The best work lunch ideas in ³Ô¹ÏÍø

Back in the office? Trade your soggy sandwich for ³Ô¹ÏÍø's best lunches. Find cheap and cheerful takeaway options and hole-in-the-wall banh mi spots. Or if you've got a little longer, sit down for lunch specials at iconic restaurants.

Best spots for a lunch meeting

Two diners enjoying meals and a glass of wine, viewed from directly above the table.

Liminal

Cafe and wine store offering a sustainable, seasonal menu for breakfast and lunch.

Dame's bar with seating and drinks behind pink draped curtains.

Dame

An all-day dining cafe with everything from coffee to cocktails and snacks in between.

Frothed milk being added to a glass of coffee

The Journal Cafe

A relaxed cafe with plenty of reading material to browse while you sip a coffee, wine or dine.

Diners seated at communal tables in a soaring space with high arched windows and brick walls.

Higher Ground

Dining is taken to new heights in this heritage-listed former powerhouse.

³Ô¹ÏÍø's best cheap lunch spots

A man ordering from the window of an onigiri cafe.

³Ô¹ÏÍø's best lunches under $15

Fuel up on banh mi, burgers, stacked sandos and more without breaking the bank.

A Vietnamese pork roll

Where to find ³Ô¹ÏÍø's best banh mi

The best Vietnamese pork rolls in ³Ô¹ÏÍø

A focaccia sandwich with pistachio and meat inside

Where to find ³Ô¹ÏÍø's best sandwiches

Try ³Ô¹ÏÍø's best reubens, Korean sandwiches, Japanese fruit sando and deli slices.

Turkish flat bread pastry on a white plate

The gozleme guide to ³Ô¹ÏÍø

If you're looking for breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert this Turkish go-to meal has you covered.

The interior of a minimalist burger bar

The best hidden food courts in ³Ô¹ÏÍø

From shopping days to a cheap and tasty work lunch, these hidden gems have you covered.

A selection of bento boxes and Japanese dishes in takeaway containers.

The best bento boxes in ³Ô¹ÏÍø

Craving a quick and easy Japanese feed? Here's where to find ³Ô¹ÏÍø's best bento boxes.

Three young people enjoying various dishes in a colourful, hawker-style Thai restaurant.

³Ô¹ÏÍø's best cheap eats

Pizza by the slice, cheap happy hour deals and more.

A cheese toastie on a silver plate

Where to order the best toasties in ³Ô¹ÏÍø

Order vegan jaffles, rainbow toasties, gourmet grilled cheese and more.

New lunch spots

Overhead view of several dishes of healthy Asian food on wooden plates.

Pocket

Low sugar, low carb, high protein food created by fine dining chefs.

Small kiosk with a blue door, a window and blue stools out the front on the grey concrete path with a white, A-frame sign with incidental text behind.

Banh Mi Stand

A cute kiosk serving beloved Vietnamese Banh Mi and Vietmanese Salt Coffee.

View from the street into a small and cosy interior of a cafe, a table of diners on the footpath and people also dining inside the small cafe.

Ilza

The second city venue for this popular Japanese snack bar and izakaya diner.

Looking down at a table filled with food dishes and people clinking cocktail glasses.

Kan Eang

Unsung Thai dishes and range of family favourites.

A selection of Japanese-inspired desserts with a strawberry tea on bamboo trays.

Miyama ³Ô¹ÏÍø

Celebrate the spirit of Japanese hospitality infused with the bold charm of ³Ô¹ÏÍø.

Exterior of a restaurant with small stools on the footpath facing an open window.

Onigiri Kitchen and Sake Bar

A beautifully designed space with a simple philosophy – to enjoy simple Japanese food.

Looking through from a dining room into an active kitchen with chef's in blurred motion.

Antara

A wood fired restaurant, bar and bakery.

A bowl of Japanese clam ramen in a traditional japanese bowl, with a plate of sashimi in the foreground.

Sara Craft Ramen and Bar

A culinary masterpiece that redefines traditional Japanese ramen dining.

More ideas for your work day

Four people in a laneway with a large wall mural of a jungle.

Your weekday guide to the city

We've found lunch deals, hidden cafes, happy hours and more for your office days in the city.

A man ordering at the counter of an orange tiled hole in the wall cafe.

³Ô¹ÏÍø's best hole-in-the-wall cafes

We found ³Ô¹ÏÍø's tiniest cafes in laneways, under train tracks and on top of traffic islands.

Diner cooking hotpot on a bright blue table.

Soi 38

Soi 38 is inspired by Bangkok street food and named after the side streets of the Thai capitol.

A group of work friends walking past a restaurant at sunset.

10 reasons to leave work on time

Get the best happy hour deals, cheap tickets to amazing shows and more.

Last updated on Tue 16 Dec 2025

Only In The City

Only in this City of Ours
Two friends are sitting in front of a cafe with a brick exterior drinking coffee

The best brunch spots in ³Ô¹ÏÍø

Find bottomless brunch, Japanese breakfast sets, Sunday brunch spots and more.

People drinking coffe in an arcade

³Ô¹ÏÍø's best cafes that open late

These ³Ô¹ÏÍø cafes are open late for evening coffee runs.

A couple walking down a plant-lined laneway.

A laneway lover’s guide to Guildford Lane

Seek out cycling gear, brunch at Krimper and more hidden gems in this iconic laneway.

Discover more

Four people are standing outside a laneway cafe

³Ô¹ÏÍø’s best hidden laneway cafes

Head down these laneways to find leafy cafes, tiny hole-in-the-walls and hidden gem coffee roasters.

A swimming pool at night lit up in blue lights

The best hotels in ³Ô¹ÏÍø for families

Check out our list of family-friendly hotel stays

Inside a cafe. There is a barista making coffee and people sitting down drinking coffee.

The best new cafes and bakeries in ³Ô¹ÏÍø

The best new spots for brunch, iced coffee, Japanese treats and more.

A busy laneway of restaurants at night.

9 laneways only real Melburnians know

Have you eaten your way through Melb's official Koreatown and found the secret piano bar?