The 25 Best Chinese Restaurants in Melbourne for 2025

Despite the name, Secret Kitchen has quite a reputation in Melbourne. As one of several outposts under the moniker across the city, this CBD location maintains the restaurant group’s A-plus scorecard, providing reliably slick and sophisticated service. Menu-wise, don’t expect any major surprises — this is simply traditional Chinese cuisine done really well.

Seafood is proudly the main focus here, which is evident in the menu (each species has at least a dozen options) and the enormous fish tank by the entrance. Dessert doesn’t disappoint either — expect deep-fried durian puffs and steamed custard buns fashioned as cutesy pig heads.

Le Ho Fook has been serving up creative, stylish modern Chinese fare in Melbourne since 2013, when it opened in Collingwood. Now located in the CBD, the brainchild of head chef and owner Victor Liong has become a Melbourne dining institution. The focus is on Chinese-Australian classics with a contemporary take.

The a la carte menu features a large list of house specialties, which rotates from time to time. Find the likes of prawn toast with sea urchin, pickled black funghi, sweet-and-sour pork, and cumin lamb shoulder with black vinegar eggplant. If you haven’t been to this Melbourne Chinese restaurant before, add it to your dining bucket list, stat.

Noodles, glorious noodles. That’s all you need to order when visiting one of the many Bowltiful sites in Melbourne — more specifically, Lanzhou beef noodles that originate from the Gansu province in China.

To create the signature broth, the crew cooks halal beef and bones overnight, adding radishes later on for a little sweetness. Into this clear and rich broth (or consomme) goes your choice of nine different noodle sizes, ranging from a thin spaghetti-like string to thick three-centromere-long ribbons. And if you must order more than just noodles, make it one of the spicy lamb burgers.

In the heart of Chinatown, China Red is one of those spots that is deceptively small at first glance — but there’s a downstairs dining room that always has space for hungry dumpling seekers. The dumpling house specialises in xiaolongbao, veggie dumplings and salt and pepper squid. The gimmick of China Red is ordering everything through a touch-screen menu at each table.

This is great for getting carried away and over-ordering, or adding on extra dishes when you’re halfway through dining — especially when you watch neighbouring tables get excited about something you left off your order. There’s need for food envy here.

A long-standing favourite in the Chinatown end of the CBD, HuTong Dumpling Bar gets its name from the lanes and alleyways of ancient China — and it serves up delicious homestyle Chinese cooking in its honour. Hutong is always a good choice for a midday or post-work feast. The restaurant is praised for its authentic Shanghainese food, though the menu also highlights dishes from other provinces — like dry chicken in hot chilli from Sichuan and Dong Po Square soft pork from Hangzhou.

But it’s the dumplings that everyone comes for, and many traditional styles are represented, from the soupy xiao-long bao from east China and boiled dumplings stuffed with spinach of the north to the Szechuan-style wontons swimming in hot chilli sauce and Shanghainese pan-fried bites.  And, of course, you’re allowed to BYO wine at HuTong. Just be sure to make a booking so you don’t miss out.

Gold Leaf has a couple of very important drawcards. One is that there are many around for your convenience—Preston, Docklands, Burwood, Springvale and Sunshine. It seems likely that whatever far reaches of Melbourne your weekend might lead you to, Gold Leaf has got you and will feed you up nice and well.

And with over thirty years of smashing out delish Cantonese food, the crew really know what they are doing. Either take your pick of fresh seafood from the fish tanks, or deep dive into the absolutely enormous menu full of sizzling claypot dishes, stir-fries, roast meats and veg, plus a few Cantonese classics made with kangaroo and crocodile. We often get overwhelmed with the choices here so opt for one of the banquets — ranging from $45–$95 per person.

Shanghai Street has been around since 2010, and is one of Melbourne’s foremost specialists in Shanghai cuisine, especially Shanghai xiaolongbao and juicy dumplings. The menu kicks off with a focus on homemade traditional xiaolongbao and fried mini buns, with the highlight being the steamed crab-and-pork option. These are as traditional as you’ll find in Melbourne, and they are perfectly soft and succulent.

There is a strong focus on dumplings too, with the option to have them boiled or pan-fried. We’d recommend the chicken and prawn boiled, while the pan-fried beef dumplings are also a big hit. If you like them in a broth, then the pork, mushroom and prawn wanton soup is for you.

The Commune Group has proved it’s got the goods when it comes to contemporary Vietnamese and Japanese flavours, having gifted Melbourne with Tokyo Tina, the Hanoi Hannah stable and Windsor’s flame-driven Firebird. And when the team opened Moonhouse back in 2022, they immediately delivered one of Melbourne’s best contemporary Chinese restaurants.

The kitchen’s playing to Melbourne culinary nostalgia by dishing up a contemporary reworking of some classic Chinese flavours while serving one of the city’s best yum cha lunches. Drop by Moonhouse on a Saturday or Sunday to nab the $64 endless yum cha, which cycles through more than ten dishes, including roast duck pancakes, wontons, calamari, and crispy eggplant. Moonhouse ticks the inclusivity box by offering vegan, gluten-free, pescatarian, no seafood, and even a kids’ yum cha. It’s a must-try dining experience in Melbourne.

You’ve probably walked past Panda Hot Pot’s huge wooden doors and couldn’t resist snapping a pic or two. After taking over the old Dracula’s site in 2019, Panda has made its mark on Melbourne with its authentic Sichuan menu and free nightly entertainment.

First, choose from their selection of seven soup bases — for those who are less spice-inclined, don’t worry, there are heaps of chilli-free options. Then you can start filling your table with platters of fresh seafood, roses made out of ox tongue, or a smokey box of dry ice layered with their signature cuts of meat. We recommend a jug of fresh watermelon juice to wash it all down, as well as a plate of their fried sticky rice cake for dessert.

Anyone familiar with Neil Perry will know of his affection for Asian cuisine. It is a passion that has been successfully translated into his Spice Temple ventures, first in Sydney and then Melbourne (right on the Southbank). With their extensive menu, the team here has pushed the fusion aspect of Chinese food without losing traditional flavours.

The massive menu spans pickles to salads and cold cuts, dumplings and hot entrees, seafood to poultry and pork, beef and lamb to vegetables and rice.

Suzie Q on Chapel Street is footloose and fancy-free. The 150-seat site is Mamas Dining Group’s (Hochi Mama, Straight Outta Saigon) biggest venture to date, and it includes not only an enormous 80s-inspired main dining room and bar with double vaulted ceilings, but also a private mezzanine level and karaoke room.

Within these retro surrounds, punters will dine on nostalgic Chinese eats that are proudly inauthentic and just playful enough to make you smirk. The playful, contemporary menu serves up a mix of yum cha bites and larger sharing dishes. Pair it all with some of the crew’s top-notch signature cocktails to make a proper night of it.

Simon Lay, Founder of Simon’s Peking Duck, was a living legend in Melbourne. He was well-known for tossing his famous duck pancakes while serving customers, plus his sense of humour and lovable nature made him an unforgettable part of the city’s dining experience here. Sadly, he passed away back in 2018, and while Simon’s Peking Duck Chinese Restaurant will never be the same, it survives in his honour and lives up admirably to his legacy of making the best Peking duck in Melbourne.

This Box Hill classic serves up traditional Chinese fare with personality and style. If you’re here, it’s probably for the Peking duck, and there are two options as to how it’s served. Option one comes with pancakes, spring onion, cucumbers and its special plum sauce. It is served alongside stir-fried bean shoots with duck meat and duck bone soup with bean curd. Option two skips the bean shoots and instead comes with duck stir-fried with handmade crispy noodles. Both ways, it must be said, are outstanding.

The first Red Emperor site opened in Southbank back in 1992, and it continues to be one of Melbourne’s most-loved Chinese restaurants — especially as it and its Chinatown sibling both offer up bottomless yum cha lunches every day of the week for $75 per person. A la carte yum cha is also up for grabs each day, for those looking for a more low-key afternoon feed.

And come dinnertime, the team bashes out an astoundingly long list of brilliant Chinese dishes, ranging from several provinces. If you’re keen to make your way through the whole menu when first visiting, be sure to order some bevs while you make up your mind, or alternatively, get one of the many banquets.

The husband and wife duo behind Yulongfu take their dumplings very seriously. Located on Bourke Street, this Shanghainese-style dumpling shop is a celebration of tradition and craft, executed through a menu full of signature dim sum morsels handmade to long-held family recipes, some dating back as far as 1904.

It’s run by some of the most friendly front-of-house staff in the city. They’ll pop your BYO chilled wines in the fridge and talk you through the long menus. We are obsessed with their oysters cooked in XO sauce, the xiaolongbao, clay pot beef and mapo tofu. Just be warned that the separate spicy menu is no joke. Even the spiced-down version will have you reaching for your beers after every bite. Consider yourselves warned.

Hawthorn’s Tao Tao House is your classic white linen Chinese restaurant, complete with lazy susans and traditional eats. The menu here is everything you dream of when heading to a Chinese-Australian restaurant, including one hell of a yum cha offering — including classics like prawn dumplings, spare ribs in black bean sauce and mushroom and duck rolls.

The poultry dishes are also big hits. These include diced chicken in a teriyaki sauce and a succulent sesame duck — stuffed with prawn paste, coated with sesame and served with mushroom sauce. Vegetarians can indulge in the ‘typhoon shelter’ eggplants that are wok-fried with garlic and chilli and a side of Chinese broccoli and fried rice. Banquets also abound here, so feel free to let the chefs decide what you’ll be filling up on.

Have you ever wished you could wash down all that spicy hot pot with an ice-cold beer out in the open air? David’s Master Pot branch has a cosy beer garden at the rear of the restaurant, making it one of the only of its kind in Melbourne. After choosing your favourite ingredients from the open fridge, follow the neon signs to the cushy outdoor area.

Our tip is to try the signature stir-fry spicy pot — it’s a dry version of their famous soup base that uses over 20 kinds of Chinese herbs and spices for a fiery kick. Remember to ask for a complimentary bowl of steamed white rice for a match made in malatang heaven.

Lygon Street and its surrounds might once have been wall-to-wall, old-school Melbourne Italian joints — and famously so. But a new wave of residents is slowly but surely shaking up the demographic. One of these is Lagoon Dining.

The menu is grounded in traditional Chinese sensibilities, though you’ll also spy plenty of other Asian influences, as well as a few clever riffs on Chinese food concepts plucked from further abroad. Pull up a seat at the bar and snack your way through the regularly changing menu while sipping on a truly stellar drinks lineup. Expect a broad-ranging rotation of craft beers, a globally inspired wine list, cocktails, aperitifs, and spirits for days.

Don’t let the name fool you, for Dainty Sichuan on Toorak Road packs a hell of a punch. While the space has recently been completely transformed,  the aromas from the kitchen still get your taste buds going as soon as you enter. With a massive menu featuring more than 100 dishes, you may need some guidance.

You may also need some mouth-coolers, as many of the dishes are hot, hot, hot, such as the spicy Chongqing chilli chicken. Be sure to wash it all down with a BYO bottle of wine, and you’re in for a good, tasty time. This has got to be one of our favourite Chinese restaurants in Melbourne.

Re’em at Yarra Valley winery, Helen & Joey Estate, takes full advantage of the estate’s rolling vineyard and ornamental lake, with the dining space boasting views across the winery and the surrounding region.  In the 80-seat restaurant, guests can cosy up in booths by floor-to-ceiling windows or head to the shaded terrace to sample an impressive selection of contemporary Chinese dishes, each of which has been designed to pair with the estate’s wines.

Refined and reimagined dishes include duck croquettes with Peking sauce and steamed buns with whipped pork fat and chilli.  Re’em has introduced Sunday yum cha, giving locals something to look forward to on the weekends, and Melburnians another reason to take a day trip to the Yarra Valley. The carefully designed yum cha menu was developed following a visit to China, where the chef and owners travelled through the lively spice markets of Sichuan and visited Xu’s ancestral home in Yiwu.