I had dinner with three friends on a Saturday night at Viet Star, a popular little Vietnamese restaurant on Glenferrie Rd. We'd made a booking for 7pm, which was a good move, because by about 7.30pm, the place was pretty full.

We opted for the $23 per person "Banquet 4", which consisted of a selection of entrees and mains. We started with excellent spring rolls, Vietnamese chicken coleslaw (one of my favourite dishes) and some nice crispy fried quail to round out the entrees. All staples of the Vietnamese cuisine we see here in Melbourne and all very well done.

For mains, we had fried rice (unremarkable, but good), chicken with chilli and lemongrass, which had a good amount of heat and tasted great, garlic prawns (very good) and finally salt and pepper squid, which had been deep-fried in batter - this was also very good, but by this stage we were all very full!

The restaurant is fully licensed, but also allows BYO. We brought a bottle of white (and paid a meagre $4 corkage) and had some Vietnamese beer, which cost $5 a bottle. The drinks here are very well-priced!

The only disappointing aspect of the meal was the service. Oddly, our table for four was only set for three, and I had to ask four or five times for a bowl and some cutlery, which took until half-way through the entrees to arrive. The same story when we asked for a jug of water later in the meal (after the chilli chicken!).

All in all, very tasty food for a modest fee and we had a very enjoyable dinner!

Approximate cost: $10-14

I love dropping in to City Wine Shop to relax with a glass of wine overlooking the Victorian Houses of Parliament. City Wine Shop is a strange beast, both a bar and a wine retailer - you can buy bottles from the beautiful wall of wine that overlooks the inside of the bar and either take them home with you or drink them then and there.

There is an ever-changing selection of wines to drink by the glass (usually about 20 different wines on offer at any one time), so there's always something interesting and suited to any time of the day! The quality is very high and the knowledgeable staff are generally happy to answer questions about the wines.

I was lucky enough to visit recently with a friend from overseas when they were having a free tasting session of wines from Pondalowie Winery (near Bendigo), which was great fun. They also stock many rare and iconic wines that can be very hard to find elsewhere, but generally prices are on the high side. For a really knock-out bottle ask to see the cellar list. It caters very much towards the premium end of the market!

There is also food available, including wine snacks, cheese platters and more substantial dishes. They sound excellent, but I haven't tried them, and they're fairly pricey.

For wine enthusiasts, a (regular!) visit here is a must, and I enjoy nothing more than sitting up at the big wooden bar with a nice glass of red and contemplating the amazing wall of wine!

Approximate cost: $10 for a glass of wine

Tran Tran is my favourite Vietnamese restaurants on Victoria St, and I visit quite regularly. It's very casual, often quite busy, and a great place to catch up with friends for a fun, tasty and informal dinner.

The highlights for me are in the entrees - the beef wrapped in vine leaves, the Vietnamese coleslaw chicken are my favourites and are outstanding. There are also the expected dumplings, spring rolls etc. to keep everyone happy. You can't go wrong in the entrees.

The mains are less exciting, but are generally tasty and good value. The best way to go is to get a few things and share. There is a small but nice range of desserts - if someone in your group has a birthday, ask for the special "Banana Birthday Cake"...just be warned, it's not one for prudes!

The restaurant is licensed with a good range of very well-priced beers and wine, and also allows BYO, which means Tran Tran is a great place for kick-starting a night on the town!

This restaurant is very consistent - the food is always delicious and I've never had a bad time there!

Approximate cost: $9-18

I've been to Cafe Blac a number of times for breakfast and coffee.

The cafe is fairly typical in terms of decor, but the coffee is good and the service too. Breakfasts are typical cafe fare, but of an excellent quality and available all day (at least when I was there). I had a big breakfast, and it was really tasty and certianly filled me up!

Breakfast is half-price on Tuesdays - a great deal!

Approximate cost: $8-14

I've been to Samurai many times over the years, and this little Japanese restaurant always delivers excellent food at low prices.

The shop is tiny and usually very full. It can be tricky getting a table and the room can be quite noisy and busy. The food is excellent though. For those interested, you can often catch sight of Hawthorn footballers tucking into the healthy sushi and other Japanese delights.

I normally have take-away from Samurai, which doesn't take long and is also delicious and cheap. A much healthier and tastier take-away option than fish 'n chips!

I've been to Ginger a few times with small groups of friends, usually on a Thursday night. The drinks menu is extremely long and an interesting read - all the cocktails that I and my friends have had there are of a really high standard. The stand-out for me was a cocktail based on a type of Belgian beer - sounds bizarre, but it was delicious!

Every time I've been there the service has been perfectly adequate - neither bad nor especially noteworthy. I have never tried the food, but there are nibbles and possibly more on offer as well. Nice decor in the trendy style.

Approximate cost: $12-18 for a cocktail

I recently bought a bottle of 2003 Seppelt Benno Shiraz as a birthday present for my father. The shop itself is unappealing - squeezed in next to an IGA supermarket, boxes everywhere, as well as a fair bit of dust.

Worth wading through it, however, as they have an excellent range, often at equally excellent prices. I was very impressed.

The website is superb - great layout, search ability and reviews from highly respected wine writers. Of course you might need to take these with a pinch of salt, but it's an excellent and enticing touch.

Perhaps try ordering from the website and save yourself a trip to the somewhat clapped-out old shop!

For Father's Day just recently I went to Rathdowne Cellars and bought a bottle of 1994 De Bortoli Noble One as a present for the old man. Superb wine, and not the sort of thing you'll see on the shelf at Dan Murphy's.

Rathdowne Cellars have a really good range of wines from boutique Aussie wineries that can be otherwise very difficult to track down (like some of my favourites such as Rockford and Clonakilla). They also have a fascinating and very interesting array of imported wine (French, Spanish, Italian, German).

This is very much a premium wine shop and the prices reflect that. Value may not be the best - one of the big retailers would almost certainly be cheaper for the wines that are available at the big retailers. The charm of Rathdowne Cellars is that a lot of their range is not readily found elsewhere.

The place to go for an iconic, rare or interesting wine for a special occasion.

I was initially sceptical of Knead, but I have completely come around to it. The brioche are outstanding, the bread is excellent and the wide range of sweet treats are delicious.

I've really enjoyed all the loaves of bread I've had there - rye sourdough, multigrain, ciabatta, baguette, batard, are all great. Last week I was in the supermarket and realised that these 800-1000g loaves cost about 50c more than a loaf of Helga's. Knead's bread is in another league. The sweet and savoury brioche are genuine favourites. The cafe set-up is cool (slightly redecorated over Easter), with a rustic French sort of vibe.

The prices reflect the premium artisan approach to the baking, and I was at first put off by the prices. The quality of the food has slowly won me over and I now count myself a regular and recommend this excellent bakery/cafe. I have not yet sat down and eaten there, but I look forward to trying their breakfasts, lunch and coffee!

P.S. Thanks to Bizr for the comment on my earlier rating! It was good to get some feedback and prompted me to revisit the bakery.

Approximate cost: $4 for a brioche, $4.90 for a loaf of bread

I have been to Carousel for breakfast many times - and not only in the morning! The all-day breakfast menu is great for lunch too. The views over the lake are great - try to score a seat near the windows in the winter months (when I've visited), but the deck section looks good for the warmer months.

I've had the Carousel Breaky and the Hash Browns (homemade), which I thoroughly recommend - same goes for the bircher muesli and the fruit salad. The quality of the food here is remarkable, even for a city with as many good cafes as Melbourne. Expect to see typical cafe breakfast dishes done with a bit of a twist here - just don't try to change the menu items too much. Apparently the chefs here don't like that.

What makes Carousel a particular treat is the service, which has been friendly and fun every time I've been there, even on Sunday morning when the place is packed. They'll keep you topped up with water and as many cups of the excellent coffee as you need. Or some bubbly if you're that way inclined.

Having visited both midweek and on the weekend, I'd advise a midweek breakfast or lunch if you have the chance. Midweek the place is quiet and peaceful, but even with competent staff it gets hectic when the mothers groups, toddlers in tow, dominate the area on Sunday morning, and service can be understandably slow at these busy times.

Approximate cost: $8-15