St Kilda, Melbourne
Mar 26, 2008, 5:26 pm
#1
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St Kilda, Melbourne
For future reference for anyone seeking to know good places to visit when in Melbourne, I'd like to share some experiences of Acland St, St Kilda.
There are a few old threads here but nothing bringing all of the options together, so please add your favourites to this list.
Friends here for the Comedy Festival asked us out for dinner and Acland St beckoned.
Since my last trip around nine or ten year ago, it has only improved but still has a lot of the good stuff.
Some of the highlights:
- Easy trip from city, on Number 96 Tram (easy number for adult Aussies to remember
)
- Plenty of cafe / bar options, with nightclubby rooms upstairs
- Espy Hotel if you want some Oz Rock fun
- Euro cake shops - yum!
- Healthy juice/food bars like Falafel Kitchen
- Outdoor dining
- Tons of cheap eats like Chinese, fish & chips etc if on a budget
- Street theatre
- People watching
- Tons of good cafes not far away, ending at the St Kilda Rd end of Acland St
- Pubs and bars/restaurants on Fitzroy St (after the ones above, on the way to the beach end of Ackland St)
We had dinner at Big Mouth (which was fun, though the food took a while but was fine - and opposite the pubs on Barkley St) and a Chinese place, mid-Ackland St the following night.
Who has tried the cake shops?
How about the Fringe Cafe? Or the one next along, closer to the Tram stop, which is buzzing?
Cicciolina??
How is Mink these days?
There are a few old threads here but nothing bringing all of the options together, so please add your favourites to this list.
Friends here for the Comedy Festival asked us out for dinner and Acland St beckoned.
Since my last trip around nine or ten year ago, it has only improved but still has a lot of the good stuff.
Some of the highlights:
- Easy trip from city, on Number 96 Tram (easy number for adult Aussies to remember
)- Plenty of cafe / bar options, with nightclubby rooms upstairs
- Espy Hotel if you want some Oz Rock fun
- Euro cake shops - yum!
- Healthy juice/food bars like Falafel Kitchen
- Outdoor dining
- Tons of cheap eats like Chinese, fish & chips etc if on a budget
- Street theatre
- People watching
- Tons of good cafes not far away, ending at the St Kilda Rd end of Acland St
- Pubs and bars/restaurants on Fitzroy St (after the ones above, on the way to the beach end of Ackland St)
We had dinner at Big Mouth (which was fun, though the food took a while but was fine - and opposite the pubs on Barkley St) and a Chinese place, mid-Ackland St the following night.
Who has tried the cake shops?
How about the Fringe Cafe? Or the one next along, closer to the Tram stop, which is buzzing?
Cicciolina??
How is Mink these days?
Mar 26, 2008, 5:46 pm
#2
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Mar 26, 2008, 7:02 pm
#3
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Thanks, Tom. I'll have to post some pics myself, of Big Mouth and Jackie O.
^
Vineyard was busiest of all, on Saturday & Sunday nights.
Big Mouth would still be my pick.
Some great funk and other music upstairs, lots of girls if you like 'em.
It's great to see these cake shops are still around, as are a variety of dining experiences.
^
Vineyard was busiest of all, on Saturday & Sunday nights.
Big Mouth would still be my pick.
Some great funk and other music upstairs, lots of girls if you like 'em.
It's great to see these cake shops are still around, as are a variety of dining experiences.
Mar 26, 2008, 7:42 pm
#4
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We considered St. Kilda one of the high points of our Australia/New Zealand trip. The shops, the restaurants and the people were all fabulous.
Our travel agent had tried to book a major hotel but the town was full and there was no room at any of the inns - almost. She suggested a small B&B in St. Kilda just a couple of blocks off the main drag. We arrived there late after 14 days in New Zealand, tired and with suitcases full of dirty clothing. We asked whether we could use the washer and were told no. Our hosts insisted on taking our laundry at around 9 pm at night and had it waiting for us, clean and folder, before breakfast. There was no charge for this.
The breakfasts were wonderful. After our second night I explained that I needed to pick up a rental car for a drive into Adelaide planned for the next day and asked for directions back to the B&B. The owner said that because several streets were closed getting back would be difficult. So she drove us to the rental office some 10 to 15 minutes away, waited for us to get the car and had us follow her back.
St. Kilda is great and if you are going to spend time there I recommend that you check out the Fountain Terrace at 28 Mary Street. We stayed in the Melba suite.
The hosts are Penny and Heikki Minkkinen. Check them and the Fountain Terrace out at http://www.fountainterrace.com.au/.
I rarely recommend places to stay but this place and St. Kilda were magical for us. We spent the next two weeks exploring Australia and stayed in some super resorts, but nothing topped the warm welcome and comfort of the Fountain Terrace.
Overall, we thought our Australia and New Zealand trip to be the best we ever experienced. And we got business class tickets on Qantas for only 90,000 miles each. Guess that tells you that the trip was a few years ago -- March of 2002 to be exact. So I cannot vouch for how things are today but would bet that they have only gotten better.
Our travel agent had tried to book a major hotel but the town was full and there was no room at any of the inns - almost. She suggested a small B&B in St. Kilda just a couple of blocks off the main drag. We arrived there late after 14 days in New Zealand, tired and with suitcases full of dirty clothing. We asked whether we could use the washer and were told no. Our hosts insisted on taking our laundry at around 9 pm at night and had it waiting for us, clean and folder, before breakfast. There was no charge for this.
The breakfasts were wonderful. After our second night I explained that I needed to pick up a rental car for a drive into Adelaide planned for the next day and asked for directions back to the B&B. The owner said that because several streets were closed getting back would be difficult. So she drove us to the rental office some 10 to 15 minutes away, waited for us to get the car and had us follow her back.
St. Kilda is great and if you are going to spend time there I recommend that you check out the Fountain Terrace at 28 Mary Street. We stayed in the Melba suite.
The hosts are Penny and Heikki Minkkinen. Check them and the Fountain Terrace out at http://www.fountainterrace.com.au/.
I rarely recommend places to stay but this place and St. Kilda were magical for us. We spent the next two weeks exploring Australia and stayed in some super resorts, but nothing topped the warm welcome and comfort of the Fountain Terrace.
Overall, we thought our Australia and New Zealand trip to be the best we ever experienced. And we got business class tickets on Qantas for only 90,000 miles each. Guess that tells you that the trip was a few years ago -- March of 2002 to be exact. So I cannot vouch for how things are today but would bet that they have only gotten better.
Mar 26, 2008, 11:02 pm
#5
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One of the places I do try to hit each trip is Leo's Spaghetti Bar over on Fitzroy Street. The tram stops right out in front. Not high-end by any means, but I've always enjoyed dining there. Don't have any photos. I first went there about 10 years or more back when someone from the Compuserve travel forum suggested it for dinner.
http://www.leosrestaurant.com.au/index.php
http://www.leosrestaurant.com.au/index.php
Mar 27, 2008, 10:12 am
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One of the places I do try to hit each trip is Leo's Spaghetti Bar over on Fitzroy Street. The tram stops right out in front. Not high-end by any means, but I've always enjoyed dining there. Don't have any photos. I first went there about 10 years or more back when someone from the Compuserve travel forum suggested it for dinner.
http://www.leosrestaurant.com.au/index.php
http://www.leosrestaurant.com.au/index.php
Dave
Apr 13, 2008, 8:26 pm
#8
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FYI, if you are planning to spend some time in Melbourne, make sure you visit some of the bars.
I just came across an article online from a previous T+L magazine edition. There is not a URL, just go to this search page and type in bars:
http://travelandleisure.digitalediti...binet2/SEARCH/
Wishful Drinking
If you're in a hotel then you might have a copy of the current T+L on the desk anyway. ^
I just came across an article online from a previous T+L magazine edition. There is not a URL, just go to this search page and type in bars:
http://travelandleisure.digitalediti...binet2/SEARCH/
Wishful Drinking
If you're in a hotel then you might have a copy of the current T+L on the desk anyway. ^
Apr 28, 2008, 8:47 pm
#11
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Public transport is cheap and easy (hmmmmm......) in Melbourne - MetLink will give you all the info you need.
Dave
Apr 29, 2008, 12:28 am
#12
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On our trip (on a Saturday night) the ticketing wasn't working so Tram 96 was both free and easy (and pretty rapid). ^
Apr 29, 2008, 4:03 am
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Apr 29, 2008, 11:20 am
#14
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I didn't think the trams were that cheap in Melbourne. Isn't a single ride outside of small CBD area something like A$3.50? That's noticeably more expensive than a single ride in NYC, Tokyo, or Paris, for example. You would do OK in Melb with a day pass if you rode the trams several times.
Apr 29, 2008, 11:34 am
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The reason we are looking to drive is b/c I am going with my wife, daughter, m-i-l & f-i-l... even if public transit is quite inexpensive, the costs can add up when paying for so many people at the same time.