballroom. roycehotel.com.au

The Lyall
16 Murphy Street, South Yarra

Five minutes from The Royce, you’ll find sister hotel, The Lyall, a much revered five-star boutique hotel that has recently undergone a two-year refurbishment and redesign. Referenced as “the hotel for those who don’t like hotels” The Lyall has a quietly sophisticated elegance that invites you to just sink in and relax. Textures and colours are subtle and soft, and the decorating fosters a somewhat masculine, solid and comforting feeling with dark-stained Tasmanian Oak furniture featuring gold accents. With only 51 guest rooms, it feels almost as if you have just gained access to an exclusive club. All suites have king or twin beds and French or furnished balconies so guests can experience the particular pleasure of lying in bed, door open, looking out over the view of the Japanese Maple Garden in total relaxation. The rooms are spacious and luxurious with all the extras you could wish for such as velour bathrobes and slippers, Nespresso machines and large flat screen TVs with casting capability.

The restaurant and wine bar is a cosy and intimate space where light lunches include modern-Australian, European-inspired classics such as Freshly Shucked Oysters with White Balsamic Mignonette, and Grilled Octopus Bruschetta with Grainy Mustard, Tomato and Black Garlic. For those looking to escape into subtle, quiet luxury, The Lyall is perfect. thelyall.com