Richmond is proving itself more every day as one of the top eating and drinking precincts in Melbourne. Everywhere you turn there is a new place popping up, and choice is starting to get overwhelming. We’ve hand picked 10 of our favourite places to hit up when hunger and thirst strikes.
Nutrition Bar
For a clean start to the day.
Nutrition Bar is where you go if you want to start your day with South American super berries rather than eggs and bacon. Acai bowls are topped with crushed nuts, bananas, and blueberries, while smoothies are packed full of coconut oils, nut butters, and kale (not together, thankfully). They also serve up take home meals fit for the gym goer in all of us, proteins, vegetables, and whole carbs, ready to be heated up. We can’t go past the Protein Acai Bowl and a few bliss balls to take away.
Nutrition Bar
121 Swan Street, Richmond VIC 3121
(03) 9995 4329
nutritionbar.com.au
Feast of Merit
For dinner with a good conscious.
Sometimes you want to give back but don’t know how. Feast of Merit has you covered. Run by the social enterprise YGAP it’s a not for profit space where the staff are as beautiful as the sentiment behind the venue. All profits go towards youth education and leaderships projects in Australia, Malawi, Ghana, Rwanda, Bangladesh, and Cambodia. The menu at Feast of Merit is all about sharing with salads of new season broccoli, cauliflower, Mt Zero split peas, toasted almonds, and Sumac yoghurt going very nicely with roasted Milawa chicken.
Feast of Merit
117 Swan Street, Richmond, VIC 3121
ygap.com.au
Meatmother
For a really meaty affair.
Meatmother specialise in one thing. Meat. And lots of it. Think American style BBQ smoked meats. In the best kind of way. Start with Southern Fried chicken ribs and tequila mayo, or the house pickles. For the mains, try a meat tray of pulled pork served with huge Texas toast and your choice of sides. The sides come in the form of chipotle slaw, mac and cheese, or green beans and almond salad for a light paring. Don’t take the vegetarian friends here.
Meatmother
167 Swan Street, Richmond
www.meatmother.com.au
Friends of Mine
For brunch with a side of champagne.
One of the more beautiful cafes to enjoy your brunch, Friends of Mine offers two spaces right beside one another, one more classic café style with communal tables and window seating and another with white tables cloths and smaller tables. The menu caters to the hungover friend and the smashed avocado addict in all of us. And they serve champagne and cocktails at breakfast. It’s a match made in heaven.
Friends of Mine
506 Swan Street, Richmond VIC 3121
friendsofmine.com.au
Berties Butchers
For take home cuts of meat.
Berties doesn’t look or feel like a regular butcher. It feels like a good quality produce shop that specialises in meat. And that’s exactly what it is. Organic free-range meats are sold for you to take home and cook up a storm. You can also pop in at lunchtime for a $20 box of cooked organic meats with a range of salads. They’ve got a range of products on offer to help make the most of your meats, oils, rubs. It’s the place to go for good meat that’s far more paddock to plate than most butchers around.
Berties Butcher
218 Swan Street, Richmond VIC 3121
bertiesbutchers.com
Pana Chocolate
For Chocolate worth writing home to the nutritionist about.
Pana Chocolate is something dreams are made of. Decadent, rich, dark chocolate make without sugar, gluten, dairy, or soy. Raw vegan chocolate made from raw cacao, coconut, essential oils, and spices. Their retail shop in Richmond takes this notion and turns it into individual chocolates, slices, and raw cakes. A caramel, raspberry, chocolate chunk raw cake is not out of the question. Neither is a raw hot chocolate served with almond milk. Bliss.
Pana Chocolate
491 Church Street, Richmond VIC 3121
www.panachocolate.com
Kong
For a street style dinner.
The Chris Lucas effect is alive and well at his newest venue Kong, the small street food style venue on Church Street in Richmond. Using Asian barbecue and smoking techniques Kong serves some serious flavour. Pork roti rolls with slaw, kimchi, and burnet chilli mayo is a wonderful lunch option while the Korean fried wings with honey, garlic, and sesame are a great way to get the hands dirty.
Kong
599 Church Street, Richmond.
www.kongbbq.com.au
Slow Beer
For a killer craft brew.
Sometimes you need help choosing your craft beer and sometimes you want to try before you buy. Slow Beer on Bridge Road is a small beer store turned into a small bar. Come down, marvel at the walls of foreign and local beers, and have a drink while you decide which one you want to take home for later. While the taps that are pouring changes, you can expect the likes of the Moon Dog Jumping The Shark 14.1% and the Birra Del Borgo Se Le Reale Fosse Nata in Viaggio 7%. Cheese boards and paninis keep the stomach well lined.
Slow Beer
468 Bridge Road, Richmond, 3121
www.slowbeer.com.au
Union Dining
For a fancy affair.
Union Dining is one of those places that will impress the out of towners without being stuffy. Local produce is created into provincial dishes that will make you think you’ve stumbled off the beaten track in a small European town. Chef Nicky Riemer knows what she’s doing. Gnocchi is served with braised rabbit ragu, green olives, ricotta, and pecorino, while baked apple frangipane tarts are served with milk jam ice cream and hot butterscotch sauce.
Union Dining
270/272 Swan Street, Melbourne VIC 3121
www.uniondining.com.au
New York Tomato
For lunch off the beaten track.
New York Tomato is a café in Richmond people don’t always talk about. Why? Probably because they don’t know about it. Tucked down a side street it’s not one you’re likely to stumble by on a Sunday morning. But, it’s worth a look in. Coffees work nicely with your big breakfast, bowl of crunchy muesli, or freshly baked muffin.
New York Tomato
6 New Street, Richmond
www.facebook.com/NewYorkTomato
