The new year is blasting out cobwebs and prompting chefs and owners of several restaurants to make a move.

Sparks are set to fly at Firebird in 2023 with the arrival of rising star Nabil Ansari as head chef. Ansari comes from a sous chef role at Sunda as well as experience at The European and Sunda's EXP pop-up, at which he was head chef.

But he also garnered attention for his own recipes under the Ansari Indian banner, a lockdown project that saw the Mumbai-born chef recreating key dishes from his upbringing, such as lamb dum biryani.

At Firebird he'll be sticking to the Vietnamese brief, but adding more French technique. The signature duck is now smoked before being cooked, then served with a classic jus and radicchio salad. A hot-cold dessert features condensed milk parfait topped with a hot mousse, both infused with Vietnamese coffee.

The sea-facing Loti, part of the ritzy Saint Moritz apartments in St Kilda, has taken a new direction after the departure of Elijah Holland, who helped launch the restaurant in June.

His successor at Loti is Davide Amato (ex Cappo Sociale in Fitzroy), who has moved away from Holland's wild and foraged menu to put a Mediterranean stamp on things.

Holland has become the new executive chef at Belongil Beach Italian Food in Byron Bay, owned by Maurice Terzini. Holland is also working on a new restaurant next door with Terzini's business partner, Deke Miskin, focused on seafood, vegetables and plant-based dishes.

Across town in Fitzroy, Katie Marron is selling Suzi Cheek's, the business that started life as Miss Katie's Crab Shack, to shift to Adelaide.

The move takes her closer to the crab fishermen she worked with closely for 10 years, enabling her to revive the crab shack at pop-ups and as a seasonal port-side restaurant. The Euro-style dishes she cooked at Suzi Cheek's will get an outlet at other temporary gigs.

Marron says she's been seeking a quieter pace for several years but a long-distance relationship has prompted her to make the move.

The petite and modest Westwood in West Melbourne is also up for sale. Restaurant owner Michael Underwood is starting a family and seeking day-time hospitality hours. Since the departure of chef Jacob Muoio​ at the end of last year, Westwood has been serving a simpler menu of snacks and drinks.

"I love it and I'm keen to sell it while it still feels fresh," says the owner.

The 50-seat neighbourhood restaurant, which opened in 2018, has offered a set menu since the end of lockdown, Underwood and Muoio largely running the place between them. The lean set-up would suit a first-time owner-operator, says Underwood.

Muoio has not yet planted the flag at a new venue.

Matt Woodhouse of Comma Food and Wine in Moorabbin has put a full stop to his time there. He has begun a new chapter at Untitled, the Richmond venue opened early last year with a smart fit-out by Flack Studio and chef Timothy Martin in the kitchen. Woodhouse is steering the menu in a bistro direction.