Republic Economica — Restaurant in Melbourne

I visited Republic Economica in September 2025 on a Sunday afternoon with a friend to catch her cousin performing a live DJ set. We drove and managed to park right next to the venue, but it’s also super easy to get to by public transport with South Yarra Station just across the road. It has a really cool open front design, where you can see in from the street and people can sit at a bar style tabletop looking out. Inside, the vibe is cosy and welcoming, with comfy seating and a fun couch area right in the middle near the decks. They host local DJs every day, with the lineup posted on the wall, and I love how much they support up and coming talent. It gives the whole place a great community feel.

The menu is excellent and surprisingly affordable for South Yarra. They serve both coffee and alcohol from a beautiful bar setup, plus regular specials. My friend and I shared a margarita pizza with the most delicious puffy crusts and a proper wood fired flavour, along with a bowl of chips that were honestly some of the best I’ve had lately. The chips came with an amazing dip that I’m still thinking about. I also ordered a hot chocolate that arrived in the cutest cup and saucer set, which was such a nice touch. The venue itself is beautifully decorated, with greenery, nice lighting, and a really warm, atmosphere. Even the bathrooms are lovely, set down a corridor draped with fabric decorations and featuring a full-length mirror. Everything felt well looked after.

The staff were absolutely wonderful, so friendly and kind. I even accidentally knocked over a flower display, and they came over with nothing but understanding and good humour, which made me feel a whole lot better. Republic Economica is such a gem in South Yarra. Whether you’re into music and want to catch some live local DJ sets, or just want an affordable and tasty meal in a cosy creative space, the energy, service, and atmosphere are all fantastic! The music is pumping yet it’s still a great place to catch up and chat. I can see why it’s loved by the community and highly recommend...

Came to Republic for a quick lunch as the menu outside was very diverse and looked delicious. When we entered there was no clear area to wait and we were uncertain if we seated ourselves or waited to be shown a table. The staff behind the counter were busy preparing drinks so we waited patiently. We wandered in a little further in and were directed to a table by the manager (we assumed). We then waited 10 minutes to be given menus/water. It seemed as though the waitresses on duty were very busy so this was okay, it was just odd that the man who directed us to the table didn't drop off water/menus also, but seemed to be wandering around doing other prep. When we received the menus the waitress was very polite and apologised for the wait (she was lovely) I then ordered a drink with her while we took a few minutes to look over the menu. At this point we realised the prices were different to those on the menu on the exterior of the building, and some of the options were different (i.e. Red Wine Jus was listed as a sauce option for the steak outside, this was not on the indoor menu) This didn't matter as we were still happy with the options - just a bit confusing. After sitting for approx 2 mins, a different waitress came over and asked if we wanted any drinks - I noted we had ordered one already but we would like to now order our lunch ( 2 x steak) and a juice.

After 45 minutes of waiting our steaks arrived and we queried where the juice was, this had been forgotten but was quickly brought out. The waitress was apologetic and I had a feeling they were just incredibly busy (which is why we didn't chase the juice sooner).

The food was wonderful - fresh, good portions and decently priced. The only let-down was the long wait, missing item and seemingly overwhelmed staff. I

Long story short - wonderful food, but don't head here if you want...

My partner and I stopped for some lunch and honestly left feeling pretty upset.

We ordered a pizza, sandwich and soft drinks and the couple next to us ordered a burger and sandwich at the same time, but only ours never came out.

As the couple next to ours finished eating I realised how long we have been waiting (around 45 minutes) and I attempted to wave and catch the staffs attention, unfortunately they didn't not come over.

We noticed they finally had a pizza and sandwich only to bring it over to another table for them to instantly notice it was the wrong one and bring it back to the kitchen, we then decided to wait 5 min as they most likely made a mistake.

As it came around the 50 min mark we weren't going to wait any longer as we had to leave. I went to the counter and let them know we have to go in which they said the food is ready now and we can just take away the food. My partner being non confrontational and both of us just plain starving said okay, and paid for the meal which included the drinks that I didn't even touch (as I wait to drink with my meal). I was more inclined to just pay for the soda my partner consumed and that's all.

We left feeling that the staff had no empathy or understanding. A simple "hey guys we're running a bit late today" or "we're new" or "we're understaffed" or "we accidentally messed up is this okay" would have been amazing, because I've worked in retail and hospitality for 10+ years and truly understand the struggle, but being sat down for so long only to have to pay $50 for takeaway for now a cold pizza and sandwich without being updated or even acknowledged was not a great experience.

I hope you can take this and pass it on so others can have a better experience than our one.

edit

Place has had a total rebrand, food was cheap and great quality. Drinks great. New...