I’m excited to finally be sharing a South Yarra neighbourhood guide! South Yarra is one of my favourite neighbourhoods in Melbourne, and I’ve included it in my itinerary for three days in Melbourne because it has so much to offer for visitors. It’s a pretty, leafy neighbourhood with a great mix of shops, bars, cafes, restaurants, parks and gardens.

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South Yarra is south of the Yarra river (hence the name) and sits north of Prahran, with Toorak to the east and St Kilda Road marking the western boundary. The main streets to check out are Toorak Road, Commercial Road and Chapel Street, which starts in South Yarra and runs all the way through Prahan, Windsor and St Kilda. The easiest way to get there from the city is to take the Sandringham line train to South Yarra Station.

The Best Things to do in South Yarra

Graze at the Prahran Market

The Prahran Market is one of Melbourne’s three major markets, and is the oldest market in Melbourne. The Prahran Market is smaller than the other two major markets (Queen Vic and South Melbourne), but it’s gone for quality over quantity – there aren’t any stalls selling mass-produced junky trinkets, which is refreshing. Most of the market stalls are for fresh produce but there are some great places to stop for breakfast or lunch. My favourite stalls are the gozleme stand and the cheese toastie cart.

Picnic in South Yarra’s parks and gardens

South Yarra is spoilt with green spaces. The largest is the Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens, which is a great place to spend a lazy afternoon. There are plenty of shady to lawns for picnic-ing, and it’s particularly pretty around the lake near the middle of the gardens. Jardin Tan is a beautiful cafe if you’d prefer not to BYO. Stretch your legs and jog The Tan, which is the path looping around the outside of the gardens.

Fawkner Park is smaller but also quieter, and has lots of great spots for picnics, as well as tennis courts and a cricket pitch. It has lots of tree-lined paths zigzagging all over the gardens which also makes it a nice spot for a jog.

Como House & Gardens is a 160-year estate managed by the National Trust. You can tour the house, or splurge on a picnic hamper from The Stables of Como and enjoy it in the gardens.

Go shopping on Toorak Road & Chapel Street 

There are some great boutiques scattered along Toorak Road and Chapel Street. Melbourne’s most famous shopping street is undergoing a revival, with a healthy mix of independent retails, designer brands and bars, restaurants and cafes. The South Yarra end of Chapel Street tends to have more designer boutiques, such as Asilio, sass & bide, Scanlan & Theodore and beautiful homewares stores. Booklovers shouldn’t miss Avoca Hill Bookstore on Toorak Road.

Take a pilates class at Core Candy

Core Candy is a boutique fitness studio offering pilates, barre, HIIT and boxing classes. I’ve been a member since I moved to the area, and it’s my favourite studio I’ve ever been to – and I’ve tried a lot! Core Candy is the only studio in Australia offering pilates springboard classes, which is a concept that was created in New York City. I prefer springboard (springs attached to a wall) rather than the traditional reformer apparatus because you can use the springs in so many more ways – seated, standing, lying down, etc. My favourite classes are Pilates Springboard, Power Pilates + Barre, Core Arms + Buns, HIIT, and Booty Werk. You can buy single class passes via their website.

The Best Restaurants & Places to Eat in South Yarra

South Yarra is traditionally known for white tablecloth institutions like France-Soir and fine dining restaurants along Domain Road like Bacash, Botanical and Matilda. A new wave of restaurants have been shaking up the neighbourhood’s stuffy reputation – and there are now lots of options that won’t burn a hole in your wallet.

Atlas Dining

Atlas Dining is my favourite restaurant in Melbourne. Chef-owner Charlie Carrington was just 23 years old when he opened Atlas, with an ambitious concept: every four months the menu changes cuisine. He proved that Atlas Dining was no gimmick, and blew critics away in his first year of opening. Atlas Dining received a hat from the Australian Good Food Guide, which is Australia’s most respected restaurant rating system. He drew upon his experiences working in top restaurants around the world, and continues to take breaks to travel to inspire his next chapters. Past cuisines include Vietnamese, Hungarian, Thai, Mexican, Peruvian and French, Brazilian and Thai.  Dining is set-menu only, but splurge on the matched wines if you can – they are well worth it. The service is perfect – warm, knowledgeable and totally unpretentious. If you’re looking for a special dining experience in Melbourne, I couldn’t recommend Atlas Dining highly enough.

France-Soir

A white-table cloth French brasserie that’s been a power lunch hot spot since the 80s. France-Soir is about hospitality, atmosphere and French classics. It’s a great date spot, but keep in mind that it doesn’t have the greatest range of vegetarian or vegan options. I loves the Iles Flottantes for dessert, a Parisian bistro classic!

Da Noi

Another hatted restaurant and perfect special occasion spot, Da Noi is a gorgeous little Italian restaurant on Toorak Road. There is no published menu, instead you can let them bring their daily menu to you (6 or 7 courses), or choose to dine a la carte from the options available that day. They own their own farm just outside of Melbourne and source 80% of their ingredients from their farm. The food is beautiful, the restaurant is charming and cosy and the service is lovely.

Oriental Teahouse

Oriental Teahouse is so much fun. It’s on Chapel Street, which makes it a great spot for dinner with a group of friends before going for drinks in the area. Dumplings & yum cha are the stars at Oriental Teahouse, with modern takes on traditional Chinese dishes. The food is fun and delicious, and there is a long section of the menu for plant-based plates, which makes it much more veggie-friendly than most Chinese restaurants. After dinner, stop in at the tiny bar upstairs, Zhou Zhou, for a drink.

MoPho Canteen

MoPho Canteen is a super cute Vietnamese restaurant and it was my go-to casual dinner spot when I lived in South Yarra. You can do takeaway, but it has a lovely courtyard out the back. I’m pretty committed to the tofu banh mi ($8!) and the rare beef pho, but there is a range of traditional and modern Vietnamese dishes on the menu.

The Best Cafes & Brunch Spots in South Yarra

Melbourne is a brunch-obsessed city and sets many of the trends that are copied throughout Australia and now across the world. Naturally, you’re spoiled for choice when it comes to brunch in South Yarra.

Lucky Penny

Lucky Penny is one of my favourite cafes in Melbourne because it’s not painfully trendy (and therefore overcrowded) but it has fresh, creative food & great coffee. I’ve never had a bad meal at this cosy Chapel Street cafe and the service is always friendly. Recommend!

Abacus

Abacus is one of the most beautiful cafes in Melbourne. The light-filled, airy space is filled with subtropical plants and the 7.5metre ceiling means that during brunch service it’s never too noisy, like most Melbourne cafes. The brunch dishes here are a bit more dressed up than your standard cafe fare and nearly all of the produce is sourced from the Prahran Market just around the corner. One of my faves! Annoyingly, they charge a 10% surcharge on weekends, which I think is a bit cheeky.

Cafe Gaia

Cafe Gaia is tucked away in a backstreet off Toorak Road, and is a popular spot with locals. I love their leafy front patio, which is a great spot for a lazy breakfast.

Ned’s Bake

Ned’s pastry cabinet here is the stuff of dreams. I take friends and family here when they’re in town and Ned’s never fails to impress – I love grabbing a seat near the glass-walled bakery kitchen and watching the bakers do their thing.

Two Birds One Stone

Part of a family of cafes that include The Kettle Black, Top Paddock and Higher Ground, Two Birds One Stone lives up to the hype of its siblings without some of the pretension (looking at you, Top Paddock). The space is beautiful, if not perennially crowded, but it won’t take too long to get a seat at the large communal table, at least. Take a bet on the creative daily specials.

The Lawson Grove Shop

I was living in South Yarra for over a year before I even heard of the Lawson Grove Shop, a little known cafe in the bottom of an apartment building in the backstreets of South Yarra. When Warwick Lodge was built in the 1930s, rather than individual kitchens in each apartment, a communal kitchen was built in the basement. Later, this space was converted into a small grocery shop, mainly servicing the building’s residents. Today, it’s converted into a cute cafe and still functions as a milk store. It’s nothing like your typical Melbourne cafe but I love the welcoming atmosphere and honest food.

Drugstore Espresso

Drugstore Espresso on Toorak Road is another one of my most frequent breakfast haunts. The brunch menu has a subtle Japanese influence and the cafe is always buzzing with locals, but never so busy that I’ve ever had to wait for a table.

The Best Bars in South Yarra

South Press Wine Bar

One of my go-to wine bars in Melbourne, South Press has a beautiful vine-covered courtyard out the back which is the best place to while away a sunny afternoon. They’ve got a great wine list by the glass, with interesting varietals from around Australia and international wineries. Extra points for their super moreish paprika-covered corn, which comes with each drink (rare in Australia to get free bar snacks).

Imperial

Imperial is a lively bar on Chapel Street that caters more towards an early-twenties crowd, but is one of my go-to spots for a casual drink with friends in South Yarra. It’s entire facade is made of floor-to-ceiling glass doors, which are often fully folded back during the warmer months – making it a great place to enjoy the Chapel Street atmosphere. Imperial has a $5 happy hour, a solid cocktail list and often has live music over the weekend.

Leonard’s House of Love

Walking into Leonard’s House of Love feels a bit like stepping back in time to a 70’s house party…in the USA. The bar is housed in a log cabin in the backstreets of South Yarra. The menu is a tastier, adult-version of what fast food should be. Charcoal chicken, enormous burgers and the best chicken tenders you will ever eat are the name of the game. There’s a pool table inside, but my favourite spot is under the trees in the beer garden.

Bosozuku

Newcomer Bosozuku has taken a theme and dialled it up to 11. This Japanese biker-inspired burger bar & sake den is one of the most eccentric bars in South Yarra, but it’s typical of the Melbourne nightlife scene – you never know what someone will come up with next. Sip on alcoholic bubble tea, cherry blossom-infused gin, a range of Japanese beers or Japanese whisky flights and feast on bento boxes and burgers before hitting the private karaoke room.