Vegan queen Shannon Martinez makes cafeteria cuisine cool again at her Collingwood digs. Smith + Deli opened last year as a casual offshoot of her stalwart plant-based fine diner Smith + Daughters. It honours the same “don’t eat food with faces” ethos and encourages you to grab a tray, follow the L-shaped counter, get some food and scoot along. Martinez’s ever-changing plant-based menu includes four to five mains daily, with a deli plate of one main and two sides the big attraction. Come for breakfast on weekends, swing by for an easy mid-week lunch or dinner, or stock up on vegan goodies. 107 Cambridge St, Collingwood; smithanddaughters.com/smith-deli

The love child of Navi’s Julian Hills and Hop Nation Brewery’s Duncan Gibson and Sam Hambour took a pause between drinks thanks to countless Covid curveballs, but the team is now back, serving local craft brews and next-level barbecue in this light and bright beer garden. Fermentation is Zymurgy’s game, but has recently made way for Brunswick East’s Bluebonnet Barbecue to pop-up over summer, slinging all your fave smoked meats and vegetarian eats such as beef brisket, smoked chicken with Alabama white sauce, cauliflower, hummus and dukkah and charred broccoli with tamari almonds. 561 Barkly St, West Footscray; zymurgywest.com.au

Chee Wong’s mother-in-law Lulu makes a mean char koay teow. Her wok-fried flat noodles are so popular in Penang, Wong decided to bring them to Melbourne. City slickers scored their first taste of Lulu’s char koay teow at the CBD’s now-defunct HWKR food court before Wong built a loyal following at a permanent Hardware Lane site. Take the traditional route with seafood, Chinese pork sausage and a light or dark sauce, or eat outside your comfort zone by adding blood cockles or duck eggs to the mix. Just know Lulu’s secret signature sauce is behind those long lunchtime queues. 27-31 Hardware Lane, Melbourne.

Honk if you’re hungry. Fans of Jessi Singh’s unauthentic Indian eats have been frequenting this riot-of-colour Fitzroy North restaurant for more than a decade. Now offsider chef Amar Singh is calling the shots, spinning modern motherland faves from the tandoor such as butter chicken, garlic naan and an incredible black lentil dahl with a depth of flavour that just won’t quit. Curries and street food snacks don’t edge over $25, and those small bites will cost you no more than a tenner. Wash things down with a Kingfisher beer or a cheeky cocktail. 167 St Georges Rd, Fitzroy North; hornplease.com.au

This tiny taco house lives next door to owner Frank Camorra’s MoVida, and is named after the two street numbers it occupies. Mexican chef Sarai Castillo’s taco menu values quality over quantity, with four fillings available. The battered rockling and jalapeño cream taco cradles a fillet almost too big for the tortilla; the juicy pulled pork shoulder, braised in orange juice and spices, is finger-lickin’ good. Castillo’s kingfish ceviche is zest at its best, cured in aguachile and topped with cucumbers, whipped avocado and red onion. For something larger, there’s roasted pumpkin with almond chocolate sauce or beef stew quesadillas. 3-5 Hosier Lane, Melbourne; tresacinco.com.au

The shattery-crisp crust on the barbecued pork rolls remains a revelation at the Melbourne home of the Hong Kong-based Michelin-starred mothership, but there are plenty of other reasons to visit this buzzing joint. Like the translucent spinach dumplings – an edible work of art – or the big flavoured pig’s liver cheung fan and the slippery vermicelli roll filled with shrimp in a sweet-edged sauce. From noodles to the deep-fried section, everything on the tick-a-box menu comes in at under $10, making it the perfect place for a quick office lunch or a proper feast on a shoestring. 206 Bourke St, Melbourne; timhowanaustralia.com

Covid may have killed Melbourne’s answer to round-the-clock burgers, steaks and sangers, but Butchers Diner is holding firm as a CBD favourite for all things meat. Hospo heavyweights Joshua Brisbane, Con Christopoulos and chef Steve Lichter are still slinging everything from steak and eggs, fried chicken, pork tongue skewers and dimmies alongside salads, sweets and fresh and filtered coffee from noon, five days a week. Until the CBD returns to regular programming, visit this tiny American-style diner in all its old-school glory, complete with a long communal counter and meals landing thick and fast. And the best part? All are deliciously affordable. 10 Bourke St, Melbourne; butchersdiner.com

Improbably hidden in the retro depths of Brunswick Market, this gem of a Japanese deli is serving some of the best nigiri and sushi in town. The knife skills of Shingo Tochimoto, who earned his stripes working in his grandfather’s Tokyo sushi restaurant, ensures the counter of this simple stall is a dazzling display of jewel-coloured fish laid over vinegared rice, from the usual suspects of tuna belly and salmon to King George whiting, scallops and uni. You’ll also find the rice balls known as onigiri, sushi rolls, filling donburi bowls and a luscious green tea panna cotta for dessert. 655-661 Sydney Rd, Brunswick; tochi-deli.business.site

Ali Ali never saw any dough in pizza-making. Instead, he chased a career in finance after growing up in his dad’s Cranbourne West pizza shop. But after signing a lease on a Mentone shop in 2019, Ali found himself back in the pizza game, looking to his roots to inspire what’s now Bayside’s favourite New York-style pizzeria, Sunnyside Sliced. Since last March, Ali has built a thriving business. On busy nights, he sells up to 200 pizzas, the recipes developed from scratch. Mix and match individual slices or take the whole pie, just know Sunnyside Sliced has made pizza fun again. 34 Como Pde West, Mentone; sunnysidesliced.com.au

A surprise package hiding behind the bluestone Northcote Uniting Church, Yuni’s Kitchen is synonymous with soulful Indonesian food conjured up by Yuni Kenwrick and her quiver of family recipes. The colourful cafe is perfumed by spices from the open kitchen, the olfactory calling cards of universal favourites such as beef rendang and gado gado, nasi goreng and a host of laksas. It’s also worth expanding your horizons with the bakwan – corn and coriander fritters – and the fried tofu and vegetable snack known as tahu isi sayur. If the weather’s fine, the tables in front become Northcote’s most hotly contested real estate. 251 High St, Northcote; yuniskitchen.com.au.

A penchant for fermenting and rescuing “ugly” produce saw chef Dennis Yong develop the concept for Parcs (an anadrome for “scrap”), a 25-seater wine and ferment bar. While the venue may champion a minimal-waste approach, the menu is far from minimal when it comes to flavour – Chinese doughnuts with moromi za’atar and smoked sunflower marrow, buffalo-style mushrooms with a preserved fruit tofu cream and pickled broccolini, kangaroo with treacle sauce and fermented natives. Meanwhile, Yong’s umami e pepe has become a signature. Ingredients aren’t only given a second chance in dishes, but also in creative cocktails dreamt up by Darren Leaney. 198 Little Collins St, Melbourne; parcs.com.au

Did Teddy Picker bring Neapolitan-style pizzas out west? Chef John Ford reckons so. He’s been slinging woodfired slices on the banks of Werribee River since early 2021, taking a modern approach with his cooking while having fun with traditional Italian flavours. That’s why you’ll see a Margherita bubbling with pecorino and red sauce alongside the Thaiger King loaded with satay prawns, Thai basil and peanuts. But it’s not just pizza: there’s pappardelle bolognese, lasagne toasties and chicken parma. Teddy Picker speaks to all ages and tastes, whether you’re knocking back cheeky pornstar martinis, sipping wine on tap or sticking with sparkling water. 5/116 Watton St, Werribee; teddypickerwerribee.com

Melbourne was plunged into mourning when Hana Assafiri closed her Fitzroy North institution after 24 years, depriving a devoted public of her all-vegetarian menu, including the legendary delicious chickpea bake. Which makes it good news indeed that it has transformed into a takeaway and dining pop-up in North Melbourne, where you can expect the same menu of North African-spiced goodness, including rice-stuffed cabbage leaves, quince and cardamom stew and a creamy citrus, rose and vanilla pudding with toasted pistachios. And yes, the chickpea bake makes an appearance too. Get in quick: this version of Moroccan Soup Bar runs until December 17. 47-51 Boundary Rd, North Melbourne; moroccansoupbar.com.au

At Greca Street, everything is larger than life. Even the menu. There are 100 individual items, including at least 30 types of mezze, meat and seafood platters, dips and bread, gyros and souvas. Double down with helpings of lamb and chicken in the mixed gyros, shaved from the spit after being slathered in olive oil, oregano, lemon and a “secret” spice. Or opt for the lamb kleftiko, with lamb shoulder, fat spuds and tomatoes slow-cooked in parchment until the meat falls off the bone and the potatoes get drunk on lemon, garlic and lamb juice, with salty kefalograviera (Greek cheese) hammering it home. 66 Portman St, Oakleigh; grecastreet.com.au

Barbecued meats, cooked low and slow with a whole lotta soul. One of Melbourne’s stalwart American barbecue joints, Fancy Hanks is your ticket to the Deep South via Bourke St. Think sticky glazed pork ribs, crunchy golden fried buffalo wings and fall-apart brisket that’s spent 22 hours in Hanks’ custom-built two-tonne smoker. But save room for the Southern trimmings like chicken schmaltz cornbread with jalapeno cheddar cream or blooming onion with Alabama sauce and roasted onion salt. The meat’s from Gippsland, sauces are house-made (Hanks has its own grocery line), beers are local and good times are a welcome by-product. Fancy that. 1/79 Bourke St, Melbourne; fancyhanks.com