I’m going to be sharing all the places I visited, as well as the pros and cons of each! I’ll be doing this with each country that I visit so if you are ever going there yourself, you can have a list of places to visit yourself. I’ve included a little $ sign (the more the dollars, the more expensive it is!) if you are looking for cheap eats.

Holy Grail | Chapel Street | DRINKS $

Pros: £19 for a bottle of wine, that genuinely tastes nice. Wooden decor and decent music. Went on a Saturday night and it was good.

Cons: If you hate smoking, people smoke inside and there is a bit of a haze of smoke sometimes…

Mao Please | CBD | FOOD $

Pros: £7 for a delicious Chinese. We had a set menu which included per person: chicken and sweetcorn soup, spring rolls, fried wonton and then 4 different dim sum. In the city centre and was well needed after a long day of walking around.

Cons: You can’t split the bill here, so if you use Monzo someone has to take one for the team to pay and then split it through the app. If you are looking for boujee then this isn’t the place, however the food is 10/10.

Topolinos | St Kilda | FOOD $$

Pros: The best seafood pasta I’ve had in my life to date. I got (no exaggeration) enough food that lasted me for three days. For the pasta and 2 cocktails came to £30. I then didn’t go out to eat for the next two days because there was so much left!

Cons: Service is a bit slow but who cares when you’re on holiday.

Nandos | South Yarra | FOOD + DRINKS $

Pros: I mean, you can’t go wrong with Nandos. It’s CHEAP out here. £9 for a meal and drink so if you are on a proper budget and don’t want to venture too far Australian Nandos is decent.

Cons: They don’t have mayonnaise here like they do back home. No bottomless drink. Chicken is not as spicy.

Bakers Delight | South Yarra | FOOD $

Pros: This bakery is like your grandmas. They do fresh pastries and savoury mini pizzas. You can get a mini pizza for £3 and that will do you for lunch. Their croissants are the size of a small child.

Cons: Can’t find any others in other parts of Melbourne, think this is unique to South Yarra.

The Galleon | St Kilda | FOOD $

Pros: Coffee is excellent. Eggs Benedict portion is solid. That together cost me £11 and it’s super close to loads of other attractions in St Kilda / Luna Park. A good stop by for breakfast before you go exploring for the day.

Cons: Again, if you are looking for a glam insta-ready food spot, this place is old school and is not for poncy people.

Hobba | South Yarra | FOOD $

Pros: Eggs Benedict is delicious and portion is HUGE. Couldn’t finish it. It comes with ham hock shredded instead of slices of ham which is delicious. That and a coffee came to £13. Nice staff and very big inside with outside seating too.

Cons: None

Leos by the slice | Chapel Street | FOOD $

Pros: If you want a slice of pepperoni pizza bigger than your head, go to Leo’s. £4 for a slice and they have a beer bar at the back for the evenings. The pizza is drenched in mozzarella and every cheese lovers dream.

Cons: More pizza options! They only have a couple of veggie options if you’re in to that, and one vegan.

Hopscotch | Southbank | DRINKS $

Pros: Aperol is £6 here and it’s pretty much the centre of the city. I came here once to  have a drink and do some work and it was the perfect setting to chill out and recharge.

Cons: No table service if that’s your thing.

Rustica | CBD | FOOD $$ 

Pros: The most over the top avocado on toast is served here. Portions you could share between two people, they make their own bread and coffee from scratch and it’s away from the sunshine if you are burnt (like how I was when I came here for breakfast) Reasonably priced too!

Cons: This place does not do ‘classic’ on the menu. Each dish is very artisan and has a lot of flavours, and the menu is limited for those who are fussy/vegan.

Dragon Hot Pot | CBD | FOOD $

Pros: If you like spicy noodle soup with an array of extras such as prawn dumplings, rice cakes, octopus, pork and beef (plus much more) then this is the perfect place. I paid $20 which lasted me for 3 meals it was that big!

Cons: If you can’t handle spice then avoid. Even the most mild makes your cheeks warm!