Herald Sun food editor Kara Monssen’s must-try restaurant dishes 2025

Burgers, cheesecake and a tricked-up pavlova. Make sure these restaurant dishes are at the top of your ‘to eat’ list this year.

2024 was another rewarding year of eating in Melbourne.

From superb snacks, surprising desserts and great-value suburban finds, here are the top dishes Herald Sun food editor Kara Monssen can’t stop thinking about — and the eats you must try heading into the New Year.

Toddy Shop’s curries change often — so if you see goat, get it. Picture: Hayden Dibb

Toddy Shop’s goat Ishtu curry

Rear 191A Smith St, Fitzroy

You have to get the goat curry. A non-negotiable rule I heard on talkback radio years ago has never led me astray. Surely not applicable in every scenario, but when you’re out for Indian and you can picture glorious hunks of meat falling off the bone into a velvety rich stew that’s been simmering for hours on end, can you really say no?

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A textural masterpiece. Picture: Kristofer Paulsen

Saint George’s burnt pavlova

Saint George Tavern and Grill, 54 Fitzroy St, St Kilda

Celebrity chef Karen Martini’s pavlova ($28 for two) is sure to convert “pav haters” with every bite. Think borderline burnt meringue with a smash cake shattery-ness, toppling with an avalanche of textures: pert raspberries, tart raspberry jam and jelly, zesty curd, diplomat cream and a cool touch of fior di latte. Plot twist: it’s not stupidly sweet.

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Of all tuna tartare in Melbourne, I can get behind Lucia’s version. Picture: Supplied.

Lucia’s raw tuna, white anchovies

Lucia, 11 Eastern Rd, South Melbourne

Don’t call time on raw tuna until you’ve tried Lucia’s take. Whispering in fluent Italian, our sultry sea friend seductively wraps its way around your fork like leggy prosciutto. Fermented tomato dressing, romesco and white anchovies pop off like pizza – the salt, tang, pepper heat! Boom! It’s even more affordable now than it was last month, thanks to a seasonal menu change (from $32 to $30). Mediterranean through and through, it’s unlike anything you’ll eat. Kudos, chef Jordan Clavaron.

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Bistra’s burger is gloriously meaty. Picture: Becca Crawford.

Bistra’s cheeseburger

Bistra, 157 Elgin St, Carlton

The Fitzroy bistro’s cheeseburger ($32) is something to behold — all shiny tan milkbun, fat with a charry beef and brisket mince patty, frilly lettuce and a sloppy burger sauce that ties it all together. The well-seasoned meat is more interesting with every messy mouthful, the fries salty and snappy where they count.

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Forget the wine (if you can, the list is phenomenal) and try the calamari.

Circl’s calamari, ndjua, chilli oil

Circl Wine House, 22 Punch Ln, Melbourne

Glowing so brightly with chilli and ’’nduja, you’ll need shades inside. This knockout calamari dish is so tender it slips from my fork like jelly through chopsticks. The heat, meaty morcilla (blood sausage) richness, a tingle lingering for eternity ... it’s one of those powerhouse dishes that’ll have you wanting more and more.

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The ramen scotch egg is one of the many superb snacks at Reed House. Picture: Wayne Taylor.

Reed House’s ramen scotch egg

Reed House, The Manse Building, 130 Lonsdale St, Melbourne

Chef Mark Hannell, life and business partner Rebecca Baker and Michael Bascetta (ex-Made Well Group) nail the ‘dinner at our house’ brief at their first city project. While most things at Reed House were exceptional, the ramen scotch egg ($14) was a standout snack. Hiding a perfectly jammy googer within its porky breadcrumbed mass, dab in a sparky mushroom sauce and feel everything fall into place. More please, and then some.

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Gotcha! This cheesecake is made with feta.

Tzaki’s baked feta cheesecake

Tzaki, 31 Ballarat St, Yarraville

Another Tzaki ‘gotcha moment’ from chefs Alexi Xinis and Shehan Setunga is the surprisingly salty cheesecake dessert. It has a warm custardy texture, followed by a swift mandolin glide of lime rind … then a whack of feta salt. Pwoar. The undeniable dairy funk, as clear as coriander in your cereal, is the real winner here.

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Papelon’s cazuela de mariscos is swimming with fresh seafood fished from Footscray Market. Picture: David Caird

Papelon’s cazuela de mariscos

Papelon, 190/81 Hopkins St, Footscray

The Footscray Market’s new Venezeulean restaurant — and perhaps Melbourne’s only — is responsible for native Latin eats. The cazuela de mariscos is a sunny coconut milk-based soup with an ocean of seafood (sourced from the market), served traditionally with white rice. Tender white fish, squid, baby octopus, prawns and pipis: all perfectly cooked, the silky broth an ode to the tropics with a fat wedge of avocado on top. It’s unlike anything I’ve tried before. God-tier produce shines brightly throughout.

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Melbourne’s OG doughnut king does it again with his savoury halloumi doughnuts.

Maven’s halloumi doughnut

Maven by Morgan, 402 Brunswick St, Fitzroy

We cannot forget those doughnuts from Melbourne’s own doughnut king. At Maven, chef Morgan Hipworth’s take reminds me of French snack pommes dauphine, made from marvellous blobs of fried choux and mashed potato. Here, the ping pong sized orbs are each nuzzle-warm and smooshable as the next, caught in a snowstorm of danish feta, with tart plum jam their saviour. Chef Morgan Hipworth has reinvented the Spanish doughnut, swapping the spiny long churros for a three-cheese ball of halloumi, smoked mozzarella, parmesan and choux. And we can’t get enough.

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