Tipo 00 ★ 4.5

Grossi Florentino ★ 4.4

Grossi Florentino holds two Good Food Guide hats. The upstairs room is the classical Italian benchmark; the Cellar Bar serves the same food more casually.

Order: Hand-rolled pasta of the day from the cellar bar menu

Chin Chin ★ 4.2

Chin Chin on Flinders Lane is Melbourne's reference for Southeast Asian cooking: loud, no-bookings, consistently packed since 2011 and the food holds up.

Order: Stir-fried green beans with holy basil and pork crackling

Grossi Florentino ★ 4.4

Grossi Florentino holds two Good Food Guide hats. The upstairs room is the classical Italian benchmark; the Cellar Bar serves the same food more casually.

Order: Hand-rolled pasta of the day from the cellar bar menu

Chin Chin ★ 4.2

Chin Chin on Flinders Lane is Melbourne's reference for Southeast Asian cooking: loud, no-bookings, consistently packed since 2011 and the food holds up.

Order: Stir-fried green beans with holy basil and pork crackling

Daphne ★ 4.3

Daphne in Brunswick East is the Etta team's public house: seasonal European cooking, a natural wine list and a room that genuinely takes the food seriously.

Order: Pork chop with mustard and pickles on the daily specials board

France-Soir ★ 4.4

France-Soir has been Melbourne's Parisian bistro since 1982: the menu barely changes, the wine list is legendary and the room feels uncannily right.

Order: Steak au poivre with pommes frites and a glass of Burgundy

Tip: Book by phone. This is still a phone-booking-only restaurant and they mean it.

Pho Hung Vuong 2 ★ 4.5

Pho Hung Vuong 2 on Victoria Street is Melbourne's pho standard-bearer: long-simmered broth with charred onion and ginger, piled with fresh herbs.

Order: Rare beef and brisket pho with bean sprouts and fresh herbs

Aegli ★ 4.4

Aegli on Coventry Street leads Melbourne's new Greek wave: regional Hellenic flavours, smoked saganaki and lamb shoulder in a South Melbourne room.

Order: Wood-roasted lamb with orzo and feta