From early days in 1967 as a simple shopping strip with a supermarket and 30 stores, central Glen Waverley has boomed into a large and vibrant retail and entertainment centre.
Dozens of restaurants, cafes and groceries line the bustling Kingsway, with Asian cuisine a speciality. The Glen shopping centre now boasts hundreds of stores and dining options, and the refurbished Century City Walk has a cinema multiplex and bowling alley to keep you entertained.
Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) East will deliver a brand new underground station in the heart of Glen Waverley, connecting even more people to this community, so let’s take a look at this ever-evolving suburb and its bright future.
- Dine out in the Kingsway district
Dozens of restaurants in the Kingsway district showcase cuisine from all over the world, with lovers of Chinese and Hong Kong cuisine especially spoiled for choice. There’s also Malaysian, Japanese, Korean and even South American. Fancy some Sri Lankan and North Indian cuisine? Then sample some mud crab curry, kotthu roti or wattalapam from Elephant Corridor, which offers a seasonal menu, a wide range of take-away dishes, outdoor dining and cocktails. If Thai is more your thing, try an entrée of money bags, a main of BBQ pork ribs and a dessert of Thai Ruby Pearls at Paradise Road. And then there’s the Aussie grill fare at Steak Ministry. If you’re not in the mood for a fillet, there’s fresh market fish – try the jumbo scallops – or Kentucky-style pork ribs.- Elephant Corridor | 3-minute walk from Glen Waverley station
- Paradise Road 3-minute walk from Glen Waverley station
- Steak Ministry | 1-minute walk from Glen Waverley station
- Enjoy a bubble tea or a coffee and shop at some Asian grocers
Relax with a super-popular bubble tea. Invented in Taiwan in the 1980s, the combo of tea and chewy topping has gained worldwide popularity over the past 30 years. Using black, oolong or green tea as the base, bubble tea comes with or without milk. The topping is often tapioca, but grass jelly, aloe vera and red bean are also favourites.There are numerous bubble tea cafes in Glen Waverley, such as Happy Cup, but there are also more traditional cafes for a caffeine pick-me-up. Mocha Jo’s is open for breakfast and lunch every day and for dinner on Friday and Saturday. Piatella Café Bar is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and specialises in European (especially Greek) cuisine. But if you’re keen to stock up on fresh produce and cook your own cooking, why not try one of Glen Waverley’s many specialty Asian grocers? There’s an extensive range, covering groceries from China, south-east Asia, and India.- Happy Cup | 1-minute walk from Glen Waverley station
- Mocha Jo's Restaurant | 3-minute walk from Glen Waverley station
- Piatella Café | 3-minute walk from Glen Waverley station
- Shop till you drop at The Glen Shopping Centre, then enjoy lunch with a view
The Glen boasts more than 240 stores, including a huge spread of specialty retailers – big brands like H&M and Uniqlo, David Jones and Target, and all the major supermarkets. The 2017 expansion includes a new fresh food market hall and food court, a new fashion and lifestyle precinct, a premium fashion hall, and a dining precinct with more than 10 new restaurants. The food court overlooking the corner of High Street and Springvale Road has a great view of the Dandenong Ranges.- 235 Springvale Road, Glen Waverley | 5-minute walk from Glen Waverley station
- Fall out of your seat and get bowled over at Century City
Billed as the entertainment capital of Glen Waverley, Century City has it all. Strike 10-pin bowling includes a private karaoke room, an escape room (featuring a spooky team-building puzzle experience) and pool tables, with the Century City Tavern and a string of restaurants nearby. The Village cinema multiplex offers 4DX cinemas, with high-tech moving seats and special effects including wind, fog, water and scents synchronised with the action on screen. The complex also includes Gold Class and extra-large V-Max cinemas.- Strike Bowling Glen Waverley
- Village Cinemas Century City
- 285-287 Springvale Road, Glen Waverley | 5-minute walk from Glen Waverley station
- Enjoy the Lunar New Year and Lantern Festival
The Glen Waverley Lunar New Year and Lantern Festival, celebrating the New Year across many Asian countries, is an annual highlight of Glen Waverley’s calendar. The festival bounced back in 2023 after a few years’ absence during the pandemic, and the next is scheduled for February 2024. Enjoy outdoor stalls of food and merchandise, street theatre and entertainment, cultural performances, arts and crafts, a children’s corner, and traditional Chinese medical and information booths from local community groups. Rituals, traditions and ceremonies designed to bring new luck and good fortune for the upcoming year are an important part of the celebrations.- February 2024
- Kingsway, Glen Waverley | 2-minute walk from Glen Waverley station
- Golden Age Glen Waverley Lunar New Year & Lantern Festival
The future of Glen Waverley with SRL East
Already thriving, Glen Waverley is set to boom when SRL East opens in 2035.
SRL will slash travel times and provide faster and more convenient access to The Glen Shopping Centre, local jobs and schools, as well as to universities, employment areas and hospitals to the north and south.
With SRL, Glen Waverley will have trains running in 3 directions: south to Monash University, Clayton and Cheltenham; north to Deakin University and Box Hill; and to the city on the existing metro line. In peak hours, SRL trains will initially run every 6 minutes, increasing in frequency as demand grows.
A journey from Glen Waverley to Monash University for lectures will take just 3 minutes with SRL; to Deakin University for classes, just 5 minutes.
A journey between Glen Waverley and Cheltenham will take just 15 minutes, meaning locals will save up to 2 hours on a public transport return journey from Glen Waverley to Southland Shopping Centre.
A new station plaza will be built next to Coleman Parade, including laneways and paved areas around the station entrance. There will be a seamless connection to the existing Glen Waverley station forecourt, which will be upgraded.
The SRL station will have 600 bicycle parking spaces, making it easier and more convenient for people to ride to and from the station.
And new recreation spaces, community facilities and walking and cycling links will make Glen Waverley an even more attractive and vibrant place to live, work and visit.
The new station will attract clusters of new businesses, better local services and more housing, with local employment opportunities expected to more than double to around 25,000 when SRL is fully delivered.
A local's perspective
