From immersive multi-sensory dining and French patisserie high tea to Italian winery lunches in the Yarra Valley, Melbourne’s local makers have something extraordinary lined up for Mum this Mother’s Day.
Mother’s Day in Melbourne doesn’t have to mean a rushed booking at a chain restaurant. This city is full of passionate local business owners who pour their hearts into every plate, and many of them have crafted something genuinely special for Sunday 10 May 2026.
Whether your mum is drawn to immersive multi-sensory dining, French patisserie high tea, Italian winery dining, panoramic city views dining, fire-and-spice Southeast Asian dining, elevated Irish dining, European Mediterranean tapas, modern Asian fusion, fine-dining Japanese craft ramen or soulful Sri Lankan brunch, Melbourne has a table waiting for her. We’ve put together 11 venues across the city and suburbs that each bring something distinct to the occasion. Book early, these fill fast.
01 — Shelly Restaurant
For mums who love: Immersive multi-sensory dining
If your mum has seen and done it all, give her something unlike anything else in Melbourne. Shelly is Melbourne’s premier immersive multi-sensory dining experience, from the creators of Shelanous, the venue that developed a two-month waitlist and famously hosted Katy Perry for a private buyout. This Caulfield immersive dining destination is bold, theatrical, joyful and utterly unforgettable.
Each evening of immersive multi-sensory dining runs for three hours across ten courses, live performance and four distinct acts, with moments that engage every sense. Thirty strangers sit down at one long communal table under a starlit ceiling and leave, almost invariably, as friends. The set degustation is paired with matching beverages and the venue is fully kosher certified and halal-friendly. Shelly opened in November 2025 and bookings move quickly. Get in early for Mother’s Day.
Source: Shelly Restaurant
02 — Reverie Cafe
For mums who love: French patisserie high tea
If your mum is interested to be transported to Paris for the afternoon, Reverie Cafe in Prahran is Melbourne’s finest French patisserie high tea destination. Helmed by French pastry chef Pierrick Boyer, Australian Pastry Chef of the Year and alumnus of the Ritz Carlton Boston and Hotel Plaza Athénée in Paris, Reverie is a love letter to the craft of French pâtisserie high tea, right next to Prahran Market.
The French patisserie high tea experience is a two-tiered tower of handcrafted petit fours, French-style sliders on cloud-like brioche, croque monsieur on homemade gruyère bread, and delicate seasonal sweets, all made in-house with real attention to detail. If you want to know just how good Pierrick Boyer’s pastry work is before you book, read our full review of Reverie Cafe — Best Brunch in Melbourne— where we cover everything from the passion brownie to the lemon meringue tart and why this is the brunch we recommend when someone wants an experience that feels like more than just brunch.
For Mother’s Day, Reverie hosts a special “Let Her Bloom” high tea event in collaboration with Miss High Tea, complete with a pastel theme, English Fine Bone China service, bottomless tea, and a welcome glass of bubbles. Pink neon sign outside, Parisienne magic inside.
📍 31 Izett Street, Prahran VIC 3181
Source: Reverie Cafe
03 — De Bortoli Yarra Valley — Locale Restaurant
For mums who love: Italian winery dining
Sometimes the most loving thing you can do for Mum on Mother’s Day is take her out of the city entirely. De Bortoli’s Yarra Valley estate is Melbourne’s most beloved Italian winery dining destination, just an hour from the city, welcoming families to its vineyard table since 1987. Three generations of the De Bortoli family’s passion for Italian winery dining is woven into every lunch at Locale.
The Italian winery dining experience is the vision of Emeri De Bortoli, who created a northern Italian-inspired trattoria built around the estate’s seasonal produce. Sit in the sunny dining room overlooking the vines: shared salumi and antipasti platters, handmade pasta dishes, the wild boar ragu tagliatelle and crab linguine are not to be missed, and Italian mains made for sharing over bottles of estate Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or one of the Italian varieties now growing in the valley. Booking is essential for Mother’s Day. Visit the cellar door before lunch for a guided tasting and set the tone for a truly indulgent day out.
🌐 debortoli.com.au/visit-us/restaurants/locale-restaurant-yarra-valley
📍 58 Pinnacle Lane, Dixons Creek VIC 3775 (Yarra Valley · approximately 1 hour from Melbourne CBD)
Source: De Bortoli’s Yarra Valley
04 — Taxi Kitchen
For mums who love: Panoramic city views dining
Perched above Federation Square, Taxi Kitchen is Melbourne’s most iconic panoramic city views dining destination, with floor-to-ceiling views sweeping from St Paul’s Cathedral and Flinders Street Station out to the MCG. Chef Tony Twitchett’s menu fuses bold Australian produce with distinct Asian influences, the kind of panoramic city views dining experience that rewards attention and rewards sharing.
For Mother’s Day, the kitchen creates a dedicated three-course set menu built for the afternoon: a spread of snacks to share, carefully crafted mains, and something sweet to finish. At Taxi Kitchen, the panoramic city views are as memorable as the food, and Mum genuinely feels celebrated rather than rushed.
🌐 transporthotel.com.au/venues/taxi-kitchen
📍 Level 1, Transport Hotel, Federation Square, Melbourne VIC 3000
Source: Taxi Kitchen
05 — JUNI
For mums who love: Fire-and-spice Southeast Asian dining
Source: JUNI
JUNI is Melbourne’s most exciting fire-and-spice Southeast Asian dining destination, from chef Michael Lambie (formerly of Lucy Liu and Stokehouse), built entirely around the concept of fire and spice. The restaurant is named in honour of Lambie’s late mother, June, which makes it a particularly fitting choice for Mother’s Day.
Head chef Hendri Budiman (ex-Coda) joins Lambie in the kitchen to produce a fire-and-spice Southeast Asian dining menu drawing on the clean, bold flavours of Thailand, Vietnam, Japan and China. Think half-shell scallops with spicy tom yum brown butter, dry-aged duck with hoisin and pancakes, and crayfish dumplings with ginger, all served in a sleek 140-seat space with a glowing open kitchen and a sunset projection looping on the wall. The drinks list, sake, creative cocktails, craft spirits, matches the energy perfectly.
This Mother’s Day, Sunday 10 May, celebrate Mum at JUNI with their signature Sunday Club bottomless brunch from 12 to 4pm, or settle in for à la carte dining from midday until late. The perfect way to spoil every kind of mum. JUNI features in our guide to the best modern Asian restaurants in Melbourne CBD — a great starting point if you’re exploring the city’s Asian dining scene beyond Mother’s Day.
📍 136 Exhibition Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
📸 @junimelbourne
06 — Enbarr
For mums who love: Elevated Irish dining
Enbarr is Melbourne’s home of elevated Irish dining, a sophisticated modern Irish restaurant inside the beautifully restored Auntie Annie’s Hotel in Kensington. Named after the legendary mythological Irish horse Énbarr, this elevated Irish dining destination is intimate and refined, with Irish heritage woven throughout the design. During the renovation, builders uncovered a hidden 150-year-old timber staircase that now stands as a centrepiece of the entry.
Executive Chef Declan McGovern brings nearly two decades of experience from Ireland, The Landmark London and Matt Moran venues in Sydney. At Enbarr, he reimagines elevated Irish dining through Victoria’s seasonal produce. The result is storytelling on a plate: the 48-hour cured Salmon of Knowledge, soda bread with caramelised onion and volcanic salt butter, and slow-cooked beef with a Jameson and peppercorn jus. For Mother’s Day on Sunday 10 May, Enbarr’s elevated Irish dining experience includes a three-course menu with a choice of starter, main and dessert. A genuinely special occasion for a mum who appreciates culture and craft in equal measure.
📍 271 Racecourse Road, Kensington VIC 3031
Source: Enbarr
07 — Saros Bar + Dining
For mums who love: European Mediterranean tapas
Source: Saros Bar + Dining
This Mother’s Day, Sunday 10 May, treat the special woman in your life to an unforgettable dining experience in the heart of Moonee Ponds. Saros is open for lunch from 12pm to 4pm and dinner from 5pm to 9pm, giving you the flexibility to make it a long afternoon or an elegant evening out. Saros proves you don’t need to head into the city to give Mum a truly special Mother’s Day.
Moonee Ponds’ most stylish address, Saros Bar + Dining is Melbourne’s inner north-west home of European Mediterranean tapas. Located on the ground floor of The Sebel Melbourne, this European Mediterranean tapas destination blends a sleek marble bar, New York-style booths, and a menu that rewards the kind of long, unhurried lunch that Mother’s Day calls for.
Chef Sushil Jungrana’s kitchen produces European Mediterranean tapas with earthy, full-bodied character, tuna carpaccio, chilli prawns, rib steaks, risotto, crème brûlée, all crafted with fresh Victorian produce. The cocktail list is polished and the wine selection thoughtful.
This Mother’s Day, Sunday 10 May, treat the special woman in your life to an unforgettable dining experience in the heart of Moonee Ponds. Saros is open for lunch from 12pm to 4pm and dinner from 5pm to 9pm, giving you the flexibility to make it a long afternoon or an elegant evening out. Saros proves you don’t need to head into the city to give Mum a truly special Mother’s Day.
📍 41 Homer Street (Ground Floor, The Sebel Melbourne), Moonee Ponds VIC 3039
08 — Ho Jiak
For mums who love: Indulgent seafood feasts rooted in Malaysian flavour
Source: Ho Jiak
Ho Jiak is Melbourne’s most ambitious Malaysian dining destination, a three-storey celebration of Penang heritage, bold flavour and culinary storytelling from self-taught chef Junda Khoo. Known for redefining Nyonya cuisine in Sydney and earning a Good Food Guide Hat along the way, Khoo brought his biggest vision yet to Melbourne’s CBD in 2025 — three distinct venues, one building, and an explosion of fragrant, boundary-pushing Malaysian flavour.
For Mother’s Day, the occasion is personal. Whether it’s your mum, grandmother, or someone who has been like one to you, Ho Jiak opens its doors to honour the people who matter most. On Sunday 10 May, every table tells a different story — and as a gesture for the occasion, Ho Jiak is offering 50% off their best-selling Mud Crab.
Seating is limited to selected time slots from 2:30pm to 4:30pm and 7:30pm to 8:30pm, with a minimum of three guests per booking and one Mud Crab per table.
📍 Level 1, Rainbow Alley, Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
09 — Chiki Chan
For mums who love: Modern Asian fusion bayside dining
Source: Chiki Chan
Mordialloc got one of Melbourne’s most exciting modern Asian fusion bayside dining arrivals in late 2024, and Chiki Chan has been buzzing ever since. From chefs Johnny Jong and Kelvyn Yeoh, both alumni of Crown Sydney and Lucas Restaurants (Chin Chin, Hawker Hall, Grill Americano), this two-storey modern Asian fusion bayside dining venue brings the energy and craft of Melbourne’s inner-city dining scene to the Mordi coast, with neon artwork, wave-like bar walls, pumping music and food that genuinely surprises.
The modern Asian fusion bayside dining menu is playfully bold: Italian-style burrata with Szechuan chilli oil, Malaysian-spiced roast chook, crispy barramundi with Asian remoulade and palm sugar sauce, and pani puri filled with tuna tartare and tamarind. The perfect setting for a mum who wants great food, creative cocktails, and a venue that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The upstairs Level 1 private dining space is also available for families wanting something more exclusive. Mother’s Day menu available now.
📍 6 Centreway, Mordialloc VIC 3195
10 — Sara Craft Ramen & Yakitori Bar
For mums who love: Culinary Japanese craft ramen
Source: Sara Craft Ramen & Yakitori Bar
Sara Craft Ramen & Yakitori Bar is not your average ramen bar. It is Melbourne’s home of fine-dining Japanese craft ramen, a precise and meticulous expression of Japanese craft by some of the most decorated chefs in the business. Led by Iron Chef Sakai protégé Ryo Northfield alongside co-owners Harunobu Inukai (Michelin 3-star Joël Robuchon) and Shimon Hanakura (Aria, Galileo), Sara Craft Ramen & Yakitori Bar brings a remarkable fine-dining pedigree to Japanese craft ramen in Melbourne.
Northfield’s foundation is a delicate, clear shoyu broth, intentionally lighter than the rich Hakata-style found around the city. The tonkotsu pork shoyu with chashu belly, gobo chips and optional house chilli oil is the signature fine-dining Japanese craft ramen bowl. There is also a yuzu smoked duck ramen and an asari clam shoyu with a French burnished-butter twist. Beyond ramen, the yakitori bar completes the picture, grilled skewers, Japanese cocktails and premium sake that together make Sara Craft Ramen & Yakitori Bar a genuinely special Mother’s Day destination.
📍 14 Bourke Street, Melbourne CBD
11 — Lankan Tucker
For mums who love: Soulful Sri Lankan brunch
Source: Lankan Tucker
There are few more heartfelt stories in Melbourne’s food scene than Lankan Tucker, the city’s most beloved soulful Sri Lankan brunch destination. Husband-and-wife duo Hiran Kroon and Nerissa Jayasingha have been on a mission since 2016 to bring Sri Lankan brunch culture to Melbourne, properly, playfully and inclusively. After years in Brunswick West, they reopened their soulful Sri Lankan brunch cafe on Lygon Street in Carlton in mid-2025, with Hiran’s mother Sarojini now leading the kitchen. A mother leads the kitchen. There may not be a more fitting Mother’s Day setting in the city.
The soulful Sri Lankan brunch menu weaves Sri Lankan street food into Melbourne’s cafe culture in a way that feels completely natural. The Biryani Burrito, spiced cashew rice with lamb, herbs and raita wrapped in house-made roti, is their iconic signature, made “Mama’s way.” Beyond that: kothu roti, egg hoppers, the big breakfast roti, and a legendary iced Milo that needs to be on your table. Check ahead for Mother’s Day availability. Perfect for the mum who wants something warm, unexpected and genuinely different.
📍 570 Lygon Street, Carlton VIC 3053 (Inside College Square, opposite VicRoads)
FAQs
When is Mother's Day 2026 in Melbourne?
Mother’s Day in Australia falls on the second Sunday of May each year. In 2026, Mother’s Day is Sunday 10 May.
Do I need to book in advance?
Yes, and as early as possible. Melbourne’s best Mother’s Day venues fill weeks ahead of time, particularly smaller and more intimate ones like Reverie Cafe high tea, Shelly immersive dining and Enbarr elevated Irish dining. Book immediately if you have a venue in mind.
Which venues have specific Mother's Day menus or events?
Taxi Kitchen (three-course set lunch with panoramic city views), Reverie Cafe (Let Her Bloom French patisserie high tea), JUNI (fire-and-spice Southeast Asian Mother’s Day celebration), Enbarr (elevated Irish dining three-course menu) and Chiki Chan (modern Asian fusion bayside Mother’s Day menu) have all confirmed dedicated experiences. Ho Jiak (50% off Mud Crab).
What is the best option for a group with dietary requirements?
everie Cafe French patisserie high tea and Shelly immersive dining both accommodate dietary requirements with advance notice. Lankan Tucker’s soulful Sri Lankan brunch is naturally gluten-friendly across much of its menu. Saros European Mediterranean tapas and De Bortoli Italian winery dining also cater to most dietary needs. Contact venues directly when booking.
