Dom's Social Club

August 20, 2026

 

   

 

Our second MIFF session was Maddie's Secret (a silly, hilarious pastiche that could only be drawn out to feature length by the mesmerising John Early) at Melbourne Central. We shared the movie and a quick meal beforehand with N, who introduced us to Dom's Social Club during MIFF a year earlier.

 

Dom's is the kind of place we didn't dare imagine existed on Swanston St - a wood-panelled wine bar with wood-fired pizzas and rooftop cocktails. With limited time, we focused on the truffle-scented mushroom ($32) and verdant snow pea ($30) pizzas and I successfully snuck in a plate of oven-roasted tomatoes dressed in ponzu with lavosh crackers ($18). Importantly, it was the showtime and not the restaurant causing the rush - this is somewhere comfortable, where we could have sat and talked much longer, and perhaps I could have tried the crème fraîche chocolate mousse.

 

____________ 

 

Dom's has also received a positive review on Sweet & Sour Fork. 

____________ 

 

Dom's Social Club 

1/301 Swanston St, Melbourne CBD

0401 605 845 

menu 

https://www.domssocial.club/

 

Accessibility: Dom's is located up a narrow flight of stairs, and we're not aware of a lift alternative. Furniture in the dining area is densely packed, regular height, with backed chairs and more stairs between split levels. We didn't visit the toilets.

Oven-baked tofu chilli

August 19, 2026

 

   

 

I was home alone one Wednesday night and in need of dinner inspiration, so I popped the obvious phrase 'meera sodha tofu' into the internet and browsed the results. This was the clear standout - it takes a bit of time to make, but most of that is just waiting for things to bake, so it's a perfect recipe for a work from home day. It's a spectacular meal - I really like the texture of the baked tofu 'mince' and the beans, veggies and spices add lots of flavour. I'd recommend making a basic guacamole or a little salad or something with it, just for something a bit fresh, but you can't really go wrong. We've made it with rice both times so far, but it'd go great in tortillas or just straight up I reckon.

 

Oven-baked tofu chilli

(based on this recipe from Meera Sodha's Guardian column)

2 brown onions, peeled and chopped

2 red capsicums (~450 grams), chopped with seeds removed

300g firm tofu (you can up this to 500g if you're feeling hungry)

6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

1/2 cup sunflower oil

2 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

500ml passata

2 tablespoons white miso paste

2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Heat the oven to 210°C. Use a food processor to roughly mince the onions, capsicum and tofu (one at a time) and combine them into your oven tray(s) - we used two ~20cm x 30cm oven trays. 

Stir in the garlic, sunflower oil, salt, chipotles, herbs and spices and stir everything together thoroughly.

Bake for 30 minutes and then stir in the passata and give everything another 30 minutes. 

While that's all baking, stir the miso together with 500ml of hot water until it's dissolved into a kind of stock. 

When your 30 minutes is up, stir in the chickpeas and the miso stock and bake for another 30 minutes. 

Serve on top of rice, with a few big dollops of guacamole on top.

Flora III

August 18, 2026

 

   

 

MIFF season got us into the city for a few dinners and we started with a 20-year mainstay for quick and tasty sustenance around a show: Flora. It's been beset by scaffolding for years but is still holding on and has even had a minor renovation, with vibrantly patterned furniture and murals of famous cricketers.

There's an extra frill to the service too, with staff now handing out menus and taking orders at the tables following many years of counter-only service. The Indian menu is compact but offers decent variety and value, with plenty of vegetarian options (dietaries aren't otherwise explicitly marked, so vegans and coeliacs will need to quiz the staff).

   

 

Michael had the appetite for the veg thali ($20.95 in 2026 and pictured up top, a similar meal costing $11.90 in 2015). It always includes rice and daal, a choice of naan or roti, and then three veg curries - here bhindi masala, paneer rara, and a potato/carrot/pea medley. Though we could see the curries on display out the front, they didn't have the tired feel of food that's been sitting in a bain marie all day - textures and flavours were full and varied.

 

For me, it was always going to be the dosa combination ($21.95 in 2026, with similar options priced at $8-9 in 2006 and $10.90 in 2015). Here, too, the idli and vada were piping hot and distinctly textured, leading me to believe they'd be made to order. You can see the crispness of the dosa in the photo, and it held a generous portion of chilli-paneer filling (they were all out of the usual potato masala). As a chilli wuss, I focused on the coconut chutney and barely touched the sambhar.

 

At Flora the mango lassi is definitely prepared earlier and a little on the small side, but it's also a good time ($3.95 in 2026, $3 in 2015). 

 

   

 

It seems Flora have had to hike their prices more than most since we first visited two decades ago, but by our reckoning they've generally improved the service and food to match. It'll remain firmly on our fast-CBD-dinner list for a good few more years yet. We teamed this Flora meal with a viewing of the offbeat and heartfelt documentary Joybubbles at ACMI. 

____________

 

You can read about one, two of our previous visits to Flora. Since our last post it's received a positive review from Green Gourmet Giraffe.

____________

 

Flora

238a Flinders St, Melbourne CBD

9663 1212

menu: one, two 

https://flora.melbourne/

 

Accessibility: The entry is wide and flat. Regular-height tables backed chairs are densely arranged with reasonably wide pathways through the centre of the restaurant. We ordered at the table and paid at a low counter. We didn't visit the toilets.  

The Rocket Society

August 8, 2026

 

   

 

A couple of years ago, the excellent Rumi moved to its third home, at East Brunswick Village. They also added on a neighbouring wine bar called The Rocket Society. The crowded high tables indoors and rigid furniture outdoors at the Rocket Society don't invite extensive lounging, but they're a handy spot for a fancy snack before or after a movie at FOMO, especially when the weather is good. That was precisely our purpose on this visit, before a session of The Invite.

 

   

 

This is a wine bar with a decently-sized snacks menu. Dietary features aren't marked and there's a fair bit of meat, particularly barbecued on sticks. Yet the snacks skip through flatbread and pita chips, falafels and fries, with dressed-up green beans, baby cos and sugarloaf cabbage for those determined to eat a vegetable - most people should be able to find something suitable to nibble on after consulting with the staff. 

For us, the fries ($12) were just fine and plenty filling, with the accompanying 'tahinnaisse' not making much of an impression. Labne balls were oily but good ($14), each rolled in a different spice mix, alongside also-oily-and-crisp pita chips. I became one of the vegetable seekers myself, going for the green beans braised with tomato, lemon and, yes, more olive oil ($12). This was a good time but not a balanced meal, and that's more on me than on The Rocket Society.

   

The most memorable consumable of our visit was a distinctive non-alcoholic drink, the sekanjabin ($10, pictured up top). It's a tall, ice-filled glass of soda flavoured with honey, vinegar and mint - so refreshing that we ordered a second round.  

____________

 

The Rocket Society has received positive reviews on Bureau of Eating & Drinking, and Mamma Knows North. 

____________ 

 

The Rocket Society

2 Village Ave, Brunswick East

9388 8255

food, drinks

https://www.therocketsociety.com.au/

 

Accessibility: There's a flat entry. Indoor tables are high with backless stools, outdoor tables are low with backed folding chairs, all are densely arranged. We ordered and paid at a high bar. We didn't visit the toilets.   

Billy van Creamy II

July 26, 2026

 

   

 

While we were in Brisbane, I was hit with a bolt of FOMO: my Brunswick favourites Billy van Creamy and Tofu Shoten announced a collaborative icecream sandwich! It was sold out before we returned home, but so popular that they made an encore batch a couple weeks later. I pounced! They also had a second icecream sandwich on offer, so I picked that up too, to share with Michael.

   

 

First, the Tofu Shoten one. Not only was it vegan, but gluten free as well! The cookie was thin, crisp and coconut-based. The icecream had a lovely creamy texture without need of dairy, but the subtlety of its vanilla-soy-yuzu flavour was lost on me. The star - the absolute clincher - for me was the sweet smear of pear jelly.  

 

   

The other more regular BVC sandwich was also vegan - a pair of more substantive chocolate cookies holding together hazelnut icecream, a layer of chocolate fudge, all rolled through chopped hazelnuts. It's a classic flavour combination done extremely well here, with the overall effect being pretty similar to their vegan Easter egg special. The flavour is full and rich, so it's one for most devoted chocolate lovers, or perhaps to share. (In my case, on this day, both.)

Billy van Creamy's icecream sandwiches and other specials aren't always super-obvious in store, but they're well worth paying attention to. I'd recommend keeping an eye on their social media and being bold enough to ask what's new when you're in for a visit.

____________

 

You can read about one of our previous visits to Billy van Creamy in Brunswick, and one in Fitzroy. 

____________

 

Billy Van Creamy

146 Sydney Rd, Brunswick

https://billyvancreamy.com.au/

 

Accessibility: There's a shallow ramp on entry. Low stools and benches line the walls and windows, and there's substantial open flat space in the centre of the room. We ordered and paid at a low counter. We didn't ask about the toilets.