The Veneto Club restaurant heaves with families of Venetian diaspora on Friday and Saturday night. Sure, the dining room is dated, but the food and conviviality – plus outdoor seating – keeps people coming back. Start with antipasti, perhaps scamorza fritta (smoked and fried cheese) or pane a tavola (charred house-made bread with artichoke puree and olives), before sharing nonna’s polpette (beef meatballs) and soft polenta served with wild mushrooms and ragu made from pork sausage and fennel. Secondi sees traditional dishes such as cotoletta and veal saltimbocca land on tables. During lockdown, the club launched a delicatessen, so now you can take home frozen meals along with wine and other pantry items. Make a day of it and book a bocce court for after lunch. 191 Bulleen Road, Bulleen; venetoclubmelbourne.com.au.

A contender for prize-winning interiors, The Danish Club at Denmark House in the CBD puts mid-century design and hygge (a term that roughly translates to comfort and cosiness) first. Artichoke lampshades are suspended from lofty ceilings above plenty of blond timber. The New Nordic menu presents more than 20 different smørrebrød open rye sandwiches, from dill-marinated herring to Korean-style fried chicken, plus bar snacks and the ‘Flight to CPH’ (four mini smørrebrød with matching akvavit, a distilled grain or potato spirit). 
3/428 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne; denmarkhouse.com.au.

Founded in 1944 to provide aid to Austria during World War II, this club became a second home to the mass of new Austrian migrants that arrived in Australia in the 1950s and 1960s. Set on expansive parkland, it wins our vote for best interior. You’ll feel like you’ve skied straight off the slopes of the Austrian Alps and into the dining room, thanks to its timber booths, mounted deer heads and Tyrolean chairs. On Saturday night dinner is from 6pm, with live music from 8pm to midnight (dancing encouraged). Sunday service kicks off at 11.30am. As for the food? Schnitzels galore served with spätzle (small, bitty egg noodles), beef goulash with homemade bread dumplings, roast pork and sauerkraut, sausages and strudel and schnapps to finish. 90 Sheehan Road, Heidelberg West; austrianclubmelbourne.com.au.

Wedged between some of Melbourne’s best restaurants on Flinders Lane, the first-level dining room of the Swiss Club offers food unlike anywhere else in the city. There are more than half a dozen varieties of schnitzel on the menu, along with traditional sausages and the achingly-popular cheese fondue for two. Hearty, traditional dishes included sliced calf’s liver cooked with bacon in madeira sauce and geschnetzeltes (tender veal in creamy mushroom sauce). Check Facebook for upcoming events, such as live folk music on the first Thursday of the month. 89 Flinders Lane, Melbourne; theswissclubofvictoria.wildapricot.org.

The Bistroteca at the Reggio Calabria Club is a hidden gem in Parkville. On weekend evenings and Sunday lunch there’s the option to partake in a five-course set menu for $55 ($25 for kids) that starts with two courses of antipasto (freddo nibbles such as cured meats and caldo plates like calamari fritti); continues with short elicoidali (tube pasta) with four-meat ragu; secondi is pizza to share; before concluding with cannoli. A la carte, seek out specials like stroncatura, wholewheat Calabrian pasta. 476 Brunswick Road, Parkville; reggiocalabriaclub.com.au.

Cafe Portugal opens inside the Portuguese Club Monday to Saturday for breakfast and lunch, and stays open for dinner on Friday and Saturday. Meal combinations – like charcoal chicken with homemade peri peri sauce, chips, salad and a drink – are an affordable lunch option. For a multi-course meal, snack on cod fish cakes and rissoles before moving onto bacalhau a bras (shredded, salted cod scrambled with potato and egg) picanha (sirloin cap steak), bifanas (pork steak sandwich) or alheria (horseshoe-shaped, smoked Portuguese sausages. Be sure to save room for tarte de nata, Portugal’s famous custard tarts. 201 Palm Springs Road, Ravenhall; apv.org.au/cafeportugal.

Every Sunday from 4pm, the Polish community gathers at Polish House Syrena in Rowville for generous, hearty dishes from their homeland. Think homemade cabbage rolls, pierogi (dumplings), bigos (hunter’s stew) and the sort of soups and stews that will cure whatever ails you. There’s also a separate bar with a few standing tables, ideal for slamming back Polish beers and vodka. Keep up to date with cultural fairs and events via their Facebook page. 1325 Stud Road, Rowville; polishclubrowville.org.au.

Run, don’t walk: Korona Csarda is an all-you-can-eat Hungarian buffet in a cosy, tavern-inspired dining room – and it’s also BYO. The restaurant is within the Hungarian Community Centre and open for Saturday dinner and Sunday lunch. Picture tables piled with Eastern European dishes like hortabagyi crepes filled with chicken, drizzled with sour cream and dusted in paprika; goulash or chilled fruit soup depending on the season; and tables groaning with roasted pork neck, chicken paprikash, smoke-pork stuffed cabbage rolls and chicken schnitzels. It’s $55 per person, or $25 for gyermekek (children). 760 Boronia Road, Wantirna; koronacsarda.com.au.

It’s all about the slow-roast pork knuckle at Melbourne’s German Club. The hefty dish – fit for two to three people and served with mash, sauerkraut, braised red cabbage and beer and apple sauce – is so popular that pre-ordering is required. Non-sharing options include spätzle noodles, wurstchen sausages and slow-braised angus rinderbraten beef cheek, to name a few. There are also German-inspired pizzas and a kids menu. Dining is just one part of this Prussian picture, with live gigs every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. Put a note in the diary to book a spot in the beer hall come Oktoberfest. 291 Dandenong Road, Prahran; germanclubtivoli.com.au.

Katarina Zrinski is one of very few Croatian restaurants in Melbourne. You’ll find it in Footscray at the Croatian Club, affectionately known as ‘The Dom’ (home in Croatian). Traditional dishes range from cevapcici skinless sausages and tender raznjici grilled pork to stuffed sarma (cabbage rolls) served with an ice cream scoop of mash. To drink, sip Karlovacko beer and Croatian liqueurs, such as sljivovica fruit brandy and walnut orahovac.
72 Whitehall Street, Footscray; croatianclubmelbourne.com.au.

377 on Lygon is a restaurant attached to the Abruzzo Club, founded in 1967. As a stand-alone venue, it’s designed for dining first and as a community hall second. That means old black-and-white photographs on the walls, shiny black tiles, touches of timber and an industrial bent. The menu is simple and seasonal with antipasti like whipped baccala on grilled bread and eggplant arancini with ricotta salata. Pasta is mostly handmade, but the dedicated pizza menu is most popular. Try Calabrese-inspired fior di latte, hot salami, ‘nduja and black olives, or the Regina with porcini, potato, prosciutto and truffle cream. 377 Lygon Street, Brunswick; 377onlygon.com.au.