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Scallop tartare with caviar at Tartine in Richmond.

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Melbourne restaurant reviews 2022

Catch up on The Age chief restaurant critic Besha Rodell's reviews, as published in Good Food on Tuesdays and Good Weekend on Saturdays.

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Rodell enjoyed many solo lunches of khao soi at tiny Thai restaurant Soi 38.

Year in review(s): Besha Rodell's Melbourne dining highlights of 2022

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Truffle-poached lobster.
14/20

Le Bouchon's lobster is a love letter to classic French cooking, near Daylesford

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: The "carrot, carrot" side dish is carrot to the power of carrot.
13.5/20

Fire-driven Fitzroy newcomer Flint is a hot prospect

  • Besha Rodell
Fish-on-seafood-on-fish: Roast turbot with smoked mussles.
14.5/20

Wine meets wood-fire at Richmond hotspot Clover

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Chicken milanese torta.
13.5/20

Retro diner meets hipster taqueria at Frankie's Tortas and Tacos in Fitzroy

  • Besha Rodell
Steak tartare with oyster cream and Yorkshire pudding.
Good Food hat15/20

Why The Lincoln holds a magical place among Melbourne's beloved pubs

  • Besha Rodell
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The "after service sandwich" filled with Maha's signature lamb shoulder.
13.5/20

Jayda serves Maha's famous lamb shoulder in a sandwich

  • Besha Rodell
The "cheese course": Yunnan milk curd and bing bread.
Good Food hatGood Food hat16/20

Why Lee Ho Fook is still one of the best restaurants in the city

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Akitma - mini crumpets with taramasalata and salmon roe.
13.5/20

Melbourne's Turkish wine bar Nazar is worth a look

  • Besha Rodell
The nine tapas tasting box.
14/20

North Melbourne's Sakedokoro Namara will transport you to Tokyo

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dishes: Pickled mussels with a side of flatbread.
14/20

This Bonny bar snack combo is not to be missed

  • Besha Rodell
Arepitas topped with confit duck.
14/20

Tino brings a taste of Latin America to Sydney Road

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Murray cod with broad beans.
14.5/20

One Trick Pony captures Melbourne's palomino glow

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Crab tartine.
14/20

Toast with the most at Richmond charmer Tartine

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Peking duck.
Good Food hatGood Food hat17/20

Icon review: Flower Drum is a drum worth beating

  • Besha Rodell
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Go-to dish: Abalone with smoked eel.
Good Food hatGood Food hat16/20

Fen's truly exceptional tasting menu is worth travelling for

  • Besha Rodell
Pizza with spanner crab, yellow tomato sauce, grilled zucchini and mizuna.
14.5/20

Italian-style pizza meets modern Australiana at Figlia

  • Besha Rodell
Chicken schnitzel with mustard gravy and fennel salad.
13.5/20

Fitzroy North's Royal Oak Hotel feels like the real deal again

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Ultimate bowl with prawns, scallops, calamari, crispy pork, instant noodles and egg yolks.
14/20

Why Soi 38 is one of the most fun places to eat in Melbourne

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Green-chilli pickled mussels.
14/20

Ides' casual spin-off has a real feeling of specialness

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Fazzoletti pasta with prawns, fried nettles, ricotta and lemon.
14/20

Donna Maria is a gem of a restaurant on the Mornington Peninsula

  • Besha Rodell
Rabbit, pork and veal agnolotti.
Good Food hat15/20

Scopri is the best of what Melbourne's Italian restaurants used to be like

  • Besha Rodell
Strato faces the CBD, with a view over the Convention and Exhibition Centre.
12.5/20

Plenty of swanky LA-style, not much substance at this hotel restaurant in the sky

  • Besha Rodell
Crispy deep-fried chicken wings with chilli sauce.
13.5/20

German drinks meet Malaysian snacks at Zaubertrank, Thornbury

  • Besha Rodell
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Go-to dish: Tarte tatin.
14/20

Victoria by Farmer's Daughters puts the state on plate

  • Besha Rodell
Chopped Cambodian fried chicken and rice.
13/20

Cambodia's Kitchen brings a taste of Cambodia to the CBD

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Beef Wellington.
14.5/20

Marble & Pearl serves surf and turf with retro flourish

  • Dani Valent
Otsukuri (sashimi plate of the day).
14.5/20

Melbourne's Asoko is a tiny omakase with big plans

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Steamed tapioca pearls.
Good Food hat15.5/20

Great balls of tapioca! Jeow serves the 'dish of the century'

  • Besha Rodell
Whole chicken plate with pickles, pita and toum (tangy garlic sauce).
13/20

Sydney's cult chicken chain hits Melbourne. Here's our verdict

  • Besha Rodell
Wagyu.
Good Food hat15/20

Glen Waverley's Marble Yakiniku offers an embarrassment of magnificence

  • Besha Rodell
The Boiling Crab offers ungodly amounts of crab and other crustaceans.
10/20

Big chain, small reward at The Boiling Crab

  • Besha Rodell
The gold-domed barbecue is surrounded by a well that’s filled with bone broth.
13.5/20

Join the queue for hotpot meets barbecue

  • Besha Rodell
"Bloody delicious": Crab doughnut.
14/20

Benchmark bar snacks and 'bloody delicious' doughnuts at Dessous

  • Besha Rodell
Lamb shoulder with almond sauce, anchovy, parmesan and pine nuts.
14/20

Hotel Bellinzona's lamb shoulder is a thing of glory

  • Besha Rodell
Buckwheat risotto with truffle.
14/20

Neighbourhood restaurant Henry Sugar punches well above its weight

  • Besha Rodell

Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/goodfood/eating-out/melbourne-restaurant-reviews-2022-20220427-h23dp0.html