Melbourne Patron

In my initial Googling of this place, I had to specify "restaurant" in the search term, because it was still new and Google thought I was looking for a bowling joint. Tenpin (67 Beach Street, Port Melbourne) is actually named after a giant bowling pin - not really relevant to South-East Asian cuisine, I would have thought, but hey! why not. I do very much like the bowling alley style font used in their logo, however. Retro and with a swish! Port Melbourne is a bitch to get to. Seriously, if you don't have a car, Uber or a cab is your best bet. (Sort out your s*^t, PTV !) I got there in a very roundabout way via PT, getting into the city first to catch the 109 tram right to the end (near where the Spirit of Tasmania docks) and walked five minutes down the road. Although annoying to get to, no one can deny this restaurant's premium position: literally across the road from the beach, looking out to Port Phillip Bay. We were there on a February evening (only a f...

Is it, though? So normal it's super normal? I think maybe not. There are a lot of 'normal' things at Supernormal (180 Flinders Lane, Melbourne) - you go in, get a table (if you're lucky), order food, eat it at said table. But there are a few things that set this restaurant apart. Kitchen behind the bar One is size. Supernormal is quite big for a Melbourne CBD restaurant. There are different sections: a looooong bar (behind which sits the kitchen, and which pretty much runs the length of the restaurant), a line of booth-style tables, a couple of walls hosting tables with bench seating, and stand-alone tables in the middle. Bench seating tables and random display flowers and bottles It also has a very high ceiling, which makes the interior feel very spacious and airy. Hard surfaces everywhere do echo the noisy chatter from so many covers, but the space above all the heads helps absorb it. Stand-alone tables in the middle and hi Another is ...

On my walk to work each morning, I often used to pop into Fifty Acres (65 Bridge Road, Richmond). Not only was it in a prime position for a coffee pit-stop en route to my work, but the coffee was actually good. If I sound surprised, it's because I'd never had good coffee anywhere along Bridge Road prior to finding this place. Bircher muesli Bridge Road is long, but seems to be a cup-half-empty sort of place: several abandoned shop sites, some big names sticking it out with determination, a sprinkling of not-very-impressive pubs/bars, and the occasional restaurant. Recently, it has picked up a bit with the addition of restaurants like Ladyboy Thai and Mister Jennings , and my personal favourites: a Gorman store and the Mt View rooftop (not new, but worth a mention!). But a decent cafe was certainly missing from the area, and Fifty Acres has stepped up to the mark, neatly positioned near the Punt Road end of Bridge so you can fuel up before your shopping spree. Ra...