Time Out tip: The menu here is humongous (more than 200 items), so bring a couple of friends so you can order more dishes to try!. There’s something to be said for constancy in the restaurant world. This venerable establishment perched aloft Chinatown built its reputation the old-fashioned way – with straight-up excellent Cantonese food served until 2.30am, making it a magnet for the city’s hospo crowd looking for a post-work feed that wouldn’t break the bank.

Celestial AveSupper Inn is old-school Chinese eatery-style, open past midnight most nights, serving up live seafood, share plates and flowing BYO into the wee hours. They have everything from duck pancakes, to whole baked barramundi, to classic fried rice, tripe, dumplings, honey soy chicken, you name it, it’s in Supper Inn’s overwhelmingly heavy laminated menu. They don’t have any socials (always a sign of authentic food tbh), but turn down Celestial Ave, just off Little Bourke Street, and you can’t miss the big vertical neon sign.

If you’re in need of a Cantonese feast, look no further than Supper Inn — true to its name, it’s got a late-night inn feeling about it and is invariably busy and buzzy right up until its 2.30am closing time. BYO bottle of grog and feast on Cantonese classics from its extensive menu like wok-fried noodles, claypot rice or signature crispy roast pork. Also good is the rice congee — basically a bowl of tastier porridge for you to say good morning to the world with, before you go straight to bed.

You cannot realistically call yourself a Melburnian if you haven’t, in any of the decades since Supper Inn opened in 1977, scaled the stairs to pick over a late-night feast of tasty Cantonese classics with a pack of famished friends. Dishes like roast suckling pig over-deliver, as does a particularly fortifying hot-and-sour soup, while the lively atmosphere and no-frills but ultra-efficient service make you glad to be a night owl. 15 Celestial Avenue, Melbourne

Location: Level 1/15 Celestial Ave, Melbourne, VIC 3000 Ph: (03) 9663 4759. The Supper Inn has been a staple of the Melbourne dining scene for over 35 years and remains one of the most influential Chinese restaurants that the city has to offer. Known for its wide selection of authentic dishes, this restaurant is popular favourite among tourists and locals alike.

For those who crave Chinese food in the middle of the night, visit the Supper Inn. The Supper Inn canon includes pippies in XO, steamed oysters in ginger and soy, and spicy fried quail, and it has been reliably packing a late-night clientele for 40 years. Barbecued suckling pig is always a fantastic idea, no matter what time of day it is.

A long-standing institution of Melbourne’s Chinatown, what The Supper Inn lacks in frills it more than makes up for in flavour and general culinary badass-ery. Settle in for a late-night dinner to remember. Be sure to come with a large group (try to keep the raucousness at a minimum) and order as much as the table can handle.

Another one of the best things to do in Melbourne after dark is grabbing late-night feed at Supper Inn. It’s never a bad idea to tackle some Chinese food but there’s something extra cool about eating it at 2am. Supper Inn has earned a reputation for serving up Cantonese-style dishes well into the early hours of the morning.

On entering Supper Inn, you get the sense it hasn’t altered much since it first opened its doors in 1977, with its wood-paneled stairs. As you make your way up the squeaky stairwells, you’ll remember that sensation forever. This supper Inn is best for its classy delicious food in Melbourne’s Chinese Restaurant baysid e.

The best diners are there for you when you need a late-night feed. Supper Inn does not disappoint, welcoming hungry punters until 2.30am. Unassuming and unchanged since the ‘70s, the inn is all about classic Cantonese fare.

When it comes to putting a date on Supper Inn, let’s just say it threw open its doors around the time when Malcolm Fraser was Prime Minister, which means it’s reached the restaurant year equivalent of the Qing dynasty.

Just ask Melbourne’s top chefs – especially after a closing shift. Cantonese food at its best, and least pretentious. Come for chicken congee, XO pippies with Chinese doughnuts and roasted suckling pig.