Is there a mum in your life who could use a little celebrating? A lady of leisure with a thirst for the good stuff? A low-key queen who’s simply happy to see you? The MFWF Mother’s Day guide is here for mums of all interests and identities, and this year it’s packed with luxe lunching, decadent high teas, pub brunches and delicious gifts. Happy Mother’s Day, Melbourne.
Things that are at restaurants
Lunch at Poodle Bar & Bistro
Does the mother in your life baulk at all but the finest Yarra Valley smoked salmon caviar? Book her in for a special lunch at Gertrude Street’s Poodle, and watch as she delights in an elegant chef Emma Dawson menu of burrata with prosciutto and pickled fig, blue eye with parsnip cream and crisps, banana and ricotta mille-feuille, and more.
From $95 per person, Poodle Bar & Bistro, book here
Brunch at Brewdog Pentridge
Sentence your mum to hard time in flavour jail this Mother’s Day at Melbourne’s favourite pub in a prison, Brewdog Pentridge. They’re opening the iron gates from 11am for waffles, prawn rolls and all things tasty, and they eagerly await your custom.
À la carte, Brewdog Pentridge, book here
High tea at Yugen Tea Bar
Dazzle that mother with an afternoon high tea in one of the city’s most beguiling new addresses. The menu includes a selection of savoury and sweet items, including sourdough crumpet, smoked eel, crème fraîche and oscietra caviar, spanner crab mille-feuille, and brown butter chawanmushi, followed by petit caramel éclairs, pear bordelaise tartlets and rose macarons.
From $130 per person, Yugen Tea Bar, book here
Lunch or dinner at Eureka 89 Dining
Dining with a high-flyin’ matriarch? Take her to the clouds this Mother’s Day for lunch or dinner at one of the tallest restaurants in town, Eureka 89. Three courses for lunch, four courses for dinner; an elevated dining experience however you slice it.
Lunch from $180 per person, dinner from $205 per person, Eureka 89 Dining, book here
Lunch at That’s Amore Cheesery
Show the mum in your life you care through the majesty of cheese. Thomastown’s premier cheesery That’s Amore Cheese are putting on a five-course extravaganza of a lunch this Mother’s Day, with their much-loved dairy showing up in just about every course. Burrata with snow pea purée, ricotta gnocchi with basil pesto, porchetta with rainbow Dutch carrots; the table is set for a grand celebration.
From $100 per person ($40 for kids under 12), That’s Amore Cheese, book here
Lunch or dinner at Stokehouse (or Stokehouse Pasta & Bar)
Stokehouse is hard to beat on a regular day, but throw a celebration of mums into the equation and it becomes a no-brainer. Lead her upstairs for the full chef Jason Staudt experience, replete with the likes of beef tartare with oscietra caviar jacket potatoes and yellowfin tuna with aged tomato dressing, horseradish, and confit tromboncino, or pull up on the ground floor at casual sister restaurant, Stokehouse Pasta & Bar, where pesto lasagne and squid ink linguine with Moreton Bay bugs set the agenda and baci macarons with hazelnut gelato tie it up in a cute bow.
All day from $185 per person at Stokehouse, book here; all day from $100 per person at Stokehouse Pasta & Bar, book here
Lunch at Pier Farm
Make for the bay this Mother’s Day and book a table at Pier Farm on the Williamstown waterfront. Lunch unfolds over three courses, featuring options aplenty, and comes with a side of bay views and an optional post-lunch stroll to the historic Gem Pier.
Lunch from $99 per person ($55 per child), Pier Farm, book here
High tea at Luci
Honour Mum this Mother’s Day with high tea under the luxurious high ceilings of the Grand Hall of the Equity Chambers Building. Kick things off with mushroom and truffle arancini, zucchini and sun-dried tomato tarts and a little Old World glamour. From there, it’s off to the dessert bar with you.
From $85 per person, Luci, book here
Things that aren’t at a restaurant
Morning Market’s Mother’s Day breakfast hamper
Wake mum up with the complete Morning Market experience this Mother’s Day. In each hamper you’ll find everything you need to feed a hungry, discerning crew of four, including Morning Market house blend coffee, Baker Bleu croissants, Lescure butter, Jam Lady blood plum jam Morning Market tahini granola, a small Basque cheesecake and lots more.
$125, pick-up from Morning Market Fitzroy and Prahran, order here
Piccolina Festa Della Mamma gift box
A dozen gelato-filled cioccolatini, you say? Sounds like a flawless Mother’s Day gift. Piccolina knows how to celebrate mothers, and this year they’ve developed the following flavours in their honour: Wattleseed Espresso Martini, limoncello, Bellini, Nutella, macadamia and Pistachio. Festa della flavour, more like it.
$49, available to pick up in-store in Victoria, order here
By Frank Sweet