Brunswick locals have always known that they were lucky. The neighbourhood has diverse and high quality eating options up and down Sydney Road and Lygon St, but it has only been the past decade that the rest of Melbourne has started to wake up to this fact.
Brunswick’s food landscape is constantly changing, keeping foodies on their toes. With so many choices, it was a tough task, but we have managed to put together a list of the 12 best restaurants in Brunswick. So grab a friend and try some of the best food Brunswick village has to offer!
Kumo Izakaya
With arguably two of Melbourne’s best chefs and over 80 Sake and Shochu to choose from, your senses are in for a treat at Kumo Izakaya. With authentic Japanese decor and an unpretentious atmosphere, the restaurant’s relaxed vibe lets the beautiful food do the talking.
For anyone wanting a fine dining experience, Kumo will not disappoint. Delicious and beautifully presented, the menu offers Japanese favourites like fresh sushi and sashimi, karaage chicken and takoyaki octopus. The kitchen likes to mix it up too, with fusion dishes such as ramen gnocchi, spicy tuna tacos and French fries with spiced salt wasabi mayo all hitting the spot. Guests are encouraged to order a selection of smaller dishes and share amongst the table to get an opportunity to try as much as possible.
Whether it’s a date or a large group, Kumo Izakaya has all bases covered. Seating options include booths, communal tables, bar seating and a private room for those who want a more intimate setting.
Address: 152 Lygon St, Brunswick East VIC 3057
Website: http://www.kumoizakaya.com.au/
Price Range: $$-$$$
Rumi
One of the few Melbourne restaurants to be featured by the late, great Anthony Bourdain, Rumi represents Brunswick’s history. The Lygon Street favourite focuses on refined Middle Eastern, specialising in charcoaled meats and a variety of vegetable and grain dishes.
The restaurant was one of the first in Melbourne to properly cater to vegetarian and vegan diners, not just the token pumpkin risotto dish on the menu. Vegetarian dishes are equally the star alongside the meat here, with caramelised eggplant, freekeh salad, and fried cauliflower all standing tall. That said, the Rumi kitchen are masters on the grill, with melt in your mouth lamb shoulder, chicken shish and persian meatballs among the local favourites.
The wine list ranges from Middle Eastern to local Australian producers and can be paired with all dishes, making for a fine Brunswick experience.
Address: 116 Lygon St, Brunswick East VIC 3057
Website: https://www.rumirestaurant.com.au
Price Range: $$-$$$
Bar Idda
Bar Idda is a casual, light-filled space that has been serving Brunswick locals some of the best Italian in the city for years. Lovely and attentive staff make the place feel like home, with a menu inspired by owner, Alfredo La Spina’s, Sicilian heritage.
Like all great restaurants, Bar Idda’s dishes are focused on local and seasonal produce with a short but delicious menu. Think arancino with saffron rice, passata and smoked scamorza, marinated Sicilian green olives and salumi boards with salami, capocollo, prosciutto and lonza.
The pasta is homemade, with the spaghetti alla olio, and the cavatelli pasta with broad beans, peas, beans, chilli and garlic being among the local favourites.
You’ll feel part of the family here, with staff yelling across the room and keeping your wine glass full. Make sure you book ahead because this place is always busy.
Address: 132 Lygon St, Brunswick East VIC 3057
Website: http://www.baridda.com.au
Price Range: $$-$$$
Old Palm Liquor
Passing Old Palm Liquor’s shop front on Lygon St, you could be mistaken for thinking the place was a simple bar. You would never know that you are about to walk into a decadent space that serves high quality food. Entering the bar you are met with a large open space, dimly lit to create an intimate atmosphere, with an old world charm and retro look.
Old Palm Liquor is a versatile place for any type of night. The bar provides a perfect setting for a date. It is great for settling in to feast on sharing plates with a large group, or you are welcome to drop in for a few casual bites with wine before a night out or in between meals.
A lot of thought has gone into the seasonal menu that changes daily using only the best local produce. The kitchen prides itself on the innovative taste pairings and high quality presentation of their dishes. Think lamb belly with walnut ketchup and saltbush, groper with sunchoke green almond and sorrel. There are fantastic vegetarian options also, with curried lentil crackers, and grilled asparagus with macadamia, broad beans and lemon. The woodfired flatbread’s smoky flavour, dusted with sumac and served with labne to start is a must.
The staff are passionate about wine and food and are more than accommodating when it comes to guiding you through the menu and wine list. The wine is centred around a very European list with local producers represented also, and is constantly growing and evolving with over 250 different varieties.
Address:133B Lygon St, Brunswick East VIC 3057
Website:https://oldpalmliquor.com
Price Range: $$-$$$
Figlia
From the highly-acclaimed team that brought Melbourne inner-city restaurants Tipo00 and Ostreria Illara comes Figlia, a more relaxed offering that focuses on sourdough pizza, chargrilled snacks, natural wine, cocktails and beer. Unlike its more upmarket siblings, this casual venue encourages walk-ins.
The space has an industrial fit-out, with raw concrete flooring, corrugated walls and roller door that will open up onto the street in summer. There’s a fun vibe at Figlia, with disco, funk and afrobeat tunes filling the room while Brunswick locals happily share meals perched at the large central bar.
The food centres around the sourdough pizza, charred in a gas-wood fire oven. With mouth watering offerings and inventive flavour toppings like nduja with bullhorn peppers, mozzarella and anchovies, stracciatella with cavolo nero, fermented cabbage and chilli, and and the lingua with ox tongue, roasted garlic, pecorino and endive.
Aside from the pizza, there are cacio e pepe arancini, capesante scallop skewers with bagna cauda, and kingfish crudo with mandarin. Or go for the larger secondi dishes such as bistecca steak and woodfired king george whiting.
Grab a seat at Filglia soon! Once the word gets out, the rest of Melbourne will be lined around the block to visit.
Address: 335 Lygon St, Brunswick East VIC 3057
Website: http://figlia.com.au
Price Range: $$-$$$
Mankoushe
Mankoushe translates to “harvesting from the ground” and this idea is central to this local favourite’s ideology. The Lygon Street restaurant has a homely environment, serving Middle Eastern comfort food, with salads, pizzas and teas. Whilst the light filled casual dining room with comfortable interior are humble settings, the menu is big on flavour and value.
Dishes are seasonal and locally sourced, made by hand and cooked in the wood fire oven at the heart of the kitchen. The menu focuses on Middle Eastern cuisine, ranging from Iranian to Moroccan flavours, using Australian ingredients to produce fresh and tasty dishes. Popular dishes include the baked barramundi filled with warm tahini and sorrel, charred broccoli with cow’s milk shanklish and sesame oil, and shawarma wood fired pita with slow ocoked lamb shoulder, tomato sauce, onion and parsley sumac.
The team at Mankoushe pride themselves on using organic and ethically sourced meat and poultry. Their fruit and vegetables are shopped from the local Brunswick market and the kitchen uses homegrown specials from their own gardens.
Address: 23 Lygon St, Brunswick East VIC 3057
Website: http://mankoushe.com.au
Price Range: $-$$
Etta
Another Lygon Street favourite, Etta provides Brunswick locals with what feels like an extension of their home. With a beautiful, light-filled interior there is plenty of space to sit at the bar for a wine, eat in the main dining room, or while away the afternoon in the back courtyard. There is a real community feel at Etta, and this extends to their food and wine, which is locally and organically sourced with the highest quality dining experience in mind.
The menu centres around fresh, seasonal produce treated with respect. Dishes are designed to be shared, with items like the abalone and lardo skewers, kingfish ceviche, red curry pork sausage and mussels all standing out. Funnily enough, the most popular dish on the menu is probably its most simple. Etta has mastered the art of sourdough bread with smoked brown butter, and it’s the dish that people keep coming back to praise.
The restaurant has a cosy and comfortable interior perfect for a date or catching up with a group of friends. It feels like you are having a home cooked meal at Etta, with simple flavours, cooked deliciously with love and care.
Address: 60 Lygon St, Brunswick East VIC 3057
Website: https://ettadining.com.au
Price Range: $$-$$$
Teta Mona
Teta Mona’s owners, Antoine and Bechara Taouk, have been feeding Brunswick locals for years. On any given night you will find hordes of loyal regulars spilling out of the dining room and into the courtyard of this cosy place. The feeling of family spirit is overwhelming here, with the restaurant’s name paying tribute to Bechara and Antoine’s grandmother Mona (teta means grandmother in Arabic).
The kitchen describes its menu as Lebanese soul food and they’re not wrong there, with every dish giving you that warm, fuzzy feeling. Always a winner, the falafel served with pita, fresh tahini and pickles that add just the right kick, are some of the best in Melbourne. When it comes to heartier dishes, you can’t go past the 7-spice pulled chicken tenderloins and the pulled lamb with chickpeas. There’s plenty of choice for vegetarians as well, with stand out plates including the vegan three-beans and potatoes, fried cauliflower with pearl couscous and oven roasted eggplant.
Pastries are handmade by Bechar, who runs the kitchen, while Antoine looks after the floor in what is a family affair. With mismatched furniture throughout the place, there is a real bohemian feel that makes Teta Mona feel like a second home.
Address: 100A Lygon St, Brunswick East VIC 3057
Website: https://www.facebook.com/tetamona
Price Range: $-$$
Below are a few of our favourite restaurants in Brunswick, just outside of Brunswick East.
Park Street Dining
Park Street Dining has been a local staple popular among the tight knit Brunswick community for many years. The team is big on important things, with an ethical and environmentally friendly ethos complementing their commitment to using local high quality produce for their dishes. They use a state-of the art composting system for food waste and involve themselves in community based projects.
Park Street Dining blends the lines between cafe and restaurant with an all-day menu that incorporates the best of both worlds. From Park St porridge and smashed avocado for breakfast to Mamma Maria’s homemade lasagna and ocean fresh fish and chips for lunch, the food is great across the board.
The family-friendly space has toys and activities to keep the little ones occupied and there is an extensive takeaway menu. You can even drop in for a quick coffee and fresh baked cookies for something lighter, with beans supplied by local roasting legends Code Black Coffee.
Address: 815 Nicholson St, Carlton North VIC 3054
Website: https://www.parkstreetdining.com.au
Price Range: $-$$
Waxflower
Serving beer, coffee and small dishes, Waxflower is a Brunswick blend between Melbourne cafe, European bar and Japanese listening room. Spinning vinyl as you eat, with a custom made wood interior and casual booths, this place oozes coolness.
This bar is serious about its music. The vinyl collection filling a whole wall behind the bar leans itself towards disco, funk and soul with rotating DJ’s daily. Waxflower’s custom built sound system affectionately named “SuperWax ”, was designed to create the perfect sound for the bar’s space and the record players are hand-made in London.
The menu at Waxflower is short but full of quality. Head Chef Damon McIver loves to use the flame grill, and focuses on a Southern European menu that changes with the seasons and best available local produce. Dishes such as the half Bannockburn roast chicken with spring leaves, jus gras and native herbs, crumbed veal with charred sprouts, and the glazed smoked pumpkin with broccoli leaf pesto are just a sample of some of the great stuff that diners get to enjoy.
The staff are good fun with great wine recommendations and a wine list that puts the spotlight on natural and organic wines from local and international producers.
Address: 153 Weston St, Brunswick VIC 3056
Website: http://www.waxflowerbar.com.au
Price Range: $-$$
Tino Bar & Restaurant
Tino Bar & Restaurant is a new Latin American space in Brunswick with great tunes, atmosphere and friendly staff serving high quality fare and slinging pisco sours. It’s a classy venue, with exposed brick, green walls and timber flooring throughout. Tino’s has a relaxed and comfy atmosphere, with plenty of natural light filling the space.
The menu centres around a modern Australian take on authentic Latin American cuisine. Argentinian head Chef and co-owner Sergio Tourn ensures both cuisines stand proud together. There are small bites and bar snacks, shared plates and medium to large mains all designed to be eaten with friends. At Tino’s everything is made in house, locally and seasonally sourced then cooked with Latin American style and techniques.
The Chef’s specials include a rotating ceviche of the day, using the freshest fish, and the empanada of the day always served with chimichurri. The main menu is short but sweet, with croquettes, barramundi with cassava, coconut and sundried tomatoes, and housemade chorizo with marinated peppers and guindillas. Be sure to try the octopus with black olives, confit potatoes and sorrel, which is garnering rave reviews all over town.
Tino’s also has a gnocchi day on the 29th of each month. This pays homage to the Argentinian tradition of cooking gnocchi at the end of the month, when supplies and funds become low before the next paycheck.
Address: 341 Sydney Rd, Brunswick VIC 3056
Website: http://www.tinobrunswick.com.au
Price Range: $$-$$$
Juanita Peaches
Local legend Raph Rashid was one of the first to bring America’s food truck craze to Melbourne with his Beatbox Kitchen and Taco Truck feeding hungry neighbourhoods all over the city. He has run with this theme and taken it to a permanent site on Edward Street. Rashid does what he does best, American-style comfort food using quality ingredients, this time in a relaxed and fun diner setting.
There’s no secret that the kitchen slings some of the best cheeseburgers in town, with 120gm grass fed brisket, shallots, double cheese, onions and pickles on a house made boogie bun. Their fried chicken ribs coated in buffalo sauce are worthy of return visits, as are the fish burritos that will make you feel like you are somewhere a bit warmer than good old Brunswick. The milkshakes are killer and they even do poutine!
Juanita’s offers craft beer, local wine and a couple of different margaritas if you want to have a tipple. For the sweet tooths be sure to grab a few donuts at Juanita’s little brother shop All Day Donuts for a cheeky takeaway.
Address: 12 Edward St, Brunswick VIC 3056
Website: https://juanitapeaches.com
Price Range: $-$$
We hope this list gives you a window into what Brunswick culture and Brunswick food is all about. Some are local institutions, others have only opened up this past year. No matter where you decide to try first, you won’t be disappointed! Be sure to keep an eye out for updates on new restaurants coming soon to East Brunswick Village.
To register your interest in East Brunswick Village, visit our registration page and leave your details. A member of our sales team will be in touch as soon as possible.