Richmond will feed you at 5.30am and still be pouring at 3am, which is the real organising truth of eating in this suburb. The coffee machines at 7 Grams Cafe fire before dawn, and the dancefloor at Bar 9T4 is still moving long after the kitchens shut.
So this guide runs on the clock, not the map. Swan Street, Church Street and the residential blocks between them all get a look in, but the deciding question is not where you are. It is what time it is. Wherever you land in Melbourne’s inner east between those two hours, Richmond has a correct answer.
5.30am: the dawn shift
7 Grams Cafe at 505 Church Street opens at 5.30am and runs until 2pm, which makes it the suburb’s alarm clock. It is a small room, a few tables in and out, with cabinets full of fresh sweet and savoury things, proper espresso, and staff who know the locals’ orders without asking. The service has a reputation for never missing a beat, and watching the regulars collect their usual before six is a Richmond ritual in itself.
If your morning starts gentler, Bendigo Street Milk Bar does coffee, breakfast and lunch out of an honest corner-shop format that still sells milk, newspapers and a few groceries. Scrambled eggs, sausage rolls and hash browns lead the menu, there are gluten-free options, kids get their own choices, and the alfresco tables catch the sun. It caters and hosts functions too, which is a lot of range for a milk bar.
7am to 3pm: the long morning
Black Gold opens seven days from 7am to 3pm, kitchen off at 2.30pm, and operates strictly walk-in. The coffee is the headline, ONA Specialty Coffee done properly, but the food punches at dinner weight: wagyu beef, roasted duck, smoked salmon, and a loaded-toastie menu with a serious following. Outdoor seats and a good buzz make it the natural mid-morning anchor, and the no-bookings rule keeps things moving: you turn up, you wait your turn, you get fed.
Lunch: sandwiches with a drinks list
Big Dog’s Deli is what happens when a sandwich shop refuses to compromise. The namesake Big Dog stacks 36-month aged Prosciutto di Parma, salami, pickled peppers, shaved pecorino, spicy nduja, shredded lettuce and aioli; the Reuben and Philly Cheesesteak wait behind it, with mac and cheese and potato salad on the side. The room is casual and laid-back with indoor and outdoor seating, and it is fully licensed, with wine on tap and bottled cocktails, because this is Richmond and even the deli has a drinks program.
The burger alternative is 1090 Burger, a former charcoal chicken shop reborn as a diner-style burger room. The Angus beef patties get a secret marinade known to exactly two people, the 1090 double and thunderburger lead the list, portions run generous, and crispy fries and onion rings do what they are told. Zomato users rate it 4.3 out of 5, for whatever the internet’s opinion is worth against your own first bite.
Dinner: three rooms, three arguments
Anchovy makes the case for Laotian cooking, loud and punchy flavours across crispy chicken ribs, sticky pork belly and grilled beef salad, served from an open kitchen in an intimate, low-lit room. Wine, beer and cocktails keep pace with the food, and there are desserts for anyone still standing. Seating is limited and reservations are recommended, which is exactly what those two facts together usually mean.
Baby Pizza at 631-633 Church Street argues for Italian done with an easygoing Australian accent: artisanal Margherita and Diavola alongside a zucchini, ricotta and mint pizza, with modern mains like slow-cooked lamb shoulder and grilled octopus for the table that cannot agree. The room runs industrial with warm lighting and wooden accents, street parking is limited, and the pay-per-hour lots nearby are the smarter play.
And Caddie at 167 Swan Street quietly wins the value argument, European-inspired plates with an Australian twist priced between $10 and $24, poured against Australian and French wines and local craft beer. The room is minimalist and relaxed, with indoor and outdoor seating and a bar, and it suits groups, families and couples equally. It runs from brunch through dinner to late-night meals, so it also doubles as a fallback for almost any hour on this clock.
After dark: gin, then the dancefloor
Start the evening’s second act at Brogan’s Way Distillery, a boutique gin distillery in a back-street industrial pocket with murals on the inside walls. Tasting flights walk you through the range, the house tonic has its own fan club, and the cellar door sends a bottle home with you. The tram gets you there and, more importantly, back.
Then Bar 9T4 takes the late shift, open Thursday to Sunday, from 4pm until late on Thursdays and until 3am on Fridays. A DJ starts once the sun sets, the dancefloor follows, and there are no reservations, you simply arrive. Cocktails, beer, wine and, for the designated driver, actual coffee.
Set your own clock
Richmond has far more rooms than one loop of the clock can hold, and half the fun is finding the hour that suits you: the dawn regulars, the toastie lunchers and the Friday 2am crowd are all eating the same suburb differently. The rest are catalogued in the full Richmond food and drink list, and the wider Richmond guide covers the hours you are not eating.
