Joanna James
For those of you interested in dining in style, Melbourne offers a number of excellent restaurants dotted all over the city. If you are stuck for choice the list below will help narrow down your options.
If you like your fine dining Italian style, SUD Food and Wine is a beautiful place to try out. Located in the heart of the city just an 8-minute walk from Oaks on William, amongst the popular serviced apartments in Melbourne CBD, the restaurant enjoys a large number of tourists as it does corporate clientele. It is a small place but the menu is creative and ever evolving thanks to the artistic dishes that are created using seasonal produce. What adds to the dining appeal at the SUD is the extensive and dynamic wine menu with favourites all the way from Italy that have a reputation of perfectly complementing any meal. For those looking for a fine dining option during the week, SUD is available from Monday to Friday for both lunch and dinner.
This restaurant offers fine dining at a whole new level. You need to book 3 months in advance; that alone tells you heaps about the place. The Kiwi-born Ben Shrewery is the one who creates the masterpieces at the Attic. It is an adventure with native ingredients at this place where you find everything from riffs on crushed avocado to miniature lamb pies sitting on a vegemite pastry. The mere thought of the creativity and theatrical presentation alone is good enough to get you salivating.
Yet another one of Melbourne's most popular fine dining options, Brae is a must visit for all. With an innovative list of creations to choose from, Brae offers food that tastes as good as it looks. Located close to Birregurra, Brae is owned by Dan Hunter who to this day creates magic with local ingredients. If you are looking for that fancy place to celebrate an anniversary or a special date night, Brae is one of the best options available.
Fine dining is known to be "heavy" on the wallet and if you want to put this theory to the test, Dinner by Heston is the place to go to! But remember, all good things do not come cheap and this probably is a classic example. This artistic restaurant offers all things exciting when it comes to food. Prepare to watch fireballs explode while ice cream freezes with the help of liquid nitrogen. The big tricks and the fantastic moves are all part of the experience and make the service at this restaurant just as appealing as the food here.
Seven courses of pure gold; that is what Estelle by Scott Pickett has in store. Although it may feel expensive, it is actually great value at $140. You would be surprised at how delicious kangaroos and wallabies taste with all that Macadamia. If there is one place to experience luxury dishes with an authentic Aussie touch, it is certainly is at Estelle.
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