Restaurants in Melbourne

Blue Lemon Cafe quells hunger pangs morning, noon, and night with café cuisine of the sweet and savory variety. The menu of crepes, fruit smoothies, ice cream, and hearty sandwiches won the admiration of Metromix in 2010, earning the eatery a Best Café nod. Like John Wayne’s impersonation of Charles de Gaulle, the café blends American classics with a French twist, inviting diners to sip glasses of wine alongside their cheeseburgers, or dive into Francocentric food such as niçoise salad and quiche Lorraine. Between lime-green walls, circular tables and streamlined eggshell-white chairs create a hip, laid-back atmosphere permeated by free WiFi.

Cultivating familial vibes is easy for chef Luis, as his clan joins him in the kitchen daily. Blanca, Tracie, Arleen, and the rest of the Las Palmas entourage invite patrons to taste the tropics through a diverse menu of authentic Cuban dishes. Sautéed chicken, pork, and ham insulate an array of pressed cuban sandwiches served with fries that are the perfect size for mending holes in bowling balls. Entrees flaunt piles of slow-cooked shredded steak as well as fresh, pan-seared fish flanked by sides such as sweet plantains, black beans, and yucca.

Woody Mills is thinking of his mother, Grace Meyer. In 1980, she collaborated with Woody and his wife Yolanda to formulate three recipes that became Woody's sweet, hot, and tangy-mustard sauces—the linchpins of the first Woody's Bar-B-Q in Jacksonville. At that point, Woody became the guardian of the family's legacy of southern-style barbecue, which medal-winning pitmaster Paul Kirk and barbecue historian Ardie Davis went on to feature in their roaster's anthology America's Best BBQ. And while the recipes remain a secret, Grace Meyer's legacy is anything but. Today, Woody's Bar-B-Q franchises bring the celebrated marriage between pickles and pulled pork to eight states throughout the country.

The menu kicks off with battered okra—fried exclusively with trans-fat-free oil—alongside the hearty and hotly contentious Brunswick stew, which both Georgia and Virginia claim as their own unique creation. Two types of pulled pork and ribs star among a roundup of beef brisket, shrimp, and chicken, all of which can be packed into a sandwich for a quick drive-thru meal or spread on platters for catered events. Through helpings of garlic toast, Texas gets a special nod on nearly every plate, whereas signature baked beans and fluffy cream pies evoke a broader southern tradition of using rich comfort food for physical comedy.

Though he boasts a culinary background in French cuisine, Chef Ratib uses his expertise as a springboard for regionally inspired recipes. He enhances fresh seafood and thick steaks with Caribbean spices and exotic flourishes, such as honey sriracha sauce, while paying homage to his roots by spelling out popular French expressions with drizzles of beurre blanc and hollandaise.

At meal’s end, dining companions can retreat to the wood-paneled wraparound bar for cocktails, or shimmy across the adjacent dance floor whilst being serenaded by live musicians.

Burritos, enchiladas, and tacos stuffed with cheese and meat share space with Cuban specialties and six savory forms of steak on Chaparral Mexican Grill’s menu. Inside the eatery, wagon wheels and scenes of cowboys dot the walls and a fleet of red and black stools flank the oversize bar. Here, libation wizards top off glasses with the eatery’s pride and joy: the margarita. House recipes and fruit-filled varieties of the quintessential Mexican drink cool down diners who’ve run their tongues along sizzling churrasco, spicy shrimp, and their dates' overheating cell-phone batteries.