6 tasty street eats to try at Melbourne's foodie heaven

This is sponsored content for South Melbourne Market.

For the tastiest street eats in a classic Melbourne setting, look no further than South Melbourne Market. The go-to foodie destination has something for every taste and budget – from $4.50 cheese and spinach böreks to the best in fine dining.

Here are six standout street eats to top your bucket list.

Aptus Seafood Grill and Oyster Bar

An award-winning seafood standout, Aptus Seafood Grill and Oyster Bar is home to some of Melbourne's freshest sea fare. Whether ducking in for a dozen baked mornay oysters or a fresh fish taco, the Aptus will have you coming back again and again.

From grilled lobster tail to freshly shucked oysters with shiraz gin and caviar, Aptus is a local favourite that's been taking seafood classics and contemporary cuisine to the street since 1969.

Simply Spanish

If you have a bullish love of Spanish food, Simply Spanish will have you swooning with delight. Voted the best paella outside of Spain in 2020 at the Concurs Internacional de Paella Valenciana in Sueca, Spain, Simply Spanish serves Mediterranean street food with one sentiment in mind: "cooking with love provides food for the soul".

Using the traditional big-pan cooking method, Simply Spanish concocts simple, aromatic and delicious paella varieties starting with their signature Valenciana Provincial Paella and moving on to a sumptuous seafood paella, a chicken and chorizo mix and even a vegan option.

Experience this multi-award-winning paella along with tasty tapas, and you'll find yourself cheering "olé!" like a true Spaniard.

Köy Gözleme

Craving a home-cooked meal so full of love and comfort that all you want to do is cosy under a blanket and dream of eating more? Well toss the throw and get down to Köy Gözleme for some piping-hot spinach and feta gozleme cooked fresh by Turkish mamas.

Quaint and inviting with a personal touch, the mamas at Köy Gözleme take care in creating traditional gozleme in the style of the old country – crisp and firm on the outside, tangy and fresh on the inside.

Come down and join the queue to enjoy the authentic flavours of European street food.

Little Hof

Big flavours and Bavarian Biers underpin Little Hof's appeal in this second iteration of the founders' German street food offering. After establishing a modern version of Bavarian hospitality with The Hof Downtown in Docklands, The Hof's fun-size venue serves up German classics like cheese Kransky, currywurst (Berlin-style bratwurst with a tomato curry sauce), pork knuckle straight from the rotisserie and German bakery classics like the massive, salty pretzel with Obatzda dip.

These ready-to-eat delights are sure to sate the most demanding appetites, perfectly flushed down with a crisp Bavarian Bier.

Bambu Asian Eating House

Tucked away on Cecil Street is Asian eating house Bambu, with a modern fusion menu that takes hawker street food to a new level. Bambu offers a full Yum Cha menu with six dishes to choose from in addition to all your favourite dumpling varieties.

Where Bambu really shines is with its innovative fusion of modern Australian cuisine and Asian inspired hawker food. Think fluffy gua baos filled with your choice of pork belly, fried chicken or soft-shell crab and wonton tacos with BBQ duck and mandarin salsa.

Top off your succulent meal with a unique potable from their extensive cocktail list, and you'll be in hawker heaven.

Claypots Evening Star

This iconic seafood institution gives punters the chance to chow down on market-fresh seafood cooked to perfection while taking in the sonorous vibes of live music, lending to their motto that "food is to the body as music to the soul".

With a history that started in St. Kilda in 1998 with their first Claypots venue, Claypots Evening Star has now established itself as a new stalwart in the Melbourne foodie scene, with a dedicated following of both locals and foreigners alike.

Boasting one of the best seafood pastas in town, the Classic Marinara Bianca, Claypots Evening Star is not just a restaurant – it's a bar, a place to meet friends old and new, and a venue that perfectly captures the spirit of Melbourne.

South Melbourne Market is open every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday with restaurants open seven days. Visit southmelbournemarket.com.au for details.