Bacon

Changz Canteen

Truffle and Mushroom Burger

(double beef and cheese, enoki fries, mushroom ‘ketchup’, truffle, roast garlic aioli)

Juicy beef patties that were well cooked, strong truffle flavour.

★★★☆☆

Canteen Classic with Fries

(beef, chicken brick, double cheese, bacon, onion, pickles, jalapeño, lettuce, canteen sauce)

This substantial burger was distinctively peppery, while the canteen sauce reminded us of Big Mac sauce.

★★★☆☆

Fried Chicken Ribs with Aioli

These tasty ribs were coated in a super crispy batter, and are only $1 each on Sundays!

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Solid burgers, enthusiastic staff, awesome Star Wars decor. Burger joints are a dime a dozen these days in Melbourne, and although nothing we tried was phenomenal, I really hope that these guys make it.

Changz Canteen

256 Glen Eira Rd, Elsternwick, VIC

(03) 8592 4941

http://changzcanteen.com.au/

Bondi @2016

Poutine

(chips, bacon, cheese, gravy)

★★★★☆

Polenta Chips with Smoky Ranch Sauce

★★★★☆

Grilled Corn Cobs with Smoky Ranch Sauce and Parmesan

★★★☆☆

Southern Fried Chicken with Honey Butter, Sweet Potato Fries and Homemade Slaw

★★★☆☆

Mushroom Ragout

(wild mushrooms, potato mash, spinach, garlic, rosemary, thyme)

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Formerly known as Fat Rupert’s, Bondi @2026 is the kind of place you’d want to hang out at after a long day at work or a day at the beach. The vibe here is really laid-back and the food pretty terrific. And if you go between 4pm-7pm, beers and wines are only $5!

Bondi @2026

249 Bondi Rd, Bondi, NSW

0421 866 735

http://www.fatruperts.com.au/

Alimentari

Toasted muesli, baked granny smith, lemon thyme yoghurt

The steaming hot apple was nicely unexpected however the muesli to yoghurt ratio could have been improved (more yoghurt, less muesli).

★★★☆☆

Fried eggs, harissa baked beans, braised greens, whipped feta, flat bread, olives, hash browns

Fantastic combination of flavours with the whipped feta being the highlight.

★★★★☆

Hash brown, baby spinach, poached eggs, bacon, hollandaise

A reasonable dish that could have been bigger in terms of portion size.

★★★☆☆

Spanikopita, ricotta, mixed greens, dill, feta, poached egg, with hash browns on the side

With flakey delicate pastry and a tasty ricotta filling, there was a lovely homemade quality about the spanikopita.

★★★★☆

Pan fried ricotta gnocchi, broccolini, garden peas, lemon, fresh ricotta, chilli

Fresh and zesty with delicious light clouds of gnocchi.

★★★★☆

Overall:

Pleasant staff, warm atmosphere and quality food with a beautiful deli at the front. Whatever you decide to order, make sure you get a side of their fantastic hash browns!

Alimentari

251 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, VIC

(03) 9416 2001

http://www.alimentari.com.au

Bibimfresh

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Bibimfresh Signature Bowl

(kale, oak leaf, onion, pear, red cabbage, carrots and sashimi served with chojang sauce)

Fresh and healthy!

★★★☆☆

Kim Mari

(deep fried seaweed rolls filled with glass noodles)

I had never come across anything like this before so was curious to try these out. These little parcels of deep fried goodness had great crunch but needed the dipping sauce as they were quite bland.

★★★☆☆

Ddokbokki Carbonara

(rice cakes served with Korean style carbonara sauce, mushroom, prawns and bacon)

Small portion aside, I really enjoyed this carbonara dish! And the combination with the ddokbokki wasn’t anything extreme so this dish worked well for me.

★★★★☆

Spicy Seafood and Tofu Soup

(spicy soup with soft tofu, vegetables, and seafood served with white rice)

Mildly spicy with lots of tofu.

★★★☆☆

Kimchi Fried Rice

(kimchi fried rice, pork, fried egg)

The runny yolk mixed with the spicy fried rice made this really tasty.

★★★☆☆

Matcha Cake

This delicate sponge cake wasn’t overly sweet (which was nice), and had a distinctive matcha taste.

★★★★☆

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I loved all the awesome air plants that they had on each table.

Overall:

Bibimfresh isn’t your typical Korean joint. This place is bright and spacious, and offers a unique menu of delicious fusion food. From customised quinoa bibimbap and green juice to fried chicken and poutine fries, there is definitely something here for everyone.

Bibimfresh

Shop 9, 108 Bourke Street, Melbourne, VIC

(03) 9654 2371

https://bibimfresh.com/

Heroes Burger Diner

All Star Burger

(beef patty, cheese, bacon, egg, house BBQ sauce, sweet onion, tomato relish, American mustard, tomato sauce, added beetroot, house baked brioche bun)

Heavy and overpoweringly sweet.

★★☆☆☆

HFC Burger

(crispy fried chicken, tasty cheese, coleslaw, jalapeños, chipotle sauce, house baked brioche bun)

Also a heavy burger, but at least I could taste all the ingredients in this one.

★★☆☆☆

Curly Fries

Dry and ordinary.

★★☆☆☆

Salted Caramel Milkshake

★★★☆☆

Overall:

The decor here is awesome. Colourful comic strips line the walls and toy figures of heroes and villains are peppered throughout the diner. Service was quick and the food was well priced but ordinary. The burgers we sampled were overloaded with sauces which quickly led to soggy burgers. We also left the place smelling strongly like the grill (Korean BBQ style) so I think that the ventilation here could be improved.

Heroes Burger Diner

Shop 14/6 Fordholm Rd, Hampton Park, VIC

(03) 8768 8868

Mr Scruff’s

Poutine Chips with Cheese, Gravy and Bacon

★★★★☆

Salt & Vinegar Onion Rings with Scruff’s Special Sauce

★★★☆☆

Beef Burger with American Cheese, Cos, Pickles, and Scruff’s Special Sauce

★★★☆☆

Crispy Chicken Burger with Pickled Ginger, Kewpie Mayo, Cos and BBQ Sauce

★★★☆☆

Snickers Waffle with Peanut Praline, Salted Caramel, Vanilla Ice Cream and Shaved Chocolate

This was a lot smaller than I anticipated.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

I can totally understand why this place is so popular. The vibe is great and the food is pretty damn tasty. The best thing about Mr Scruff’s is that every Wednesdays between 6pm – 10pm the food is HALF PRICE! And it’s not like the prices here are expensive to begin with, so it works out to be a seriously awesome deal.

Mr Scruff’s

60 Smith St, Collingwood, VIC

(03) 9995 3881

http://www.mrscruffs.com.au/

JD’s Burgers

King Kai

(signature Asian fusion beef patty, American cheese, bacon, Spanish onion, beer battered onion rings, lettuce and “afterlife” BBQ sauce on a brioche bun)

★★★★☆

Golden beer battered chips coated with JD’s seasoning

★★★★☆

Ultimate Black Pepper

(signature Asian fusion beef patty, HK black pepper sauce, American cheese, bacon, mushrooms, Spanish onion, lettuce, tomato and Japanese mayonnaise on a salad)

★★★☆☆

Overall:

I am always on the look out for good burger places, and JD’s Burgers certainly know how to make good burgers. When we visited, their menu offered 19 different burgers that incorporated exotic flavours from around the world. The burgers are served on either a premium French brioche bun or a salad (but let’s be honest, at a burger place you don’t win friends with salad!) The service was quick and friendly, and the dining area small and simple. Note that they also offer some crazy burger challenges for those who dare: a 1.5kg burger and a 4kg burger!!

JD’s Burgers

17 Hamilton St, Mont Albert, VIC

(03) 8590 6448

http://jdsburgers.com.au/

Lights in the Attic

Bird Nest

(scotch eggs on top of a potato nest, free range kransky chilli beans base and grated parmesan)

Very tasty and really filling!

★★★★☆

Wild Forest

(chilli scrambled egg, potato made mushrooms on top of toast with free-range bacon, pork floss and crackling)

The eggs were a bit bland, the crackling was tough and rigid, but the potato mushrooms were cute.

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

After seeing so many photos of the Bird Nest on Instagram, I’m really glad that this dish turned out to be as tasty as it looks. In fact all the dishes here are well presented. This cafe is bright and airy, and the service friendly.

Lights in the Attic

38 Camberwell Rd, Hawthorn, VIC

(03) 9813 5042

The Peddler Cafe

Campfire (Baked) Eggs

(chorizo, bacon, butter beans, chilli, parmesan, napoli)

★★☆☆☆

Roast Salmon and Quinoa Salad

(avocado, snow peas, rocket, saffron and elderflower vinaigrette)

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

A charming unpretentious cafe where the staff were lovely and provided great service. The menu was limited compared to many other cafes (which is perfectly fine), however the dishes we sampled were merely average which was a shame.

The Peddler Cafe

295b Springfield Rd, Nunawading, VIC

(03) 9877 4381

Proud Mary

Potato hash, double smoked bacon, poached egg, asparagus, bagna cauda (Italian sauce of anchovies and cream)

The shredded hash brown was wonderfully crispy and tasted fantastic with the bold bagna cauda and the warm golden yolk from the poached egg.

★★★★☆

Cotechino pork sausage, roasted mushrooms, poached egg, charred onion, zeally bay sourdough

This dish has definitely made me a fan of cotechino!

★★★★☆

Mork Hot Chocolate served with unrefined coconut blossom sugar

Not the best latte art in the world however the drink itself was rich and comforting.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Proud Mary is a place that I can always count on for a great experience. The food is delicious and filling, the service quick and friendly, and the atmosphere very laid back. Waiting times can be quite long during the weekend so these days I prefer to avoid the crowds and visit on a weekday.

Proud Mary

172 Oxford St, Collingwood, VIC

(03) 9417 5930

http://www.proudmarycoffee.com.au/