Shakahari

On a quiet stretch of Faraday Street, off Carlton's Italian spine, sits one of Melbourne's longest-running vegetarian rooms, a candlelit space of timber and brass with a leafy courtyard out back. The cooking is exclusively vegetarian and quietly pan-Asian, drawing on Indian, Malaysian, Chinese and Japanese threads; the satay-like avocado magic and the croquettes have held their place on the menu for decades and remain reason enough to book. Produce comes in part from the restaurant's own farm in central Victoria, and the kitchen accommodates vegan and gluten-free diners without fuss. This is not a place chasing trends, but a considered, slightly old-world dining room that treated vegetables as the main event long before the city caught up. Lunch and dinner most days.