Melbourne’s best healthy food cafes

Long gone are the days when finding great tasting, healthy food in Melbourne was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Now the wellness movement is alive and kicking, and whole foods cafes are popping up like toast all over town.

With so many to choose from it’s hard to know where to start. Here’s just a handful of the best places for a delicious, healthy meal.

1. Green Cup – South Yarra

Good smoothies can be hard to find, but the folks at Green Cup have the formula down pat. Their nutritionist-approved combinations are seriously tasty meals in a cup. The smashed avo on toast with chilli or chia is seasoned to absolute perfection, making it a great on the go breakfast or lunch option. Their raw balls and slices are pretty hard to resist too.

2. Yong Green Food – Fitzroy

Yong Green Food’s menu is vegetarian and vegan, and it’s one of the tastiest places to go to get your five a day. It’s an institution with local health foodies thanks to its impressive selection of Asian inspired food, extensive healthy drinks menu (elixirs, tonics, herbal teas, smoothies) and raw desserts.

3. Walk Don’t Run – Armadale

Tucked away on a quaint little street in Armadale, Walk Don’t Run is all about mindful eating. The hardest part about going there is what to choose, with each lovingly created item on their whole foods menu sounding equally as delicious as the next. I love the homemade life loaf with sugar free raw chai jam and whipped ricotta.

4. Feast of Merit – Richmond

Feast of Merit is a social enterprise, meaning the feel good factor extends well beyond the food – all profits go to charity YGap (Y-Generation Against Poverty). It’s great for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Dinner is my favourite, and the more people you go with the better, because feasting really is the essence of what this place is all about. Think slow cooked lamb joint, roast chook, BBQ’d fish, share plates and veggies all cooked in Middle Eastern spices.

5. Green Press – Melbourne CBD

This is the best spot to go for a healthy breakfast, lunch or pick-me-up in the Melbourne CBD. Tucked away off Little Collins Street, they’ve got a great range of takeaway salads, soups, smoothies, cold pressed juices, elixirs and amazing raw desserts that are a hit with city office workers.

6. Tall Timber – Prahran

Though this one is not strictly a whole foods café, it’s what head chef Ryan Lording does with the healthy menu items that make Tall Timber so popular with his thousands of fans that keep coming back for more. It’s simple food done with a twist – think amazing Middle Eastern flavours. The piece de resistance is the 16 hour slow cooked lamb.

7. Serotonin Eatery – Burnley

They’re in the business of dealing out happiness at Serotonin Eatery, as the name suggests. They serve nothing but plant based whole foods, with the idea of providing foods that help regulate serotonin (our happiness chemical). The positive banana flour pancakes with banana ice cream and berries look decadent but can be eaten without an ounce of guilt.