Contemporary cuisine: the best places to taste it in Melbourne

The Crafty Squire

74/100 (1747 ratings)

Restaurants

Australian

Brew Pub

Vegetarian Friendly

Contemporary

Bar

Gluten Free Options

Pub

Bar

Contemporary

Pub

Brew Pub

Australian

Vegetarian Friendly

Gluten Free Options

After-hours

Drinks

Dinner

Lunch

Beef

Lamb

Pesto

Fish

Pork

Pasta

Salad

Calamari

Risotto

Calamares

Salmon

Burger

Fish & chips

Fish & Chips

Schnitzel

Sit down

Contemporary

Bar

Pub

Brew Pub

Australian

Gift Cards Available

Serves Alcohol

Full Bar

Accepts Credit Cards

Outdoor Seating

Television

Live Music

Reservations

Seating

Table Service

Wheelchair Accessible

After-hours

Drinks

Dinner

Lunch

Mid-range

"We brought our Canadian friends here and we were not disappointed. We tried the beer paddles- we love 50 lashes, we tried the crocodile sausage..."

Christina Green

"The Crafty Squire is great for all occasions. Superb atmosohere to watch the football at and official home of the Melbourne Chelsea Supporters Club!..."

Matt Patterson

"We had a lovely evening here. The musician was fantastic! Played and sung really great songs. The bar staff were really friendly and the beers were..."

Kirrily Boyd

"Came here last night with my friend for dinner. Great service straight as you enter. Love the atmosphere and the food is great! You get what you pay..."

Bianca Lee Walker

"Great atmosphere, great selection of beers on tap and friendly staff. Highly..."

Corey Bigwood

"Awesome pub. Great staff and fantastic food. Good choice of music in the background as well. Will definitely be..."

Simmo Bruce

"A1 hospitality, staff offering a small taste of beer,before pouring a full glass, is certainly making the customer happy. Highly recommended when in..."

Brett Hart

"came here for dinner tonight and the food was really nice, the portion size was massive.. loved the atmosphere,..."

Ryan Buckby

"Loved this place discovered it by accident the food was nice and arrived quickly great atmosphere also highly..."

Ash Mckay

"Excellent place and great beers. Great place to visit whilst..."

Eric Sleegers

"Can't go much better than James Squire for variety & flavours in theirs beers. The Golden Ale is my favourite & it's great to be able to go to bar..."

Tony Jenkins

"Went there for an event and it was incredible! Food was delicious and of course the beers are fantastic! But what I also loved was that the staff..."

Tom Plunkett

"Great food the best beer and great..."

Peter Lane

"We had our first drink in Melbourne at the crafty squire so it will always be a special place for us. They have a huge selection of craft beers and..."

MelbourneLops

"Great weekday lunch options and great value ... Quite an easy choice if you don't know where to go. The crumbed pork schintzel was good but they no..."

Rastafarianf50

"Not a bad pub, right in the centre of busy Russell St; the Crafty Squire is good at delivering the goods to sport mad patrons. With tvs in every..."

Morgs71

"I been to all the Squires! This one is the first in the city. Im a fan of there beers. A great vibe and heaps of beer what's not to love. Well..."

Nay Nay

"Great atmosphere, friendly staff and amazing food. Clean, spacious, sport on the TV whilst still being able to hold a conversation over the (good)..."

Tash Wilson

"Came here on Tuesday night with 3 others and had beer tasting for 8 different beer😌 with their new craft beer, coffee + beer; can taste the..."

Oodreiilittlepotato

"If you’re after a causal, chilled out pub in the CBD with a good drinks selection, this is the place. A variety of beers on tap, I tried this cider..."

Sydney Food Lover

"The famous $20 lunch deal - always ordered the porterhouse steak with mushroom source. Staff were very hospitable and food were served quickly even..."

TripleJ

"I ordered the special menu spinach and ricotta ravioli. It was really interesting because when it came out I probably would’ve described it more as..."

Katelyn Brooke Unwin

"A farewell lunch at the Crafty Squire was a great choice! The restaurant allowed 12 of us to split the bill and were very attentive from the..."

ToFeedTwo

"Great food, good service and a wide range of beers and cocktails an excellent venue for a quiet lunch or big night. We had lots of small tasting..."

Gavin Gusling

"Very nice. We only had drinks, but the staff was very friendly and the drinks were good ... Will definitely go back for a drink and a meal ......"

Andries Van Wyk

"Clean and fresh interior. A good range of James Squire beers to choose from.Went for the porter and special ale. Both beers were very..."

J

"A great place to go for a reasonably priced pub meal and some craft ales to wash it down. They do the range of James Squire ales that you can get at..."

Espy Eats

"A great place for work lunches. The food comes out quickly during the busy lunch rush, but takes a tad longer on Fridays. The steak was good, but was..."

Daniel

"Twenty dollar lunch special is a good price for the middle of the city, especially for a chicken parma. The main issue was that the food came out at..."

Lucky Girl

"Very spacious venue. Love those outdoor area fitted with heaters which is juts perfect for winters. Did not try any of their food but the cocktails..."

Little Bit Of Everything

"Venue of choice for a cheap Friday night dinner I was surprised by how much of the pub style food appealed to me. Sweet corn fritters, baked..."

Good Food Good Mood

"Great bar to settle down in to watch "the game" with heaps of tvs scattered all around 2 floors, lots of tables that would take some mammoth of a..."

All Mountain Pass

"Very nice food, accomodating staff. Overall good experience. Great place to watch a sports game. Good pub food, some of the portions are huge..."

Foodie_ Melbs

"Beer Review. Love this place. Great atmosphere & vibe. Friendly staff. Anytime I'm in that area of the CBD I will go, can I say more? Oh yeah, love..."

GoJo Geoff

"About two weeks ago came for a $20 lunch and thought it was great. Went with the trusty parma and it was massive, I couldn't almost finish it. Good..."

Gruby

"This place is great for a night out with friends. There's an extensive range of beers and cider on tap with a good cocktail list. The cocktails were..."

Melsy

"Being a Saturday night, we got a table straight away! Ordered food an beers.. didn't take long for the food :) it was just beautiful! Will definitely..."

Jayde Nicole Lewis

"The crafty squire is a good place to go for a nice beer and watch of live sports. The only thing letting it down is the amount of children that..."

Lauren Billings

"First came here after the renovations for the scotch and beer sampling afternoon, and now has become my local haunt, food is excellent and fast, not..."

James Edmundson

"Great little place for a few drinks on a Friday afternoon! Pale ale & moscato were great, unfortunately ran out of time to order food but atmosphere..."

SJ87

"My workplace held a function here. Contrary to all the other negative comments about the chips, I actually loved them. They had a fantastic crisp,..."

TresHungry

"I had the task of arranging an end of year gathering for 45+ people. The Crafty Squire made this task a breeze. Our function upstairs in the newly..."

EmmDee

"Great atmosphere good selection of beer, everyone said their meals were good, I had the mushroom and haloumi burger with chips, very tasty, best..."

Andrew Gipps

"Nice ambience and good place for beer. Portion. Very big, I think the Parma chick thickness is a little over to my liking. Partner ordered fish and..."

Snoopy

"Good spot great..."

Food 2 Run

"Parmasofmelbourne. Last night we decided to head down to the Portland hotel on Russell st to try their take on the Parma. Boy oh boy were we in for..."

Parmasofmelbourne

"I have fond memories of the Portland Hotel, in fact it was here that I met my wife (Katie). I also love their Parma, and the fact that they also..."

Andrew

"Our rule of thumb for judging value on a parma is “would I be happy to go back and pay what I paid again, for what I received”. While the..."

Parma Daze

"Chances are that when you're tossing up between eating at the Portland Hotel or it's neighbour James Squire Brewhouse you'll see a similarity in..."

The Burger Adventure

"Always a nice option for good craft beer or food at the back of your mind kind of place. Nice vibe great for night out or group catch-ups. Love the..."

Richard Ma

"It’s a very cozy place, clean and good service🤵🏼. My Parmy was very yum🤤, but my partner's Rump dish was cold and he didn't enjoy it very..."

Zuri Molina

"This Parma is defs in the top 5, it was delicious and came out super hot and fresh. Staff were lovely, but it was a super busy Saturday night with a..."

Debbie Nik

"So good the steak 🥩🥩🍟 , tasty like i love it....🤤🤤🤪 And we ended the night with some good tequila shots, nice place to catch up..."

JoJo LeBlack

"Team drinks for EOFY. Spacious and lot of room including upstairs. No happy hour. G&T regular was $12.50 which was a bit pricey. Liked the fact that..."

Uthpala Koralegedara

"Nice clean place. Food was good all the times that I went over a few trips. Beer is much more traditional styles rather than all the over the top..."

Scott Abene

"If you order from mr.yum you will can order 4 from 5 choices of the beers for tasting plater. For the advice you should order them from..."

Nopmonton TANOMBOON

Bluetrain

70/100 (3143 ratings)

Restaurants

Vegetarian Friendly

Pizza

Italian

Contemporary

Vegan Options

Australian

Bar

Pizza

Contemporary

Australian

Gluten Free Options

Bar

Vegetarian Friendly

Vegan Options

Gluten Free Options

Drinks

After-hours

Dinner

Lunch

Dumplings

Ribs

Prawns

Pasta

Salad

Chili

Lamb

Duck

Fish & chips

Pesto

Calamari

Fish

Risotto

Pork

Calamares

Burger

Ragu

Cheesecake

Beef

Fish & Chips

Sit down

Australian

Contemporary

Bar

Pizza

Television

Accepts Mastercard

Reservations

Accepts Visa

Seating

Accepts American Express

Table Service

Wheelchair Accessible

Serves Alcohol

Wine and Beer

Highchairs Available

Full Bar

Digital Payments

Accepts Credit Cards

Outdoor Seating

Takeout

Dinner

After-hours

Lunch

Drinks

Mid-range

"Fantastic family restaurant, very helpful and friendly staff and the food was deeelish, even the kids menu was great with very appropriate portion..."

Roslyn Laurie

"A good quick, delicious meal, excellent for pre theatre, football, concert. Been coming to blue train for many years and never been disappointed...."

Emma Louise Brown

"First time here with the family and we loved it. Great food, view and atmosphere.I really enjoyed the miso salmon. It was cooked to..."

Tracey Wilson

"Great service (Harriet from Manchester) fantastic food and reasonable prices.......highly..."

Richard Oxford

"Good spot,friendly staff,excellent service, good meals,good prices ideal to bring the family Sunday..."

Joanna Stefanoudaki Hargreaves

"Great place to eat and catch up with friends over a drink,also the staff are fantastic, well..."

Chris Townsend

"We had 9 ppl to feed and these guys had no trouble whatsoever fitting us in without a booking! Service is excellent and attentive, generous kids..."

Eddie Drohomirecki

"Spent New Years at bluetrain and absolutely loved it! Amazing food, good service and location was perfect to watch the fireworks. Highly recommend..."

Antonio Fonti Stephanie Fonti

"Coming from the country to the big smoke, this place had wonderful service and the food is..."

Michelle Tremellen

"This place is amazing. The food is great and diverse. There is something to eat for everyone. The decor is great. The vibe and friendly staff make it..."

Stellios

"The service was ok and the food was delicious but I found the price was rather high for what the food was. The steak came with chips but then we had..."

Jason Jost

"We dropped in for a bite before seeing a movie and the staff were lovely - very helpful with suggestions that would come out quickly so that we could..."

Eat Play Live Melbourne

"Great views over the river. Food is good and service is fine. We had the seafood linguine, lamb blackstrap and ricotta gnocchi and enjoyed all of..."

Dumba

"Little bit hard to find. We had a dinning voucher so splurged for lunch . Very kind waiters service quick and prompt . Entree pork spring rolls $16..."

Fiery Sensation

"I have been here many times for pizza and burgers but this time i opted for a more pricey dish, i ordered from the 'Mains' selection and after the..."

The Pet Roo

"I had the corn chip crusted fried chicken burger. I haven't one of these before, so to find one here was a pleasant surprise, and a point of..."

Tinmans Treats

"A good stable when in need of something that always works well. This casual dining experience will do exactly what you need it to. They will look..."

Descartesmuse

"Went there for a early dinner and was very pleased! The service was good as well as the food, however nothing too spectacular for the price! The..."

Mia.grinch

"Came in for a late dinner after a show at the comedy festival. Had the GSP platter for 2 and could not fault it. Absolutely fresh and delicious in..."

Sue Silva

"Pull up a seat at the bar and try out some of their signature drinks while you wait for a table at dinner time. They used to do cocktails named after..."

JC

"Great atmosphere. Staff are amazing, especially with kids! Food was yummy and well portioned, we ordered a few entrees- calamari, feta fitters,..."

Elizabeth Navarro

"This seafood platter was all I had and it was divineee, and cant wait to visit this restaurant again when I come to Melbourne. The there were other..."

Steve John

"Food is ok, nothing very special. Ordered few different foods, pizza was ok, lamb burger was delicious, asian beef soba noodle was ok, zucchini..."

Yulz

"Great staff, and even better food. Despite me being the annoying and hungry athlete of the table ordering a pasta dish while everyone else got..."

Maddie Bradley

"Bluetrain is an iconic venue in Southbank/ Melbourne CBD. Food is amazing and happy hour everyday has my daily visit! Elliot is such a great guy!..."

Ami Denniss

"Went for lunch Great meals (awesome burger). Fair service. Would definitely go here again. Good selection of beers wines and cocktails. Kid friendly..."

Adam Wenzel

"Bluetrain by the very fact that it’s has been open for so many years has become a Melbourne institution. Even despite moving locations a number of..."

Espy Eats

"I've been to Blue Train a couple of times in the two decades it's been standing and it's a bit of a Southbank institution. A massive modern space..."

Good Food Good Mood

"Have been visiting blue train for many years now and wow they have undergone some serious changes within the past four years. The restaurant offers a..."

Ann

"We were looking for a place for a work lunch and decided to try Bluetrain. I have been here a number of times over the years and it has been a bit of..."

Split The Bill

"Friendly staff, tasty food, South bank prices though! Had a quick lunch at the bar and better than what I expected given mixed reviews. Would suit..."

Tim

"Great place to come for lunch if you work or live in the area. I've been here a few times with work colleagues and the meals have always been great...."

ToMaZo

"The service was impeccable. The staff were pleasant, friendly and gave excellent recommendations. The food was delicious. Used my Liven App and got..."

Wilburn Quill

"We had an excellent experience at blue train. Our waiter was attentive and friendly, the food was excellent. I'm quite surprised by the other reviews..."

Liam.hedge

"Came with a group of friends for and 18th dinner. Throughly enjoyed the food and the service was pretty good to! Loved the atmosphere, little bit..."

Alex

"If you're looking for somewhere nice to eat on Southbank without blowing the bank, blue train is great. Been here on a few occasions and every time..."

David Lee

"I like this place. It's view is nice and the design is nice and their food is good. I can't really find anything wrong with the experience. The..."

Ktmoh

"Wonderful experience at Bluetrain! Amazing service, delicious meals and a lovely view to accompany it all. Had the meatballs as an entree, and the..."

Alana Karathanasis

"Hey! Blue Train is in the middle of 2 Pokestops along Yarra River so if you up to catch some water Pokemon... LOL Well, Zomato is after all a gourmet..."

Lancelthebard

"Had the shared seafood platter and a couple of steamed ales.Friendly and attentive staff.Very nice food.I like that they have a..."

Matt Taylor

"Went to this beautiful restaurant with my wife and son yesterday for dinner. Love the food. Excellent customer service and such a beautiful place to..."

Ketharasarma Ledchumanasarma

"Thank you Bluetrain for providing excellent service for our massive family get together. We were a large group with children who had not seen each..."

Nicole Stock

"Came for brunch. No breakfast options but as with previous reviewer waitress and kitchen were very helpful substituting item. We ordered a Greek..."

Mahendra Perera

"Came for a Saturday night dinner with 10 people. Great atmosphere with music keeping everyone buzzing. Decor is very nice, the lighting in particular..."

Matt

"Bluetrain overlooks Southbank and has a funky, contemporary fit out. The dinner menu has a great selection of choices and is reliable - all the..."

Eileen N

"Service was swift and pleasant as soon as we had arrived. The dishes we ordered were delicious but slight small in portion and more on the..."

Lazypandah

"Service here was swift and pleasant; the place was packed and yet our food came to us without much of a wait at all. Food is is slightly pricey but..."

Bianca Roberts

"Food: great, Drinks: great variety and very creative, Atmosphere: great, Music: very subtle, Service: reasonable, Good location with a nice view of..."

Taylor Pan

"Had a really fantastic dinner here last night, service was spot on, table out on the small terrace was just beautiful, great views. Food was lovely,..."

Lari

"AMAZING!!! Have been to the old one years ago! Brought my partner here for a meal! We were so keen for a seafood platter. After realising it was a..."

Samantha Anderson

"I've always had a good time here. Love their chips and happy hour, $4 for a pot which is a bargain. The pizzas are decent too, thin crust and good..."

FoodHedonist

"We tried Bluetrain before going to a show, so it was a little quieter than I have experienced in the past. The benefit was that we had quick service...."

Anthony

""Fresh ravioli", this dish simply rocks. The other items in the menu (burgers, pasta, salads) are super too. Great location overlooking the Yarra...."

Dev S

"This is such an overdue post I can't even. That's probably gonna be the intro for the next ten posts since my backlog is getting pretty insane, but..."

Beini

"Loved the pulled lamb and beetroot relish burger. We also enjoyed the watermelon and feta salad with pomegranate dressing. The homemade lemonade is..."

Sharon Gould

"What started off at the Arbory ended up being way too overcrowded for a catchup and thus the Bluetrain was the best choice. Nestled on the banks of..."

The Domestic Traveller

"I had the seared eye fillet salad for $21. The beef was tender, juicy and flavorsome. The salad was very nice too. But it was a tad stingy. I think..."

Pedro Arvy

"We came here over the weekend to celebrate a birthday and the fit out is amazing. The views are even better. Staff are great and friendly..."

ToorakM

"Have been here on a number of occasions - the Pulled Lamb Shoulder Pizza is to die for and my girlfriend loved the Veggie Burger (plus the chips were..."

Steve Marsh

"We were here for an office function and the large group was seated down very quicklyEven though the joint was quite packed. Great customer..."

Aussie Nawaab

"I had Smoked Salmon Salad and I enjoyed it but the dish is pretty small. In my opinion, I think it's over-priced for $21. I recommend this place..."

Dan Tran

"Had lunch here on a busy Sunday. We had to wait 10 minutes for a table and don’tunderstand why they didn’t offer us one of the many tables..."

JackieO

"We came here for dinner tonight. The staff was very friendly and relaxed. My friend had the pork belly and I had the oven baked snapper. The snapper..."

Jo Jo

"I usually come here on a Friday after work during happy hour. $4 beer pots are a bargain in Southbank (used to be $3). Coffee is also great from..."

Marcel S.

"Happy to get a window seat to see the autumnal views of the Yarra River and the activities outside it.Found it to be a pleasant atmosphere...."

Ramieleatsshootsandleaves

"A great location, with really scrumptious food. My eighty year old Mum really loved the burger! And the no. 7 pulled pork pizza was a light crust..."

Mark Thompson

"Decent selection of Italian influenced menu. Food was lovely (paella and chicken curry) but service is very slow. Hopefully they can get back to..."

Scott Puddy

"Great location, wonderful service and amazing ambience. Good place to go with family and friends or after work drinks. The only negative is too much..."

Jasveen Kaur

"Catching up with friends and Bluetrain great casual place to meet. Dinner for 5. Shared garlic cheese pizza and basil pesto bread with salami. ..."

Sam Keir

"One of my favourite places to go, great staff, amazing food and view if southbank is just breathtaking however, this time, they decided to close the..."

Birdi Saab

"Nice place that overlooks the river. I will definitely suggest that book a table before you visit as this place is packing. The food menu is nice..."

Keyur Dandekar

"Great place for groups and before the theatre. Loads of choice. Burger, pizza and share dishes like boa and spring rolls... then and the churos for..."

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Contemporary cuisine: the best places to taste it in Melbourne

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