Queen Victoria Market: Melbourne, Australia

After our visit to the Old Melbourne Gaol, we ventured to the Queen Elizabeth Market, which was easily one of the places I was most excited to visit during our time in Melbourne. Founded in 1878, the market has been operating continuously ever since and represents the largest covered market in the southern hemisphere.

When we entered, we were immediately presented with absolutely packed alleyways - so many people doing their grocery shopping! The aisles lead away from the entrance like spokes on a wheel and each one was lined with shops offering all kinds of products.

We found ourselves in the meat and fish section of the market, which was easily the busiest area. We couldn't believe the variety of items on sale and the prices were seriously impressive. Even though Australia has a reputation for being pretty pricey, we actually found the market costs to be really reasonable. For example, a kilo of ground beef was on sale for $6.99 - that's about half the price we'd pay in London!

In particular, we were impressed with the range of meats on offer - multiple stands had options like wild boar, crocodile, and emu. We weren't sure if these were mainly for tourists or speciality meals though since the busier stands were the ones with the more traditional offerings.

Further into the market, we came to the covered area that holds the organic section. Again, we were blown away by the quality and quantity of the fresh produce! If we lived in Melbourne, I'd definitely be coming here for my shopping!

Everything looked so vibrant and healthy - I can see why YouTube is full of Aussie vegans and vegetarians living their best lives... our mouths were watering just looking at all the amazing produce!

After building up an appetite looking at all the beautiful food, we quickly moved over to the prepared foods section of the market in search of some tasty treats! First up: a "mini oggie" from Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses.

A mini version of the popular Tiddly Oggie, this was a little pastry filled with beef and vegetables. It was very similar to the Cornish pasties we get here in the UK and just as delicious. We went with the mini version so that we'd have plenty of room for additional treats and we were very glad we did considering how many stalls we had to choose from!

At the "Diannes Delights" stall, we found a wide selection of deli meats, dips and antipasti. We decided to pick up a couple of meat skewers (one to eat right there and then and the other to take with us on our road trip) but it was definitely difficult to resist the other antipasti options. If we had been staying in Melbourne longer, and had a proper kitchen, then we could have had a lot of fun shopping here!

Next up was a visit to the Borek shop. We'd seen several reviews of the market that specifically recommended this stand so we of course had to give it a try! It was easily one of the busier stands so clearly lots of other people had the same idea.

When Matt finally got to the front of the line, he ordered us two different boreks: the spinach and feta, and the spicy lamb. We decided to take them outside since it was so crowded and found a little seating area just outside the market entrance. We were lucky to grab a table and settled into try our spoils. The lamb was definitely spicy but we preferred it to the spinach and feta. Both were delicious though and we'd definitely recommend a stop at this stand!

While he was ordering, Matt spotted they had lamb wraps for only $2 AUD so of course he had to grab one. We were so full that we decided to keep the wrap for breakfast the next day. It looked beautiful though - lots of fresh salad and the lightly spiced lamb. Delicious!

Finally, we made our way outside to see the final food stands. We had seen these potato twist sticks all over the internet before our trip so of course we had to try one when we spotted this stand! We went for a simple chicken salt and it was just so good. Chicken salt might be one of my favorite Aussie items - I wish we used it here!

Overall, the market definitely lived up to its reputation and we're so glad we were able to visit! The prices were really reasonable too: each borek was $4, the lamb wrap was $2, the mini oggie pie was $2.50, the meat skewers were 2 for $10, and the potato twist was $6. All in, our lunch adventure cost $28.50 AUD (about £14 GBP) and we had an entire lamb wrap leftover along with some snacks for our adventure down the Great Ocean Road. Not too shabby!

There are also stands selling souvenirs and clothing too so we'd definitely recommend giving yourself plenty of time to explore!

Details:

Website: https://qvm.com.au/

Address: Queen Street, Melbourne, 3000

Hours: 6am - 3pm (Tuesday, Thursday and Friday), 6am - 4pm (Sat/Sun). Closed Mondays.

Wednesday Night Market: 5pm-10pm (Spring/Summer)