Soi 38, the bare-bones Thai eatery by Andy Buchan and chef Vherachid “Top” Kijthavee, brings wok-tossing fun to the bottom of a multi-storey car park. Think street food snacks and lesser-known Thai delicacies like boat noodles. Go traditional with a noodle soup made from a blood-based broth, or indulge in bites of fried chicken, papaya salad and kingfish ceviche. Soi 38 recently took over an adjacent garage to pack in more hungry mouths, and installed a bottle shop nearby specialising in natural wines that you can take for dinner with no corkage. Now that’s something we can raise a glass to. 38 Mcilwraith Place, Melbourne; soi38.com.

The vibes are high at this pumping Lebanese restaurant, which feels more like eating at the house of a good friend who just happens to be an excellent Levantine cook. Run by brothers Antoine and Bechara Taouk and named in honour of their grandmother (“teta”) Mona, it’s a family feast scenario in which no one is going home hungry. Za’atar-dusted fried cauliflower, fluffy falafel in pita and filo-wrapped lamb cigars segue to herby beef kofte and spiced chicken with wild rice and buttered almonds. It’s a world of choice, but the keenly valued $45 banquet will help the decision-making process. 100A Lygon St, Brunswick East; obee.com.au/tetamona.

If anyone is responsible for Melbourne’s laksa love affair, it’s Esmond Wong. The Malaysian-born chef first introduced the city to Southeast Asia’s spicy soup in a Flemington arcade in 1998. Almost 25 years later, he’s grown the Laksa King empire to three stores, including a larger suburban Glen Waverley outpost that’s perfect for groups and communal dining. Small snacks like pork dumplings and curry puffs will get you started, before slurping the noodley signature laksas that won’t cost you more than $20. Other Asian soups like har mee and larger shares such as Hainanese chicken round out the offering. Flemington, South Yarra, Glen Waverley; laksaking.com.au.

It seems Mama really does know best, especially when it comes to dumplings. This family-run Melbourne favourite is tucked inside an arcade in Chinatown and serves up traditional recipes from Yantai on China’s Shandong Peninsula. Seafood may be a specialty of this budget-friendly haven, but for a more parochial dish, locals may want to opt for the seafood and chicken-filled Melbourne or Aussie Lamb pot stickers. Or think outside the dumpling wrapper and go for ShanDong specialties such as pork-stuffed fried lotus roots or extra-large bao. Eat in, or take away dumplings, pot stickers and buns to make at home. Shop 7-8 Mid City Arcade, 200 Bourke St, Melbourne; facebook.com/shandongmama.

An authentic Thai cafeteria rocking a close approximation to a Bangkok back alleyway, Pinto channels a comfort-heavy take on Isaan food. The salty, sour, sweet, spicy and bitter pillars of Thai food are all accounted for on a menu making a specialty of real-deal boat noodles: just choose your noodle and level of beef or pork adventure, from fillet to liver and tripe. Chicken noodles in bitter melon soup will cure whatever ails you, while the changing roster of specials, like southern-style yellow curry with shrimp and snapper, keep nearby expat uni students on a perennial taste trip back to the homeland. 231 Exhibition St, Melbourne; facebook.com/pintomelbourne.

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.

What started as a small shop in the Footscray Market has flourished into one of the suburb’s best kept secrets for authentic Vietnamese food. Annie Vu and her chef husband Nam Nguyen have been running Co Thu Quan for about eight years, serving street food snacks such as Vietnamese crepes, fried fish balls, rice paper rolls and larger bowls like chicken pho and stir-fried chilli lemongrass and tofu. The space jams up to 40 people inside its bare-bones dining room, with 20-odd seats spilling onto Droop St when the weather calls for a few ice-cold cans of Vietnam’s finest from the fridge. 12/10 Droop St, Footscray.

Some like it hot. The good folk of Sichuan in southwest China certainly do, inflaming their distinctive hotpots and stews with the smouldering burn of dried chillies, garlic, vinegar and peppercorns. Dainty Sichuan flies the flag for this coveted regional cuisine in Melbourne and has done so since 2003. But its big, bustling base in South Yarra, spread across two gaudily decorated dining rooms, is not just about all things incendiary. Plough into Dainty’s supersized laminated menus – full of gleaming colour snaps – and you’ll find gentler fare: finely pleated Chinese dumplings plump with pork; deliciously dry, seasoned Sichuan duck; and a soothing cold noodle combo. Order the lot and challenge yourself not to wipe the plates clean. 176 Toorak Rd, South Yarra; daintysichuanfood.com.au.

This loveable local does things right in every department, from its slick Euro-style bistro food and peachy 300-strong wine list that packs in all sorts of interesting gear from Australia, France, Spain, Germany and beyond to an in-house bottle shop that speaks to the well-travelled residents of Fitzroy North. Bring your own special bottle from Sunday to Thursday for lunch or dinner and enjoy it with a mussel escabeche tartlet that comes with a smoosh of taramasalata, snack-happy wagyu croquettes with tonkatsu sauce or the winter-ready lusciousness of smoke-licked dry-aged duck breast with duck neck sausage and baked quince. 162-170 Queens Parade, Fitzroy North; the-recreation.com

Follow your nose – and the crowds – to this buzzing warehouse off Victoria Street where the heady aromas of Thai food are an all-senses experience. The broad menu offers regional specialities such as boat noodles (rich, comforting and ideal for a Melbourne winter) along with all the classics like tom yum soup, larb gai (a chilli-amped minced chicken salad), fried whole fish in tamarind sauce, and all the curries you could wish for. There’s also a street-food dish of chilli-fried crisp pork that’s so hot, it comes with its own menu warning. Cool it down with $10 beers, or BYO wine for $6. 1 Ferguson St, Abbotsford; jindathaimelbourne.com

You bring the wine and Stokehouse will do the rest. The elevated fine-diner at St Kilda beach is hosting a temporary BYO dining experience each service until October, with a six-course set menu designed to complement wines with structure and age. Led by head sommelier Wil Martin, service includes premium glassware, temperature control and decanting. Expect dishes like Abrolhos Island scallop with ginger oil, glazed duck with quince and madeira, and caviar with brown butter and creme fraiche doughnuts. Seize your chance for some BYO by the sea with a group of up to eight, with one bottle permitted per guest. 30 Jacka Blvd, St Kilda; stokehouse.com.au

There’s a dazzling constellation of reasons that put this elegant Piedmontese restaurant in a plethora of our top 10 lists (including best pasta and best Italian), and it includes a bring-your-own policy that puts it on the hit list of Melbourne’s wine clubs. Take a seat and order the agnolotti del plin, the bistecca or just the best-in-show fried calamari with rocket, and don’t forget that the in-house wine list is a thing of rare beauty (hello, barbera, barbaresco and nebbiolo) – nor that the perfect nightcap awaits a few doors down the street at this venue’s equally fabulous sibling, Bar Olo. 191 Nicholson St, Carlton; scopri.com.au

No need to worry if there’s a queue at Mamak (and there usually is). The transcendently buttery and flaky roti being prepared on the other side of the glass provides dinner and a show. They’ll take you on a whirlwind trip to Malaysia, along with a back-up band of fiery sambals and deeply flavoured curries. The lengthy roti menu includes the show-stopper roti tisu – a conical tower of ultra-crisp pastry, and you can swing savoury or sweet (roti kaya with coconut and pandan is a favourite). Satay, fish curry and classics like nasi lemak and mee goreng round things out nicely. 366 Lonsdale St, Melbourne; mamak.com.au

The whitewashed arches, classical statues and hits of Aegean blue might scream “Corfu!”, but it’s actually Collingwood, which is much handier for bringing your own slab of beer to put in the communal fridge (for the uninitiated: there’s no wine list, so if you want booze, you have to bring your own). The spoken menu at the perpetually buzzing Hellenic institution is unchanging and reliably good. Let the waiters act as tour guides through the generous serves, from saganaki and taramasalata through to whole prawns and juicy lamb cutlets off the chargrill, all best followed with galaktoboureko for dessert. 32 Johnston Street, Collingwood.

It’s easy to get bamboozled while hunting for Melbourne’s OG laneway restaurant (look up for the small sign hanging off the first floor) but this old-school Italian haunt is well worth the effort. Originally opened in 1947 as a post-knockoff haunt for the city’s migrant hospo staff, the family-run institution remains largely unchanged, which means regulars can rest assured that their beloved spaghetti carbonara, veal parmigiana, osso bucco and pan-fried chicken livers will always be available. Catch up on your colourful local history by reading the old newspaper clippings on the walls, and finish your evening with the tiramisu. 20 Meyers Place, Melbourne.