The Best Restaurants for Your Next Long Lunch in Melbourne

It’s a weekend, and for once in your life, you don’t have your calendar crammed to the brim. Time is not of the essence. So clear your schedule, because we’re going to lunch. We’re talking luxurious, languorous and long, with a lengthy wine list to match. Melbourne is rife with restaurants that are open from noon ’til late, allowing you to properly catch up and converse as waves of great food and drinks keep rolling across the table in front of you.

From glitzy European bistros to cosy wine bars serving small plates with big flavours, these are the best places to book a long lunch in Melbourne with the gang.

Supernormal

Long lunches feel entirely at home at Andrew McConnell’s Supernormal, where the afternoon opens up with refined Asian plates that carry real sparkle. Start with kingfish sashimi or prawn toast before settling into the famous lobster roll and larger dishes built for sharing. The room has a charming buzz, the service glides, and before you know it, the day reshapes itself around excellent food, good company and another round poured with ease.

7 days, 11:30am to 12am

180 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

Cumulus Inc.

Daylight moves softly across the marble tables at Cumulus Inc., giving the room its familiar calm. Another McConnell classic, its kitchen leans into thoughtful, beautifully made dishes — trout tartare, ricotta dumplings, house-made charcuterie, and the slow-cooked lamb that regulars always return to. Lunch settles in at an easy pace, plates landing with quiet assurance. When you’re ready to stretch the afternoon a little longer, wander upstairs to Cumulus Up for a cocktail.

Open daily, 12pm to 11pm

45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne 

Salona

A Swan Street fixture since 1969, now refreshed with an expansion across neighbouring heritage shopfronts. The menu at Salona stays rooted in Greek classics, with meze, roast lamb, prawn youvetsi and slow-cooked favourites. Add a drinks list that nods to mastiha and other Greek spirits, and you have a place built for the most deliciously languid meals.

Monday to Saturday, 12pm to 11pm, Sunday, 12pm to 8:30pm

260A Swan Street, Richmond 

Henrys

Henrys is Brighton’s new Mediterranean sunbeam, an effortlessly polished spot where every table orders the chilli crab linguine, and it’s easy to see why. Fraser Island spanner crab meets thyme, chilli, and butter in a silky, perfectly seasoned dance, while grilled octopus flirts with white tarama and a zingy salmoriglio drizzle. The room is drenched in light, olive and aquamarine hues casting a gentle glow on long lunches filled with laughter and glasses of crisp Malagouzia Roditis.

Save room for the bombe Alaska — a torched meringue sphere hiding gingerbread and raspberry sorbet — a sweet secret worth uncovering.

Tuesday to Saturday, 12pm to 10pm, Sunday, 12pm to 9pm

3 Well Street, Brighton 

MP European

Middle Park European is the suburb’s new heartbeat, where salmon tiles and stained-glass windows catch the afternoon light, and a curving walnut bar invites you to linger. Head Chef Aaron Wrafter’s Italian-leaning menu offers shareable house-made pastas — Shark Bay crab tagliatelle, cavatelli with pork and fennel sausage — and classic steak frites finished with tarragon butter. The wine list leans French and Italian, with local gems punching well above their weight. Here, long lunches stretch luxuriously between champagne, oysters, and cocktails that flirt with citrus and amari, beckoning you to stay.

20 Armstrong Street, Middle Park

Harriot

Harriot doesn’t invite a long lunch so much as command one. In the city’s heart, the newest project from the Tipo 00 crew trades trattoria warmth for a more European kind of poise: white tablecloths, sunlight drifting across a room that feels charged in the best way.

James Kelly’s menu builds slowly and beautifully — lamb sweetbreads well worth ordering, Roaring 40’s-style lamb with depth for days, Great Ocean duck arriving perfectly blushed. Justin Howe’s two-years-in-the-making cellar pours with quiet confidence, each glass an encouragement to settle in.

Hours slip by, power meets pleasure, and the clock becomes someone else’s problem.

555 Collins Street, Melbourne

Marmont

Marmont isn’t just reviving the corporate long lunch — it’s giving it a glow-up. Grant Smilie’s riverside beauty leans into Californian glam: airy spaces, sunshine, flowing spritzes and a menu that knows exactly what it’s doing. Expect crisp scallop tostadas, bright raw fish dressed with just enough punch, buttermilk fried chicken with pickled chilli and a cornbread-and-peach-butter situation that genuinely changes the mood of your day.

Long lunch? Sorted.

Open everyday from 12pm onwards

Ground Level, River Walk/8 Whiteman Street, Southbank 

Julie

Exclusively on Saturdays, Julie delivers a long lunch that moves from sunlit courtyard to an intimate dining room with effortless charm. The produce comes straight from the garden at Abbotsford Convent, guided by grower Cate Della Bosca, shaping a chef’s menu built on freshness. Think Jerusalem artichokes with caper leaf, braised lamb with lardon and sage, and a gorgeous apple–rhubarb crostata to finish.

Saturdays, 12pm to 11pm

1 St Heliers Street, Abbotsford

Marion

Fitzroy’s Marion is the long-lunch fantasy we all fall for — a “just one glass” plan that dissolves into anchovy gildas, perfect flatbread and whatever whole fish or baked rigate the kitchen is loving that week. Sommeliers glide in with the good stuff, the room shifts from sunlit to golden, and suddenly you’re staying for dessert. A weekend icon on the city’s beloved Gertrude Street.

Everyday, 12pm to 10pm

53 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy 

The European

Facing Parliament House, The European is a cherished Melbourne institution — a graceful slice of old-world Europe tucked in the city’s heart. Mirrored walls, Bentwood chairs, and vintage posters set a scene of quiet elegance and enduring charm. Open midday to late, Tuesday through Saturday, it serves honest, unpretentious food drawn from the finest Australian and European produce. Fresh oysters, artisanal salumi, steak au poivre, and whole market fish each arrive as a celebration of classic flavours, inviting you to settle in and savour the afternoon.

Tuesday to Thursday (and Sunday), 12pm to 11pm

Friday and Saturday, 12pm to 12am

Closed Mondays

161 Spring Street, Melbourne 

Lucia 

Lucia has quickly become Melbourne’s go-to for long lunches that feel like a dreamy escape to the Mediterranean. Open daily from noon, it’s a seamless choice for impressing clients or celebrating friends and family. Under head chef Jordan Clavaron’s guidance, the menu nods to European classics with seasonal seafood, refined cuts and clever, flavour-forward plates shaped by his travels through France, Italy and Spain. Floor-to-ceiling windows, banquette seating and warm, unhurried service create an elegant rhythm that carries lunch effortlessly into dinner.

Tuesday to Saturdays, 12pm to 10pm

11 Eastern Road, South Melbourne

Park Street Pasta & Wine

No one does a long lunch quite like Park Street Pasta & Wine. This South Melbourne favourite turns an afternoon into a small celebration — smaller plates that beg to be shared, handmade pasta that stops conversation for a moment, and a wine list that makes staying put feel very natural. Choose the Chef’s Selection and let the team guide you through their highlights, then finish with the pistachio crème brûlée: silky, fragrant, absolutely worth lingering over.

Friday and Saturday, 12pm to 10pm

Sunday, 12pm to 9pm

268 Park Street, South Melbourne

Botanical Hotel

Botanical Hotel is one of the best-kept secrets for a long lunch in Melbourne, no matter the season. In South Yarra, you can bask in the sun on the terrace with cocktails in hand and plates shared between friends — or settle by the fireplace in winter, for date night. The food dazzles, from oysters shucked to order and market-fresh crudo, to O’Connor steaks and prawn pasta. With a stunning wine wall as your backdrop and spritzes on repeat, afternoons here stretch deliciously long.

Everyday, 7am to 12am, or until 1am on Friday and Saturday

169 Domain Road, South Yarra

Gilson

South Yarra’s Gilson has that effortlessly charming mood Melbourne loves — sun-washed tables, wood-fired pizzas landing hot from the oven and the iconic Cobb salad that never misses. It’s another long-lunch jewel on Domain Road, perfect for friends, rosé and a slow afternoon unfolding just how you want it.

Open 7 days, 7am to 11pm

171 Domain Road, South Yarra

Hazel

Aleksis Kalnins steps in as Head Chef at Hazel, bringing thoughtful flair honed over four years at Matilda 159. This city staple is a must for long lunches in Melbourne’s CBD. Gather your crew and dive into oysters crowned with sorrel granita, housemade charcuterie, tuna crudo with smoked tomato and nori, and a velvety beef tartare. The charcoal chicken with leeks and preserved lemon offers comforting vibrancy, balanced by a simple farm leaf and radish salad — pure melt-in-the-mouth perfection.

Wednesday to Saturday, 12pm to 3pm, 5:30pm to 10pm

164 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

Farmer’s Daughters

Chef Alejandro Saravia has created a city showcase for Gippsland at Farmer’s Daughters, a three-level venue shaped by regional produce and natural textures. The middle-floor restaurant is the refined centrepiece, ideal for long lunches and occasions. An open kitchen powered by wood and charcoal brings a touch of theatre, while the menu shifts with the seasons, highlighting Gippsland’s depth in thoughtful, beautifully made dishes.

Open daily, 11:30am until late

6/80 Collins Street, Melbourne

Pepe’s Italian and Liquor

Step inside Pepe’s Italian and Liquor and you’re somewhere between a moody New York speakeasy and a grand Italian feast. Deep burgundy booths glow under soft light, the zinc bar gleams, and the room moves with an easy confidence. Plates of mortadella and casino clams arrive with irresistible richness, and the spicy rigatoni alla vodka delivers pure velvet comfort. Classic cocktails keep the afternoon unhurried, and suddenly the table feels like the only place you need to be.

Open daily, 12pm until late

275-285 Exhibition Street, Melbourne 

Builders Arms Hotel

A Fitzroy institution on Gertrude Street, Builders Arms Hotel finds the sweet spot between local pub warmth and polished dining. Long lunches here feel like gathering around a well-loved kitchen table, with friends, family and bottles of thoughtfully chosen wine. Seasonal share plates — whipped cod roe with flatbread, Spencer Gulf king prawns in curry leaf butter, whole flounder from the grill — arrive in a steady, satisfying rhythm. Finish slow and sweet with an affogato, your pick of whisky, Nocello or Baileys easing into the coffee’s warmth.

Daily, 12pm to 11pm

211 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy

Carlton Wine Room

At Carlton Wine Room, food and wine don’t just get along — they throw a proper party. Pull up a chair in the sun-drenched dining room with your crew, and prepare to watch the afternoon slip away as you graze on seasonal plates and clink glasses like you’ve got nowhere else to be. Spoiler: you don’t.

Tuesday to Thursday, 3pm to 11pm

Friday to Monday, 12pm to 11pm 

172-174 Faraday Street, Carlton

Gimlet at Cavendish House

Gimlet at Cavendish House has presence. It knows how to hold a room, how to stage a lunch, how to make everything feel a little glossier than it did five minutes ago. Marble bars, chandeliers and deep booths frame an afternoon built around woodfire cooking, sharp cocktails and the famous tartare trolley. Hours pass easily here.

Open daily, 12pm until late

33 Russell Street, Melbourne

Di Stasio Citta

Melbourne’s Italians understand the art of a long lunch, and Di Stasio’s Spring Street home shows it with style. The room is all sharp lines and art-world attitude, the sort of setting that makes the first glass feel earned. Plates lean rich and comforting — prawn linguine with real silkiness, gnocchi pillowed in four cheeses, each one landing exactly as you hoped. The wine list leans worldly and generous, the service knows exactly when to appear, and the whole thing drifts into an afternoon that feels pleasantly off the rails in a way only Di Stasio can pull off.

11:30am until late daily

45 Spring Street, Melbourne

France-Soir

France-Soir is the grande dame of long lunching in Melbourne, a Parisian brasserie that’s been holding court in South Yarra for decades. From noon until midnight, the linen-clad tables are a theatre of business deals, romantic interludes, and familiar faces who know exactly where to sit. Native French waiters glide between them, topping up from a 3,000-strong cellar and trading in the kind of banter that sits just right. The menu is a love letter to the classics — steak frites, escargot in garlic butter, confit duck — each one arriving just as it should, with a side of irrepressible joie de vivre.

Open daily, 12pm until late

11 Toorak Road, South Yarra

Entrecote

Entrecôte is Paris by way of Melbourne: an all-day affair moving between a leafy courtyard, a brasserie filled with an elegant charm, and a dining room styled for indulgence. Begin as the French do with a martini chilled to frost or champagne with caviar bumps. Warm gougères and escargot in garlic butter set the tone before the signature steak frites arrives, grass-fed Black Angus with tarragon sauce, crisp fries and a bright salad.

Open daily, 12pm until late

142-144 Greville Street, Prahran 

Stokehouse

For locals and out-of-towners alike, Stokehouse is Melbourne’s seaside siren. Sunlight pours through the glass-walled dining room, the horizon stretching wide in shades of blue. Modern Australian plates arrive like postcards from the coast — pristine oysters, glistening seafood, produce that speaks of the season and the sea. There’s a soft glamour here: sandy-haired afterglow, white-linen ease, and an afternoon that lengthens without you noticing. Glasses clink, ocean air drifts in, and time loosens its grip.

Open daily, 12pm until late

30 Jacka Boulevard, St Kilda

Chancery Lane Bistro 

Catering to Melbourne’s midweek power set, Chancery Lane opens its marble-and-brass doors from noon, Tuesday to Friday. The room is opulent but intimate: gold detailing catching the low light, a hushed backdrop for deals, gossip, and the art of a very good lunch.

Begin decadently: caviar on buckwheat blini with all the trimmings, a glass in hand. From there, fresh seafood glistens on ice, charcuterie is perfectly poised, and the grill works its magic on premium cuts. French classics are given a modern flick, desserts arrive dainty yet devastatingly good — and somehow, the afternoon disappears.

Tuesday to Friday, 12pm until 10pm

430 Little Collins Street, Melbourne

Loved our guide to the best restaurants for a long lunch in Melbourne? We’ve got even more dining delights to share. Check out our list of must-book CBD restaurants you have to try at least once, favourite decadent high teas and top cosy Sunday roasts.

Writer

Kelsey Harrington

25 February 2026

Kelsey Harrington is a Melbourne-based writer with a sharp eye for the city's ever-evolving food, wine, arts, and culture scene. Her journey into the creative industry took the scenic route—what started as a passion for capturing Melbourne’s energy through a camera lens led her to Sitchu, where she worked her way up to Melbourne Editor. With over four years in the industry, she’s all about uncovering the best places to eat, drink, and explore. Off the clock? You’ll find her diving into a platter of fresh oysters and crudo, gallery-hopping, or sipping an extra dirty martini while plotting her next adventure.