The Best Cheese Dishes in Melbourne You Need to Try ASAP

Calling all dairy fanatics! If you're craving melty, silky, ooey-gooey goodness in the form of everyone's favourite indulgence (cheese), you've certainly come to the right place. From fondue and flights to devilishly decadent cakes, these are the best cheese dishes in Melbourne that are just too good not to share. It's not easy being cheesy, but with our help, it can be.

All American Grilled Cheese: Maker & Monger

Hot off the (sandwich) press from inside the Prahran Market, it’s the toasted sandwich that needs no introduction. The All American Grilled Cheese; with its simple ingredients of Vermont cheddars, onions, and parsley on sourdough bread with cultured butter and finished with Murray River sea salt is more than just a toastie; it’s a culinary masterpiece. It’s all about that cheese pull baby and no one does it better.

Stall 98/163 Commercial Road, South Yarra

Grilled Saganaki: Salona

A local institution and one of Melbourne’s best Greek restaurants, Salona has been trading for over 50 years, but you wouldn’t know it thanks to a recent top-to-bottom renovation. The menu keeps it OG, with dips, meze, shareable mains and a heavenly grilled saganaki with apricot jam that we’d happily order for entrée, main and dessert.

260A Swan Street, Richmond 

Taleggio & Black Pepper Jaffle: The Hardware Club

From the glossy surrounds of what used to be a social club for members of the hardware industry, The Hardware Club is serving up one of the most decadent jaffles around. Rich yet refined; their creamy Taleggio & Black Pepper jaffle is an absolute knockout. Encased in Japanese Breadcrumbs and showered in Pecorino Romano, this devilishly delicious morsel will have your heart forever.

43 Hardware Lane Upstairs, Melbourne

Cheese Train: Splatters Cheese Bar

You’re going to want to sit down for this one… Geelong has been hiding Australia’s only cheese train and all we can say is shut up and take our money! Perch yourself at the 20m long conveyor belt and feast on an ever-revolving selection of award-winning Australian cheeses. Fully licenced and just downright genius, we can’t help but wonder how we ever lived without it.

168-170 Pakington Street, Geelong West

Burrata Toastie: That’s Amore X RIPE Cheese

Just when you thought you’d seen every kind of toasted sandwich imaginable, two of Melbourne’s cheese icons, That’s Amore and RIPE Cheese join forces to create the mother of all toasties. Forget cheddar, these visionaries are levelling up the indulgence with their limited edition Burrata Toastie. Loaded with Caciotta pepper, smoked Caciocavallo and beetroot marmalade and then topped with a whole burrata, run don’t walk to RIPE Cheese in Queen Victoria Market to get your hands on one before they’re gone.  

Available until 1^st May 2022

Dairy Produce Hall Shop 41 - 42, Queen Street, Melbourne

Cheese Flight: Milk The Cow

Home to over 180 cheese varieties handpicked by in-house cheesemongers, Milk the Cow is a cheese lover’s dream. Visitors can expect to board the most pleasurable flight of their life – we’re talking specialty cheese flights. Available in two sizes, this fromagerie and wine bar pairs your beverage of choice with a custom selection of cheeses that are guaranteed to indulge your taste buds. From locally sourced, to international, to the most divine of French fromage, you’ll find it all at this temple of cheese.

Carlton & St Kilda locations 

Grundlegend Fondue: Milk The Cow

While you’re there, another Milk The Cow must-try is their sinfully delicious Grundlegend Fondue. Melted cheese of any kind always goes down a treat but it’s the addition of truffle Stagionato, Remy Martin VSOP and local honey is what catapults this dish to rock star status.

Carlton and St Kilda locations 

Mac 'n' Cheese: Belle’s Hot Chicken

Belle’s Hot Chicken is one of Melbourne’s great success stories, growing from a single humble shopfront in Gertrude Street to half a dozen locations across Melbourne and Sydney, in five short years. While its unflinchingly spicy Southern-style chicken reigns supreme, we’re here to shine some light on the restaurant’s unsung hero: the Mac & Three Cheese. Hitting the trifecta of cheesiness with Smoked Gouda, cheddar and American, this classic side dish will always be the star to us.

Fitzroy and CBD locations

Ricotta & Nutella Cheesecake: Brunetti’s

A popular meeting place for Melburnians and tourists alike, Brunetti's old-world Euro charm and friendly atmosphere draw the crowds year-round. Serving up Italian-inspired cakes decorated to perfection, it’s the ricotta and Nutella baked-cheesecake that shatters our willpower every time. A fluffy baked cheesecake with a chocolate sponge, Nutella and a shortbread base, these bad boys are guaranteed to satisfy the strongest of sugar cravings.

Carlton and CBD locations 

Quattro Formaggi Pizza: 400 Gradi

Winners of the world’s best Margherita, when it comes to all things crusty and cheesy – 400 Gradi mean business. Named for the temperature at which thin-based traditional Neapolitan pizza is cooked (for only 90 seconds, nonetheless), their Quattro Formaggi will blow your cheese obsessed mind. The perfect harmony of Fior Di Latte, Grana Padano, Emment al and Gorgonzola, it’s one of the best cheese dishes in Melbourne.  

99 Lygon Street, Brunswick East 

Cheese & Gravy Fries: Leonards House of Love

Leonards House of Love is an iconic eatery and bar loved for its bustling dog-friendly courtyard and cosy saloon-inspired interior. If you're a sucker for some loaded fries, then this just might tickle your pickle. It's a hearty option, mostly thanks to the lashings of cheesy sauce and gravy you'll find slathered over the crispy fries. 

3 Wilson Street, South Yarra

High Cheese: Westin Melbourne 

Melbourne’s favourite cheesemonger Anthony Femia (Maker and Monger) has teamed up with Westin’s Executive Chef Michael Greenlaw to create the ultimate high tea experience for cheese lovers. From alpine cheese scones to baked le Duc Vacherin with garlic and thyme, this decadent foodie feast is exactly the energy needed coming into winter. The L’Artisan Grand Fleuri brie is without a doubt the star of the show, so be sure to leave yourself room no matter how hard it may be.

Make a booking here

The Westin Melbourne, 205 Collins Street, Melbourne

Loved making your way through Melbourne's most iconic dishes? Continue your journey of culinary discovery with the best brunches, barbecue, and bakeries in Melbourne. After a spot for post-feed drinks? Visit these gorgeous wine bars for an A+ tipple.