Il Solito Posto

Melbourne's old-guard Italian restaurants don't come much more enduring than Il Solito Posto, where handmade pasta and one of the city's best cellar-style wine lists have kept regulars returning for decades. Il Solito Posto won the Standout Service Award at the 2026 Melbourne OpenTable Awards — a clear nod to hospitality that’s polished without fuss. Its split layout matters too: a street‑level caffeteria for breezy bites and a lower, cellar‑lined trattoria when the night (and the wine) deserves time.

The list is genuinely deep — several hundred Italian, French and Australian labels — and the room downstairs all but insists on a bottle. Plates steer classic and regional: the hand‑made gnocchi with wagyu oxtail ragu is slow‑cooked comfort with backbone, while the truffle risotto earns its fanbase for good reason.

Step in from the CBD rush and the light drops to a gentle cellar gloom; racks of wine shape the quieter dining room while the counter upstairs keeps things buzzy. An antique bike by the stair hints at just how long this place has looked after the city.