Correction (1 October 2026): an earlier version of this page was produced by a template. It listed restaurants, street addresses, prices, seat counts and “insider tips” that we could not stand behind, gave Toorak the postcode 3067 (Toorak’s is 3142), and quoted travel times and a house-price figure with no source. It has been rewritten from scratch. Every place below was checked against its own current information and a second, independent source on 1 October 2026.
Toorak is a residential suburb in Melbourne’s inner south-east, in the City of Stonnington, with trams along Toorak Road and Malvern Road and a shopping strip, Toorak Village, at its centre. This profile sticks to what can be checked from a desk: the council’s pages, the tram and train operators, the 2021 Census, Victorian Places and each place’s own website.
Fast facts: postcode 3142; council: City of Stonnington; 5 km south-east of Melbourne, per Victorian Places; population 12,817 at the 2021 Census.
Origin of the name: Victorian Places says the name comes from Toorak House, a residence built by the merchant James Jackson in 1849, and that “The word may have been derived from Aboriginal words of similar pronunciation meaning reedy swamp or black crow.” Toorak House, in St Georges Road, served as Government House until 1879.
Getting around
The shape of it: Victorian Places gives Toorak’s postal boundaries as Williams Road, Malvern Road, Glenferrie Road and the Yarra River. Toorak Road, once Gardiners Creek Road and “the first good road through the area”, runs across it, and Toorak Village sits on it between Wallace Avenue and Grange Road, just east of Williams Road, according to the village’s own visitor page.
Trams. Yarra Trams route 58 runs from West Coburg to Toorak along Toorak Road. Its Toorak stops start at stop 132, Toorak Village, and run east to stop 139 at Glenferrie Road. Route 72, Melbourne University to Camberwell, runs along Malvern Road, the suburb’s southern edge, with a stop at Toorak Station (stop 37). A tramline along Toorak Road opened in 1888, according to Victorian Places.
Trains. Heyington Station, on the Glen Waverley line, is inside the suburb, at Gawith Court and Heyington Place, Toorak, in Zone 1. Toorak Station, on the Frankston line, is listed by Metro Trains at Rose Street and Beatty Avenue, Armadale 3143: it sits just south of Malvern Road, as Victorian Places also notes. On the Frankston line it is between Armadale and Hawksburn, and the next stop towards the city after Hawksburn is South Yarra.
Buses. Toorak Village’s visitor page points to the 605 bus from Flagstaff Station, alighting at Toorak Road and Grange Road. We could not read a current route page from the operator or Transport Victoria on 1 October 2026, so check the journey planner before you rely on it.
For: trams on both Toorak Road and Malvern Road, and a Glen Waverley line station inside the suburb. Against: the station called Toorak is in Armadale by its own address, so check which line you need before you choose a street.
Who lives here
At the 2021 Census, the ABS counted 12,817 people in Toorak, with a median age of 47. Flats and apartments made up 49.8 per cent of occupied private dwellings, against 12.1 per cent across Victoria. The median weekly household income was $2,533, against $1,759 for Victoria. These figures are five years old, so treat them as a baseline, not a quote.
Flats are not new here. Victorian Places records that in the 1930s depression several big properties had their gardens subdivided or their houses converted into flats, and that “by the end of the 1930s there were almost as many flats in Toorak as houses.”
For: about half of homes are flats or apartments, so the suburb is not only large houses. Against: the figures are from 2021, so today’s incomes and housing mix will differ.
Parks and places
- Brookville Gardens and Fairbairn Reserve, between Fairbairn Road and Canterbury Road, is the Toorak entry on Stonnington’s list of off-lead parks for dogs. The council upgraded it in two stages: a shelter, an expanded barbecue area, more seating and a drinking fountain in late 2020, then paths, fencing, lighting and planting, finished in 2023.
- Toorak/South Yarra Library, Stonnington’s library at 340 Toorak Road, South Yarra. It lists French and Russian collections, meeting rooms, Wi-Fi and study desks, and opens seven days: 10 am to 8 pm Monday to Thursday, to 6 pm on Friday, to 5 pm on Saturday and 2 pm to 5 pm on Sunday.
- Toorak Village Sculpture Exhibition turns the village’s streets and shopfronts into a gallery from Tuesday 1 September to Sunday 11 October 2026, according to the village’s own site, so check it after that date for what is on next.
For: an off-lead park with a shelter and barbecue, and a library open on Sunday afternoons. Against: the council’s off-lead list names just that one park under Toorak; others nearby are in South Yarra, Armadale and Kooyong.
Shopping and eating
Toorak Village describes itself as an open-air precinct of over 200 businesses. Victorian Places notes that “Trade and industry in Toorak are confined to the shopping area”, and that a hotel built in 1855 stood where the TOK H centre is now. Another strip, Hawksburn Village, runs along Malvern Road, where Woolworths also lists a Hawksburn Metro store at 569 Malvern Road. Parking in the village, per its visitor page: 90 free one-hour spaces in Jackson Street, and 203 spaces at the TOK H Centre, with the first 90 minutes free.
Woolworths Toorak — 459-465 Toorak Road, Toorak VIC 3142
The village’s full-service supermarket, inside the TOK H Centre. Woolworths’ own store locator lists it open 7 am to 10 pm, seven days, with seafood, pick up and a BWS next door, and lists a quiet hour at 10.30 am, Monday to Thursday.
For: long hours and the undercover TOK H car park. Against: the TOK H car park is paid after the first 90 minutes, per the village’s parking page.
Simon Johnson — 471 Toorak Road, Toorak VIC 3142
The fine-food providore’s only Victorian store: its site lists five shops, in Northbridge, Alexandria, Woollahra, Toorak and Subiaco. Broadsheet’s directory calls it a providore “with kitchen goods and a fancy cheese room”. It opens 9.30 am to 5 pm on weekdays, 9 am to 5 pm on Saturday and 11 am to 3 pm on Sunday, and has run caviar masterclasses in the Toorak store.
For: a specialist deli and cheese room on the main strip. Against: by its own note the store is “stair only access”, with one step at the door; ring the doorbell and staff will bring out a ramp.
Laurent Bakery — 477 Toorak Road, Toorak VIC 3142
A French bakery and cafe, one of several Laurent shops around Melbourne, open 7 am to 6 pm every day. Its Toorak Village listing describes sourdough “crafted from a long-standing levain culture”, baguettes, viennoiserie and celebration cakes, with quiches, toasted focaccias and pies for an all-day feed.
For: seven-day hours from 7 am, early enough for brekkie bread. Against: Laurent’s South Yarra shop is also on Toorak Road, at number 299, so check which one an order is going to.
Made in Casa — 470 Toorak Road, Toorak VIC 3142
An Italian restaurant and wine bar that moved into Toorak Village from Malvern. Broadsheet reported in March 2026 that it is run by Valerio Violetti and Annapaola D’Alessio, that her handmade pasta runs through the menu (the signature is cappellacci, ricotta-filled parcels served alla norma with fried eggplant, tomato and salted ricotta), and that it added a bistecca fritta: a one-kilogram T-bone, lightly crumbed and shallow-fried in clarified butter. Its own site says it is open every day from 12 pm.
For: a seven-day Italian kitchen in the middle of the village. Against: the menu on its site is a winter edition, so we have not quoted prices; check the current menu before you book.
Cecconi’s Toorak — Level 1, 489 Toorak Road, Toorak VIC 3142
The upstairs sister to Cecconi’s in Flinders Lane, opened by the Bortolotto family in February 2024, as Broadsheet reported at the time. The current food menu on its site leans north Italian: mushroom and fontina arancini are $7.50, a veal cotoletta with green apple, savoy cabbage and mint salad is $65, and tiramisu is $24. A cotoletta is a breaded veal cutlet, Milan’s answer to the schnitzel, and tiramisu layers coffee-soaked sponge fingers with mascarpone cream.
For: a special-occasion dinner without leaving the village. Against: it is closed on Sunday and Monday, and the menu adds a 15 per cent surcharge on public holidays.
Mabels — 525 Malvern Road, Toorak VIC 3142
A cafe and cake shop in Hawksburn Village, on the Toorak side of Malvern Road. Its site lists cakes, cupcakes, sandwiches and hot pies made in-house, with Coffee Supreme on the machine; Broadsheet’s listing says the founders, Cassandra Hanna and Joshua Green, both grew up in Auckland. Its online shop listed a French vanilla celebration cake at $90 on 1 October 2026, for collection from the cafe.
For: a daytime cafe with breakfast and lunch menus, open seven days. Against: it closes at 2 pm on Monday, Tuesday and Sunday, and cake orders need at least 72 hours’ notice.
Schools and services
Schools inside Toorak, by their own websites, include Toorak Primary School (75 Canterbury Road), St Catherine’s School (17 Heyington Place), Loreto Toorak (10 Mandeville Crescent), Geelong Grammar School’s Toorak Campus (14 Douglas Street) and St Kevin’s College, whose Heyington campus is at 31 Moonga Road and its Glendalough junior school at 73-75 Lansell Road. Despite the name, Toorak College is not in Toorak: its own site gives its address as Old Mornington Road, Mount Eliza. Check zones and enrolment with each school and the Victorian Government’s school finder; we do not rank schools.
If you move here, know:
- Bins, planning, parks and the library are the City of Stonnington’s job.
- Toorak Station has an Armadale address; Heyington Station, on the Glen Waverley line, is the one inside the suburb.
- Trams 58 (Toorak Road) and 72 (Malvern Road) frame the suburb; Toorak Village is stop 132 on route 58.
Quick answers
What is the postcode for Toorak VIC?
- Australia Post lists Toorak, Victoria, under 3142.
Which council is Toorak in?
The City of Stonnington, which takes in Armadale, Glen Iris, Kooyong, Malvern, Malvern East, Prahran, South Yarra, Toorak and Windsor.
Is there a train station in Toorak?
Heyington Station, on the Glen Waverley line, is inside Toorak at Gawith Court and Heyington Place. Toorak Station, on the Frankston line, is just south of Malvern Road; Metro Trains lists its address in Armadale.
Which tram goes to Toorak?
Route 58 (West Coburg to Toorak) runs along Toorak Road; stop 132 is Toorak Village. Route 72 (Melbourne University to Camberwell) runs along Malvern Road, the suburb’s southern edge.
How far is Toorak from the Melbourne CBD?
Victorian Places describes Toorak as a residential suburb 5 km south-east of Melbourne.
Is Toorak a rich suburb?
At the 2021 Census, incomes were well above the state’s: the median weekly household income in Toorak was $2,533, against $1,759 for Victoria. Toorak had 12,817 residents, with a median age of 47.
Is Toorak College in Toorak?
No. Despite its name, Toorak College gives its address as Old Mornington Road, Mount Eliza.
How we checked
On 1 October 2026 we read every source below directly, as raw web pages, a JSON store feed, a PDF menu or a Jina Reader copy, and copied figures and prices exactly as printed. Population, age, dwelling and income figures come from the ABS 2021 Census QuickStats for Toorak, and they describe 2021, not today. Council facts come from the City of Stonnington’s own pages; tram stops from Yarra Trams’ route guides; stations and lines from Metro Trains; history, boundaries and distance from Victorian Places. Each place under “Shopping and eating” was confirmed at its own website and at a second, independent source (Toorak Village’s trader directory or Broadsheet). Prices come only from each venue’s own current menu or shop; menus and hours change, so check before you go. We have left out travel times, bus timetables, crime figures and property prices or forecasts because we could not confirm them at a primary source. The photos are illustrative, from Unsplash: they show the kind of street, park or food, not Toorak or the venue itself.
Seen something out of date? Email [email protected] with the page link and what has changed, and we will check it again.
Sources
- Population, age, dwellings and income: ABS 2021 Census QuickStats, Toorak
- Council: City of Stonnington, About Stonnington
- Postcode: Australia Post
- History, name, boundaries and distance: Victorian Places, Toorak
- Trams: Yarra Trams route 58 and route 72
- Stations: Metro Trains, Toorak, Heyington, Frankston line and Glen Waverley line
- Brookville Gardens: Stonnington off-lead parks and park improvements
- Library: Toorak/South Yarra Library and Stonnington libraries
- Toorak Village: home, visit and parking and trader directory
- Woolworths Toorak: store locator; also Toorak Village
- Simon Johnson: Toorak store; also Broadsheet
- Laurent Bakery: locations; also Toorak Village
- Made in Casa: madeincasa.com.au; also Toorak Village and Broadsheet, March 2026
- Cecconi’s Toorak: cecconis.com/toorak and its food menu (PDF); also Toorak Village and Broadsheet, February 2024
- Mabels: mabels.com.au; also Broadsheet
- Schools: Toorak Primary School, St Catherine’s School, Loreto Toorak, Geelong Grammar School Toorak Campus, St Kevin’s College, Toorak College
