If you’re flying into Melbourne specifically to eat, you’ve made the right choice - and you also need a plan, because the city is built around small precincts and you’ll waste a day if you let Google Maps freelance. This is a four-day eating itinerary structured by neighbourhood, not by meal, with backup options when the bookings you should have made three weeks ago aren’t available.
Day 1: CBD and Chinatown
Start with coffee at one of the laneway specialists - Patricia in Little Bourke, or Manchester Press in Rankins Lane. Mid-morning, walk Hosier Lane and AC/DC Lane for the street art, then lunch at a Chinatown classic (HuTong on Market Lane is the institutional dumpling pick; book or queue). Afternoon: Queen Victoria Market for the deli hall and a wine snack. Dinner is the splurge - Cumulus Inc on Flinders Lane, Tipo 00 on Little Bourke, or Vue de Monde for the full degustation. All three need bookings two weeks out minimum.
Day 2: Carlton, Fitzroy, and Brunswick
Carlton breakfast on Lygon Street, then walk north through the Carlton Gardens to Fitzroy. Brunch at one of the Brunswick Street cafes, then push up Smith Street for coffee number two and a deli stop. Lunch in Fitzroy proper - Cutler & Co is the destination, the Andrew McConnell flagship since 2009. Afternoon up Sydney Road in Brunswick - Middle Eastern bakeries, Lebanese sweets, and the wholesale fruiterers. Dinner at one of the Brunswick wine bars. This day is steps-heavy: wear walking shoes.
Day 3: Richmond, Cremorne, and the Inner East
Cross to Richmond. Vietnamese pho on Victoria Street is mandatory - the strip from Hoddle to Church has been the working-Vietnamese-restaurant capital of Melbourne for forty years. Lunch around there. Afternoon coffee in Cremorne (the Botherambo Street area is full of small specialty roasters). Dinner: book Bar Romantica or one of the Burnley/Cremorne neighbourhood places weeks ahead, or take the easy option - a long evening at one of the Victoria Street institutions.
Day 4: Markets, South Side, and Open-Ended
Saturday morning: Prahran Market, smaller and arguably more food-focused than Queen Vic. Walk Greville Street for vintage and a long lunch. Afternoon at one of the South Yarra cafes; evening on Chapel Street. If you’re flying out on day five, leave dinner flexible - by this point you’ll have shortlists from waiters and locals about the place ‘you have to try’, and that’s the dinner that always turns out best.
Bookings, Tipping, Costs
Tipping isn’t expected but rounding up or 10% on great service is appreciated. Public-holiday surcharges (10-15%) are legal and disclosed. Mains at the Andrew McConnell tier sit at $40-$60; degustation menus at $190-$250. A foodie four-day trip done right will cost roughly $600-$800 per person on food alone. Lock major bookings before you fly - Tipo 00, Cumulus Inc, Vue de Monde, and Attica all routinely book out a month ahead.
What This Means for You
Four days breaks down to: one CBD/Chinatown, one northside, one east, one southside. Don’t try to do all of Melbourne every day. The city’s restaurant culture is precinct-based for a reason - each neighbourhood has its own food identity, and bouncing between them in a single day means you’ll eat well but learn nothing. Pair this with the Melbourne coffee itinerary or, if plant-based, the Melbourne vegan itinerary.
Jack Carver covers Melbourne food, drink, and city life for MELBZ.