Seven Lunch Spots to Hit This Hump Day

The best bit about The Exchange — apart from its cosy interior and fireplace — is its soul-warming lunch specials. The $18 lunch special runs Monday to Friday between noon and 3pm, so there’s plenty of time to head over for a lengthy mid-week lunch. On Wednesdays, it’s pie day — served with mash and veggies — and there’s nothing that gets you past hump day better than a tasty pie. These pastries are packed with enough goodness to get you through the next 20 hours of the work week, phew. 

Flinders Street’s Duke of Wellington is Melbourne’s oldest licensed pub, but just this year it expanded upwards with a top-floor revamp, capitalising on city views and busy foot traffic in the area. It’s now a three-story bonanza boasting a rooftop bar, comfort food and live sport on the TV. Good if you need a mid-week lunch but can’t stray too far from your office — better if you like delicious things like lasagne croquettes ($14). 

Cookie is a rambunctious time, even on a weekday — it’s always overflowing with people tucking into food and drink (the cocktail menu is worth more than a single look). The days at Cookie are generally less crowded than the nights and there are some decent Thai dishes to punctuate your working day with — especially if the weather is nice and you can snag a balcony spot. Take a colleague or organise a lunchtime date, and make full use of Cookie’s share plate menu.

Prahran’s High Street is home to the Smith, a greenery-strewn gastropub that knows what the people of Prahran wants and supplies it — like $1 oysters on Wednesdays. The oysters start at 4pm, so unless you’re having a super long lunch or have thrown in the towel, you’ll probably miss them. But you can opt for the lunch special instead: four courses for a mere $25. Grab a beer, sit in the courtyard, and tell yourself you deserve those four courses for making it through to Wednesday because it’s true — you do.

Forget hump day — head to the Bells Hotel any day of the week and you’ll score a special. On Wednesdays, it’s a $19 parma (and a huge one at that). This sprawling South Melbourne venue boasts a multitude of indoor and outdoor spaces, so you can keep all your work friends happy. Post-lunch, head to the rooftop terrace for a beer in the sun and enjoy the sweeping views of the city.

St Moritz is named after the iconic skate rink that used to exist in St Kilda in the 1940s and 50s; closed down and then burnt down, the rink remains an important piece of the area’s history. You can make St Moritz an important part of your week’s history by treating yourself to lunch at any time of the day. The neon ice-skating figures and exposed brick will keep you cosy, as will its pizza and pasta ($12–15). Carbs make for a better second half of the week, so, even if you’ve had an atrocious morning, a plate of pasta will make it better — and you can wash it all down with a Heineken 3.

Spoonbill is the adjoining restaurant to South Yarra hotel The Olsen and, much like the boutique hotel itself, it doesn’t falter on design or aesthetic. It’s also located on a busy corner of Chapel Street, acting as a refuge from the main drag’s hustle and bustle — if people watching is how you get your kicks, this is the place for you. It’s also the place if you like a lunch special: it does a $20 lunch deal with a choice of meal options and a complimentary wine, beer, coffee or softy included, from 12–3pm weekdays. Your Wednesday lunch choices range from a thai beef salad to crispy okra, or the Olsen Burger — it’s a nice little mid-week treat.