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Melbourne is
preoccupied with eating food and drinking coffee. That's hardly
surprising as it is one of the great cities of the world when it
comes to eating out. In terms of culinary delights, this is the
capital of Australia. Here you have literally thousands of restaurants,
cafes and coffee shops to choose from, and, what's more, most of
them are probably ethnic.
Australia's immigration policy during
the past 50 years has seen the acceptance of European, Middle Eastern
and Asian cusines as part of Melbourne's culture. Australia's second
biggest city is a wonderful example of how different ethnic groups
can enrich a culture, and this is wonderfully reflected in the myriad
of small ethnic restaurants and cafes seen throughout the city and
suburbs. There are now clearly defined food areas, most of them
in in the inner suburbs and close to the CBD. Some of them are distinctly
ethnic, some are what could be described as "Bohemian",
and others are best described as "modern", drawing on
the influences from lots of different cultures. people and food
all go together to make one big melting pot.
Some restaurants and cafes are upmarket, some are quite the opposite.
They all sit well together and its fantastic food discovering them.
The other serious food thing that has happened to Melbournites in
the past decade is that they have adopted eating outdoors. With
such a favourable climate, why sit indoors when you can be outside
watching the world go by! Most cafes now have tables and chairs
on the footpath, and some of the larger ones have outdoor areas
to match those seen in Italy and France.
Some of Melbourne's most popular eating out areas are:
Lygon Street, Carlton (Italian)
Brunswick Street, Fitzroy (Bohemian)
Acland Street, St Kilda (Bohemian)
Chapel Street, South Yarra (Modern)
Victoria Street, Abbotsford (Vietnamese)
Southbank (Modern)
Smith Street, Collingwood (Bohemian)
Chinatown, City (Chinese)
The theme
of eating out, restaurants and sidewalk cafes is also firmly entrenched
in other parts of Melbourne's inner suburbs, including Albert Part,
Middle Park, South Melbourne, Williamstown, Yarraville, Elwood,
Footscray, Hardware Lane (city), Port Melbourne, Brighton, Hampton,
Hawthorn, Kew and Brunswick . There are few suburbs left that don't
have at least one good restaurant and/or a cafe with tables and
chairs set up on the footpath (and which sell quality expresso coffee).
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