essendon

Pizza d’Asporto Essendon

Restaurant

This family-run pizzeria’s founder grew up making classic Italian pizza. Here, it’s perfectly crispy and puffy, and comes in plenty of red- and white-based flavours. There’s also family-recipe ragu, classic tiramisu and affordable Italian wines.

Mr Walker

Cafe

We all have that one musician who defined our youth. For the owner of this airy corner cafe, it’s the American singer-songwriter Butch Walker, whose rock-and-roll tunes inspired everything from the rollicking design to the Tex-Mex-style menu.

Bam

Cafe

This family-owned corner store is like the pantry you wish you had. Come for bread and milk; leave with a chicken club sanga and something from the shelves full of Melbourne-made specialty staples.

Parisian Patisserie Boulangerie

Cafe

A little slice of Paris in downtown Essendon.

North and Eight

Cafe

A spacious cafe with a menu that’s just as vast.

St Rose

Cafe

A slice of the city in the suburbs.

Primrose & Vine

Bar

A neighbourhood wine bar serving a mix of Australian and European drops alongside small grazing plates. Go for a jamon plate, build-your-own cheeseboard, or order woodfired pizzas delivered from the nearby Il Caminetto. Enjoy wines by the glass or take your pick from more than 250 bottles next door.