While we’ll always have a soft spot for indulgent long lunches, sometimes all we want (and have time for) is a fine-dining express lunch option that’ll give us a taste of the menu – at a fraction of the price. From two-course lunch sets at slick bistros to flame-kissed Japanese plates at neon-lit diners, these are the best lunch specials in Melbourne when you want fancy flavours on a budget.
Pull up a seat, they’ll have you wined and dined in no time.
Best lunch specials and set menus in Melbourne
Marmelo
Victoria’s 2025 Restaurant of The Year, this Portuguese-inspired hotel restaurant’s flame continues to burn bright with its new weekday lunch offering. Its riff on a classic bife à Portuguesa — an indulgent Portuguese steak dish — sees wood-grilled eye fillet finished with a whipped anchovy butter in place of a garlic, white wine and butter concoction, and crowned with fried hen’s egg. Fried potatoes are swapped for crisps for a lighter, lunch-friendly option. Smoky, deeply savoury and incredibly moreish, this simple but flavourful dish is available for $45 in-venue Tuesday to Friday.
When: Tues – Fri: 12 – 2:30pm
Bookings: Recommended via their website. Walk-ins welcome.
Pastarami
Run by two former chefs of the popular now-closed Richmond haunt, Noir, Pastarami on Swan Street is the stylish neighbourhood wine bar putting handmade pasta and natural wines front and centre. Its new express lunch lineup includes packed paninis from $17 — with fillings ranging from beef ragu to mortadella — or chicken cotoletta and salad for $32. For something more substantial, diners can opt for the lunch special, comprising of three plates (including focaccia, a snack and pasta or salad) for just $32 per person.
When: Tues-Sat: 12-2:30pm
Bookings: Recommended via OpenTable. Walk-ins welcome.
PAST/PORT at The Waterside Hotel
Perched above the city, PAST/PORT is The Waterside Hotel’s South-East Asian dining destination. Its recently launched express lunch menu offers a choice of entrée and main for $42 per person. Start with favourites like Tom Yum prawn dumplings before moving onto grilled chicken curry ‘Kapitan’. For those after a one-and-done meal, the Sarawak laksa ($32) is a highlight, drawing from executive chef Sarah Chan’s roots. Silky rice vermicelli noodles swim in a fragrant coconut broth infused with lemongrass, galangal, turmeric and chilli, that’s then topped with poached chicken, king prawns and crisp bean sprouts.
When: Mon-Fri: 12-3pm
Bookings: Recommended via their website. Walk-ins welcome.
Stokehouse Pasta and Bar
Set just metres from the sand in St Kilda, Stokehouse Pasta & Bar brings a breezy, coastal ease to weekday dining with its $45 Express Lunch. The two-course offering pairs a small entrée with a pasta from a rotating selection and a glass of wine, distilling the venue’s Mediterranean-leaning, pasta-first menu into a quick, polished midday stop.
When: Mon-Fri: 12-3pm
Bookings: Recommended via SevenRooms. Walk-ins welcome.
Disuko
Melbourne’s red-hued1980s Tokyo-inspired venue from the team behind Mamas Dining Group (Hochi Mama, Windsor Wine Room) comprises a dining room and bar, terrace, intimate omakase counter and a private dining room. It’s set menu gives you and a guest the choice of five dishes to share, spanning izakaya classics and Disuko signatures. Choose two small plates, two large plates and a side for $55 per person, with smaller options like spicy tuna bites with crisp rice; plump scallop tacos; and agedashi tofu, as well as spicy crab udon, tonkatsu curry with marque pork neck and glazed cod with whipped tofu as mains. Round out the meal with fries or steamed rice, or go the lighter route with spicy edamame or pickles.
When: Mon-Sun: 12-3pm; 5-10pm
Booking: Recommended via OpenTable.
Albert’s Wine Bar
Tucked behind the heritage listed Kings Arcade in Armadale, Albert’s Wine Bar is a quietly polished neighbourhood spot with a European bent. Set within a 19th-century building once painted by Albert Tucker (from whom the bar gets its name), it pairs an intimate interior with a relaxed courtyard. While its menu is ever changing, a $75 set offers a chef-selected, share-style progression — moving from baguette and cured meats to kingfish crudo and beetroot, and finishing with casarecce vodka and slow-roasted lamb shoulder.
When: Tues-Thurs: 3pm – late; Fri-Sat: 12pm – late; Sun: 12-9pm
Bookings: Recommended via OpenTable. Walk-ins welcome.
Clover vin de cav
Richmond’s casual-cool, minimalist wine bar-bistro hybrid celebrates natural wines with food cooked solely over fire. Take a seat in the leafy courtyard for the ever-changing menu du jour (“menu of the day”) which might look like honey bread served with fresh cheese and cured meat, followed by chicken from the wood-fired oven for $89 per person.
When: Mon – Sun: 12pm- late
Bookings: Recommended via OpenTable.
Yakimono
Chris Lucas’s high-octane Japanese-inspired eatery on Collins Street dishes up a bold lineup of weekday lunch specials for hungry office workers. Available from noon until 3pm Monday to Friday, you can tuck into Donburi with the likes of karaage chicken or a range of sashimi from $24.5, or order cult-favourite Bento Boxes with options like sake salmon from $25.5.
When: Mon – Fri: 12-3pm
Bookings: Recommended via their website. Walk-ins welcome.
Marameo
This laid-back Italian diner from the team behind Il Bàcaro and Bar Carolina takes its pasta very seriously. Made in-house daily, you can get crowd-favourites – like the jet-black squid ink linguine with blue swimmer crab – as part of the express lunch menu, together with starters such as fried calamari and a garden salad, for $49 a head.
When: Mon – Fri: 12-3pm
Bookings: Recommended via SevenRooms. Walk-ins welcome.
Cleo
Hyde Melbourne Place has scored a chic new rooftop restaurant and bar, and it’s built around an Eastern Mediterranean concept. From Monday to Thursday, you can feast on a selection of mezze from $59, including nigella seed pide with your choice of five dips and small plates, including the likes of golden prawns with a fresh green zhoug or halloumi served with quince chutney, oregano and a squeeze of lemon.
When: Mon – Thurs: 12-5pm
Bookings: Recommended via SevenRooms. Walk-ins welcome.
Common Cuts
When it comes to one-dish restaurants championing steak frites, Melbourne is putting its best foot forward. This moody grill and listening room opposite Old Melbourne Gaol specialises in just-pink steak frites seared on the habachi from $28.50. Choose from one of six sauces – from classic mushroom and peppercorn to Ndjua or spring onion butter – and soak up the atmosphere. In the mood to indulge? Enjoy a three-course meal for just $48.50 per person, including grilled scallops, Common Cuts’ signature steak frites and a rich chocolate and date cake.
When: Thurs – Fri: 12-5pm
Bookings: Recommended via their website. Walk-ins welcome.
BKK
HER’s party-forward Thai BBQ canteen on level three offers more than just fun energy. From 11:30am to 3pm Monday to Friday, you can enjoy $15 noodles. Slurp up thick ribbons of drunken mama noodles laced with minced pork, a fiery hit of wild ginger and green peppercorn, or dig into smoky pork and prawn noodles – all at sub-$20.
When: Mon – Fri: 11:30am-3pm
Bookings: Recommended via SevenRooms. Walk-ins welcome.
Omnia
South Yarra’s Euro-leaning bistro, Omnia, ticks all the right boxes: an award-winning chef, voluminous wine list and slick interiors. And now, from Thursday to Saturday, you can dine in the light-filled conservatory room and enjoy a two-course lunch set for $49. Choose from a starter starring mussels or a corn tart, and finish with the likes of Yellowfin tuna with mushroom and peppercorn sauce or bavette.
When: Thurs-Sat: 12pm-2:30pm
Bookings: Recommended via OpenTable. Walk-ins welcome.
Greta
Located in Flinders Lane, this sophisticated Euro-centric wine and sandwich joint has been satisfying all our carby cravings for half a decade. And now, it tickles our fancy with a $35 set menu. Split a serve of French fries with special sauce and snack on the pickle of the day before tucking into a baked eggplant parmigiana or a cheesy beef cheek baguette with pesto and Napoli sauce, among plenty of other mouth-watering options. Bellissimo!
When: Mon – Fri: 12pm-3pm
Bookings: Recommended via their website. Walk-ins welcome.
Beverly
The stunning rooftop oasis above the hustle and bustle of Melbourne’s CBD offers a one ($35), two ($50) or three-course lunch option ($65), featuring dishes like handmade pastas or vibrant salads. The menu is available Tuesday to Friday, noon until 3pm, and the mains change fortnightly.
When: Tues – Fri: 12pm-3pm
Bookings: Recommended via SevenRooms. Walk-ins welcome.
Nomad Melbourne
Nomad’s daily lunch special features a share-style menu with Mediterranean/Middle Eastern influences, available Wednesday to Sunday from noon until 3pm. Dip into hummus, toum, Gundagi lamb skewers and more for $66 — and be in and out within the hour.
When: Mon – Sun: 12pm-3pm
Bookings: Recommended via SevenRooms. Walk-ins welcome.
Society
A democratic peek into one of Melbourne’s most glamorous — and expensive — fine-dining restaurants, the Society Social‘s lavish lunchtime set-price menu (available Friday to Sunday from noon until 2:30pm) offers the choice of two or three courses from $55, with the option of adding on something decadent from the dessert trolley to finish. Sample Society’s beef tartare and chicken cotoletta with a herby salad, or perhaps John Dory with a zingy lemon-scented beurre blanc.
When: Fri – Sun: 12pm-2:30pm
Bookings: Recommended via SevenRooms. Walk-ins welcome.
Entrecôte
If your heart belongs in Paris (and whose doesn’t?), book a ticket for south-of-the-river darling Entrecôte’s two- or three-course prix fixe menu. Featuring dishes like pork rillette and the Entrecôte Cheeseburger with frites, it’s a flurry of Gallic charm enjoyed amid a fit-out that conjures up fin de siècle France.
When: Mon – Fri: 12pm-2:30pm
Bookings: Recommended via SevenRooms. Walk-ins welcome.
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