Victoria’s best new restaurants offer diners a whole world of flavour
Refined French classics, bold Portuguese dishes, and punchy offerings from regional Thailand and India – Victoria’s best new dining experiences showcase a world of flavour.
From Melbourne’s bustling streets to the serene landscapes of the Mornington Peninsula,
these are our picks of the ‘hottest’ dining destinations in Victoria, as featured in the Hot 50 Restaurants issue of The Weekend Australian Magazine.
We’ve assembled a list of standout new venues and experiences captivating food lovers in Victoria – and there are plenty of them. After all, this is the Australian state which has long been synonymous with premier food and hospitality, and it remains so today with a series of 2024-25 openings showcasing the talent of kitchen staff, and the robust produce of the region.
What is more evident than ever is the diverse multicultural cuisine. Entries below cover refined French classics to bold Portuguese flavours, and punchy dishes from regional Thailand and India.
TOP VICTORIA RESTAURANTS
Marmelo, Melbourne
A Sydney chef/restaurateur in a Melbourne hotel serving Portuguese food is a recipe that surely cannot work, you’d think. And yet Marmelo, the new Russell Street restaurant of Ross Lusted (formerly of Woodcut and the much-missed Bridge Room), is that mercurial thing – a venue that defies how it seems on paper. Occupying a street-level space in the seriously lovely Melbourne Place hotel, the restaurant is glassy and brassy and yet the warmth coming out of the kitchen in dishes such as wood-roasted cockerel with African spices, chilli and fried potatoes, and calamari with goat milk butter and soft herbs, is winning fans – and not just those bunkered down for the night in the hotel. Expect bold flavours, big ideas and a lot of gloss. This is a restaurant that shows that hotel dining can be so good you won’t want to leave the premises, even in a city crowded with options.
Maison Batard, Melbourne
Restaurateur Chris Lucas hasn’t divulged how much he spent creating Maison Batard, his extravagant homage to all things French in Bourke Street, but he’s going to have to sell a lot of chateaubriand to make his money back. Because to sit in this sumptuous dining room is to be pampered by visual splendour. From the cold seafood bars to the cocktail and desert trolleys that roam the room, there is always something to look at here. The food is sharp and precise French fare, a panoply of classics from the aforementioned steak for two served tableside, to oysters, Comté gougères, tuna Niçoise salade, lobster omelette, chicken liver paté, King George whiting with mustard Parisienne and roasted John Dory with chardonnay caper sauce. There’s steak, there’s salad, there’s duck, there’s seafood, there’s pommes frites, there’s petits pois et lardons, there’s chocolate mousse. There’s everything you could possibly want, and then some. Félicitations, Monsieur Lucas.
Barragunda Dining, Mornington Peninsula
Another Australian dining trend that shows no sign of slowing is the old-fashioned art of presenting fresh-sourced produce in the simplest form possible, allowing each sun-ripened or grass-fed element to shine. The 40-seat Barragunda Dining at Cape Schanck on the Mornington Peninsula is a queen of the genre, making use of the very best fruit, vegetables, beef and lamb from the restaurant’s own 400ha estate, complemented by local seafood and wines. The results – served in a four-course tasting menu ($155) – are gentle and restrained: tomatoes served with stracciatella, the brine of Mornington mussels playing off a smooth sunflower cream. This is not food for those who seek flashiness or restaurant-y tricks, but for anyone who knows nature is the best chef of all.
Kolkata Cricket Club, Melbourne
Regional rather than generic “Indian food” is beginning to get a stronger grip on the Broad Australian psyche (see also Kolkata Social in Sydney and Enter Via Laundry in Melbourne). Bengali cuisine is the focus at this palm-tree-printed restaurant inside Melbourne’s Crown Casino, led by rising star Mischa Tropp. Puchka (the Bengali version of panipuri) delivers a tangy jolt from its filling of tamarind water, while the kosha mangsho (goat curry) reminds diners of its Bengali roots with its punch of mustard oil. The wine list is a mix of familiar local and international bottles, along with a section dedicated to Indian producers based in Australia.
R. Harn, Melbourne
Fans of Soi 38 know that the beloved carpark restaurant (which has recently moved inside a more traditional four walls) is one of the best places in Melbourne to devour tablefuls of northern and Bangkok-style Thai dishes. Now Soi has a southern sister, R. Harn, on La Trobe Street. Southern Thai cuisines tends to bring the heat, like a piquant, sour gaeng som curry, and there’s also a focus on seafood, like a sweet-and-spicy caramelised squid. The mashup of retro chairs and multi-patterned crockery gives the restaurant a homely, lo-fi atmosphere.
Morena, Melbourne
Peruvian-born chef Alejandro Saravia’s first iteration of Morena hit the Melbourne dining scene in 2011, slinging Latin-American plates for two years before calling last orders. After the doors shut, Saravia busied himself with Farmer’s Daughters and Victoria by Farmer’s Daughters, leaving the Morena concept to lie fallow but not forgotten. Now resurrected in Little Collins Street, Morena brings a cache of Latin influences from Central America to the Caribbean Coast, all backdropped by Aussie ingredients. Opt in for Otway pork chicharron skewers and pisco prawns from South Australia paired with excellent Latino vino.
Gigi, Prahran, Melbourne
An antidote to the blondwood hues and smoothed edges of fashion-adherent interiors, Gigi is an elaborate velvet-trimmed parlour of candelabras and cut glass, where the tarts are embellished with caviar, the prawn cocktail’s Marie Rose sauce is moussed, and mushrooms are draped in bechamel. Sister to beloved brasserie Entrecote, this heavily French-accented wine bar has arrived in Prahran ready to pop the Champagne for all manner of occasions, from clandestine late-night rendezvous to Sunday afternoon high teas.
Times New Roman, Brunswick East, Melbourne
It’s pasta for the people at this Brunswick East spin-off from popular eatery Good Times. With an ethos that prizes that extra glass of pinot and weekly reruns by patrons over a one-and-done outing that drains the bank account for a month, Times New Roman’s owners are continuing to roll out budget-crisis-compatible hospitality. There’s a rotation of six pastas, which start at just $6 a plate, plus antipasti plates, that all do nicely with the list of affordable wines (by the glass for less than $12), beers and cocktails. In true democratic fashion, walk-ins and bookings are both welcome, but space is limited.
Chandon Homestead, Coldstream
The first cuvées of Chandon’s Yarra Valley estate were released in 1989. Since then it’s been an eternal popping of corks, with sparkling devotees making their way to the property to sip and savour. The newest experience, unveiled this year, offers a private Etoile tasting for one in the heritage Chandon Homestead, restored so magnificently this year under the steerage of Melbourne-based interior designer Melanie Beynon. The bespoke tasting, including cheese and canapes, is $90.
View the Hot 50 FULL LIST here.
To discover the best new restaurants in NSW click here
To discover the best new restaurants in Queensland click here
To discover the best new restaurants in South Australia click here
To discover the best new restaurants in Tasmania click here
To discover the best new restaurants in Western Australia click here
Australia’s Hot 50 Restaurants has been compiled for The Australian Weekend Magazine by Elizabeth Meryment, with additional submissions from Alexandra Carlton, Lara Picone, Nick Ryan and Max Brearly.
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