From Columbian hot dogs in car parks to barbecues at climbing gyms, some of the city’s best eating is increasingly found in unlikely locations.
Ducking down a laneway or climbing to an obscure rooftop for a good meal is a point of Melbourne pride, but those locations are still too obvious for some.
Service stations, car washes and gyms are home to some of the city’s best and most interesting eating, with food entrepreneurs identifying unusual spaces to try out concepts without huge investment.
Keen indoor climber and The Age Good Food Guide 2024 Young Chef of the Year Cam Tay-Yap already enjoyed barbecuing for bouldering friends at his climbing gym in Oakleigh South. When he left three-hatted Amaru in Armadale, the impromptu hibachi sessions became pop-up restaurant Pebble, now in residence at the gym until May.
Tay-Yap lights coals in a bespoke grilling rig and serves dishes such as fish collar with jollof curry sauce.
“Pebble is stripped back, without the expectations of fine dining,” he says. “It’s been soul-nourishing for me to work closely with purveyors, enjoy the cooking and give people somewhere to hang out and connect. I’m learning to enjoy the moment.”
Cooking outdoors is challenging, though. “It’s been excruciatingly hot, then thunderstorms and sideways rain. Sometimes I miss having pots, pans and a freezer, but it’s making me a more well-rounded chef.”
In Dimboola, chef Cat Clarke opened Cat’s Restaurant at the local golf club in November after her catering business became too big for her home kitchen.
“The golf club wasn’t being utilised and everything else was too expensive to outfit. I could stay within my means and create a space for the community.”
She uses local and native ingredients in dishes such as lemon-myrtle roasted chicken. “It’s not pretentious,” says Clarke. “I’m creating a place that I would want to come to.”
Meanwhile, David Murray and cousin Will Murray have just opened Le Tuffeau bottle shop on the second floor of the Nicholas Building, a sibling business to Cathedral Coffee in the downstairs arcade.
“I grew up in Hong Kong, and Will has spent a lot of time in France and Japan,” says David Murray. “In those places, you see tucked-away bottle shops curated to reflect their owners’ interests and tastes. A hidden shop invites a natural curiosity.”
Melbourne’s most hidden restaurants and takeaway spots
Pebble at La Roca
Fine dining chef Cam Tay-Yap has swapped tweezers for tongs at his car park cookout. With rent below commercial rates and a lean crew of casuals, grilled dishes are around 60 per cent of what he’d need to charge in a regular setting. “It’s not elitist,” he says. “We make everyone feel welcome.”
2 Natalia Avenue, Oakleigh South, instagram.com/pebble.at.laroca
4 Sisters Kebab Cafe and Acai
Four Turkish sisters run a kebab shop in a service station. “We have a lot of interstate truckies who appreciate finding us in this unexpected place in an industrial area,” says Fatma Demirbuken. One regular takes rice puddings home to Queensland; baklava often hit the highway to Perth.
While customers dip into Turkish food, Demirbuken has learnt about white Australian culture too. “I have customers who love our tripe; they grew up on farms and their mum used to make it. I thought it was only Turks, Albanians and Macedonians who enjoy it.”
215-221 Greens Road, Dandenong South, instagram.com/4sisterskebabcafe
Cptn Jack’s
Even Mornington Peninsula locals may find it a challenge to locate tucked-away Yaringa Boat Harbour, but the dilapidated wharf has been given a full spruce up by longtime boatbuilder Malcolm Hart and his wife Lizzie, with wood-fired cooking from former Pt Leo Estate chef Matt Knoops.
1 Lumeah Road, Somerville, cptnjacks.com.au
Le Tuffeau
“If you see hi-vis, keep going,” says David Murray of his new bottle shop, tucked behind the Metro Tunnel offices in the heritage Nicholas Building. He and cousin Will Murray restored old tiles in the 55-square-metre space and installed antique furniture, including their great-grandfather’s desk. The range reflects their fondness for wines from Burgundy, Bordeaux and Jura, plus German riesling.
Level 2/37 Swanston Street, Melbourne, letuffeau.com
Costenisimo
In St Kilda, you can combine a hand car wash with Colombian hot dogs. “It’s fun and interesting to be in the corner of a car wash,” says Costenisimo owner Roberto Acero, who enjoys the business backsplash when opening hours overlap.
“Many car wash customers are happy with what we do too, though parking is limited when the car wash is open.” He’s on a student visa, which made some landlords wary of giving him a lease. “It was easy to make a contract here, though.”
258 Dandenong Road, St Kilda East, costenisimo.com.au
Cat’s Restaurant
Local caterer Cat Clarke opened a restaurant at Dimboola Golf Club. “As kids, my family spent a lot of time here, with the wives cooking Saturday dinners,” she says. The kitchen has been quiet for the past decade, but Clarke gave it a polish and now serves casual feasts with dishes such as saltbush bread and beef with pepperberry.
Golf Course Road, Dimboola, instagram.com/chefteachercatclarke
Vola Foods
A gravelled car park with sheltered pergola is a surprising spot for Cameroonian soul food like pull-apart fufu, grilled meats and cassava chips.
30 Ovens Street, Brunswick, volafoods.com.au
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