It's rare to find a sophisticated bar outside of the CBD these days, and it's even rarer to find…read moreone that won't break your weekly drinking budget in one night. Hawker Beer and Wine Bar is located in the suburb of Highett just 30mins from Melbourne CBD. The bar is named after Harry Hawker, a local of the area. Harry George Hawker, was an Australian aviation pioneer. He was the chief test pilot for Sopwith and was also involved in the design of many of their aircraft. After World War One he co-founded Hawker Aircraft, the firm that would later be responsible for a long series of successful military aircraft. The bar itself is small and is directly across the road from the Highett train station, which seems to have some type of train passing through every 15mins. The fit-out is minimalistic, with large windows that give you a great view of the comings and goings in the area. What is great about this bar is the large cocktail list. With mostly original cocktails with a few traditional with a modern twist. The service is friendly and attentive, and I get the feeling if I lived in the area this would be my local. Apart from the great cocktails it has a good selection of beers and wines. It also had a pretty awesome snack menu, being provided by Typhoon, the Vietnamese restaurant next door. If you live in the area chances are you have either visited Hawker or know of it. If you haven't been do yourself a favour and pay them a visit, it won't disappoint.

This is another one of those really cool cafes that I sort of stumbled across as I was wandering…read morearound the place one day. It is sort of one of those places that has taken up residence in an old warehouse, and these places can actually be pretty cool. Well, that is the case with this place, and they also service a pretty decent cup of coffee as well. However, despite it being on a side street, and the middle of the week, this place certainly does attract the crowds.

Really nice brunch place south side in the Gardenvale area. We had an awesome lunch here of bloody…read moreMary's, eggs, smashed avocado, calamari and a breakfast bun. All was really good, service was great, and the space is really nice too. I'd definitely return if looking to meet someone south side for a nice casual breakfast/brunch/lunch.

A quirky, fun bottleshop with a great bar space attached. I love this place - cool owners, best…read morefresh pizzas (Pear & Gorgonzola an absolute standout), great attentive staff and terrific small producer wine range at reasonable prices. Share a cheese and charcuterie board, knock back a high quality bottle for under $40, and you have a night made for you and several friends. On warmer nights the front windows all open up and the street comes in around you...great atmosphere.

I found out they had a Mother's Milk in Brighton after reviewing the Chapel St one and had to see…read moreif it was the same deal...and it is! Really great little bar where I'm sure it gets more and more popular during the nicer weather where it would thrive on the groups of younger, "classier" folk from Brighton. It is just a great establishment with so much appeal decor wise and is so uninhibited that it means you're sure to enjoy yourself. Such a cool lounge area where they have great lighting and cool music so it's a perfect place to have a drink!

Not one but two open fire places here! We ordered eggplant chip, sorry no pics, they don't cook on…read morethe premises meaning they came from another restaurant nearby OMG delicious ! Really shoulda found out where they came from. The bar staff were relaxed professional and friendly. They made this place really. It had a nice feel. I liked it here. The house sparkling is really quite nice and very reasonably priced. The clientele was oddly all female and frankly a little snooty. Hopefully that experience was a one off. I'll go back. You should too. It's just opposite the cinema.

It's incredibly disappointing to see how Mr. Jim (Dimitrios) Totos conducts his business affairs…read more While Brazil Catering Pty Ltd, one of the companies that operated Feast Delicatessen, is currently facing liquidation proceedings by the ATO for unpaid tax liabilities of $329,396.29, Mr. Totos continues to happily operate the very same delicatessen under different companies Feast on Hampton Pty Ltd (ACN 126 703 400) and Barossa Retail Food Pty Ltd (ACN 639 251 460). This raises serious questions about phoenixing activity--where one company is deliberately liquidated to avoid liabilities, only for the same business to resurface under a new name. Consumers and suppliers should be cautious and fully informed when dealing with businesses owned or operated by Mr. Jim (Dimitrios) Totos.

Ordered the roast pork meal (last of 2 serve) and waited an hour. My partner finished her meal and…read moredrink but still no food. I politely asked for its progress and waited until the hour had passed and we decided to leave. The waitress walked us out of the Resturant and we politely left with her apologising all the way outside. Then, 15 seconds later the young manager raced after us and accused me of walking out without paying and threatening to call the police. I went back and paid the $15 bill for my partner's entree and asked to speak to the owner and was told no. I demanded a card and eventually got one. Then the pork meal arrived and I was expected to take it. I was threatened not to bother talking to the owner as it would be a waste of time. Let's see if their customer service is any better than the manager's. I think that the waitress made the call to apologise and walk us out without charging, but that the manager disagreed and wanted his pathetic $15 rather than return business an good reviews. Terrible customer service. Bad atmosphere.

I've driven passed True South heaps and heaps of times, and always wanted to try it, yet never did…read more... until tonight. I am kicking myself that I never came sooner. It was really, really good. The restaurant has a great vibe about it. For some people, they'd love to come in summer when out the front there are tables on the footpath and on the inner outside there are bar stools to sit and drink while watching the world go by. Inside, the restaurant has a clean, industrial feel to it. It was busy, but not overly loud. We were seated right away and your placemat is the menu, so you dive right into looking for things that grab your taste buds. Many - if not all - dishes are great for sharing, so we started out with Chipas (mini cheese rolls, mandioca flour, cheddar and parmesan) and the Croquetas of the day, which were chicken and corn. Before those came, we were served up a mini bread roll each with an olive and ricotta dip. Very delicious. The entrees came out and they were heavenly. The Chipas were amazing and I could have just had several serves of those as my meal. The were like mini warm cheese scones. The croquetas were good; had a beautiful crumbing on the outside, but the inside was nice, though nothing to rave about. For the main, I ordered my own Caviche de Salmon. It came with mango, cherry tomatoes, onion and plantain crisps. I didn't much care for the plantain crisps, and I hated the fact that there was coriander in the dish without it being listed on the menu. I would have asked for it without it, as I can't stand coriander. Yuck. Of course, there was something that really stood out to me on the dessert menu, so I had to order it. It was a chocolate fondant, with banana and caramel ice cream. That sounded incredibly appealing and tasted really, really good. My only minor complaint about it, was that it was truly ICE cream. That almost ruined it, but the flavours were everything. There was just a few things I didn't like about True South. One was the tables felt sticky. Two was that you could smell cigarette smoke from outside, even though it's illegal to smoke right outside an eatery. And three, because of the open shutters, it allowed for flies to fly in. Small things I guess in relation to how good the food and service was. Yes, the mains came out slowly, but they were really busy and food was continually leaving the kitchen. Would I go back again?? YES, YES, YES. I really enjoyed the meal and it was something different to usual here in Melbourne. How authentic it is, I don't know. But if you want a great spot with good atmosphere, great food and reasonably priced meals, then this is the place for you. It's worth the drive.

Nice birthday meal with family. Good food, the porterhouse steak was the winner. Cooked to…read moreperfection. The broccolini was the best I've ever had. The jalapeno margarita was underwhelming. Good coffee, friendly service. Would definitely come back for the steak and oysters alone.