‘People around here understand food’: Insider tips for eating your way through one of Melbourne’s best suburban dining hubs

Catch a train or nab a park in our secret spot, then start at the shopping centre for Good Food’s guide to noodles, mini banh mi and a retro Cantonese restaurant. AdvertisementEat Streets‘People around here understand food’: Insider tips for eating your way through one of Melbourne’s best suburban dining hubsCatch a train or nab a park in our secret spot, then start at the shopping centre for Good Food’s guide to noodles, mini banh mi and a retro Cantonese restaurant that’s worn in the very best way.By Dani ValentFebruary 20, 2026One of Glen Waverley’s many arcades.Simon SchluterSaveYou have reached your maximum number of saved items.Remove items from your saved list to add more.ShareAAA“Glen Waverley has a little bit of everything,” says Garen Maskal, who owns two restaurants on Kingsway, the pumping heart of the suburb, where almost every tenancy is occupied by a restaurant, bubble tea shop, dessert bar or cafe.“If you want Asian, Sri Lankan, coffee, steak, desserts or Mexican, we’ve got it and it’s all good quality. You don’t get too many misses, because people around here understand food,” he says.Maskal grew up nearby and hung out in Glen Waverley as a teenager in the early 2000s. “It was already a hotspot but Kingsway still had a lot of retail then,” he says. “As I got older, it started to be more and more about dining.” The Black Toro owner-chef Garen Maskal.Simon SchluterAt the end of a train line and near the M1, Glen Waverley is 20 kilometres south-east of the city. It’s one of Melbourne’s most immigrant-rich suburbs: 38 per cent of residents were born in Australia compared with the Victorian average of 65 per cent. Almost 40 per cent of people in the postcode have Chinese ancestry, compared with about 7 per cent statewide. That’s reflected in menus throughout the suburb: everything from Cantonese favourites to northern Chinese noodles and multiple styles of hot pot are there, as well as a broader spread of mostly Asian dining, snacks and street food.Five minutes’ walk north of Kingsway, The Glen shopping centre’s main entrance is via an attractive modern plaza lined with restaurants, many with al fresco dining. They sit within easy reach of residential towers.Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.Sign up“There are lots of new apartment buildings, so we have more and more customers,” says Trang Luu, who opened Cafe Trinity with her sister Oanh halfway between The Glen and Kingsway. “The action used to be just along Kingsway but now it’s expanded to The Glen. We see lots of university students and other young people who love to try the kind of cakes and trendy drinks we do.”AdvertisementKylie Chung (left) and Trang Luu of Cafe Trinity.Simon SchluterApart from insider tips on the best dumplings or roast duck, there are two huge topics of conversation in Glen Waverley. The first one is parking: there’s never enough. The other is the Suburban Rail Loop: road closures and disruptions until the projected 2035 completion date are not ideal for business.“The best we can say is that it will be good in the end,” says Maskal. “Getting there is going to be hard.”Meanwhile, get the train if you can or use our parking hack: the Bogong Carpark on Bogong Avenue at the southern end of Kingsway has expanded and parking is free, but it seems hardly anyone has noticed.This guide starts at The Glen and sweeps south, going down the eastern side of Kingsway, then back up the western side. Arrive hungry!Haidilao HotpotYou’d never know there’s a 300-seat restaurant inside The Glen: the venue’s upstairs entrance gives nothing away. With more than a thousand restaurants in China and outlets in 14 countries, Haidilao is a hot pot phenomenon. The brand is famous for its friendly service and extra perks like free manicures and noodle dances. It’s great with groups (up to 12) and welcoming for kids, too.AdvertisementLevel 1, The Glen, 235 Springvale Road, Glen Waverley, haidilaoau.orgQQ Chicky PotMost people are here for chicken hot pot, but that’s not the only drawcard “chicky” at this easygoing eatery with comfy booths and friendly staff. The QQ Chicken Chop on the snack menu is a boneless crumbed chicken thigh, served golden and so delicious. If you go for a pot, it’s eaten in two stages: enjoy it dry first, ask staff to add broth when you are ready, then cook your choice of extra ingredients, everything from quail eggs to noodles to yam.The Glen, 6/235 Springvale Road, Glen Waverley, instagram.com/qqchickypotDooBooTofu – “dubu” in Korean – is the specialty here, best experienced in sundubu-jjigae, a dish of soft tofu bobbing in spicy soup. The burbling pot comes with rice in an iron pot. Eat the rice with your soup, then add hot water from the provided kettle to ease the remaining rice from the sides of the pot and make “scorched rice tea”. It’s nourishing, comforting and fun. Key snacks include oozy corn cheese and fried chicken.The Glen, 4/235 Springvale Road, Glen Waverley, dooboo.com.auAdvertisementMarble Yakiniku.Bonnie SavageMarble YakinikuSerene, beautiful and perfect for special occasions, this is the place for tabletop grilling. Others order