Riding around any city in a tram always feels a bit special, but few cities can do a tram ride like Melbourne.
Sure San Francisco may have the iconic ride over the hill, but Melbourne is not far behind in terms of being famous for trams.
It becomes even more special when one of the trams is actually a restaurant on wheels!
Since the first meal was served onboard in 1983 the Tramcar has become one of the must do activities in Melbourne. The chance to dine in a fine restaurant while it winds its way through the streets of one of the world’s great cities is a unique experience.
I was lucky enough to experience it myself as part of a tour with All Australian Journeys, and it was definitely one of the standouts of the trip.
The interior of the carriages are decked out like the grand old first class trains of old, dressed in fine burgundy and gold with dark timber tables and beautiful lamps.
The Tramcar offers two dinner services. We were booked on the early option which runs for one hour and forty minutes, with a 5.45pm start and a 3 course fine dining experience paired with unlimited wines, beers and spirits.
The 8pm service is an hour longer and ups the ante with a five course meal.
From my experience, and if the option was available, I would take the later and longer dining experience, even though the price is obviously higher. I found the early dinner to be just the right amount of time to eat but left no time to enjoy the tram ride through the streets.
It is a strange feeling to have people in cars or pedestrians watch you eat whenever you are stopped at traffic lights. But it’s also fun to be eating an amazing meal and watch them watching you!
If you happen to be in Melbourne make sure you experience the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant for it surely has to be one of the great and most unique dining experiences you can enjoy at a reasonable price.
What a fun idea!! It sounds like a great fun evening out. New Orleans (near me) has the trolleys, but it would be so cool to have one as a restaurant. I am putting this on the list to do when I visit Melbourne. Thanks for sharing!
It is definitely a worthwhile experience. And I am heading to New Orleans later this year for the first time.
So glad to see you wrote about this tramcar ride. Each time I’ve visited Melbourne I’ve wanted to have a meal on this tram and somehow never have. Thank you so much, it looks amazing and I WILL make sure I get there next time!
I had never had much interest in Melbourne before but when I was invited on this trip it looked interesting. The Tramcar was a great experience but, as I mentioned, a bit more time to watch the city go by would have been nice.