Where to eat in Melbourne's CBD: From new openings to city icons

There are two big games in Melbourne - the AFL and eating spectacular food.

Add these delicious options, recently launched and long-established favourites in the Victorian city to your itinerary when you're there.

New Melbourne restaurants and cafés to try

For photographs to make your Instagram pop, book at Reine & La Rue.

It has been receiving five-star reviews, and the architecture (within the neo-gothic former Stock Exchange) is dazzling.

First impressions are elegance and the food matches the high-end tone with an Australian produce spin on timeless French cuisine.

Meanwhile Melbourne's famous old yellow and green W-class trams are now scrap metal, but one has been rescued, restored and transformed into a café.

The hospitality students at William Angliss Institute operate the Tram Café, serving coffee and baked treats.

It's a fun start to a morning and, at only $3.50 for a regular-sized coffee, it is also great value.

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If you're a dessert fan, Japanese-inspired ice cream is harder to come by than Italian gelato in Melbourne, which makes Kori Ice-Cream super fresh in every aspect.

You might luck it with a limited-edition flavour like rose and raspberry jam swirl, or be adventurous and hook into apple fritter donut, corn jalapeno tart, sweet potato and strawberry watermelon ice-cream cake.

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End the evening with a zingy cocktail at Fleet, Melbourne's newest rooftop bar, from 3pm until late when it opens in April 2024.

Crowning the Vibe Hotel, Fleet captures views of the Yarra River, Southbank's arts precinct and the twinkling skyline, promising to give cocktail enthusiasts every reason to linger a while.

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Iconic places to eat in Melbourne

Pellegrini's is the most Melbourne of establishments, opening in 1954 and deeply loved.

In the mornings, city commuters swing by for espresso (it was home to the city's very first coffee machine) and, when the sun sets, sit up at the bar for carbonara, crusty bread and friendly conversation. 

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Around the corner is City Wine Shop, which is part of renowned chef Ian Curley's collection of Melbourne eateries.

The sommeliers will find a drop to suit your palate and a signature dish is the crunchy Italian coleslaw and crispy schnitzel.

Like at Pellegrini's, you are invited to sit at the bar, which also makes it suited to solo diners, nursing a pinot, a bowl of French fries and a book.

The walls are lined with local and international wines to buy and take home.

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Before dinner, enjoy aperitive hour at Ronnie's at the Rialto, which was for many years Melbourne's tallest skyscraper and etched in history.

The New York-style diner has old-school white tablecloths and a Mediterranean-meets-American energy. 

Friendly waiters ferry plates of warm fermented potato bread - the must-have snack.

Smother with the whipped cod and wash down with an Aperol.

Diners have lined up since day one for excellent Thai at Chin Chin - one of the city most successful restaurants.

The mood lighting, the strength of the food and the pulsing atmosphere unite for an experience that should be on every visitor's to-do list.

While waiting for a table, have a drink downstairs in the flirty basement bar, GoGo.

Finally, your dollar will go far at Tim Ho Wan, the Melbourne arm of the world's cheapest Michelin-star restaurant.

The casual diner dishes up world-class, traditional yum cha that will still leave you with plenty of change.