Category Archives: Ask the Doctor

Ask the Doctor: French restaurant for my mum

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Help me Doctor!: Where can I take my mother for her birthday?  She likes French and I took her to France Soir last time. – Huy L

Your prescription: Huy, evidently your mum and I are kindred spirits, as my favourite cuisine is French! As soon as I received your question my mind pinged with a million possibilities, so here goes:

Madame Sousou – It’s Montmatre in Fitzroy. 231 Brunswick St, Fitzroy +

Bistro Vue – Classic bistro fare in a frilly, French provincial setting. +

Vue de Monde – High end French (or more French inspired). Blow your mind, and your budget. +

Libertine – Classic French in a cute little place in North Melbourne. 500 Victoria St, North Melbourne +

Bistro Guillaume – The Melbourne outpost of the fabulous Sydney Opera House restaurant by Guillaume Brahimi, although they were having some chef reshufflings recently.  Crown Casino +

The Brasserie by Philippe Mouchel – one of Crown Casino’s better restaurants. Crown Casino +

Jacques Reymond – An industry stalwart. The Age Good Food Guide awarded it three hats and Restaurant of the Year recently. 78 Williams Road, Prahran +

Can I come to dinner? I’ll bring a gift! – Jetsetting Joyce

Ask the Doctor: Sunday breakfast in the CBD

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Help me Doctor!: Do you know any good Sunday breakfast places in the city with real food? I’m thinking along the lines of the breakfast I had recently in Barcelona: beans, asparagus, prosciutto, chorizo and great bread, of course . – Jenny M

Your prescription: Oooh you’ve thrown me a curveball here Jenny M. Not many people like to venture too far away from their front door for Sunday breakfast, so I have to confess that I don’t have a lot of first hand experience in CBD locations.

Definitely a place where you’ll be able to get the whole breakfast extravanganza is The European, . Next door at City Wine Shop they open at 9am on Sundays, but I’m not sure what is on their breakfast menu.

Otherwise, try:

  • Mess Hall, (avoid the muesli until further notice)
  • Journal Cafe,

The CBD is a ghost town on Sundays, so if you come across any other contenders, please let me know! Happy Eating – Jetsetting Joyce


Ask the Doctor: Restaurant for 16th birthday party

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Help me Doctor!: What’s a good restaurant in Melbourne to take my family for my sister’s 16th birthday? There are 6 of us going. My grandmother is coming and she is quite old so not too many stairs would be ideal. Early dinner also preferable. I thought about Rockpool but it may be too expensive. – Hien L

Your prescription: My personal favourite at the moment is Longrain. They will take bookings for 6 or more diners, there are only a one or two steps to the dining room, the prices are mid-range and they serve Asian food, which your grandmother (if she’s like my grandmother) may prefer. I suggest you request for a round table if possible so you don’t have to eat at the long communal tables. If you eat early then the noise levels will be reduced, as it can get a bit loud once the room fills up (again, probably not great for your grandmother).

If you’re not restricted to Asian food, other classy, mid-budget, centrally located, few-step options include: City Wine Shop 159 Spring St, Trunk 275 Exhibition St, Movida 1 Hosier Ln, Grossi Florentino Grill 80 Bourke Street,Syracuse 23 Bank Pl, Bistrot d’Orsay 184 Collins St, Arintji Federation Square. So many options – please let me know where you end up! – Jetsetting Joyce

Ask the Doctor: Best Peking duck

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Help me Doctor!: I have a craving for Peking Duck. Which restaurant does the best duck in Melbourne? – Michael S

Your prescription: Rumour has it that the best Peking Duck can be found at Old Kingdom, 197 Smith St Fitzroy. Other Peking Duck establishments include: Flower Drum, 17 Market Lane, Melbourne (very nice, very expensive) and the specialist Dahu Peking Duck Restaurant, 171 Lt Bourke St, Melbourne (never been personally, but many positive comments).

RM says I do a pretty good Peking Duck myself :) All I do is buy a roast duck from Pacific Seafood BBQ House, 240 Victoria St, Richmond and then strip it, taking most of the fat off, and pair it with duck pancakes bought from Minh Phat, 178-180 Victoria St, Abbotsford . Happy eating! – Jetsetting Joyce

Ask the Doctor: Great breakfasts close to the city

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Help me Doctor!: can you recommend a cafe close to city which does great breakfasts? (i m taking my ex boss and his wife out on sunday! – so funky but not too funky if you know what i mean!) – Andrea F

Your prescription: More information needed! Which side of the inner city do you want to meet (north or south of the river)?

North – Birdman Eating, 238 Gertrude St, Fitzroy; Madame Sousou, 231 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, Cavallero, 300 Smith St Collingwood
South – Kanteen, 150 Alexandra Ave, South Yarra; Babble, 4 Izett St, Prahran, Red Orange, 194 Commercial Rd, South Yarra

CBD may be more difficult as many of the places I’d normally recommend are not open. You could try a cafe at the Queen Victoria Markets, as that is bound to be open. – Jetsetting Joyce

Ask the Doctor: Milliner for wedding hat

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Help me Doctor!: ‘…Let me know if you hear of a good miliner/veil person, I think I’d really  like an interesting little hat/veil thing for my wedding.’ – Jenny T

Your prescription: Melissa Jackson, 195 Gertrude St, Fitzroy does some fantastic millinery. Not your Toorak ladies-who-lunch styles at all. Otherwise, I suggest vintage clothing stores for little hats with veils – try Friperie cnr Smith St and Johnston St, Fitzroy, any number of places on Gertrude St and the Windsor end of Chapel St. The other option is Etsy – handmade and vintage stuff, one of a kind. – Jetsetting Joyce