The food here is ok - a little overpriced but still a decent place to go for dinner and the building is awesome. I prefer to hang out in the beer garden, which is lovely and very Brunswick! If at all possible though, avoid the function room - I went to a friends birthday there a while back. We were all revved up for a great night when we got there but an hour later were pretty much ready to slit our wrists. The room was lit only by candlelight (nice touch but in this case it was almost pitch black) and they were playing the kind of tragic avant-garde instrumentals in the background that make you want to lie on the floor and pretend to be dead.

Approximate cost: $25

I love the Retreat - it always makes me feel like I'm in a seedy movie featuring a mix of Brunswick's finest. Great atmosphere and the beer garden is the place to hang out. On weekends they have a sausage sizzle with chorizo, bratwurst etc, which is a great option to soak up some alcohol when you've had a few drinks. I've never had a bad night here, I have had several bad mornings after though...

Approximate cost: $15

Good little restaurant/bar with great food and a range of St Arnou beers on tap. Beers are expensive but that's what you get for boutique beers - a few cheaper options wouldn't hurt. Food is generally good and the place is packed. Service can be slow on busy days.

Approximate cost: $18

Highly overrated local cafe with pretensions to Brunswick st type cool. Would have done ok there 20 years ago perhaps. Token organics and signs about how coffee needs passion. Yawn. I'm not interested in paying big bucks for free range eggs on Phillipas toast that I have to wait an hour for, when I could cook the same dish in 10 mins at home.

Approximate cost: $15

This is the equivalent of a mess hall but at $15 a pop for some bain marie slop. Think badly spelled menus, overcooked pasta and soggy veg covered in a litre of cream sauce and (I'm pretty sure) bottled wine by the glass that tastes suspiciously like cask. All this aside, the real reason I stopped going is because they charged me $8 for a toasted cheese and tomato sandwich which only had half a piece of cheese in it!

This is your standard greasy spoon type cafe - think spring rolls, potato cakes and toasted ham and cheese sandwiches which have been sitting in the bain marie for quite a while. Prices are decent for the area and it's ok for what it is. It's run by a crazed family which can be off putting and the coffee tastes like butane but if you can't resist a quick dim sim it won't let you down.

This place has home made style food which can be up and down. Sometimes it's great and sometimes unfortunately it's not quite right. Good breakfast muffins and coffee but be prepared to wait up to 15 minutes - they've been getting better recently but still very slow.

Approximate cost: $15

I went here for Valentines day last year for the degustation menu after reading about Mercer's reputation as a fine dining restaurant. I have been to many fine dining restaurants and this is not one of them! Maybe it's because of the location - I don't think it would last 2 seconds in the city or because the staff are so snooty everyone is scared to complain but in my opinion the food was woeful. After 8 courses you would expect not to be starving (although one course was a coffee?! and another consisted of about a one cm of cheese and 2 crackers). The atmosphere was also horrible - I haven't felt that uncomfortable in years - they had crammed as many tables in as possible so I was practically elbowing the guy next to me and there was no music at all.

Approximate cost: $30

Great pet shop. Has a wide range of pet food and accessories. The staff are lovely and very helpful and love pets and the prices are good. At Christmas this year I bought gorgeous rawhide Christmas crackers for my dogs which they loved!

Great local butcher. Always has a wide range of options. Yummy sausages, lean mince (2 kg for $150) and brilliant export quality cryovaced eye fillets. Staff are friendly and service is quick. Highly recommended.