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Melbourne Munchies
From coffee to cake to craft beer, Kate Springer takes a bite out of this famously foodie city.
Here’s a wining and dining shortlist for your next trip down under.
It’s a food-for-all at
Hellenic Republic
Dip into Movida’s tapas
Melbourne: a gourmand and graffiti artist’s playground
This is what a Kugelhupf looks like
Get your coffee fix
at Seven Seeds
Grab your Myki travel card and hop on the
Melbourne tram, because you have some
work to do. The foodie scene in the capital of
Victoria, on the southeastern side of Australia,
is a gourmand’s playground.
Polish Cakes
A testament to Melbourne’s international
culinary chops, Cake Street in St. Kilda is
famous for its string of Polish and Eastern
European bakeries. The veritable Monarch
Cakes (103 Acland St., (+61) 3-9534-2972,
www.monarchcakes.com.au) has been
pumping out its famous silky chocolate
Kugelhupf cake from this quaint storefront
since 1934. Many of the recipes were inherited
from the family’s original shop in Poland—and
everything you see is made from scratch.
Order: You have to get the Kugelhupf—don’t
try to pronounce, just point! While you’re there,
dig into a Polish cheesecake too, which is made
with a 100-year-old recipe.
Spanish Tapas
Find your way through the graffitied laneways
for Spanish tapas at Movida (1 Hosier Lane,
(+61) 3-9663-3038, movida.com.au). This long-
Gourmet Donuts
Melbourne has long been a champion of coffee,
but now the city’s picking up some donut chops
too. Artisanal bakers are popping up in the
laneways to serve these meticulously crafted
sweets. Try Short Stop (12 Sutherland St.,
www.short-stop.com.au), where donuts are
made fresh all day behind the counter and you
can count on a good long black to match.
Order: We have nothing but praise for the
Earl Grey and Rose ($30) and the Bourbon
Crème Brulée ($33) donuts. Except that they
didn’t last long enough.
Coffee!
One of Melbourne’s greatest assets is
genuinely awesome coffee. Even if you don’t
know your Aeropress from your elbow, the
baristas at Seven Seeds (106-114 Berkeley St.,
(+61) 3-9347-8664, sevenseeds.com.au) will get
you sorted with beans from Latin America and
Africa. The place balances out its hipster farmgrunge-chic
surrounds with earnestly helpful
staff and great food, too.
Order: Ask one of the servers to walk
you through the day’s beans, as they shift
seasonally. Try a short black roast for maximum
signatures, including the rightly well known
Little Creatures Pale Ale.
Order: Try the citrusy IPA, and the Rogers’ beer,
which balances caramel and hops.
Greek Food
Thanks to several waves of Greek emigration
to Australia, there’s plenty of great Greek food
around town. But the restaurant of the hour
has to be Hellenic Republic (434 Lygon St.,
(+61) 3-9381-1222, www.hellenicrepublic.com.
au), which feels like a family-style tavern.
Head here for big hearty portions, a boundless
wine list of Hellenic varieties, and 16 types of
ouzo. Just be sure to book ahead as this place
fills up nightly.
Order: Start with
the taramasalata
white cod roe
dip, freshly
baked pitas,
and the
Cypriot grain
salad; finish with
the lamb shoulder,
slow-roasted on the bone
and served with a huge melty head of garlic.
Where to Stay
Cool Kids: Hole up at The Prince hotel in St.
Kilda, one of Melbourne’s artsier neighborhoods.
The boutique design hotel sports stylish
rooms, spa-like bathrooms and several notable
restaurants. Though it’s not in the center of
town, The Prince is in a great neighborhood
for live music, harbor sunsets and beach
bumming—there’s a stretch of sand just across
the street.
From $1,200, including an awesome
breakfast. 2 Acland St., St. Kilda, (+61)
3-9536-1111, www.theprince.com.au.
Classy Cats: The sophisticated Lyall Hotel
& Spa is located on a quiet, leafy street in
South Yarra. The neighborhood is a go-to for
great brunch—don’t miss Two Birds One Stone
(twobirdsonestonecafe.com.au)—and upscale
shopping, along Toorak Road and Chapel Street.
The hotel itself is an all-suite deal, though the
rooms are a little drab. Excellent service and a
super luxurious spa make up for it.
From $1,583. 16 Murphy St., South Yarra,
(+61) 3-9868-8222, thelyall.com.
Getting There: Qantas flies direct daily (from
$6,000-12,000, depending on time of year).
standing favorite is a Melbourne institution,
flavor; or a short white for smoother sips.
with four iterations and counting in the city.
Each branch is a little different, but we’d
recommend the original spot off Flinders Street.
Expect a mix of creative bite-sized tapas and
bigger ración to share.
Order: We loved the house cold-smoked
Spanish mackerel, spiced chicken salad, and
duck liver pâté and foam on brioche.
Or just get one of everything!
Craft Beer
For a sure-fire beer experience, pull up a stool
at Little Creatures (222 Brunswick St., (+61)
3-9417-5500, www.littlecreatures.com.au).
The tap house is huge and happening, with
open-air seating and a “sampler” board ($86)
that features a smattering of seasonals and
Little Creatures:
a little of everything
The Prince’s minimalist-chic digs
28 HK MAGAZINE FRIDAY, DECember 5, 2014