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Food

Best Indonesian Restaurants in Melbourne 2023

Having enjoyed top Indonesian food in Indonesia itself, we have been keen to identify our best Indonesian restaurants in Melbourne.

Kata Kita - 266 La Trobe CBD

Kata Kita is the perfect mix of traditional flavours with fusion and is a great example of top notch yet approachable Indonesian dining in Melbourne. Enter a modern bright well thought out restaurant, and check out the inviting menu with charcoal cooked dishes and big flavour hits. To be honest, having travelled to Indonesia several times, I find this restaurant to be the best interpretation and execution of Indonesian food that I've seen in Melbourne. Big flavours and fun in one experience. Check out the Dang Bakar Grilled Prawns, the Spring Rolls, the Babi Bakar slow cooked Balinese pork ribs, the popular Ikan Bakar Grilled pomfret fish, a great rendition of Nasi Goreng, the vegetable sides and the spectacular and fun desserts. Popular with young trendy diners in the heart of the CBD.

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Sensational sweet fish.

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Stunning desserts.

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Yoi - 1/155 Franklin St CBD

Yoi restaurant is a delightful family run Indonesian restaurant in the Melbourne CBD, with a passion for traditional family recipes but with a fusion twist. I found the dishes to be exciting and top quality, with big flavours and fresh ingredients.  For fried chicken and salted egg fans this is the place to be.

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Can highly recommend Spicy Ayam Geprek (crispy chicken chop), Nasi Goreng Ayam Penyet, Soto Betawi soup, Mie Goreng Salted Egg Chicken (classic), Rice Beef Rendang, Chicken Satay, Rice, Salted Egg Fries, and Gado Gado salad. Grab a feast at Yoi.

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Ria (Ayam Penyet Ria) Melbourne - South Melbourne, Noble Park, Dandenong, Preston

Fabulous Indonesian experience since 1998 with several restaurants across Melbourne, Ria is an outpost of their huge presence in Indonesia. We can see why Ria is so popular in Indonesia, with its fried chicken and satay specialties. We found the food to be spicy but we loved that - in fact much of the spice was served on the side so you can control it. Outstanding choice and friendly service at the Preston restaurant we visited.

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Satay is a must order.

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Affordable and super tasty Indonesian food with welcome heat, served to our table by a robot. 

Fried chicken lovers step up, but there’s also so much more at Ria! 

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Can highly recommend Ayam Penyet Smashed chicken (slow cooked for 2 hrs), Ayam Geprek crispy chicken chop w garlic chilli, Charcoal grilled chicken satay, Twice cooked ribs (cooked for 6 hours), and Soto Ayam Soup with shredded chicken. 


Yuni's Kitchen - 251 High St Northcote

Yuni's Kitchen is a wonderful Indonesian restaurant in the grounds of a church on High St in Northcote. Come here for authentic Indonesian cusine. The ambience is compelling with a high timber panelled ceiling, stain glassed windows and charming heritage of the buiding. Dishes are reasonably priced. Classics are here such as the Satay, Beef Rendang, Lumpia (veg rolls), and the Nasi Goreng are impressive. 

The World Loves Melbourne loves the red door and red themes of the cafe, as well as the attractive bbq area adjoining

Yuni's Kitchen serves Nasi Goreng in the tradition that we're used to from several trips to Indonesia. We use Nasi Goreng as a barometer for any Indonesian restaurant and Yuni's Kitchen produces one of the best. Outstanding. We recommend the Nasi Goreng with Chicken, with spoonfuls of their homemade sambal sauce (not overpowering).

Yuni's Kitchen is a charming restaurant with friendly staff.

 


Sunda Dining -   Punch Lane CBD

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Sunda is a revelation in Melbourne, featuring a variety of cuisines such as Indonesian, Vietnamese and Malaysian. It has established itself as one of Melbourne's finest restaurants, with South East Asian street food reimagined being its gambit.

Chef Khanh Nguyen has brought modern techniques and interpretations to street food classics. He also uses native Australian ingredients in his dishes such as Roti and Vegemite Curry.

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Creativity and innovation are in spades, such as the Otak Otak with spanner crab curry, finger lime and rice crisps. If you are looking for a casual but higher level of technique this is the place.

 Kedai Satay 186 King Street CBD, 196 Wells St South Melbourne

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A sensation on King Street, Kedai Satay is a place to relax from the fast lane, with cheerful service and great quality cuisine. The lamb ribs with peanut sauce is a cracker dish. At Kedai Satay the lamb is cooked to perfection and the peanut sauce surprisingly is a great accompaniment. The satays here are magnificent - for example the chicken satays with steamed rice. And the tropical chicken is also a worthy dish. You won't leave hungry - the portions are massive. The vibe here is enjoyable with traditional Indonesian art on the walls. (Image credit above from Kedai Facebook)

 


 Nelayan 265 Swanston St CBD, 787 Glenferrie Rd Hawthorn

An icon for years in the CBD. Come here for great Indonesian food that is tasty, authentic and fast. Nelayan is a cheerful restaurant on Swanston St in a belt which does Indonesian food well. Competition is strong and Nelayan is one of the best value options around! Nelayan is set up like a canteen – which is great for office workers and students. Just order your choices – 2 or 3 (always 3 for me) and select from the bain maries. Then grab your cutlery on your way to a table.

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Having been to Indonesia several times and a big fan of Indonesian food, I find Nelayan serves up some favourites with distinction. Many of the choices revolve around chicken which is fine. Highlights here are the Fried chicken, the Curried chicken, and the Beef Rendang (which has the right amount of sauce, heat and the meat is tender). All with rice. And don’t forget the chilli.

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I’ve been to Nelayan several times and each time I notice a good crowd of Indonesians. Again, there is an authenticity here of flavours. The restaurant is mid sized and you can relax here as the bustle of Swanston traffic passes by.