516265 Mon May 05 23:14:31 -0700 2008 9 37 Australia/New Zealand 0 3660321 Hello-- I'll have almost two weeks, mostly in Canberra, about 2 days at LilliPilli Beach (?) and a few days in Melbourne. I've never been to Australia... I generally tilt towards seafood but I'm certainly a meat eater as well. Any things I mustn't miss? Specialties of any of the preceding spots? I'm open to anything... Thanks! Mon May 05 23:14:32 -0700 2008 20049 rschwim 1 3667610 I'm not so familiar with Canberra, but Melbourne's a really fantastic city for restaurants. You'll be spoilt for choice. The best restaurant in Melbourne is generally agreed to be Vue de Monde, which is a swish fine diner in the city. But my personal faves are: * Three One Two - Carlton * Becco - City * Bar Lourinha - City * Gill's Diner - City * Ladro - Fitzroy * Cafe di Stasio - St Kilda * Punch Lane - City * Cicciolina's - St Kilda * Interlude - Fitzroy None of these is a seafood specialist restaurant, but all of them (except perhaps Ladro, which is a pizza place) would certainly have seafood dishes on the menu. At the more upmarket end of the scale, you might also want to check out The Press Room, Pearl, Ezard, Circa and Taxi (along with Vue de Monde if you can score a table). But if you had to narrow down, I'd suggest Becco, Cafe di Stasio and Three One Two. Thu May 08 05:46:03 -0700 2008 3660321 190205 MaestroSid 2 3673352 We always go back to Cafe di Stasio when in Melbourne. Reasonable prices, good food (though occasionally a little heavy on the salt). Love the wine from their own estate, too. Jaques Reymond was good if you want a quite formal fine dining experience but interesting food. Vue de Monde is a must. Outside Melbourne, Pettavel Winery's restaurant was a fantastic place for long lunch. Fri May 09 16:49:30 -0700 2008 3667610 122119 DexterDog 3 3673564 I'd give cafe di stasio a miss. I can't work out the hype. I'd be tempted to try attica, vue de monde and pearl. Fri May 09 18:20:23 -0700 2008 3673352 104230 kmh 4 3678090 I am not a fan of Vue de monde, I felt the cooking was less assurred than the French style restaurants in Sydney (Becasse, Moncur etc). On our visit we had the degustation menu and asked for the sommelier to pair wines with the food. Good wines but all French, and thus very expensive for the quality (especially as we lived in France at the time). I thought this was amaterish and/or taking the theme to an unwarrented extreme - in the back of my mind is the thought we also saw French produce on the menu rather than better local alternatives. Sun May 11 23:07:20 -0700 2008 3673564 64584 PhilD 5 3678107 you're always a step ahead of me! it's on my "want to try" list Sun May 11 23:24:10 -0700 2008 3678090 104230 kmh 2 3698218 agree with maestrosid's list, with the exception of punch lane. i don't care what the good food guide says about it - it's poorly executed cafe fare. also, another possible addition is Donovan's in St. Kilda - an oldie but a goodie. they do some good seafood there too. Sun May 18 09:05:06 -0700 2008 3667610 119622 e_ting 1 3673598 Attica is possibly some of the best value and most innovative food you will try right now. It's about 10 minutes by taxi and you'll get fish - a speciality is smoked trout broth with real smoke. Also Movida, although with a Spanish slant, is innovative food in a superb grafiti alley way location. Both are on my blog www.tomatom.com Fri May 09 18:35:08 -0700 2008 3660321 190510 tomatom 1 3678151 Try Oyster Little Burke for great well-sourced oysters. Neil Perry knows fish Rockpool Bar and Grill. Mon May 12 00:43:27 -0700 2008 3660321 191497 higgy 1 3716942 canberra isn't renown for seafood however there are a number of decent restaurants worth the visit. it's worth keeping in mind that canberra prices are considerably inflated (this applies to everything - property, basic groceries and coffee) when compared to other Australian cities. if you're in canberra during a parliamentary sitting week (when the city is overrun with politicians+lobbyists+journalists) it can be difficult to get a table for dinner at short notice. Try: Courgette - modern French - Civic Sabayon - modern Australian - Civic Artespresso - modern Australian - Kingston Parlour - tapas & wine bar - New Acton Sat May 24 03:50:28 -0700 2008 3660321 194852 lollypolly