The Best Restaurants in South Melbourne to Book Now

South Melbourne has one of the most varied dining scenes just outside Melbourne’s CBD, with some of the city’s best restaurants clustered around South Melbourne Market, Clarendon Street, Coventry Street and the quieter residential pockets towards Albert Park.

The best restaurants in South Melbourne range from six-seat Japanese omakase and regional Greek cooking to handmade pasta, Indonesian favourites, gastropubs and excellent wine bars. Long-standing neighbourhood institutions now sit alongside ambitious new openings, making the suburb as worthwhile for a destination dinner as it is for a market-day lunch.

From Tomo-An and Aegli to much-loved locals such as Komeyui, Bellota and O’Connell’s, these are the South Melbourne restaurants worth booking now.

Aegli

Aegli gives Greek cooking a far more regional, considered treatment than Melbourne usually sees. Chef Ioannis Kasidokostas, who previously worked in Michelin-starred kitchens in Athens, draws on dishes and techniques from across Greece, from lobster hilopites with aged cheese to Pontian manti, wood-fired green beans and slow-baked beef. Much is made in-house, including cheese and loukaniko, while the wine list digs deep into indigenous Greek varieties such as Assyrtiko and Xinomavro. The former Lume dining room keeps the experience polished without sanding away the warmth of Greek hospitality.

226 Coventry Street, South Melbourne

Tomo-An

Six seats, one sitting and 13 courses make Tomo-An one of South Melbourne’s most singular dinners. Chef Tomotaka Ishizuka, who founded CBD fine diner Ishizuka before stepping away, now turns his attention to Kaga-style kaiseki, a highly seasonal tradition from Ishikawa. The $350 menu might move through sashimi, grilled and simmered dishes, jibuni-style duck, wagyu sukiyaki and delicate sweets, all prepared metres from the counter. Sake leans heavily into Ishikawa producers, completing a three-hour experience that rewards booking well ahead.

2 George Street, South Melbourne

Upper Middle

After 18 years on the floor at France-Soir, hospitality veteran Franck Sammut has finally opened a place of his own. Upper Middle takes its cues from European bakeries, moving from St Ali coffee and Parisian-style baguettes by day to hand-stretched pizza and wine from Thursday night. Head chef Lakshay Kapoor, formerly of Bistro Thierry, handles the kitchen, while old photographs from Sammut’s father’s 1991 restaurant La Brasserie line the room. South Melbourne has gained the neighbourhood all-dayer Sammut spent decades learning how to make.

34 Eastern Road, South Melbourne

Pondok Nasi Bakar

Banana leaves hit the charcoal at Pondok Nasi Bakar before being opened to reveal fragrant, spice-laden rice with chicken, fish or beef rendang tucked inside. The family-run Indonesian restaurant traces its roots to Jakarta, with a menu that also travels through ayam penyet, grilled beef ribs, sambal-heavy seafood and gado gado. Everything is halal, portions are generous and the signature nasi bakar carries that smoky, savoury perfume all the way to the table.

179-181 Clarendon Street, South Melbourne

O’Connells Hotel

A South Melbourne institution since 1873, O’Connell’s Hotel entered a new chapter in May 2026 under Brenton Lang and the team behind Prahran’s Flying Duck Hotel. Head chef Michael Conlon now runs the kitchen, with Australian seafood, native ingredients and a red gum-fired Josper at its centre. Wood-fired king prawns come with smoked macadamia butter and bush tomato, saltbush lamb shoulder gets an overnight cook, and the Silk Road Martini tips its hat to former chef Greg Malouf. The Fiona Drago-led refresh keeps the old pub bones beautifully intact.

407 Coventry Street, South Melbourne

The George Hotel

The George Hotel has settled back into South Melbourne with exactly the right amount of pub nostalgia. Reopened under Scott Connolly, part of the team behind the Orrong and Healesville hotels, the 160-year-old corner now wears tartan carpet, old footy photos and retro courtyard umbrellas with its history intact. On the plate, there’s on-the-bone chicken parma, barramundi in jungle curry, steak night on Thursdays and a $29 Sunday roast.

Sitchu Tip: Happy hour lands at $5 pots, $10 pints and spritzes, which is reason enough to get there early.

139 Cecil Street, South Melbourne

Pizzateca Lupa

On the corner of South Melbourne Market, Pizzateca Lupa goes fully Roman. Brothers Lino and Gabriele Torre serve crisp-edged pizza in teglia by the slice during the day, alongside round tonda pizzas made to order. Pasta gets equal billing, with amatriciana fusilli, carbonara tubettone and cacio e pepe spaghetti made using Pastificio Liguori. Fried artichokes and antipasti get things started, with spritzes never far behind, and the Norma pizza with fried eggplant is an absolute must-order.

South Melbourne Market, 116 Cecil Street, South Melbourne

Cheri

Chéri makes an easy case for an all-day South Melbourne stop. The European-style eatery and patisserie opens from 8am, moving from croissant French toast and Benedict Chéri into ricotta gnocchi, chicken cotoletta, vodka-sauce pasta al forno and 72-hour fermented pizzas. The pastry counter is stacked with glossy cakes, tarts and viennoiserie made in-house, while the courtyard suits coffee, lunch or a late-afternoon spritz equally well.

285-287 Coventry Street, South Melbourne

Mewoo

Mewoo turns Korean comfort food and Japanese technique into one seriously tempting menu. Owner-chef Ethan makes the sauces in-house, pairing them with thick-cut donkatsu, crisp Korean fried chicken, negitama gyu don and fresh sashimi. Around those come oysters with yuzu kosho, sake-steamed clams and house sodas worth ordering in their own right. Generous portions and big flavour make this South Melbourne restaurant an easygoing one for sharing across the table.

South Melbourne Central, Central G level, 128 York Street, South Melbourne

Kirbie

Kirbie brings a little London caff energy to Clarendon Street, filtered through an atmospheric neighbourhood bistro and wine bar. Owner Kirbie Tate drew on five years in London for the 40-seat space, where the menu moves from spinach and ricotta gnudi and vitello tonnato to rabbit ragù cavatelli and steak frites. Daily chalkboard specials shift with the mood of the kitchen, while French and Italian bottles and classic cocktails make it an easy one to settle into for lunch or dinner.

323 Clarendon Street, South Melbourne 

Lucia

Lucia is built for lunches with nowhere urgent to be afterwards. The South Melbourne dining room stays firmly Mediterranean, led by a daily seafood bar, premium cuts and share plates designed to travel across the table. Wine is just as central: the cellar spans more than two decades of bottles from Burgundy to the Barossa, while downstairs private dining room The Vault houses 400-plus wines. With a 14-hat nod for 2026, Lucia has the elegance of an occasion restaurant without losing the simple pleasure of eating very well.

11 Eastern Road, South Melbourne 

Pirate Life Brewing

Pirate Life South Melbourne has turned its former mechanics workshop into a beer hall with far more going on than taps alone. The kitchen now centres on open-fire cooking, with wood-grilled peppers and stracciatella, five-spice chicken ribs, charcoal squid with ’nduja and miso, plus butcher’s cuts finished over flame. Fridays are especially worth knowing about, when a footpath firepit kicks off from 4pm before vinyl DJs take over from 5pm.

139-145 Market Street, South Melbourne

Golden Fleece Hotel

Golden Fleece Hotel commits wholeheartedly to the Greek-island fantasy, filling its heritage South Melbourne pub with whitewashed curves, mosaic details and a rooftop made for spritz weather. The food has substance behind the styling: fluffy house-baked bread with skordalia, hummus and htipiti, chargrilled octopus, saganaki and twice-cooked lamb with chard and fava beans. Quarterly Greek Nights turn things up further with communal feasting, live bouzouki, dancing and plate smashing.

120 Montague Street, South Melbourne 

The Montague Hotel

The Montague Hotel keeps things refined without losing its pub DNA. The seasonal modern Australian menu moves from oven-baked scallops with parsley butter and chorizo jam to prawn spaghetti, roast chicken and grass-fed Victorian steaks with Béarnaise. There’s plenty of pub comfort too, including parmas, burgers and fish and chips, but the wine list lifts things several notches with Tolpuddle, Grosset, Mac Forbes and French rosé in the mix. The Park Street address is especially handy for a pre-game meal or long lunch.

355 Park Street, South Melbourne 

Tipsy Village

Across from South Melbourne Market, Tipsy Village is one of the neighbourhood’s more distinctive dinners, serving Polish comfort food with real depth. Handmade pierogi remain the headline, alongside bigos loaded with sauerkraut, kielbasa, pork, beef, wild mushrooms and prunes, plus Polish white sausage baked in beer and crisp black pudding with pickles. There’s brunch earlier in the day and dinner later in the week, but the move at night is dumplings, something hearty and a cold Polish vodka alongside.

Sitchu Tip: Don’t skip the frozen vodka shot.

313 Coventry Street, South Melbourne

Park Street Pasta & Wine

Park Street Pasta & Wine has the neighbourhood osteria vibe down cold. Head chef Tommaso Bartoli draws on his Tuscan roots for a seasonal menu of pasta made in-house daily, with recent plates including stracchino ravioli with asparagus, popcorn cream and speck, and mezze maniche tangled with seafood and yellow tomato. The historic corner dining room has banquettes and Art Deco lighting, while the terrazzo and festoon-lit deck earn their keep once the sun comes out. Wines roam Italy, Australia and France, with plenty of organic and biodynamic bottles in the mix.

268 Park Street, South Melbourne

WoodsYard

WoodsYard has settled into one of South Melbourne’s most dependable wine-bar dinners, a few blocks from Albert Park Lake. Chef Aaron Wood works with a compact line-up of Comté and mushroom croquettes, anchovy toast, bluefin tuna tartare and baked rigatoni alla vodka before turning to the sourdough pizzas. And what pizzas they are, topped with guanciale, honey and chilli or pepperoni, stracciatella and jalapeño salsa. The cellar runs deep on natural and low-intervention producers, and happy hour from 4pm to 5.30pm Tuesday to Saturday makes an early knock-off especially appealing.

74 Eastern Road, South Melbourne

MeatworksCo

Housed in a converted 1930s motor garage, MeatworksCo has been doing smokehouse barbecue in South Melbourne since 2015. Ironbark-fuelled pits and grills do the heavy lifting, turning out 14-hour smoked wagyu beef rib, brisket, pork ribs and hefty share platters designed for the whole table. You can see straight into the kitchen as the pitmasters work the fire, while raw steel and warm timber keep the old garage bones intact. It’s smoky, substantial and best tackled with a few hungry friends.

28/30 Ross Street, South Melbourne  

Bambu Eating House

Bambu Eating House keeps South Melbourne Market humming long after the shopping bags are full. The menu roams Southeast Asia with chilli prawn dumplings, pork belly baos, fragrant curries and plates designed to crowd the table, while the cocktail list runs bright and punchy. Covered outdoor seating catches the market energy, and the whole thing works especially well for a group that wants to share widely and stay put for another round.

South Melbourne Market, 92/116 Cecil Street, Melbourne 

Komeyui

Komeyui remains one of Melbourne’s most exacting Japanese dining rooms, with chef Motomu Kumano building the experience around shun, the Japanese philosophy of eating ingredients at their seasonal peak. Hagama cast-iron pots coax sweetness and fragrance from every grain of rice, while the sushi counter follows the day’s best fish through omakase, sashimi and nigiri. Charcoal-grilled wagyu, composed bento and an extensive sake list round things out without distracting from the detail at the centre of it all.

181 Ferrars Street, South Melbourne

Bellota Wine Bar

Bellota has long been one of South Melbourne’s best places to settle in over a bottle, and its connection to Prince Wine Store next door remains the ace up its sleeve. The current menu keeps things European and generous, with prawn and jamón croquetas, blue swimmer crab spaghettini with bottarga, braised duck risotto and chargrilled porterhouse with Madeira jus. Wines change with the seasons and can be ordered by the taste, glass or carafe, while any bottle from Prince Wine Store can still be brought through for $15 corkage.

181 Bank Street, South Melbourne

Lamaro’s Hotel

A South Melbourne stalwart since the 1850s, Lamaro’s Hotel still takes the gastropub life seriously. The kitchen is now led by executive chef Phil Davenport, with modern Australian cooking spanning its much-loved sourdough-crumbed veal schnitzel with Italian slaw and Diane sauce, wood-fired scallops with pork belly and tamarind, seafood linguine and steaks grilled over red gum. The wine program is equally formidable, with more than 450 bottles and regular winemaker dinners giving locals plenty of reasons to return.

273-279 Cecil Street, South Melbourne

Claypots Evening Star

Claypots Evening Star operates more like South Melbourne Market’s seafood-loving watering hole than a conventional restaurant. Sister to the original St Kilda Claypots, it buys from neighbouring traders and rewrites its chalkboard menu around the day’s catch. Pull up a stool for Cajun flathead, grilled garfish with za’atar, Mount Martha mussels or king prawns slicked with sambal, preferably with something cold from the coastal-minded wine list. Live music carries the market atmosphere into Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Shop 101, 116 Cecil Street, South Melbourne

Still hungry for South Melbourne? Make a day of it with our local’s guide to South Melbourne Market, covering the best food, fashion and homewares under one roof. Then keep exploring with the best things to do in Melbourne this weekend or start planning a delicious escape to one of Victoria’s best wine regions.