The Bakery in Warrandyte cooks in wood fired ovens and is located on the Yarra River. They make beautiful bread, yummy danishes, cakes and desserts and hot coffee. There is a large seating area under shade just adjacent to a large children's playground. You can walk down to the river and many dog walkers stop for a bite to eat at The Bakery. If you have a well behaved dog, he is welcome to sit with you. On weekends there is sometimes live music playing too. It's a great place to grab a snack and buy your fresh bread.

I've been to Curly Joes in Maribyrnong on quite a few occasions for private meals and corporate meetings and x-mas parties. They have never failed to impress me. The food is consistently excellent and served hot and in a very reasonable time, the waiters and waitresses are experienced and professional, the restaurant is always clean, well maintained and the seating is not too crowded.
Curly Joes make beautiful thin crust pizzas, imaginative pastas and delectable desserts.

Having grown up in SA, visiting the Central Market weekly for the groceries with my parents, I can highly recommend it. The Seven Brothers stall was the family favourite - the cashier would always round our total bill down by several dollars at the end. As a kid, I was amazed at the incredible array of foods available at the Central Market and particularly loved the shops selling cheese and small goods. If you like making pizzas at home, you must buy the small good "ends" - all the ends and offcuts from cured meats - perfect mix for pizza and cheap too. It's good to shop at the end of the day before the market closes - lots of bargains to be made. If you've never been to the Central Markets, you must go!

Tonik is a fantastic bar/restaurant and cool place to eat/drink. The walls are decorated with film and music memorabilia/posters and the atmosphere is really relaxing and inviting. The food is top notch, the bar staff are great and mix fantastic cocktails and there is an upstairs dining room with its own bar which can accomodate large groups for private functions.

When you go to the Bend Cafe, it's like being welcomed into Paul's home. He's a top chef who moved to the country to get away from the big city life. You can tell why - he just loves to talk to his customers, tell jokes and enjoy making food instead of being rushed off his feet cooking for thousands without ever meeting them in person. He makes wonderful, homely food and serves it to you by hand, sometimes assisted by family members. You can sit by the open log fire in Winter and talk to Paul as he cooks (the kitchen is right there). If you are staying at one of the nearby cottages, you can arrange for him to cook you a meal in your own accomodation or prepare a hamper for you. Paul and the Bend Cafe will not disappoint - a most memorable person and place!

Spa on the deck overlooking the Ottways, totally secluded location, native birds hopping nearby, Rosellas coming to be fed (seed mix provided), open log fire or reverse cycle air conditioning/heating, amazing private rainforest owned & maintained by Bo & Melville (hosts) where you can wander, take photos and get away from it all. Dog owners are welcome to bring their pet(s) and there is a fully fenced area at each cottage where they can exercise and you can bring them into the cottages while respecting the cottages cleanliness & the native animals in the area.

I have dined at Volumes on several occasions and am always delighted with the restaurant quality food at cafe prices. You never have to wait long for a hot meal and you can get freshly made juices and yummy desserts. The mural at the back of the cafe is quite amazing and the paintings along the wall change often. It's one of my favourite places to eat mid-week.

My partner and I thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Gasworks B&B in 2006. The hosts were very generous, the accomodation luxurious with a King size bed, an open wood fire or reverse cycle air heating/cooling, a sun room, a modern bathroom with a spa and all the supplies for a cooked breakfast. Our accomodation was a charming historic building but it had all the modern wants and needs to make our stay relaxing and comfortable. We were able to stroll around the extensive beautiful garden and lawns.

When my fiance and I went looking for the perfect engagement ring, we were delighted with the service, quality and personal touch from the staff at Ruby Tuesday. They worked with us to make a beautiful ring within budget and sourced gems and had wax ring moulds made so that we could view what the ring would look like before deciding exactly what design to get.
We especially liked the fact that they were no-pressure and didn't immediately rush over to "help us shop" when we were browsing the beautiful jewellery displays.

We bought a used ex-fleet car from Orix and was delighted with the customer service. The sales man was no-pressure, let the car sell itself, talked to me (female) equally as he talked to my (male) partner and did us an excellent deal. As the car was ex-fleet, we knew its entire service history and it came already RACV tested for peace of mind.