Check out Melbourne’s best food courts

After a long day of shopping at Highpoint, you’re bound to be famished.

While there are several food courts in the shopping centre, we recommend heading to the Atrium on Level 2 for your lunch.

Flooded with sunlight, it’s a relaxing spot to eat, meet and unwind. There’s even a massive playground to occupy the little ones!

The recently refurbished leafy green oasis offers a smorgasbord of eateries spanning a range of different cuisines: Japanese, French, Korean, Chinese and more.

You can’t beat the house-made beef noodles with chilli oil from traditional Chinese eatery Master Lanzhou.

For a different experience, try out the freshly prepared hand rolls and sashimi from the conveyor belt at Sushi Sushi Train.

Dish Cult’s top pick: Master Lanzhou

For a tasty Asian lunch under $15, you can’t go wrong with the licensed international food court at Paramount Retail Centre in Melbourne’s Chinatown.

Authentic: tick. Cheap: tick. Fast: tick!

Come mid-afternoon, the lunch-time expat crowds add to the fun, bustling atmosphere. This is also the time when most traders are offering some tempting lunch deals.

What many describe as the best real Thai food in Melbourne, the wickedly hot soups and curries at MeDee will test your spice tolerance. Something a bit different from your usual Western-style Thai take-out!

You can also try Chinese, Sri Lankan and Korean street foods and a vast range of international beers.

Dish Cult’s top pick: MeDee Thai Restaurant

If you’re not impressed by the luxuriously high ceilings and gold chain decor of Emporium’s famous food court, you will be by the food.

The great selection of multicultural cuisines on offer assure a satisfying meal, no matter what your tastes.

Take your pick from dumplings, burgers, fried chicken, pho, curries, rice bowls, noodles and hand-rolled sushi.

If you’re the health-conscious type, you’ll appreciate the fresh juices and veggie-loaded spuds from SpudBAR, or serious souvlaki at Hella Good.

Be sure to nab a table fast, though – this food court gets super busy!

Dish Cult’s top pick: Chinta Ria Soul

There’s more than one major food court in Melbourne Central, and they’re both easy and accessible for grabbing a quick and tasty lunch and decent coffee.

Across both, you’ll find all your fast food favourites, including Macca’s, KFC and Oporto’s.

Also on display are diverse international options, including Indian, Japanese, Tex-Mex, Italian, and plenty more. There are heaps of buffet-style offerings, where you can load more food than you can manage onto one plate at a great price.

But what we like most about this food court is its fuss-free efficiency. The service is to-the-point and you can find most of your favourite fast foods within metres of one another.

Its location in the heart of the CBD at close proximity to the underground train station doesn’t hurt either.

This is perhaps one of the busier food courts in Melbourne’s CBD (and at all hours of the day), so be prepared to share a table with a stranger. But we think that’s part of the fun!

Dish Cult’s top pick: Little India

A grocery shop at South Melbourne’s buzzing weekend market isn’t complete without a feast at the food hall.

Here you can expect premium quality eats at exceptional value.

The ever-popular SMS Oyster Bar is where it all begins…

And then for crusty banh mi, pizza, Turkish borek, freshly baked pies or Chinese dumplings, you won’t need to fork out more than $12 a pop.

We’re just a bit addicted to the cheese kransky and bratwurst rolls from Little Hof.

But if you’re still hungry afterwards, make sure you finish off at Marko. The loaded fries make the perfect side.

Try the Tel Aviv – drowning with tahini, pickled onions, cucumber pickles and herbs – for only a tenner.

Dish Cult’s top pick: Little Hof

A hop, skip and a jump away from Swanston Street, the relaxing outdoor dining area at QV Square is a foodie’s dream.

Spicy Malaysian laksa from PappaRich, Japanese chicken curry bowls from Hanaichi and succulent Peking duck from Old Beijing, are just a few of the tasty offerings available here.

If it’s a cold chilly day, there’s no better dessert than Max Brenner’s signature “hug mug” of hot chocolate. Sipping on this sweet, creamy drink by the heat lamps is a cosy experience to remember.

Dish Cult’s top pick: Max Brenner

Perhaps the most unassuming food court on this list, the food hall at St. Collins Lane is a must-visit for CBD shoppers with tired feet. Here you can get a tasty lunch in an understated, elegant setting – minus the enormous lunchtime queues.

Next door to the Block Arcade, the quiet secret is located a few floors up the escalators of the notoriously empty St. Collins Lane arcade.

But what may be lacking in atmosphere is more than made up by a small array of food vendors worth their salt.

Our favourites are the steaming hot made-to-order pork katsu sandos and green tea cakes from Japanese-inspired Saint Dreux, and the colourful Hawaiian poke bowls from Poke Workshop.

Dish Cult’s top pick: Saint Dreux