Carlton

Tiamo 2

305 lygon street. consistently crowded, it rates highly among the locals for its modern italian food and attentive service. be sure to try the 'spaghetti don giovanni', it always delivers.

Trotters

(http://www.trotters.com.au/), 400 lygon street. tel: +61-3-93475657. favoured by carlton residents and melbourne uni students, trotters offers laid back ambiance and wholesome, traditional fares such as big breakfasts and hearty italian pastas.

A large Italian cafe, Brunetti does cake and coffee on a huge scale, with multiple counters and a ticket system to ferry you around. The Italian hot chocolate is worth the fuss.

Koko Black

Koko Black is a chocolateria. You can order expensive chocolates by the kilo here, but most people visit for the hot chocolate. There are no reservations, and on busy winter nights, there can be a 20-30 minute wait for a table, so rug up and bear it!

Il Dolce Freddo

Lygon street. offering a mouthwatering selection of icecreams, sorbets and gelati.

Pizza a Metro

Pizza a Metro serves pizza and pasta. The pizza is Italian-style: simple but tasty toppings. Unusually, the pizza is sold by the meter, in 20 centimeter 8 inch, 50 centimeter 1.6 foot and 1 meter 3.2 foot servings, each 20 centimeters across. Students claim that the appropriate pizza ratio is about 1.5 meters of pizza for every 6 people; diners will definitely want to stick to a 20 centimeter serve unless they're sharing.

Lygon Food Store

263 lygon st, 9347 6279. a lygon street institution, it has an expansive deli section with delicious varieties of cheeses, antipasti and a tempting array of breads.

I Carusi

far north 46a holmes st, east brunswick. just a bit away from the crowds and spruikers of lygon st, i carusi is one of melbourne's best kept secrets and has one of melbourne's most finest pizzas. try the ‘gamberi piccante’ prawn, semi-sundried tomato and fiore di latte or ‘pizza for a friend’ roast pumpkin, pine nuts, rocket and goats cheese. all pizzas fit neatly within the $11-20 price range and makes for happy eating.

Shakahari's

201 faraday st, tel 9347 3848. for fancy but not overpriced vegetarian food that will have even the meat lovers savouring every bite.

Lazzat

Affordable and tasty Malaysian, Singaporean, Indonesian food.

Thai Thalia

86 lygon street, north carlton. behind its unassuming exterior contains what some locals regard as the best thai food in melbourne. extremely cheap, but tasty and leaves you feeling like you unearthed one of melbourne's hidden gems.

Cafe Alleri

Great sandwiches, breakfast, good coffee and selection of sweets. Lunch specials includes soups and curries made daily.