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Aix Cafe Creperie 9662 2667, 24 Centre Pl, Melbourne - A favourite place to have lunch, it's cute,cosy and warm. The place is always busy and the service is personal and speedy.

Arrivederci Aroma (03) 9606 0530, 408 Queens St, Melbourne - Near the Queen Victoria Market serving Italian food and coffee. Can be noisy with its rather industrial design.

Bar Humbug (03) 9642 0115, 586 Little Bourke St, Melbourne

Basement Cafe 9329 8000, 350 La Trobe St, Melbourne

Becco 9663 3000, 11 Crossley St, Melbourne - Popular, well pitched, inner city Italian - very Melbourne. Good litttle bar attached. Mains around $40.

Benito's 9670 5347, 445 Little Collins St, Melbourne - Benito's feels like an old friend. The menu at breakfast and lunch is Italian, and in the early evenings it's antipasto and wine.

Bottega 9654 2252, , 74 Bourke St, Melbourne - The room is pleasant, the dishes are simple but well done, and are complimented by a thoughtful wine selection.

Breadwell 9650 8544, 135 Flinders La, Melbourne

Caffe Cento Venti (03) 9650 5621, 120 Collins St, Melbourne - Caffe Cento Venti has it all; a bar, a cafe, an upmarket restaurant and an outdoor area under the plane trees at the Paris end of Collins Street.

Cafe Chinotto (03) 9650 8666, Federation Square, 2 Swanston St, Melbourne

Cafe Excello (03) 9650 0990, 99 Spring St, Melbourne

Cafe Intimo (03) 9606 0130, 439 Little Collins St, Melbourne

Cafe L'Incontro (03) 9650 9603, Swanston St cnr Little Collins St, Melbourne - A standard cafe but the position nestled next to the Town Hall makes it all worthwhile on a fine day.

Cafe Vue 9691 3899, Normanby Chambers, 430 Collins St, Melbourne

Caterina's Cucina e Bar 9670 8488, Basement, 221 Queen St, Melbourne - Caterina's is only open lunches, it is primarily a businessman's dining room. Service is very good.

Demi Tasse 9642 3571, 550 Lonsdale St, Melbourne

Federal Coffee Palace 9662 2224, shop 22-23, melbourne gpo, 350 Bourke St, Melbourne

Florentino Cellar Bar (03) 9662 1811, 80 Bourke St, Melbourne - The tiny tables support large plates of pasta, and the bar, the elbows of the drinkers. Dark wood lined and clubby.

Florentino Grill Room 9662 1811, 80 Bourke St, Melbourne - A classic grill-room, good ingredients simply but correctly cooked, served by professional waiters

Grossi Florentino 9662 1811, 80 Bourke St, Melbourne - This really is a wonderful dining room. High decorated plaster ceilings, wood panelling, the famous murals, black clad waiters - it's a classic dining situation.

Il Bacaro (03) 9287 2700, Shops 4 & 5, 168-170 Little Collins St, Melbourne - The epitome of Italian style and flavour. A gem of a place, cosily chic or crowded, depending on your girth.

The Italian 9654 9499, 101 Collins St, Melbourne - The Italian has moved half a block to swanky new, multi-layered premises, at the rear of 101 Collins St. Coffee bar on Flinders La, restaurant above.

Italy 1 (03) 9367 5744, 27 George Pde, Melbourne - In a narrow laneway, off the Paris end of Collins Street, is Italy 1, a small and intimate restaurant

Journal Canteen 9650 4399, Shop 1 Level 1, 253 Flinders la, Melbourne - The new venture by Con Christopoulos (Degraves, European, Supper Club) is a smart modern cafe decorated as a reading room.

Liaison monaco house, 22 Ridgway Pl, Melbourne

Little Peninsula (03) 9670 2020, 308 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne

Luce Rossa (03) 9663 3437, Level 1, Oddfellows Hotel, 33-35 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne

Lucia's Place (03) 9642 0943, 433 Little Collins St, Melbourne

Ludo (03) 9670 9488, 118 Queen St, Melbourne

Mamma's Boy shop 13, 1 Little Collins St, Melbourne

Mary Martin Bookshop Cafe (03) 9663 9633, Melbourne Paramount Centre Shop 8, 108 Bourke St, Melbourne - With expanded seating and kitchen facilities, you can now get real food for the stomach as well sustenance for the soul at Mary Martin's.

The Mess Hall 9654 6800, 51 Bourke St, Melbourne

Mr Tulk 8660 5700, State Library of Victoria, 328 Swanston St, Melbourne

Nick's Bar 207 (03) 9670 4506, 207 Queen St, Melbourne - Nick's is not new. It's an old-style trattoria with traditional Italian food served by friendly staff.

Nick's Spaghetti Bar (03) 9606 0557, 556 Lonsdale St, Melbourne - Nick's feeds a lot of lawyers and other business folk nearby. There's a number of different rooms and a courtyard area.

Ortigia 9670 0774, Shop 1, 443 Little Collins St, Melbourne - Mostly take-away this very popular pizza lunch spot at the legal end of town

Pellegrini's 9662 1885, 66 Bourke St, Melbourne - This classic Italian espresso bar is a joy and a treasure. Unchanged in decades and still serving large, honest dishes.

Piadina 9662 2277, rear, 57 Lonsdale St (Behind Bluebag), Melbourne

Sarti 9639 7822, 6 Russell Pl, Melbourne - A lovely rooftop space with courtyard serving simple but well executed dishes. There's also a cheaper bar menu.

SMXL Little Bourke 9642 8611, 542-544 Little Bourke St, Melbourne

Society (03) 9639 2544, 23 Bourke St, Melbourne

Solarino 9663 2636, Shop 7, 273 Little Collins St (Up Howey Pl), Melbourne

Sud Food & Wine Bar 9670 8451, 219 King St, Melbourne - Tablecloths and a quality setting give this deep room, with its banquette seating, a sense of formality.

Superfino 030407773754, 275 Flinders La, Melbourne

Switch Board 03, 11 & 12 Manchester Unity Arcade, 220 Collins St, Melbourne - A pair of tiny holes-in-the-wall tucked away at the back of the Manchester Unity - coffee and goodies.

Tazio Birraria And Pizzeria (03) 9654 9119, 66 Flinders La, Melbourne

The Commercial Bakery 8631 5900, rear, 360 Little Collins St, Melbourne

Treviso (03) 9670 8833, 4 Bank Pl, Melbourne

Two Fingers 9663 0202, 27 Russell St, Melbourne

Wheat (03) 9642 0288, 534 Lonsdale St, Melbourne