Nestled inconspicuously on leafy corner of Rathdowne St, La Luna Bistro has been serving contemporary Australian cuisine with a Mediterranean influence for over a decade. Chef and owner Adrian Richardson utilises produce from local suppliers to create dishes that showcase their ingredients. Though quiet when we arrived for lunch, the unpretentious and bistro-like restaurant was soon bustling with activity. We started with some house-made bread that had just come out of the oven. The bread had a lovely crust and the multigrain was packed with all sorts of seeds. [caption...

Noir serves French cuisine in a modern and neat setting and was recently awarded one chef's hat by the Good Food Guide. For midday dining there are lunch specials for $18, as well as the four course tasting menu, with a glass of wine for $35. Today I decided to go for the tasting menu. The chilled pea and asparagus soup was thick and smooth, with a good balance of flavours. It went very nicely with the parmesan biscuit (which was more like a parmesan crisp). [caption id="attachment_6789" align="aligncenter" width="1000"]...

Kong is the latest venture by the Lucas Group and headed by Chin Chin's executive chef Benjamin Cooper. Opening late May, it's already become very popular and the high-ceilinged restaurant emanates a bright and casual vibe. We came for an early lunch right near opening time, so it was virtually empty. It could also have been something to do with the heavy rain today. There's a focus on Korean and Japanese (mostly Korean), and obviously on barbequed foods prepared in charcoal and hard-wood pits and ovens. Also offered...

Light, fresh and healthy might not be adjectives people typically string together in the same sentence as Indian cuisine. Mother and son team, Lalitha and Ashwin Rajan, aim to bring contemporary Indian food to the Melbourne food scene. The bright white, yellow and turquoise colour scheme helps reinforce this theme and makes it a comfortable place to spend breakfast or lunch. [gallery type="thumbnails" size="column3-2/3" columns="2" ids="6758,6759,6760"]   Coming in to get some takeaway, I ordered Kid Kaboom and Mr Parker's Prawns, both with the brown basmati rice and lentil dahl. After...

Bowery to Williamsburg can be a little hard to find because of its downplayed shopfront, but it still becomes quite busy at lunchtime as it fills up with people who know where to get a good sandwich. This New York-inspired eatery, styled after a subway station, is by the same team who brought us the venerable Hardware Societe. There isn't a whole lot of seating, most of which is communal, but fortunately they do takeaway too. All sandwiches are priced at $13 and for an extra $4 they'll add...

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