What a lovely little fromagerie in bustling Carlton. We decided to come here for a snack before lunch and ended up gorging on so much cheese and charcuterie that we didn't need lunch afterward. The staff were very friendly and knowledgeable. The ambiance is relaxed, and it's awesome to check out the huge glass display of hundreds of cheeses when you walk in. There are so many different types of cheese pairings and flights, with beer, wine, whiskey and even sake and cognac. They even do fondue, frittatas, pates and baked cheese dishes. We ordered a wine and cheese pairing and a side of prosciutto, honeyed burrata and some fresh bread. The cheese pairings were divine, a great way to sample mostly Victorian cheeses and wine but a few amazing French ones in there too. The burrata had a bit too much honey on it for my liking but it's all a matter of preference. There's also a huge space upstairs, and they do cheese trivia nights and special dinners like a Vietnamese and cheese meal (I'm so curious how those can really go together?!), I was bummed we don't actually live in Melbourne to take advantage of the fun events. If we're back in the area, we'll definitely come back! read more

This was such a fun and unique experience - such a great way for four friends to get together over good food and wine. Our table ordered 2 x wine flights, 1 x sparkling wine flight, a 5 x cheese board (too much for one person but oh my god that Gorgonzola!) and a mix of cold cuts and extras with the help of the staff. The atmosphere is cosy and friendly. The staff were friendly as well; one struggled with the tasting notes and forgot one of our drinks but perhaps this comes to experience? The staff were helpful in other ways talking us through the menu and assisting with which sides to have (although a couple were unavailable) The cheeses were amazing and I look forward to returning to try more dishes on the menu. For those first timers a flight and sides is a great way to get the Milk the Cow experience! They also do a beer flight and a whiskey flight - bottoms up! read more

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Came here twice during my stay in Melbourne. Great spot to grab some cheese to go and a glass of wine. My first trip, I grabbed a few cheese for take away to enjoy at home. The staff was helpful and knowledgeable in choosing cheeses. My second visit was much less positive. Stopped by for a wine and cheese flight which was nice. Service was exceptionally slow. We ordered a take away cheese and waited for more than 20 minutes after paying our bill. They apologized, but when we went home we found that in the delay they had also given us the wrong cheese. Very disappointing. Glad I had been before, because had this been my only experience I would not have come back. read more

Milk the Cow - Thinksweet_eats - Wine Bars Near Me - Melbourne, VIC

First step into this place and all you can smell is cheese cheese and more cheese. I love cheeseeeee sooo much. They have hundreds of cheeses on display in their cabinets which is awesome because you can see what you're tasting. This place does individual drinks if you're just wanting 1 drink or they do platters of different types of alcohol from wines, beers, cider, sake and the list just goes on. My friends and i ordered 3 platters of wine flight from the menu and 1 dessert wine flight to share. You have the choice of 30ml glasses or 90ml. We chose 30ml as 90ml would be too much to drink. All platters come with a cheese pairing and a slice of bread which was sooo good. I really enjoyed the wine tasting and it's such a great place to catch up with your friends for a chat. Definitely recommend this place and service was excellent. Love love love. Would come back here but probably try the St Kilda location next time. 2 thumbs up!! read more

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For the love of all the sweet cheese. I'm sure if Kayne drops by here he'll be changing his name from Yeezus to Cheeses and signing high praises to gouda. Thankfully Milk the Cow have taken one piece of advice from Mr West and gone North. It's a welcome respite from the faux I-talian restaurants that swamp Lygon St. There's now front door hawkers trying to bully you into for a meal. There's nice staff, ambient lighting and all the cheese. We stopped by, without reservation, on a Friday night for a girls session. The staff promptly found us a table and happily obliged with answering all the cheese questions. Between three of us we tried two flights- a sparkling and a wine. On offer is also a beer, whiskey or cider flight. As the dedicated friend and designated driver I opted for the smaller size drink flight. Perfectly paired sparkling with cheese. Even stinky blue cheese was eaten. After dipping into the cheese and ignoring the coma warning signals we also ordered a house selection of cheeses. Not badly price at $37 for 5 cheeses plus quince paste, a nutty/seed thingy and breads. One star was lost for the painfully slow service. It felt that we were put aside once it was discovered that we weren't going to be spending up huge amounts on booze. Even after declining more wine as a self declared driver the staff seemed a bit reserved when I asked about non-alcoholic drinks on offer. Drinks took awhile to come out as did bread to accompany the cheese. As an overly relaxed group we are easy money. Without a doubt I'll be back here again. Any excuse for cheeses. read more

Milk the Cow - Cheese my one true love - Wine Bars Near Me - Melbourne, VIC

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THEY HAVE 180 CHEESE TO CHOOSE FROM! Loads of cheese platters with your choice of wine, beer, gin, cider, whiskey and more! They have amazing drinks, so tasty and unique! I definitely recommend getting their espresso flip drink that has a piece of their espresso rind hard cheese as the garnish! Definitely a spin on the classic espresso martini! The boards are pretty decent in price as well. A flight of 4 samples of wine & 4 samples of cheese turned out to be $25AUD You NEED to visit this place, so perfect for date nights or family! read more

Spending time with friends over wine and cheese is definitely up there as one of life's simple pleasures, so Milk The Cow has certainly got the concept right with this eat-in cheese shop/wine bar. In my books, the cheese is the star here. A great chance to taste your way through lots of interesting and delicious options straight up on a board, with charcuterie, as fondue (oh hi 1970, welcome back!) or even in their own mac & cheese creation. As a bar, they serve wine, beer, sake and other spirits (even cheese and tequila matching!) which you can get by the glass, bottle or as a tasting flight. The flights are a bit of fun for a first visit and can be paired with cheese flights. Unfortunately I can't comment too much on the wine selection because I have found the St.Kilda store so bad on this front (both selection and staff knowledge) that in my mistrust I opted for beer when visiting the Carlton store. But my dining counterparts were happy with their selections. I think it's fine as a wine bar to go to for a casual drink with friends, but not my pick for Melbourne or somewhere I would ever send wine buffs. Not to be taken too negatively - some of my favourite places to drink wine can be a tad overwhelming to others so it is nice to have an easy crowd-pleaser. Seating wise, set up for small groups and couples along the wall, with a couple of larger tables at the back that can be reserved if you have a group of 6+. Not somewhere I would choose myself, but definitely somewhere I would happily join others to get excited over cheese with. read more

Milk the Cow - Wine Bars Near Me - Melbourne, VIC

Service was a little slow and not as friendly as one would hope but it's worth it for the tasty tasty cheese and pate -yum! Great spot to watch Lygon go by while feeling a bit posh and decadent read more

I wanted to like this place so much more as I love cheese and their selection is amazing. However so many aspects were just "meh" Service was friendly, but described the cheese flights as coming with "bread, lavash and quince". In reality, they just came with lavash that had too strong of a flavour for cheese. No sign of quince and when I requested bread, it took a long time to come. It was some lovely sourdough but also more damn lavash, something with fruit and nuts in it, and of course we were charged for it. Cheese is meant to be served with very plain crackers/bread so as not to conflict with/overpower the cheese. The accompanying wines ranged from "unremarkable" to "yuck". (We had the sparkling and the wine flight.) The Chardonnay that we purchased by the glass was lovely, so maybe they just use cheaper wines for the flight. The staff was all nice but I couldn't help feel disappointed overall. read more

Milk the Cow - Sparkling flight - Wine Bars Near Me - Melbourne, VIC

Other than avocado and chicken or Brad and Angelina, there are few things in this world that go better together than wine and cheese. Therefore I will forever be grateful to Milk the Cow and their incredible wine and cheese flights. Here's the deal - enjoy four different wines and four different cheese perfectly matched in delightful portion-controlled sizes. They come in two sizes, 30ml/15g or 90ml/30g - naturally I generally go with the latter because YOLO. Ladies and gents, I can assure you this is a life-changing flight. Sure, you will immediately have food-guilt upon completion and will likely have weird cheese dreams for the next three to four days, but it's worth it. A great spot to pop in to before or after catching a flick at the Nova. read more

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It is no secret that I a few guilty pleasures... Coffee, wine and cheese. I am not that different to most yelpers! This place has all three.. Lets start with the cheese... Cheese boards, tasting platters and cheese by weight!! Moving on to coffee... I didn't see any here, I was stuck on the cabinet of cheese!! Lastly, wine? well they have a great wine list, and a cider list, and a beer list and they even has sake!! it is truly amazing! You must give this a try! read more

Don't fall for their sparkling water method to try and suck more money out of you. Spent over $20 bucks on sparkling water after the final bill came out. Also asks for cheese samples, they will give you for free and free bread refills as well. read more

Milk the Cow - Cheese Fondue $17. 4/5 - Wine Bars Near Me - Melbourne, VIC

Walking into a cheese haven, the excitement builds as soon as you smell the cheese. With its quaint feel inside, it brings a homely feel as you sit down with friends. The cheese boards are always spot on and the cheese flights are a great way to start an afternoon off. Staff are informative and mostly friendly; only a couple give you those 'I'm above you feels.' read more

Came here twice during my stay in Melbourne. My second visit was much less positive. I wanted to like this place so much more as I love cheese and their selection is amazing. First step into this place and all you can smell is cheese and more cheese. read more

Fabulous wine and cheese bar. Really enjoyed the 'wine flight' which is 5 wines and matched cheeses. Excellent service and a great place all round. Will definitely return when next in Melbourne. read more

Milk the Cow - Wine Bars Near Me - Melbourne, VIC

I was a big fan of Milk the Cow when I first visited its flagship store in St Kilda in 2014. I still think the concept is appealing but I was very disappointed by my visit to the newer Lygon Street store yesterday. I opted for the three cheese cheeseboard recommended by the waiter, rather than the flight option. I ordered a glass of wine I enjoyed in spite of the price tag (a hefty $18.50). The cheeseboard was tasty but very measly and served with five small slides of bread. I had assumed that a $32 cheeseboard would offer twice the amount of food that was served to us. We requested more bread, and were subsequently charged $7. Four glasses of wine between two of us and the cheeseboard left us with a $100 bill. I really don't know how the store can justifiable charge these prices with other similar offerings close by. I won't be heading back. read more

And people wonder why I hate going north! The first waitress comes out, gives us water glasses and walks away with the water bottle - never to be seen again! The second waiter comes out, asks us if we've been served and walks away! Finally the second waiter comes back and takes our order, eventually delivering our port and runs for his life - if only looks could kill After this experience, don't think I'll bother going to the one on Fitzroy Street if this is the way they treat their customers read more

Came here once for lunch, had some hard goats cheese which I must say was amazing! The quince paste and crackers were also very flavoursome. I took some sheep's cheese and provolone home with me, both were amazing. One issue you may find is there are generally a lot of people there, so it can get quite cramped. We only just made it onto a table after waiting about half an hour. I think Milk the Cow is definitely worth the wait though! read more

Received a gift voucher for the wine & cheese flight & finally came on a hot Melbourne Sunday afternoon. Excellent explanation on arrival & detailed description of each chees & matching wine before starting. Cheddar & riesling pairing was the highlight but all were excellent. Ideal for small groups, especially after a movie across the road. read more

Other reviews that describe this as "cheese heaven" are correct. This place is to die for! Amazing selection of local and international cheeses, staff who really know their cheese, and a wonderful and varied wine selection. I've been here many times and it doesn't disappoint. I recommend the cheese and wine flight - a selection of 4 cheeses and matching wines. I've also had the champagne flight - fantastic! You can also have just a selection of cheeses and buy drinks by the glass / bottle, or you can create your own cheese tasting board. The best thing is that I find it really reasonably priced - I think my "champagne flight" had 4 x 30g cheeses and 4 x 90mL champagne / sparklng wine for $33. This place is a MUST for anyone visiting Melbourne and all cheese fans. The only downside is that, because it is SO good, you sometimes have to wait quite a while for a table (on a Saturday night, at least.) I've waited over 90 minutes for a table before (luckily there are other bars nearby where you can wait) so get in early !! (Like, 5:30pm early) read more

It took so long for our order to arrive (about 30 mins). I think they forgot about us. The cheese was fantastic however. It felt like they tried to cover up that they had forgotten about us. I've heard the St Kilda location is better. read more

I wined and dined at Milk the Cow, a licensed fromagerie and wine bar in St Kilda. We walked into Milk the Cow and immediately vibed with the atmosphere. Amy Winehouse, cushy banquettes, and a cheese case that made me wonder how vegans don't suffer from depression. We started off the evening with a glass of La Prova Prosecco from Victoria to get our appetites going. This was dinner for us, so we went big. The 5 cheese cheesemonger's choice board had a wide range of cheeses from France, the Netherlands, and of course Australia. Some were young and buttery, others aged for 2 years and super sharp. We were in heaven. The cheeseboard was served with crispy, house-made lavash and a few slices of french baguette. We tried 2 other wines that night - a Parker Estate Shiraz and a Kalleske GSM blend, both from South Australia. The Shiraz was very disappointing. Both wines were 12.50 AUD per glass, but the GSM was far tastier. All I could smell on the nose of the Shiraz was rubbing alcohol - maybe it was a bad batch? On the other hand, the GSM was scrumptious. The wine was full-bodied, had layered and complex flavors, with lots of ripe red fruits at first and ending with a mouthful of spice and soft tannins. After Izzy and I enjoyed the cheeseboard we still wanted more, so we ordered the de lasanis (translates to of lasagna). Milk the Cow is not a typical restaurant - more of a wine and cheese bar. Their only two cooked items are a baked brie and a mac'n'cheese (in addition to a few fondues). Like true Americans, we went with the mac'n'cheese aka de lasanis. Two different types of gruyere, truffle oil, and cognac added luxury to what resembled Easy Mac noodles. It was served in a miniature dutch oven set over a candlelit burner. The portion was comical for 19 AUD. Izzy and I joked that each of our noodles were delicious. While we won't be ordering the mac'n'cheese next time, we also won't go back to Milk the Cow for dinner. It is a great date spot (girls' night spot for all the single ladies) and a wonderful place for pre/post-dinner drinks and apps. Just don't go for dinner. The service by the waitstaff was a team effort, but Lewis served us for most of the evening. He was light, friendly, and charismatic. He also shared some information about a cheese + wine special that they have on Sundays! After we had paid, he even gave us both a tasting of the Riesling that is part of the special. We'll definitely be returning for another visit. read more

Fantastic place for wine and cheese - everything is delicious! The cheese and wine flights are particularly tasty - a great way to get energy for shopping around Carlton. read more

Fantastic cheese range with some excellent wines and beers to choose from too. Any lover of cheese will be right at home here. Sitting at the outside tables on Lygon Street (in the right weather) make for a very enjoyable evening. read more