footscray restaurants & cafes

Where To Eat In Footscray Restaurants & Cafes Melbourne?

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    Footscray is a thriving suburb in Melbourne that serves as the city's centre for cultural diversity. It offers a wide variety of cuisines and price points, making it possible to satisfy even the pickiest of guests.

    As a result of the consistent development of new restaurants and cafés, Footscray is quickly becoming one of the most popular places in Melbourne to go for food. These are some of our favourite restaurants in Footscray, and they range from serving American barbeque to serving Vietnamese cuisine, fish and chips, to gourmet dining.

    Continue reading this article if you are interested in finding out which restaurants and cafés in the Footscray neighbourhood of Melbourne are the best. The Yelp staff has produced a list of their top selections to assist you in finding some fantastic restaurants in this suburb, and they have shared it with you here. Take your pick from places serving everything from pizza to burgers, as there are many options available.

    The Best Restaurants In Footscray

    Dong Ba

    When it comes to Vietnamese noodle soup, Dong Ba is one of the best places in Melbourne to get the authentic taste.

    This beef broth with lemongrass and chilli has a strong lemongrass flavour (just like real lemongrass), and it's served over thick rice noodles with blood jelly, cool slices of raw onion, pork loaf, and slices of rare or well-done beef.

    Rudimentary

    Rudimentary, a new restaurant in Footscray. Footscray, a notoriously rough area noted for its availability of cheap Vietnamese street food rather than hip brunch spots, is where the restaurant is located.

    Anyone who serves pork belly for breakfast, especially with pork scratching-style pig ear crackers, two perfectly scrambled eggs, red chilli slices, and slices of sourdough soaked in sweet-sour tamarind sauce, gets our seal of approval. 

    footscray restaurants & cafes (2)

    Small Graces

    Bec Howell and Diego Portillo Carrero created Small Graces. In keeping with the chef's fine-dining background, the brunch menu at Carreo features only the freshest ingredients from farmers of Victoria, which are sourced sustainably.

    With its vintage furnishings, soft bench, beautiful plants, a bookcase full of children's books, and a huge patio wide enough to accommodate your four-legged pals, the café emanates the pleasant sense of community typical of the American West.

    Peanut butter, ferments and pickles, sriracha, and everything else on the menu is made in-house, with a rotating menu dependent on what's in season.

    Pho Tam

    Go straight to Pho Tam, which is across the street, and forgo lunch. Steamed tapioca dumplings filled with caramelised prawns and pork are a tasty alternative to the regular pho. Please provide a dish of heady buns besides, ma'am.

    Among the ingredients in Bun Mam, or Vietnamese Gumbo, is a soup made from  crispy pork, chives garnished with garlic, poached seafood, fermented anchovy and prawn paste, and thick vermicelli noodles.

    With its visible signs of wear and tear, Pho Tam isn't the most up-to-date eatery in Footscray. In spite of this, it is one of the area's most popular Vietnamese eateries.

    With its  chicken and beef broths made in-house and garnished by your choice of aromatics, meat, and herbs , Pho is a popular fast-food option in this city, but it isn't the only meal it excels at.

    Banana leaf-wrapped tapioca dumplings, grilled beef in a betel leaf, Congee filled with caramelised pork and prawn , and anchovy-based noodle soup, are among popular dishes in Vietnamese cuisine. 

    Konjo Café

    If you've got the stomach for it, go to Konjo and let the experts handle the cooking. This Ethiopian restaurant has been open seven days a week since 2012, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is known for offering Ethiopian coffee from a traditional clay pot that has been roasted in-house.

    Enormous plates of pulse-based curries are served at Konjo Café on the Irving Street strip alongside large plates of soured, spongy injera. You can enjoy a typical Ethiopian bread tray piled high with red lentils, cabbages, beetroot, pice-cooked split peas, and green lentils.

    Traditional clay pots are used to serve coffee at the table.

    Up In Smoke

    It's amazing, with its silky banana-and-caramel filling, cream dab cap, and robust biscuit crumb foundation. 

    Station Hotel

    The steaks on the menu range in weight from 300g for a Great Southern Pinnacle porterhouse to 200g for a Sher Wagyu, all of which are Australian grain and grass-fed cattle. There are enormous slabs of perfectly tender  and charred steaks on the main course, and the current and imaginative specialities don't veer too far from the beer-swilling region.

    In addition to six taps of Carlton, four local craft beers, and Trumer Pils, the bar's walls are covered in chalk beer notes. Footscray residents old and new are welcomed at the station.

    Co Thu Quan

    Rice paper rolls and Pho are among the more well-known Vietnamese meals served at Co Thu Quan, but the restaurant's speciality is northern Vietnamese foods that are harder to get at other Vietnamese restaurants in Melbourne.

    Co Thu Quan is famous for its rice paper salads, which are made by merely moistening rice paper sheets and then mixing in dried shrimp, herbs, peanuts, a hard-boiled quail egg, cumquat, and beef jerky. Many people choose recipes that make use of the flavorful charcoal-cooked meats, such as grilled pork with folded rice sheets.

    Nhu Lan

    Banh mi is a popular choice among most people. This is what they had in mind when they ordered their banh mi.

    When it comes to filling, Nhu Lan has it down pat. The winning fillings at Nhu Lan include house-made butter, pate and crunchy pickled carrots, all of which go perfectly with your choice of pork-based cold cuts and bread. Adding cilantro or chilli to your banh mi will be requested by the woman making it. Those who choose to do so should be aware that the chiles sold year-round in the stalls on Leeds Street are quite hot.

    Bad Love Club

    This Footscray bakery is famous for its five and dime bagels and jaffles (mac and cheese, bacon and egg, and meatball) during the day. By night, though, the cocktail shakers come out, and drinks like lemon meringue pie cocktails are prepared. Some of their desserts, like the banoffee pie and  pecan pie, also contain alcohol.

    Almost everything on the menu is created in-house with locally sourced products, from the bread and butter to the milk and eggs to the barbeque and tomato sauce. You can also purchase a tray of brownies, a dish of chess pie, or a tray of eight enormous marshmallows and pretzel cookies for someone who deserves a sweet treat.

    Slice Shop

    Each slice of pizza from Slice Shop Pizza's 18-inch pizzas costs just $5. Following the lead of New York's ubiquitous folded-in-half pizza slices, have traded in their signature wood-smoked meats for massive hand-tossed pizzas.

    Roti Road

    The pan-Asian restaurant serves a wide variety of Asian dishes, including several different types of curry and laksa, but we're only interested in the roti. The flaky, buttery flatbread spreads like wildfire throughout the Footscray eatery. 

    footscray restaurants & cafes

    A Comprehensive Guide To Fabulous Footscray

    Any Melburnian will immediately think of three things when you mention the name "Footscray," featuring, among others, the wonderful Footscray Market, the famed inexpensive European furniture business Franco Cozzo, one of Melbourne's finest and the mouth-watering Viatnamese restaurants. When you say the name "Footscray," any Melburnian will immediately think of these three things.

    Footscray was once a thriving industrial hub, but it has since been turned into a vibrant neighbourhood as a result of the influx of immigrants from all corners of the world who've already settled in Melbourne over the course of the past century. These immigrants include Greeks, Italians, and Yugoslavs, as well as, more recently,, Vietnamese and East Africans.

    In recent years, Melbourne has seen a large number of young people from middle-class families who were drawn there by the classical siren calls of gentrification, such as affordable rents, fantastic cuisine from other countries, and closeness to the central business district. They are looking forwards to having access to modern conveniences such as hip cafes, pubs that are open late, and thriving neighbourhoods.

    There are centuries bakeries and Melbourne's first Ethiopian supermarket in Footscray, which mix with natural wine bars and arcade-themed burger establishments. Footscray is one of Melbourne's most active and delicious districts.

    With its grid of flat streets radiating out from a fantastic central market, Footscray is ideal for a culinary tour. Consider this a haphazard, ambitious attempt to visit the best of Footscray in a single day.

    At the foot of the Footscray Market, a microcosm of Melbourne's diverse population can be found, from Asian speciality grocers to Greek butchers to Middle Eastern delicatessens to Filipino fast food joints and noodle bars. An entire neighbourhood has been crammed into a single factory-like structure.

    At Footscray Market is one of the best places to find fish collars, fresh turmeric, and chicken feet, as well as the roots still attached to the plants.

    Bags of globe artichokes  and chillies are among the many items available. Fresh curry is another. 

    Dong Ba should be your next port of call. Despite the fact that it opens at 9, this noodle shop is usually packed by the time the clock strikes ten each day. When it comes to the best dishes at Dong Ba, the lemongrass bun bo stands out. It features tender pieces of beef shank, pork knuckle, pork loaf and blood jelly as well as translucent shreds of white onion.

    D&K Live Seafood, a distributor and retail outlet for fresh seafood, is worth a detour. Seasonal seafood like yabbies and lobsters can be found in their tanks along with other fresh seafood like clams and mussels. The seafood of your choice will be brought to you, slaughtered, and prepared in front of your eyes as soon as it is brought in. Keep your shellfish fresh and scrape them at home to save money.

    At Tan Thanh Loi, you can savour some of the broth while you eat your fill of broken rice and grilled pork and fowl. If you'd like, you can have rice topped with meaty pig skin, chicken thighs, or pork chops smothered in a bowl of nuoc mam cham and garnished with cucumbers and lemongrass.

    Dine at 8bit around the corner for a fantastic shake or burger and fries. They provide burgers made with chicken, crumbed mushrooms, or  beef that are served with a secret 8bit sauce, a Sriracha mayo, and even an Australian-inspired beetroot relish that isn't for the faint of heart.

    Roti Road, run by a Malaysian-Chinese family known for their shenanigans, serves Malaysian cuisine on Barkly Street. Customers can expect to see the thin roti dough layers being shown by waiters dancing and throwing the sheets around the restaurant.

    An excellent starter to any Malaysian dinner would be the Roti Canai with sambal, curry sauce and dahl, which can be served with water spinach stir-fried in shrimp paste, beef rendang, lemongrass or spicy ginger.

    Visit Mesnoy, Melbourne's sole Ethiopian grocer and injera provider, for a vacation from your tummy. Wheat, sorghum, and teff are used to make the chewy injera, which has a sour taste. Mesnoy also carries pre-packaged injera meals if you'd like to cook at home.

    Cavallaro & Sons proves that cannoli is a big business in Footscray. 63-year-old pasticceria's cannoli are the best in the area, if not Melbourne, and are filled to order with ricotta or pastry cream , ensuring that the shells remain crisp.

    Traditional Australian cuisine can be sampled at Pie Thief located on the other side of Footscray. An Australian meat pie shop next door will be opened by Bar Josephine's owner Aaron Donato in partnership with one of his regular customers Scott Bloomfield.

    Bechamel sauces and bolognese are used in Pie Thief's lasagne pie, which has a layer of spaghetti on top. Tofu cheddar-pumpkin, nacho, and Thai chicken curry are just a few of the distinctive flavours that have become popular. Pie Thief has swiftly established itself as a beloved Footscray institution, despite the fact that it is neither Australian nor Vietnamese in origin.

    Conclusion

    Footscray, a thriving Melbourne suburb, is the city's cultural epicentre, attracting people from all over the world. Whether you're craving American barbeque, Vietnamese food, fish and chips, or fine dining, these Footscray restaurants are sure to please.

    Pho is a popular fast food option, but it isn't the only meal it excels at.. Popular dishes include clay-pot Ethiopian coffee as well as large plates of pulse-based curries. Rice paper salads stuffed with dried shrimp, herbs, and spices are the speciality of Co Thu Quan.

    Instead of wood-smoked meats, Slice Shop Pizza now serves massive hand-tossed pizzas. Curry and laksa are just two of the many Asian specialities on the menu at this pan-Asian restaurant. Once a bustling industrial area, Footscray is now a thriving residential district.

    Fish collars, fresh turmeric, and chicken feet, as well as the roots still attached to the plants, can be found at Footscray Market. For fresh seafood, D&K Live Seafood is a wholesaler and a retail outlet

    For a small price, you can sample some of the broth at Tan Thanh Loi's broken rice and pork or fowl grilling stations. A Malaysian-Chinese family owns and operates Roti Road, and the antics of the family are well-known. Mesnoy is the only Ethiopian grocery store and injera vendor in Melbourne.

    When it comes to cannoli, Cavallaro & Sons Pasticceria in Footscray may be the best in all of Melbourne. Pie Thief has become a beloved local institution in a short period of time.

    Content Summary

    • Footscray is a thriving suburb in Melbourne that serves as the city's centre for cultural diversity.
    • As a result of the consistent development of new restaurants and cafés, Footscray is quickly becoming one of the most popular places in Melbourne to go for food.
    • The Yelp staff has produced a list of their top selections to assist you in finding some fantastic restaurants in this suburb, and they have shared it with you here.
    • Dong BaWhen it comes to Vietnamese noodle soup, Dong Ba is one of the best places in Melbourne to get the authentic taste.
    • Go straight to Pho Tam, which is across the street, and forgo lunch.
    • Rice paper rolls and Pho are among the more well-known Vietnamese meals served at Co Thu Quan, but the restaurant's speciality is northern Vietnamese foods that are harder to get at other Vietnamese restaurants in Melbourne.
    • Co Thu Quan is famous for its rice paper salads, which are made by merely moistening rice paper sheets and then mixing in dried shrimp, herbs, peanuts, a hard-boiled quail egg, cumquat, and beef jerky.
    • Footscray was once a thriving industrial hub, but it has since been turned into a vibrant neighbourhood as a result of the influx of immigrants from all corners of the world who've already settled in Melbourne over the course of the past century.
    • Footscray is one of Melbourne's most active and delicious districts.
    • At the foot of the Footscray Market, a microcosm of Melbourne's diverse population can be found, from Asian speciality grocers to Greek butchers to Middle Eastern delicatessens to Filipino fast food joints and noodle bars.
    • D&K Live Seafood, a distributor and retail outlet for fresh seafood, is worth a detour.
    • Keep your shellfish fresh and scrape them at home to save money.
    • At Tan Thanh Loi, you can savour some of the broth while you eat your fill of broken rice and grilled pork and fowl.
    • Dine at 8bit around the corner for a fantastic shake or burger and fries.
    • Roti Road, run by a Malaysian-Chinese family known for their shenanigans, serves Malaysian cuisine on Barkly Street.
    • Visit Mesnoy, Melbourne's sole Ethiopian grocer and injera provider, for a vacation from your tummy.
    • T. Cavallaro & Sons proves that cannoli is a big business in Footscray.
    • Traditional Australian cuisine can be sampled at Pie Thief located on the other side of Footscray.
    • Pie Thief has swiftly established itself as a beloved Footscray institution, despite the fact that it is neither Australian nor Vietnamese in origin.

     

    FAQs About Melbourne Restaurants & Cafes

    The area is generally pretty safe despite what some people say about it, there are some colourful characters around, but they are mostly harmless. In terms of value for money, you can't go past Footscray as it is one of, if not the most affordable suburb about its proximity to the CBD.

    Along with the arts, Footscray's known for its thriving food scene, with few better places to get authentic Vietnamese and African cuisine in Melbourne. It's also home to one of the best burger joints around.

    With a median house price of $922,500, Footscray is higher than Victoria's median house price of $739,000. When it comes to renting, the Footscray median house rental price per week is $460, which makes renting more expensive than Victoria's average of $420. 1 Bedroom price is based on 53 unit sales.

    The area around Footscray was originally home to the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and the Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation for more than 40,000 years. Maribyrnong is an anglicised version of the Aboriginal term 'Mirroring-gnay-bir-nong', which translates as 'I can hear a ringtail possum'.

    The Maribyrnong and Yarra Rivers join was an especially important place as it symbolised the joining of groups that would travel along the river. Many sacred sites have been identified.

    Footscray is an inner-western suburb of Melbourne, Australia, 5 km from Melbourne's Central Business District. Its local government area is the City of Maribyrnong. At the 2016 census, Footscray had a population of 16,345.

    Footscray is characterised by a very diverse, multicultural central shopping area, which reflects the successive waves of immigration experienced by Melbourne, and by Footscray in particular. Once a centre for Greek, Italian and former Yugoslavian migrants, it later became a hub for Vietnamese and East African immigrants in Melbourne. 

    It has recently begun to undergo rapid development and gentrification, and Timeout Magazine placed Footscray at 13th in its '50 Coolest Neighbourhoods in the World' for 2019, reflecting its evolving reputation; citing, in particular, its diverse array of international cuisine, bars and nightlife, as well as its arts scene.

     

    Footscray is named after Foots Cray, on the River Cray in London, England.

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