The best restaurateurs in Melbourne are excellent at reading the moment; giving people what they want even before they want it. And this point in time belongs to tighter budgets. The reality bites hard as corporate entertainment spends are capped and cost of living increases.
Of course, classic three-course meals and dégustations will always have their place, but increasingly, diners are looking for more entry points to the establishments they love. They want snacks at the bar, set lunch menus, express lunch deals and generous golden hours.
They want it with finesse, knowing the cash they are parting with is money well spent. As ever, hospitality is about being hospitable and some of Melbourne’s best industry minds are tailoring their menus to oblige.
If this is the year of democratic fine dining, book us in for an express table or seat at the bar.
Here are Melbourne’s best lunch deals, set menus, happy hours, and bar menus in 2025.
Best lunch specials and set menus in Melbourne
Atria
Sky-high fine-diner Atria has just opened for lunch service and is offering a fairly priced menu to match. Every Thursday to Saturday, guests can enjoy two courses for $80 or three for $95, both showcasing seasonal cooking backdropped by breathtaking views.
Nomad Melbourne
Bottomless wine and Spritzes match a European small plate feast on weekends at basement-level Flinders Lane restaurant Nomad. Its $110 lunch and linger offer on weekends is a don’t-book-dinner sort of affair. Daily, Nomad offers a $55 mezze lunch, too.
Society
A democratic peek into one of Melbourne’s most glamorous — and expensive — fine-dining restaurants, the Society Social lavish lunchtime set-price menu (available Wednesday to Sunday) offers the choice of two or three courses, with mains such as beef ragù cavatelli. With a starting price of $55, it’s a steal.
Entrecôte
If your heart belongs in Paris (and whose doesn’t?), book a ticket for south-of-the-river darling Entrecôte’s two- or three-course prix fixe menu. Including the likes of terrine de poulet d’Été and the Entrecôte Cheeseburger with frites, it’s a flurry of Gallic charm enjoyed amid a fit-out conjuring fin de siècle France.
Kisumé
Chris Lucas’ towering Japanese restaurant on Flinders Lane has unveiled a new seasonal offering of weekday lunch set options, perfect for the time-poor and hungry. Every Tuesday–Friday, choose from one of four main dishes: chicken katsu with mustard miso and fried shallots; Teriyaki misuji don with seasonal vegetables; tempura tofu with chilled soba and fennel ponzu; or chirashi tuna, salmon, kingfish and ikura. Mains can be paired with a miso seafood soup and will cost guests a cruisy $29.50.
Ides
Lazy Sundays are most definitely a thing at Peter Gunn’s bijou finer-diner Ides. Changing weekly, the five-course One Day Sunday set menu is tailor-made for a late lunch or early dinner – or why not segue from one to the other with the help of a killer wine list that leans into minimal-intervention, biodynamic labels from across the globe?
Centonove
Private school belt favourite Centonove has won the hearts of locals over the past 25 years with its confidently luxe Italian food, and its prix-fixe menus are the cherry on the panna cotta. Tuesday to Saturday lunches offer a particularly wallet-friendly two courses for $79 from the á la carte menu – just don’t forget school pick-up.
Best happy hours in Melbourne
Henry Sugar
Get shucked at cosy Carlton North bolthole Henry Sugar, where oyster happy hour features $3 bivalves every evening from 5pm to 6pm. For an extra 50 cents each you can have your Sydney rock oysters anointed with Ho Chi Mignonette.
Botanical Hotel
Even the well-heeled residents of South Yarra love a happy hour bargain. Their favourite clubhouse, the legendary Bot, is the scene of happy hour revelry every Sunday to Thursday from 4pm to 7pm, with $8 sommelier-selected wines plus $12 Venetian Spritz, $15 Negronis and $17 Billecart-Salmon Brut to really perk things up.
Le Bon Ton
Head down Louisiana way, metaphorically speaking, at this hipster-certified New Orleans-styled smokehouse, with happy hour $12 Hurricane cocktails featuring white and dark rum rubbing shoulders with pineapple, passionfruit, lime and bitters. Celebrated every day from 4pm to 7pm, happy hour extends its generosity to selected beer and wine.
Saké
Melbourne’s contemporary Japanese diner Saké has launched Saké Hour, running every Tuesday through Sunday from 4–5pm. Available exclusively in the bar area, the happy hour sees $7 beers, $10 wines and $12 classic cocktails, plus a stack of value-packed snacks — think edamame, chicken karaage, and popcorn shrimp.
Bang Bang
Bang Bang’s happy hour goes off with a, well… bang. Guests are invited to enjoy shucked-to-order oysters for just $2 each, as well as a raw tasting plate (a tantalising combination of punchy snapper ceviche, Hiramasa kingfish sashimi and Pacific oysters with a black garlic ponzu sauce for $35, and rotating cocktail specials for just $15 each.
Mesa Verde
How does a $10 margarita sound? Make that a Don Julio base, and we think Mesa Verde might be slinging some of the most affordable happy hour Margs in Melbourne. This very happy hour runs from 4-6pm Tuesday–Saturday, with a snack menu served from 4pm and the full à la carte menu available from 5pm. To make things even sweeter, every Tuesday from 4pm till late, enjoy every taco on Mesa Verde’s menu for $5 a pop.
Half Moon
We see an oyster and Moët deal, we fall a little bit in love. If you’re looking for a pre-dinner treat or a casual catch-up with some friends, Half Moon is serving $3 freshly shucked oysters and $15 glasses of perfectly chilled Moët on Fridays from 4-6pm. Salud!
Best bar menus in Melbourne
Snacks at The Estelle, Melbourne. Photo: Alex Suadrito
Apollo Inn
The little sister to celebrated restaurant Gimlet at Cavendish House by Andrew McConnell, Apollo Inn is an intimate space with only 30 cosy seats. Gimlet head chef Colin Mainds has created a sharp-shooting menu of snacks and share plates to match the timeless venue’s petite space – think zesty gildas and a creative prawn and spanner crab spin on the classic club sandwich alongside imported cheeses, beef carpaccio, and crème caramel for dessert. Time to rethink that dinner reservation at Gimlet!
Lui Bar at Vue de Monde
What does a beef sausage roll taste like on the 55th floor of the Rialto Towers? Obscure, but guests can now enjoy the famous Tower’s panoramic views without committing to Vue de Monde’s full degustation at the in-house Lui Bar. Beef sausage rolls aren’t the only thing this sleek little bar is serving up, though; think an earthy mushroom vol-au-vent, or fried chicken with crème fraîche and punchy fermented chilli.
The Espy
Every Thursday night from 5.30pm, The Espy is serving a 30-layer lasagne accompanied by endless garlic bread for $30 per person. Yes, 30 layers of house-made pasta sheets, pork and veal sugo, ‘nduja sauce and bechamel in one rich, comforting lasagne— perfect for a cold Melbourne winter’s night. Plus, a vegan option is also available.
Jayda
Shane Delia’s Middle Eastern flagship restaurant Maha turns 15 this year – perfect timing to welcome bar Jayda next door. Rocking a 1960s Beirut-meets-New York vibe, the glamorous digs are home to Levantine-accented cocktails such as the Strawberry Cream Negroni and a list of bar snacks that read like a full meal, from the ethereal beauty of the Hokkaido scallop with caramelised tahini to the gutsy post-midnight appeal of the Maha lamb shoulder sandwich with spiced jus.
Navi Lounge
It takes time to score a seat at Julian Hills’ Yarraville fine-diner, but the arrival of Navi Lounge next door has thrown open the doors of spontaneity. Joined to the dining room through an archway, the little sibling has expanded the Navi repertoire into a moody-hued bar with next-level cocktails (ever had a spicy kimchi Margarita?) and high-flying snacks that might even give a sneak peek at Navi dishes in the making.
Estelle
Ignore the dressed-up couples in the low-lit dining room and take a seat in the conjoined wine bar. Here Scott Pickett delivers a commitment-free, reward-heavy retinue of snacks – braised lamb croquettes with harissa mayo, puffed beef tendons with faux bacon and goat’s cheese churros with truffle honey – exerting their own gravitational pull, alongside cocktails and a killer wine list.
Cutler & Co
Second string but not second fiddle, the vibrant bar at Andrew McConnell’s Fitzroy fine-diner is a destination unto itself. Overlooking the kinetic energy of the impressive kitchen, it’s a place to park yourself for the tuna on toast and dazzling array of seafood, including a crispy whitebait sandwich and anchovy and sage fritters.
Stokehouse
The “relaxed fine dining” of St Kilda’s Stokehouse becomes even more chilled at its adjoining bar. Primed to enjoy the dazzle of the beach and the bay, the chic bar and terrace is the place for punchy snacks and caviar bumps, backed by a list of cocktails with the dial set to artisanal.
Check out our favourite Sydney happy hours, express lunches, set menus and bar menus.
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