Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 03-9347 0006;
www.ablas.com.au
; 109 Elgin St, Carlton; mains $27; noon-3pm Thu & Fri, 6-11pm Mon-Sat;
205, 1, 8, 96)
The kitchen here is steered by Abla Amad, whose authentic, flavour-
packed food has inspired a whole generation of local Lebanese chefs. Bring a bottle of
your favourite plonk and settle in for the compulsory banquet ($70) on Friday and
Saturday night.
Small Victories
( 03-9347 4064;
www.smallvictoriesrestaurant.com.au
;
617 Rathdowne St, North Carlton; from $13; 8am-5pm
Mon-Sat, 9am-5pm Sun; 1, 8)
Not your ordinary posh North Carlton cafe, Small Victories is
big on DIY: preparing and smoking its own bacon and chorizo, churning its own butter
and making pastas from scratch. It rounds it all out with single-origin coffee and craft
beers.
CAFE
$$
Café Cavallino
ITALIAN
$$
( 03-9347 5520;
www.cafecavallino.com.au
;
181 Lygon St, Carlton; pizza from $17; Tue-Sun 11.30am-late;
1, 8)
Sure, it's your cliched Lygon St Italian trattoria, but it's also a fun, colourful choice
with delicious pizzas - and it's where the Ferrari Formula One team dines come Mel-
bourne Grand Prix (hence all the memorabilia on the walls).
St Kilda & Around
Fitzroy St is a popular eating strip, and you'll find the good, the very good and the down-
right ugly along its length. Acland St also hums with dining options, as well as its famed
cake shops. Over the Nepean Hwy, Carlisle St has more than its fair share of cute cafes
and a couple of restaurants that keep the locals happy.
Monarch Cake Shop
DESSERTS, EUROPEAN
$
( 03-9534 2972;
www.monarchcakes.com.au
; 103 Acland St, St Kilda; slice of cake $5; 8am-10pm; 96)
St Kilda's Eastern European cake shops have long drawn crowds that come to peer at the
sweetly stocked windows. Monarch is a favourite - its
kugelhopf
(marble cake)
,
plum
cake and poppy-seed cheesecake can't be beaten. It has been in business since 1934; not
much has changed here with its wonderful buttery aromas and old-time atmosphere. Also
does good coffee.
