WINE > Wantirna Estate, Amelia 2016 94/100

Wantirna is a suburb at the edge of Melbourne's sprawling metropolis. As you drive out towards the Dandenong Ranges, one moment it is traffic lights and shopping strips, the next quiet country streets and the idyllic 10 acres that make up Wantirna Estate. Set amongst the golf courses and nature reserves that follow the…

ByEd ItorJune 6, 20240Comments

EAT > MELBOURNE

EAT > Emerald City, Healesville

Almanak does not often write about the places we have not been able to visit yet but this is a place we are very excited about and as soon as we get the chance to update with a proper review we will do so. However in the meantime lets get into what we are…

ByCrispyMay 3, 20240Comments

EAT > MELBOURNE

EAT > Lollo (14/20)

Lollo is a hotel restaurant. There I have said it straight up. And as is the case with many hotel restaurants there are some good and some not so good aspects of that come from being part of a very large hospitality venue and a global hotel chain. Lollo sits fashionably on Melbourne's Flinders Lane…

ByEd ItorApril 24, 20240Comments

EAT > MELBOURNE WHERE TO EAT >

EAT > Sosta Ristorante, North Melbourne (17/20)

An institution of fine dining for the last 15 years Sosta Cucina in Errol Street North Melbourne has changed hands and is now Sosta Ristorante. But its more than just an ownership change the menu while still Italian is more refined, ingredients are premium with a focus on using Australian ingredients to create delicious meals.…

BySimonApril 15, 20240Comments

EAT > MELBOURNE

EAT > Bistro Gitan, South Yarra

It had been more than a year since our last visit to Bistro Gitan, a restaurant that was our local for so long, was suddenly not so local given our move across the city and living more of our lives in the country. Bistro Gitan is one of a group of restaurants run by the…

ByCrispyMarch 25, 20240Comments

EAT > MELBOURNE

EAT > Ten Minutes by Tractor, Red Hill

Ten Minutes by Tractor is 90 kilometres from Melbourne CBD, a ninety minute drive that highlights everything that is brilliant about the Mornington Peninsula. The local council zoning rules have meant that land can not be subdivided (unless it is larger than 90 acres in size), which has meant most of the peninsula is…

ByCrispyMarch 22, 20240Comments

EAT > MELBOURNE

EAT > IDES, Melbourne

It is not that long ago when Smith Street in Collingwood was considered more a place to see a grunge band than a place for fine dining and slick cocktail bars but Collingwood has gentrified a lot in the last 10 years and now there are lots of outstanding places to eat and drink. …

ByCrispyMarch 3, 20240Comments

EAT > MELBOURNE

EAT > Tedesca Osteria, Red Hill Victoria

The moment you park your car and wander down into the white buildings of Tedesca Osteria and Graceburn House you realise you are visiting something special. The front door is an enormous piece of wood with remarkable carved handle. The room opens into a space immediately comfortable, stylish and fresh. …

ByCrispyFebruary 27, 20240Comments

WHERE TO STAY > STAY > MELBOURNE

STAY > The Prince, Melbourne

Fitzroy Street, St Kilda is a street that oscillates between grunge, derelict, hip, smart and fashionable and then back again. Once famed for its seedier side of life today the bayside suburb of St Kilda is a lot more gentrified though its darker edges still remain. The Prince was once old Prince of Wales,…

BySimonFebruary 1, 20240Comments

CAFE > MELBOURNE CAFE >

CAFE > Hardware Société

Hardware Société redefined the concept of breakfast in Melbourne in 2009, ditching the eggs and smashed avocado on toast that was de rigour for most cafe's and instead constructing layers of flavour more akin to gourmet fine dining than usually expected at breakfast. Where once there was just a 35 seat restaurant in Hardware Street,…

ByEd ItorJanuary 31, 20240Comments

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