Melbourne's passion for dumplings finds its truest expression in this simple little place. Dumplings here are boiled, rather than steamed as they are elsewhere, and arrive any later than noon for lunch and you'll have to wait. Our favourite order for two is a plate of Little Rachaels and another of King Prawn dumplings. Bliss.

Set up inside the Public Bar, Miss Katie's shack puts a twist on pub food through her Southern home-style cooking, using fresh produce from the Vic Market across the road and homemade hot sauces. Thank her grandma from Virginia for the signature fried chicken, and her mum from Maryland for the Chesapeake Bay–style blue swimmer crab dishes.

The self-proclaimed 'queen of rice paper rolls', Misschu continues to expand her empire of hole-in-the-wall eateries serving cheap and tasty Laotian-Vietnamese hawker-style food and furnished in eclectic-retro design, with wooden-crate seating and 1950s retro blinds. Fill out your order form for roast-duck-and-banana-flower rice paper rolls, or beef and oxtail pho. It's in South Yarra ( GOOGLE MAP ; %03-9041 5848; 276 Toorak Rd, South Yarra; h11am-11pm; j8, 78, 79), too.

Due to its popularity, Don Don had to move digs to a bigger space, yet it still fills up fast. Grab a big bowl or bento box full of Japanese goodness and wolf it down indoors, or join the masses eating it on the State Library's lawns.

MoVida sits in a cobbled lane emblazoned with one of the world’s densest collections of street art – it doesn’t get much more Melbourne than this. Line up along the bar, cluster around little window tables or, if you’ve booked, take a table in the dining area for fantastic Spanish tapas and raciones.

MoVida Next Door – yes, right next door – is the perfect place for a pre-show beer and tapas. Also brought to you by MoVida is MoVida Aqui ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %03-9663 3038; www.movida.com.au; 1st fl, 500 Bourke St; tapas from $4.50, raciones $22-30; hnoon-late Mon-Fri, 6pm-late Sat; j86, 96), a huge, open space with similar tapas menu and chargrilled cooking, while next door is its Mexican offering of Paco's Tacos ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %03-9663 3038; www.pacostacos.com.au; 1st fl, 500 Bourke St; tacos $6; hnoon-11pm; j86, 96). It's also recently opened Bar Pulpo ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.movida.com.au/airport; Terminal 2 (International), Melbourne Airport; breakfast $7.90-22.50, tapas from $4.90, raciones from $13.90; h8am-12.30am) at Melbourne Airport for pre-flight tapas and drinks.

Andrew McConnell can, it seems, do no wrong. Drawing on his years spent living and cooking in Shanghai and Hong Kong, McConnell presents a creative selection, from dumplings to raw seafood and mains such as slow-cooked Szechuan lamb.

Even if you don't dine in, stop by for his now-famous takeaway New England lobster roll – lobster in a small brioche…what's not to like? No dinner bookings for five or less people.

The restaurant responsible for kicking off Melbourne's obsession with authentic Mexican street food, Mamasita is still one of the very best – as evidenced by the perpetual queues to get into the place. The chargrilled corn sprinkled with cheese and chipotle mayo is a legendary starter, and there's a fantastic range of corn-tortilla tacos and 180 types of tequilla. No reservations, so prepare to wait.

One of Melbourne’s best for any meal, giving you that wonderful Andrew McConnell–style along with reasonable prices. The focus is on beautiful produce and simple but artful cooking, from breakfasts of sardines and smoked tomato on toast at the marble bar, to suppers of freshly shucked clair de lune oysters tucked away on the leather banquettes.

No reservations, so queues are highly probable.

Yet another great option on Flinders Lane, Chin Chin does delicious Southeast Asian hawker-style food designed as shared plates. It's inside a busied-up shell of an old building with a real New York feel, and while there are no bookings, Go Go Bar downstairs will have you till there's space.

Head down a lane and up some stairs to step into this restaurant – and into another era. Opened in 1947, it still bears 1950s drapes, wood panelling and Laminex tables. Once only for Italian and Spanish waiters to unwind after work over a game of scopa (a card game), now everyone is welcome for its delicious, hearty plates of red-sauce pasta.

HuTong’s windows face out on famed Flower Drum, and its reputation for divine xiao long bao (soupy dumplings) means getting a lunchtime seat anywhere in this three-level building isn't easy. Downstairs, watch chefs make the delicate dumplings, then hope they don’t watch you making a mess eating them. There’s also a branch in Prahran ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.hutong.com.au; 162 Commercial Rd, Prahran; mains $15-25; j72, 78, 79).

According to local dumpling experts, New Shanghai, high in the new Emporium shopping complex, serves up Melbourne's best xiao long bao, the soup-filled dumplings. We're not quite ready to shift the crown from HuTong Dumpling Bar, but if you like the genre (and have a decent chopstick technique), why not try both?

The iconic Italian equivalent of a classic '50s diner, Pellegrini’s has remained genuinely unchanged for decades. Pick and mix from the variety of homemade pastas and sauces – from the table out the back you can watch it all being thrown together from enormous, ever-simmering pots. In summer, finish with a glass of watermelon granita.

The lastest offering from George Calombaris of MasterChef fame, this rebadged side project to the fancier Press Club (next door) is set in a cavernous industrial space with a menu inspired by Greek street food. Select from authentic shared starters and gourmet mini souvlakis filled with prawn or duck to wood-fire spit mains.

Calombaris also owns the East Brunswick eatery Hellenic Republic ( GOOGLE MAP ; %03-9381 1222; www.hellenicrepublic.com.au; 434 Lygon St, East Brunswick; mains $12-32; hnoon-4pm Fri, 11am-4pm Sat & Sun, 5.30pm-late Mon-Sun; W; j1, 8).

Reminiscent of a buzzing Spanish bodega, Bomba offers up tasty authentic tapas, raciones for the hungrier and Catalan stew and paellas. The wine list is predominantly Spanish, and the vermouth flows freely, as does the cold Estrella – all perfect for enjoying on the rooftop terrace to the backdrop of the St Patrick's Cathedral spire.

Inhabiting one of those post-industrial spaces that Melbourne does so well, the Grain Store adds a touch of class to the city centre's cafe scene. Dishes range from eight-hour-slow-cooked, free-range Otway pork shoulder to cumin-roasted cauliflower. The weekend brunch offers a more varied menu than most breakfast places – the ricotta and passionfruit pancakes caught our eye.

Since 1892 patrons have been nibbling pinwheel sandwiches here, taking tea (with pinkies raised) and delicately polishing off lamingtons. Hopetoun's venerable status has queues almost stretching out the entrance of Block Arcade. Salivate over the window display while you wait.

Sitting pretty in the old observation deck of the Rialto, Melbourne’s favoured spot for occasion dining has views to match its name. Visionary chef Shannon Bennett has moved away from its classic French style to a subtle Modern Australian theme that runs through everything from the decor to the menu.

One of numerous candidates for the title of Melbourne's best Japanese restaurant, Kenzan inhabits an unpromising setting but serves up sublime sashimi and sushi, with the nabe ryori (which you cook at your table) another fine option. Can't choose? Lunch and dinner set menus are outstanding. Order the more expensive marbled beef when given the choice.

The Flower Drum continues to be Melbourne’s most celebrated Chinese restaurant. The finest, freshest produce prepared with absolute attention to detail keeps this Chinatown institution booked out weeks in advance. The sumptuous, but ostensibly simple, Cantonese food (from a menu that changes daily) is delivered with the slick service you’d expect in such elegant surrounds.

Brave the aggressively trendy surrounds and weekend party scene, as talented Teague Ezard does a fine turn in flash hawker cooking. Flavours pop in dishes such as scallops with green chilli jam or coconut kingfish with peanut and tamarind dressing. There are two dinner sittings; bookings are required. Upstairs, Gingerboy has a long, long cocktail bar.

Melbourne's equivalent to the Lost in Translation bar in Tokyo. The views of the city skyline are superb through this restaurant-bar's floor-to-ceiling windows (memorable views from its toilets, too). It's a great choice for a special occasion, and you can expect a menu of rich, delicious dishes, such as roasted sea trout and parmesan gnocchi with crab-caviar butter sauce and spinach cream.

Aussies have long adopted the humble parma (chicken parmiagana) as their own, but Mrs Parma's takes things to a whole new level with 15 different types of parmas of the chicken, veal or eggplant variety, including some that are downright weird. Its huge selection of Victorian craft beers is another reason to visit.

This Italian restaurant is especially known for its risotto dishes, which range from a simple Venetian risi e bisi (rice and peas) to some fabulously luxe options involving truffles, roast quail or aged balsamic. Don’t miss its fine house-made gelato.

The Melbourne outpost of Neil Perry’s empire offers his signature seafood raw bar, but it’s really all about beef, from grass-fed to full-blood Wagyu. The darkly masculine space is simple and stylish, as is the menu. The bar offers the same level of food service, with the added bonus of a rather spectacular drinks menu.

Once the domain of well-known cook Stephanie Alexander, it still boasts its lovely cheese room and simple, comforting foods such as cheesy toast. There are breakfast cocktails for the brave.

The boys behind the Gumbo Kitchen truck have parked permanently on Smith St with this smart canteen-style eatery. Wolf down one of their rolls of pulled pork, shrimp with Louisiana hot sauce, or fried green tomatoes with Cajun slaw while people watching out front.

Set up by celebrity chef George Calombaris, this is not your ordinary souva joint – these are gourmet souvlakis, which you don't need to be plastered at 3am to enjoy. Options may include a pita stuffed with lamb, mustard aioli and chips, or honey prawn and herbs.

Housed in an old bluestone former bank, this training restaurant for Indigenous and disadvantaged young people is one of the best places to try native flora and fauna – menu items may include kangaroo burger with bush tomato chutney and wallaby tartare. Weekend bookings advised. It also holds cooking masterclasses using native ingredients; check the website for details.

Dishes in this lovely little restaurant are alive with hearty Spanish and Muslim-Mediterranean flavours. It has a great tapas selection, or go the nine-course banquet (chef’s choice) for $50.

Tucked down a Brunswick St side street, Hammer & Tong's forbidding facade may have you second-guessing what kind of place this is, but within is a popular cafe set up by owners of impeccable pedigree (courtesy of Vue du Monde and Jacques Reymond). Expect yabby-tail omelettes for breakfast and soft-shell-crab burgers for lunch and elaborate mains. Excellent coffee, too.

Receiving a slick makeover meant the loss of its appealing dingy charm, but thankfully the authenticity of the Spanish flavours remain: its seafood paella is still one of Melbourne's best. The $12 lunch menu is great value.

Hyped for all the right reasons, this is another of Andrew McConnell’s restaurants and though its decor might be a little over the top, its attentive, informed staff and joy-inducing dishes (roast suckling pig, Earl Grey ice cream and Moonlight Bay oysters, to name a few) have quickly made this one of Melbourne’s best.

Another string to Andrew McConnell's bow is this elegant dining room hidden in the back of the Builders Arms Hotel. The set menu changes weekly and wine pairing comes at $55 extra. Vegetarian menus available. If you prefer something more casual and à la carte, check out the adjoining bistro with its daily rotisserie menu (suckling pig) from 6pm.

Bookings advised at least two weeks in advance.

Classy establishment where you can enjoy the elegant interior of gleaming tiled floors, or casual rear courtyard with your classic Northcote backyard feel. The menu spans rich French cuisine to Asian-inspired fish dishes. The five-course tasting menus, matched with wine, are popular and start from $70.

Sugardough does a roaring trade in homemade pies (including vegetarian ones), home-baked bread and pastries. Mismatched cutlery and cups and saucers make it rather like being at Grandma's on family reunion day.

Run by third-generation Italians, D.O.C is bringing authenticity, and breathing new life, back into Lygon St. The espresso bar features homemade pasta specials, Italian microbrewery beers and aperitivo time (4pm to 7pm), where you can enjoy a Negroni cocktail with complimentary nibble board while surrounded by dangling legs of meat and huge wheels of cheese behind glass shelves.

The deli ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %03-9347 8482; www.docgroup.net; 326 Lygon St, Carlton; mains from $12; h9am-8pm) next door does great cheese boards and panini, while around the corner is D.O.C's original pizzeria ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %03-9347 2998; www.docgroup.net; 295 Drummond St, Carlton; pizzas around $13-18; h5.30-10.30pm Mon-Wed, noon-10.30pm Fri-Sun; g205, j1, 8), with excellent thin-crust pizzas and a convivial atmosphere.

A fabulously well-considered place that serves up a mix of traditional Lebanese cooking and contemporary interpretations of old Persian dishes. The sigara boregi (cheese and pine-nut pastries) are a local institution, and tasty mains such as meatballs are balanced with a large and interesting selection of vegetable dishes (the near-caramelised cauliflower and the broad beans are standouts).

This former auction house–turned–North Melbourne success story serves up some of Melbourne's best coffee, both espresso and filter, using ever-changing, house-roasted, single-origin beans. Then there's its food, with a highly seasonal menu of creative breakfasts and lunches. From Queen Vic Market, head west along Victoria St, then right at Errol St.

The diner-style table coverings give little clue to the tasty morsels this Sicilian restaurant serves for dinner. Shared plates are the go and range from pistachio-crumbed lamb loin to vegetarian layered eggplant.

When you’ve had enough of pressed, siphoned, Slayer-machined, poured-over, filtered and plunged coffee, head here to one of Lygon St’s original Italian cafe-restaurants. There’s the laughter and relaxed joie de vivre that only a well-established restaurant can have. Great pastas and pizza, too. Also has the upmarket Tiamo 2 next door.

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 nights.

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. In business since 1934, and not much has changed with its wonderful buttery aromas and old-time atmosphere. Also does good coffee.

One of the latest additions to Melbourne's Mexican restaurant takeover, Si Señor is also one of the most authentic. Tasty spit-and-grilled meats are heaped onto soft corn tortillas under direction of its Mexican owner. If you've overdone the hot sauce, cool it down with an authentic horchata, a delicious rice milk and cinammon drink.

No-frills bakery keeping the local Jewish community happy with bagels baked and boiled in-house and kosher options available. Stick with the classics and try the 'New Yorker' with cream cheese and egg salad.

Monk Bodhi Dharma's hidden location, down an alley off Carlisle St (next to Safeway), means it doesn't get much passing foot traffic, which is lucky given this cosy brick cafe has enough devotees as it is. A former 1920s bakehouse, these days it's all about transcendental vegetarian food, house-made Bircher muesli and house-roasted single-estate coffee.

Book ahead for Friday night dinners.

With stellar Vietnamese cooking in a quintessentially St Kilda space (complete with rooftop dining area), Uncle is one of Melbourne's more exciting Asian openings in recent years. The drinks list includes Viet sangria, and mains might include lemongrass and coconut scotch fillet, while traditionalists will love the pho (Vietnamese noodle soup).

Beloved artist Mirka Mora's murals grace the walls in this dining room with a history (it’s been delighting diners since the early ‘60s). Guy Grossi's Italian menu has some rustic classics like veal satimbocca mixed with interesting surprises such as walnut and pear gnocchi with gorgonzola. There's also a four-course sharing menu ($60).

A local favourite, Claypots serves up seafood in its namesake dish. Get in early to get a seat and ensure the good stuff is still available, as hot items go fast. It also has a spot in the South Melbourne Market.

The owner’s family comes with flawless pedigree (father Gilbert Lau is the former owner of famed Flower Drum) and the restaurant is in a lovely leafy location. The mainly Cantonese menu is simple, and dishes are beautifully done (if not particularly exciting), with a few surprises thrown in for more adventurous diners.

Make a reservation for one of the two dinner sittings.

Consistent, award-winning Attica is a suburban restaurant that serves Ben Shewry’s creative dishes degustation-style. Many dishes aren't complete on delivery; staff perform minor miracles on cue with a sprinkle of this or a drop of that. ‘Trials’ of Shewry’s new ideas take place on Tuesday night's Chef's Table ($125 per head). Booking several months in advance is essential.

Follow Brighton Rd south to Glen Eira Rd.

Andrew's is a family-run burger institution that's been around since the '50s. Walls are still wood-panelled and now covered with photos of local celebs who, like many, drop in for a classic burger with the lot and a big bag of chips to takeaway. Veg option available.

A hideaway warehouse conversion where the coffee is carefully sourced and guaranteed to be good. If you can't decide between house blend, speciality, black or white, there's a tasting plate ($18). Awarded best food cafe in The Age Good Cafe Guide 2013 – the corn fritters with poached eggs and haloumi are legendary.

Off Clarendon St, between Coventry and York Sts.

With a focus on oysters and seafood as well as bar food, this incarnation of the Albert Park Hotel is filling seats with its promise of market-priced fish and wood-barbecued ‘big fish’ served in five different Mediterranean styles.