Best Restaurants in Northcote 2026: The Complete Guide

Updated 16 March 2026 | 8 places tested | Priya Sandhu reporting

Northcote’s High Street is a dining corridor that punches well above its weight. Within a few walkable blocks, you can go from a French-accented wine bar to a Palestinian falafel canteen to a cocktail den serving moussaka croquettes — and still be home by 10. Whether you’re plotting date night or corralling mates for a no-fuss feed, this guide covers the spots actually worth your money right now.

We tested, re-tested, and argued over eight venues across price points. No paid placements. No free meals. Just the straight take from someone who eats on High Street more than their GP would approve of.

1. Estelle — The Benchmark

Where: 243 High Street, Northcote VIC 3070 Cuisine: Modern Australian Price: $$$ (mains $38–$65, tasting menu available) Vibe: Polished but not stuffy. Timber and warm lighting. Equal parts date night and “I earned this” solo dinner.

Scott Pickett’s Estelle is the restaurant that turned High Street into a dining destination full stop. After merging the old Estelle Bistro with the adjacent fine-dining space (formerly ESP), the current format is a single, cohesive room with an open kitchen and Pickett’s own dry-aging room out the back. That means the steaks here aren’t just good — they’ve been personally curated by the man whose name is above the door.

The menu changes with the seasons but the philosophy doesn’t: premium Victorian produce, precise technique, and just enough cleverness to keep things interesting without alienating anyone. The duck dish we had in February was exceptional — rich, pink, and sitting on a bed of celeriac that tasted like it had been grown specifically for the plate.

THE MOVE: Skip the à la carte and go the tasting menu with matched wines. It’s the full Pickett experience and the matched wines are where the somm team really flexes.

Insider tip: Book the front window table. It’s the best people-watching perch on the entire strip, and on a Friday night, the parade of Northcote characters is better than anything on Netflix.

2. Vex Dining — Where Vegetables Are the Main Event

Where: 66-68 High Street, Northcote VIC 3070 Cuisine: Veg-forward bistro / wine bar Price: $$ (à la carte $18–$32 per dish, degustation $75pp) Vibe: Sunlit dining room up front, fairy-light-studded lemon tree courtyard out back. Relaxed and quietly cool.

Run by two former Neighbourhood Wine and Bar Romantica head chefs, Vex doesn’t do the whole “plant-based” marketing thing. They just cook really well with vegetables and let the results speak. That said, the menu isn’t strictly vegetarian — you’ll find Spanish mackerel with chickpeas and brown-butter emulsion, or hangar steak with whole roast beetroot and a coffee-kombucha glaze.

The low-waste ethos is genuine, not performative. Vegetable trim becomes stocks and ferments. The vegan mille-feuille — with “pastry” made from potato sheets steeped in sugar syrup — is genuinely one of the most creative desserts we’ve eaten in Melbourne this year. The wine list leans natural and local, which suits the neighbourhood perfectly.

Open Loop → Vex is the perfect warm-up before catching a show at the Northcote Social Club — just a 10-minute walk north up High Street. Dinner at 6, band at 9. You’re welcome.

3. Yuni’s Kitchen — The Indonesian Local You’ll Claim as Your Own

Where: 251 High Street, Northcote VIC 3070 Cuisine: Indonesian Price: $ (most dishes $12–$22, BYO) Vibe: Small, warm, family-run. The kind of place where Yuni herself might bring your food and ask how you liked it.

Tucked near the old Uniting Church on High Street, Yuni’s Kitchen is run by husband-and-wife team Yuni and Matthew Kenwrick. Yuni grew up in Yogyakarta, Java, and the food reflects that — it’s home-style Indonesian, not the sanitised restaurant version. The nasi campur ayam (chicken rice plate with sambal, tempeh, and sayur) is a meal that costs less than a mediocre flat white in the CBD and tastes infinitely better.

The ikan pepes — barramundi steamed in banana leaves with a spice paste that has no business being that good at this price point — is the dish we keep going back for. And the fact that it’s BYO means your total dinner cost for two can easily come in under $60 including a bottle from the bottle shop next door.

CONFESSION BOX 🗣️ We rate Yuni’s nasi goreng higher than any version we’ve had in Melbourne — including spots charging three times the price. Come at us.

4. Mesob Ethiopian — Dinner and Jazz on High Street

Where: 213 High Street, Northcote VIC 3070 Cuisine: Ethiopian Price: $$ (share plates $16–$28) Vibe: Cosy, cream walls with Ethiopian artefacts, live jazz on weekends. Community-hub energy.

Mesob has been a pillar of the Northcote dining scene for years, and it shows in the way regulars walk in and greet each other by name. The doro wat (spiced chicken stew) is the headliner — rich, deep, and best eaten communally by tearing off pieces of injera and scooping directly from the shared platter. If you’ve never eaten Ethiopian before, this is the place to start. The staff will walk you through it without a hint of condescension.

The vegetarian platter is a strong move for groups — eight or nine different vegetable and legume preparations, each with distinct flavour profiles. Add the live jazz on weekends and you’ve got one of the more complete evening experiences in Melbourne’s inner north.

VOTE: What’s your go-to Northcote restaurant for a first date?

• 🍕 Pizza Meine Liebe (casual, low stakes)
• 🍷 Vex Dining (impress without trying too hard)
• 🎵 Mesob Ethiopian (conversation-starter energy)
• 🍸 Danté (cocktails seal the deal)

Drop your vote in the comments below or tag us @melbzcomau with #NorthcoteDateNight

5. Ruckers Hill — French-Leaning Wine Bar, No Pretence

Where: 83 High Street, Northcote VIC 3070 Cuisine: French-European bistro Price: $$ (mains $24–$42, degustation available) Vibe: Exposed brick, wine-lined walls, 70 seats. Special occasion-capable but equally good for a Tuesday night glass of something interesting.

Steered by an ex-Bistro Thierry chef, Ruckers Hill sits at the quiet, southern end of High Street and delivers exactly what it promises: well-executed French-leaning fare with a generous, carefully chosen wine list. The kingfish with pickled fennel, white miso, and sesame is a dish that shouldn’t work as well as it does — it straddles French technique and Japanese seasoning with complete confidence.

The interior has that “converted warehouse but make it cosy” energy — original features, exposed brick, soft lighting. It’s the kind of place where you intend to have one glass and a snack, then suddenly it’s 10pm and you’ve had three courses and a bottle of Savennières.

6. Tahina Bar — Israeli Street Food, Done Right

Where: 223 High Street, Northcote VIC 3070 Cuisine: Israeli / Middle Eastern Price: $ (most items $10–$18) Vibe: Casual. Painted brick, high stools, trailing greenery. Order at the counter, eat like you mean it.

Tahina Bar is what happens when someone takes Israeli street food seriously and puts it in a room with good tahini. The loaded pita pockets are the main game — choose your protein (they have two types of falafel, plus shawarma and grilled veg), pick your sauce, and try not to order a second one immediately.

The shakshuka is generous and properly spiced, the salads are genuinely fresh (not just iceberg with a dressing), and the smoothies are thick enough to constitute a meal. This is a lunch spot that Northcote workers guard jealously. If you’re visiting for the first time, get the mixed falafel pita with everything on it and a side of smoky roasted vegetables.

CROSS-SUBURB JAB 💬 Northcote people love to carry on about their High Street food scene. And look — they’re not wrong. But if you think Tahina is good, wait until you see what Brunswick Street in Fitzroy is doing with a similar format. Just saying.

7. Pizza Meine Liebe — Woodfired, Produce-Driven, Always Booked

Where: 231 High Street, Northcote VIC 3070 Cuisine: Italian / Pizza Price: $$ (pizzas $18–$28, sides $10–$16) Vibe: Lively, slightly chaotic in the best way. Spacious courtyard for groups. Beer, wine, and pizza-fuelled conversations.

Pizza Meine Liebe (German for “pizza my love”) has been a High Street fixture for over a decade, and the fact that it still draws queues on a Wednesday tells you everything. The bases are thin, slightly chewy, and woodfired to that perfect charred-edge state. Toppings are produce-driven rather than gimmicky — expect seasonal combinations that change regularly, not a menu with 37 options that all taste the same.

The courtyard is one of the best outdoor dining spaces in the area, and it’s ideal for groups. They do gluten-free and vegan bases without making it feel like a compromise.

8. Danté — Greek-Inspired Cocktails and Late-Night Energy

Where: 308-310 High Street, Northcote VIC 3070 Cuisine: Greek-inspired with cocktail bar Price: $$-$$$ (share plates $16–$35, cocktails $19–$24) Vibe: Stylish, energetic, moody lighting. Equal parts restaurant and bar. The kind of place where dinner turns into drinks turns into “should we stay for one more?”

Danté straddles the line between restaurant and cocktail bar in a way that few Melbourne venues pull off successfully. The food is Greek-inspired — moussaka croquettes, lamb shoulder, grilled halloumi — but it’s the cocktail list that earns this place its reputation. The Honey Ginger on Fire is a house signature and genuinely lives up to the dramatic name.

The atmosphere is electric on weekends. It’s dim, it’s loud in a good way, and the crowd is dressed like they’re going somewhere after dinner (they might be — or they might just stay). This is the High Street pick for groups, celebrations, or any night where you want energy over intimacy.

What We Skipped and Why

No guide is complete without being honest about what didn’t make the cut.

The Northcote Social Club (301 High Street) — We love the NSC. The parmas are genuinely great, the roasts are Sunday religion, and the live music program is one of Melbourne’s best. But we didn’t include it in this list because it’s a pub first and a restaurant second. If you want live music and a parmigiana, it’s unbeatable. If you want a dining experience, look elsewhere on this list. We’ll cover it properly in our Northcote nightlife guide when that drops.

Wazzup Falafel (343 High Street) — Ahmad’s Palestinian falafels are some of the best in Melbourne (Time Out named it one of Melbourne’s top venues for 2025, and they were right). We tested it and loved it. The reason it’s in “What We Skipped” rather than the main list is format: Wazzup is fundamentally a quick-service counter. It’s exceptional at what it does, but it’s not a sit-down dinner restaurant. Consider this your Northcote lunch priority, not your Friday night booking.

Curry Cafe (73 High Street, Westgarth) — A genuinely excellent Indian restaurant that uses whole spices rather than pre-made mixes, which puts it ahead of most. But the Westgarth end of High Street technically borders Northcote and it’s been covered extensively elsewhere. We’ll feature it when we do our Westgarth pocket guide.

The Practical Stuff

Northcote vs. The Rest

Northcote’s dining scene has a specific character that distinguishes it from nearby suburbs. While Richmond’s Bridge Road leans towards trendy cafés and Asian-fusion, and Preston’s food scene is anchored by its market and multicultural strip shops, Northcote occupies a middle ground — it’s polished enough for a special occasion but casual enough for a weeknight. The strip is walkable, the prices are reasonable by inner-north standards, and the range of cuisines — Indonesian, Ethiopian, French, Greek, Israeli, Italian, modern Australian — is genuinely broad.

What High Street does better than almost any other Melbourne dining strip is range. You can spend $12 on the best falafel pita in the city, or $150 on a tasting menu with matched wines, and both will feel like they belong on the same street. That’s not an accident — it’s what happens when a suburb attracts operators who genuinely care about food rather than just the “concept” of a restaurant.

Have a Northcote restaurant we haven’t covered? Drop it in the comments or hit us on Instagram @melbzcomau. We test everything.

Priya Sandhu is the Food Editor at MELBZ. She has eaten at every venue in this guide at least twice, once anonymously and once making sure the kitchen knew she was coming. Follow her food adventures @priyaeats.

Looking for more Melbourne dining guides? Check out our complete Melbourne food directory for every suburb we’ve covered.