I bought a new car from Astoria Honda a month ago and their service was outstanding! After an extremely disappointing experience trying to shop for a new Honda at another dealer (let's just say their initials are RL and they are in Brighton on Nepean Hwy and I would recommend that everyone avoid them) I went to Astoria for the purchase of my new car. After shopping around I can confirm that they had the most competitive price, their staff (at all levels) were friendly, polite and professional and the entire experience of buying a new car was an absolute pleasure (as you would hope it to be!). So if you are shopping for a new Honda feel free to browse around but when you are ready to buy and want to deal with the best, head for Astoria. They are the biggest Honda dealer in Melbourne and it shows. After such a great experience buying from them I now understand why you see SO many new Hondas driving around with the Astoria sticker on the back.

This week I also had my other Honda serviced at the Astoria service centre across the other side of North Road and again I encountered professional staff who knew exactly what they were talking about with the car repairs. Additionally the cost of the service was very competitive with other Honda centres that I got a service quote from. Another excellent experience with Astoria Honda!

The Bean Room is fairly new to QV having only been open a few months now but they are clearly operated by an experienced group of staff because their decor, food and service all show experience and are of a high standard. Food is simple cafe food, they make great coffee and service is fast and friendly. They deserve to do well in the tough CBD cafe market.

Approximate cost: $9

Quann 88 is one of the more popular spots along Victoria Street and is usually always busy. Their food is great, prices good, they cater to groups and service is quick. Tricky to get a park around Victoria street but always good eating here.

Approximate cost: $15

This place has been THE Vietnamese place on Glenferrie road for many years now because their food is great quality and tasty. But best of all the speed of their cooking is incredible. I usually only get take away there and the average wait time is about 3 mins after you order until you walk out the door with your freshly cooked food. I challenge anyone to get takeaway there and not be blown away with how fast they serve you!

Approximate cost: $20

I was very happy with the breakfast here they do a good eggs Benedict. Coffee was pretty good too and service was spot on. Overall its an easy choice for a quick breakfast on Glenferrie road.

Approximate cost: $12

Great service every time I shop here. The range is quite big, great if you're a guy looking for a suit, and always worth browsing and they regularly have sales. Bit tricky to find the first time upstairs at Melbourne Central.

Very friendly service at this Gloria Jeans outlet, you probably couldn't ask for a nicer bunch of folks to be serving you early in the morning when you're grumpy and need a coffee. Ah yes and the coffee and food is always of good quality.

Approximate cost: $4

I don't mind Ritchies IGA but I think there is room for improvement. They tend to mark a lot of their items with two prices, the full price and the price for those with one of their benefit cards. If you don't have a benefit card it's a bit confusing as you think things are marked on special when they're not.

These guys came to fix my garage door and fit an opener. They made a couple of trips to assess the work and then happily agreed to come on a Saturday (easiest for me) to do the installation. A small mix up on the price of the original quote but their work was speedy and very good quality.

Zest are one of the best in the business, working nearby I've eaten from there almost once a week for the past year. I keep going back because their wraps are tasty, fresh and great value. We're talking $6.95 for a wrap with a water or juice for an extra $1.00....those are well below CBD lunch prices! They've always got specials going, they even do breakfast wraps, and you get served fast. Great small business that will grow as a franchise I'm sure.

Approximate cost: $8.00