Steve Chan's Guide to North Melbourne & Beyond

Steve Chan

Chef & Owner at Sleepy's Cafe & Wine Bar

10 venues in Melbourne

With a portfolio spanning coffee joints, bars and full-service dining, Steve Chan’s taste across Melbourne shares one clear commonality: it’s all genuinely tasty. In North Melbourne, that sharp edit plays out across a considered mix — from the quietly cult Queensberry Street Co-op and the under-sung precision of Small Batch Roasting Co., to the polished minimalism of Above Board and the enduring pull of Caretaker’s Cottage. There’s comfort in the details too — chicken rice at Gai Wong, unfussy Japanese at Don Tojo — alongside a tight run of cafés and casual spots he rates for doing the basics exceptionally well.