The 100 Essential Restaurants in Victoria right now

Contemporary 18/20 (Three Hats) $$$$

Magic happens in Melbourne’s suburban reaches

What does it take to be a top restaurant? A good whack of creativity. Ambition, certainly. And in the case of Amaru, an off-Broadway location that defies expectations. The Armadale setting of Clinton McIver’s high flyer is one surprise; the simpatico pairing of snow crab with the sweetness of pumpkin and the citrus jolt of sudachi is another. Over 15-plus dishes, the set menu plays with form, flavour and native ingredients. Coral trout and coconut with the sour lilt of green ants. Macadamia miso grounding a velvety slip of wagyu. The final flourish of a chocolate filled with mandarin and Geraldton wax is petit four-meets-art-project. Backed by a well-drilled team of waiters brimming with pride and a wine list that takes off in unexpected directions, it’s a bravura performance from a restaurant cementing its place in the firmament.

Good to know: Feeling more casual? Sibling wine bar Auterra across the road brings the same finesse to bar snacks

5/1121 High Street, Armadale, amarumelbourne.com.au

Vietnamese 15/20 (One Hat) $$

Zero-compromise craft fuels this cultural landmark

Eleven years in, Anchovy just won’t stay still. When they’re not busy with banh mi and broken rice next door at their second venue Ca Com, Thi Le and partner Jia-Yen Li are tending to barrels of fish sauce. Dozens of labelled glass jars holding fermented and preserved treasure overflow to the back of the timber bar. It’s never easy threading South-East Asian and Australian culinary cultures, but Le walks the line effortlessly with crisp prawn mousse wrapped in earthy betel leaves and, later, a spatchcock grilled so perfectly its juice binds with the pool of burnt butter underneath. Duck neck sausage comes with head dramatically intact, and banh mi is served with a claypot of braised beef shin, marrow included. Custard apple sorbet rounds out the night, matching smooth coconut notes against a provocative edge of licorice that dares you to either love it or leave it.

338 Bridge Road, Richmond, anchovy.net.au

Good to know: Head next door to Anchovy’s sister restaurant Ca Com for excellent banh mi by day and broken rice by night

Japanese 17/20 (Two Hats) $$$$

Omakase brilliance on a heaving arterial road

The anticipation. The hush. The blond wood and precise lines. Fancy fish is serious business, and if you love the omakase experience, you’ll know the drill. Aoi Tsuki is different. For starters, you enter from Melbourne’s least-zen thoroughfare, Punt Road. Inside, chef Tei Gim keeps things playful and easy throughout, but it bears no ill consequence on the food: 20-odd courses of precision, perspective and identity. Parallel ridges are carved into supple, steamed abalone, maximising its surface area to take on more of its liver sauce. “Did you feel harmony in your mouth?” A thousand times yes, chef. A robe of A5 Kobe wagyu is dusted with foie gras snow for decadence untold. The 11-piece nigiri parade is as good as Melbourne’s finest establishments, spanning ultra-savoury torched mackerel to impressively firm kingfish. Sake guidance is just as peerless.

384 Punt Road, South Yarra, aoitsuki.com.au

Good to know: The lunch sittings are a few courses shorter and excellent value at $145 per person

Wine bar 14/20 $$

Cosy local favourite brimming with banter, creativity and Venezuelan flavour

On the surface, this reads like a classic local wine bar. It’s not. Scott Eddington and Lauren Chibert helm a place thrumming with the kind of intimate warmth made from friendly chatter, an open kitchen, eclectic artwork and a record collection put to good use on two turntables. Let the team fix you a Coco Daiquiri that tastes like crystals and sunbeams while you plan your assault on chef Frankie Hadid’s Venezuelan-leaning menu. Mussels undergirded by lively coconut and aji panca chilli sauce come with a couple of arepas for mopping – save one for the ugly-delicious goat sausage with black beans coming next. Guava and sea-salt flan brings the beach to Kensington and sees you out with a jaunty wobble. The menu changes with the seasons, but the care and consideration of the staff, and the relaxed retro-chic vibe, don’t. A great excuse to hop on the Craigieburn line.

192 Bellair Street, Kensington, arnoldskensington.com

Good to know: Pooches are welcome at the footpath tables

Filipino 15/20 (One Hat) $$$

A hot city hideout where heritage dishes go high-def

Askal knows Filipino food already has all the drama it needs. The brilliance is in watching it peak under fine-dining lights. Oxtail kare-kare, the peanut-rich stew, is folded into a fried bao with black garlic and fermented shrimp butterscotch. Tempura-battered lumpia rolls hold Moreton Bay bug seasoned with five-spice; Thousand Island sauce (patriotically renamed “7000-island”) is there for the dunk. Sweet, sour, salty, fatty instincts are given room to roar. Take the showstopping dry-aged duck: skin so lacquered you can almost see your reflection, it holds a seam of longganisa sausage stuffing that gives way to juicy breast. Fried rice, fragrant with both soft and crisped-up garlic, completes the saucy feast. Artful cocktails made with calamansi, coconut sap and ube keep pace. By the time leche flan is doused with rum and flambeed tableside, Askal has made its point: polish is no enemy of pleasure.

167 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, askalmelbourne.com

Good to know: Build in rooftop cocktails and snacks at upstairs sibling Inuman

Northern Chinese 13.5/20 $

Eight seats, three staff, impossibly light dumplings

There are dumplings and then there are Aunty’s. Never frozen, plump yet light as chiffon, as many as 1600 fly out the door some days. They’re made by three family members: Guixia Li, her husband Hua and their daughter Joris. Each tender wrapper becomes one with delicately seasoned fillings, perhaps sweet hunks of prawn bound with minced pork or wood ear and shiitake mushrooms with carrot and vermicelli. Guotie, the “why not both” pot-sticker dumpling with one crunchy side, brings texture to smooth beef and onion. Carrot, beetroot and cucumber salad dressed with chilli oil and black vinegar equals a hard reset for your palate. You may need to wait for a table and you might not score a kitchen-side spot to watch the Zhaos in their orange aprons making dumplings. But after the first bite, nothing else matters.

117 Cardigan Street, Carlton

Must-order: Sauerkraut and pork dumplings (boiled)

European 14.5/20 $$

A sessionable neighbourhood favourite with killer cocktails and a keen French sensibility

You could, in theory, swing by Bellamy for a quick drink, soaking up golden hour with a seasonally shifting martini as the day’s last rays illuminate the vinyl collection, the wooden bar and its vintage pendants. But as the name suggests (think of the French “bel ami”, beautiful friend), this champion bar-slash-bistro exudes a comfort that’s hard to leave. The cocktail list is FOMO distilled – each creation is made only 100 times – and while chicken parfait cannoli are a given, the kitchen’s restless bistronomy makes each visit an adventure. Devilled eggs bring the 1970s dinner party while a tumble of wild mushrooms with Jerusalem artichoke and egg yolk is a garden of earthly delights. And that single drink will turn into two once beef bourguignon arrives bedded in gruyere polenta: it demands a riffle through a wine list that kicks boring to the kerb.

164 Rathdowne Street, Carlton, barbellamy.com

Good to know: The big communal table is a favourite meeting spot for local groups of all stripes

Italian 15/20 (One Hat) $$$

An A-list clubhouse primed to revisit memories of Milan and the Amalfi Coast

Rarely has a duo been as in tune as Karen Martini and Bar Carolina. Since taking over the slick bolthole last year, the Melbourne super chef has displayed an easy grasp of South Yarra’s needs, delivering the familiarity to keep regulars happy and the fireworks to win new fans. Her menu works the nexus between dependable and luxe. Take the roast chicken, an exemplary wood-fired bird with burnished skin and a rosemary jus you’d happily bathe in. Pasta also strikes gold, particularly the trifecta of sweet prawn meat, garlicky oil and supple house-made spaghetti. But first you might want to spend time with a classic vitello tonnato, flavours amped to 11 with Martini’s maximalist touch. There’s a matching buzz to the crowd who are almost as soignee as the bigne, an Italified eclair that’s a note-perfect finish.

44 Toorak Road, South Yarra, barcarolina.com.au

Good to know: Kick on with a martini at next door sibling bar Tetto Di Carolina

Italian 15.5/20 (One Hat) $$

Finesse, fun and the antidote to a bad day

A regular’s name remembered. A favourite off-menu dish conjured without fuss. Cutlery laid in intricately folded napkins. Self-care takes many forms. Perhaps it’s time to put on something nice, slip past the curtained doorway, and let Bar Olo look after you. Now you’re settled, how about a few immaculately shucked oysters, draped in the bittersweet salinity of Campari vinaigrette? Or tuna tartare bound with anchovy mayonnaise, as plush and elegantly dressed as you are? Throw in a bowl of rabbit and leek spoja lorda – ravioli’s rustic cousin – just because. There’s space between tables, but not distance. Strangers chat convivially, clinking glasses from an almost entirely Italian wine list. Feeling frisky? Indulge in the grassy verve of a green tomato Gimlet. A night at Bar Olo feels like a trust fall into Italian velvet-clad arms. Go on, treat yourself.

165 Nicholson Street, Carlton, barolocarlton.com.au

Good to know: Pull up a stool between 4pm and 6pm for generous complimentary aperitivo snacks

Greek 14.5/20 $$

Controlled chaos meets confident wood-fired cooking

If there’s ever a hush in this lively room, with its polished concrete, brick and glossy rendered plaster, it’s when people take their first bite of lamb: a sublime balance of char, salt, fat, lemon juice, olive oil and plenty of oregano. Food doesn’t get more honest. Former Good Food Guide Young Chef of the Year Nick Deligiannis is cooking the cuisine of his origins for the first time. Halloumi is made on Wednesdays and sizzled to order, and whey from the cheesemaking is used in flatbread topped with wild garlic butter. Order it with bright, silky tarama. The restaurant’s 60-odd seats are turned over thrice some nights, the chaos held in check by an unflappable front-of-house team that makes dinner service a rolling party. Meet for prawns and peppers, snapper and skewers, and learn to tell your flinty assyrtiko from your fruity malagousia.

161 Burke Road, Glen Iris, barsophia.com.au

Good to know: The smart game plan is to build lunch or dinner from a spread of mezze

Vietnamese, Laotian 14.5/20 $

An impressive spinoff from one of Melbourne’s most singular restaurants

Melbourne has no shortage of great banh mi, but Ca Com is in a class of its own. The hearth is the beating heart of hatted Anchovy’s casual sibling, grilling bread and meat for banh mi by day, smoke lightly perfuming extra-crackly roasted pork belly and luring passersby. Herbaceous Laotian sausage and Vietnamese charcuterie are among the many items made in-house by chef Thi Le and her team. Other fillings include tinned sardines braised in a spicy tomato sauce and reinvigorated by the brightness of fresh dill and red onion. By night, bread makes way for broken rice served with grilled hanger steak and lacy fried eggs; a quietly brilliant match for a salted-lime soda. Service can be choppy, but guess what? You’re getting Chef of the Year quality at chain-restaurant prices.

336 Bridge Road, Richmond, cacom.net.au

Good to know: Don’t sleep on the pandan-flavoured sweets

European 15/20 (One Hat) $$

Produce-driven cooking with an impeccable eye for detail

Owner-chef Audrey Shaw is a former architect, and her design sensibility lingers in every detail here: the pink marble-topped bar, handmade tables, fresh flowers that contrast beautifully with the cracked paintwork. Farmers, fishers and makers are credited on the back of the handwritten menu, and staff speak about them with genuine enthusiasm – so too the low-intervention producers who populate the wine list. Cubes of raw eye fillet are tumbled over soft Grecian cheese and bread rubbed with purple garlic: gloriously messy, keenly balanced. Baby snapper, charcoal-grilled and finished with olive oil and lemon, is measured yet thrilling. Lamb backstrap lands with tomato sugo, reduced over many hours, alongside sweet negi leeks in cumin-spiked yoghurt: rustic cooking with real finesse. Flan Parisien veers gently towards Greece, glazed with honey and sesame and resting on filo pastry. Done this well, simplicity never feels too simple.

165 Gore Street, Fitzroy, carnationcanteen.com

Good to know: The walk-in courtyard is heated through the colder months

Italian 16/20 (Two Hats) $$$

Forget time, loosen the belt and linger over lunch in this basement bunker

Nebbiolo is flowing and conversation swirls around deals, golf and school fees. It’s past 3pm on a regular Wednesday and Caterina’s antique-filled, timber-beamed dining room is still humming. And why not? The (mostly male) diners have been warmly welcomed by owner Caterina Borsato, shown to a linen-clothed table with bread rolls awaiting, and enjoyed the generosity that underpins Italian cooking. A novel take on tricolore unites golden pan-seared scallops, peas done two ways and a scatter of ruby-red pomegranate seeds. Parcels of duck leg tortelli bask among dabs of creamy squacquerone cheese and a scattering of sweet potato crisps. Tender baby goat stew – a menu mainstay – rests on soft golden polenta that catches every drop of cinnamon-scented jus. Back to the office? No. Cancel that afternoon meeting and book a session with vin santo (from the 600-plus bottle wine list) and light-as-air cheesecake.

Basement, 221 Queen Street, Melbourne, caterinas.com.au

Best for: Old-school power lunches with old-school hospitality

Mexican 14/20 $

A laidback education in one of the world’s most complex cuisines

If you were able to bottle the essence of this conviviality, you’d have a priceless commodity on your hands. Right now, Chabela’s brick-walled, softly glowing room feels like the heart of Thornbury. The masa-based items are all made in-house, from blue corn tortillas to huaraches: boat-shaped vessels thicker than tortillas. You might top them with nopales – cactus that eats like savoury kiwifruit – or sticky, crunchy, slow-cooked lamb rib. Chicken enchiladas are bathed in rich pipian sauce, made with toasted peanuts, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds, as well as tomato, garlic and chilli. Enfrijoladas are filled with Yucatan-style cochinita pibil, a tender and long-cooked pork, and topped with a mellow refried black bean sauce. This is the kind of cooking you might find in regional Mexico or in the homes of Mexican friends – it’s almost miraculous to find it in Melbourne.

832A High Street, Thornbury, chabela.com.au

Good to know: The Mezcalita de Jamaica, a deep-purple hibiscus cocktail, is a great jumping-off point for the mezcal-curious

Korean 17/20 (Two Hats) $$$

Healing, artisanal and brilliant – a true escape

How often do you leave a fine diner feeling calmer, healthier – better – than when you arrived? Those who land one of Australia’s most coveted reservations in the monthly ballot often report an experience like no other. Out the front, earthenware crafted by seventh-generation artisans age jangs, the fermented bedrocks of Korean cuisine. Inside, six charmed diners witness a master building quietly serious flavour. Fried shiitake mushroom cosies up with pork inside a crisp-skinned meatball. Pearlescent Murray cod is wrapped around scotch fillet and lowered into beef and radish broth. The palate cleanser – persimmon-vinegar granita with jubey cherry tomatoes – isn’t just genius, it’s restorative. You’ve only got two-ish hours here: purchase some nectarine vinegar or walnut doenjang and relive the fantasy at home year-round. Once-in-a-lifetime magic.

33 Mountain Road, Cockatoo, chae.com.au

Good to know: There is no wine list; not a bad thing considering the 75-minute drive back to Melbourne

Teochew 14.5/20 $

A warm Southern Chinese bolthole frequented by off-duty chefs

There’s a tagine on display in the dining room. A Yankees cap on a shelf. A mishmash of tables on a tiled floor. But the most disorienting detail might be the front sign that bears a different name. Then the food arrives and clarity is restored by way of Aunty’s exemplary treatment of Teochew cuisine. Duck meat, fatty and spiced, is fried in a blanket of mashed taro, served with sweet chilli. Charred cabbage, pork and pickled radish create crunchy, umami crescendos against the smoky hum of flat noodles. The oyster omelette has a seared crust that gives way to the gooey, oceany inside. Service is brisk yet effective. But if you’re lucky, you’ll get to slow down and watch Aunty catching up with regulars in the kitchen. Proof you should never judge a restaurant by the derelict arcade it exists in.

5/70 Doncaster Road, Balwyn North

Good to know: Book ahead and ask about the special orders section

American 13/20 $

A chicken sandwich phenomenon

It’s clear owner Adriel Reddy is a man obsessed. Last year, while fixating on his next ChickyBoi pop-up, he lost an engineering contract because he appeared “distracted” during his day job. Now, ChickyBoi is the day job, with a permanent home in Fitzroy serving the city’s favourite chicken burger – sorry: sandwich. The “OG” hits the table with gravitas. At its centre, a humongous chicken breast glowing like a meteorite under a thick, dill-flecked ranch sauce. The HoneyBoi builds on the original with a hot honey glaze and purpose-made jalapeno pickles subbed in for the dill variety. The SpicyBoi, on the other side of the flavour continuum, offsets “Nashville-dipped” chilli oil ferocity with cooling ranch sauce. They all come with a handful of Smith’s Salt and Vinegar chips, and they’re best chased with a cold one pulled fresh from the tap. Cluckin’ excellent.

375 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, chickyboi.au

Good to know: Get there early to beat the queue

European 14/20 $$

A drink, a snack or something more?

Step into the ultimate all-rounder. How many weary Melburnians have stood hopefully upon the wooden stair of this timeless wine bar, praying their favourite perch is available? Whether you’re a people-watcher at a pavement table bathed in the glow of the Princess Theatre or a fixture at the green-tiled bar inside, if you’re here, you understand the magical formula that keeps City Wine Shop abuzz, year after year. Ice-cold martinis help, and unruffled staff play their part, deftly handling one-glass catch-ups or more languorous visits that mine the impressive cellar amassed from near and far. Polenta chips are bouncy and light. Grilled snapper comes with high-wattage vadouvan curry butter, pickled guindilla chillies and shredded fennel. Chicken schnitzel is always there, juicy and golden, while steak tartare and plump gnocchi are as reliable as the hours this place keeps. Stopping by – whatever the occasion – feels like slipping on a favourite jacket.

159 Spring Street, Melbourne, citywineshop.net.au

Best for: Those in-between moments when it’s past lunch, too late for dinner or simply time for a glass and a snack

Contemporary 15/20 (One Hat) $$

Wood-fired wine bar that stands out in a crowded field

With its tapestry, pendant lamps, communal table, russet tones and wine bottles in a row, this smoky salon feels like the apartment you always wanted, with one key difference: nobody in their right mind cooks this stuff at home. Start with a round of fried honey bread loaded with peppery mayo and smoked fish − perhaps trout − then crudites and herb-flecked fresh cheese akin to Boursin. Silky veloute laps delicate slices of seared swordfish, while the skin of your poussin is scorched to deep caramel. Brown butter choc-chip ice-cream channels cookie dough; you’ll want to take it home, but you’re better off enjoying it over a round of sticky toffee cake. Young professionals swing by for snacks and wine, while groups of friends come together for meals that feel more like dinner parties (book a window table if you’re the latter). Clover’s ready for anything.

193 Swan Street, Richmond, clover.wine

Good to know: Hold court in the all-weather ivy-trimmed courtyard for a long Sunday lunch with the $65 set menu

DRINKS LIST OF THE YEAR WINNER

European 15.5/20 (One Hat) $$$

Equal parts resurrection and new venture

Cote Basque reimagines one of Melbourne’s greatest dining rooms into something that honours our history as well as our future. Located in the site that most recently housed Becco, Andrew McConnell and Jo McGann’s latest effort thrums with energy, its long, tiered dining room, terrazzo floors and nickel-framed windows giving the impression of a fantastical vintage ocean liner. People sip coffee at tables in the laneway; stop by the bar that’s backed by a stunning Magnus Reid mural; or settle in for blow-out meals in the luxe dining room. The food is rustic, almost restrained, most of it cooked simply over a wood grill, with nods to the Basque region rather than all-out imitation. Blood cockles, sweet and bouncy, come with jamon Iberico, while baccala is whipped from Murray cod. Roast duck, served with madeira prunes and mustard cream, channels pure decadence – how very McConnell.

25 Crossley Street, Melbourne, cotebasque.com.au

Must-order: The $45 Marsala Manhattan is amazing, as a cocktail should be for that price

Sichuan 15/20 (One Hat) $$

Spicy, generous and still firing more than two decades on

After extensive renovations in 2024, Dainty has truly settled into its new skin: floral banquettes, etched glass and a ceiling that glows like a lacquered jewellery box. The projector showing a CGI forest mightn’t always work, but the kitchen does, commanding a 100-plus-page leather-bound menu running from street-style rice puffs to tank-fresh lobster. You’ll need an army with you just to make a dent. Put them to work on cumin-laced lamb ribs, shredded chicken cold noodles in a tingly dressing, and spicy beef heart and tongue. Fish-fragrant eggplant’s coating of garlic and syrupy vinegar is like sweet and sour candy. But the true Dainty spirit will always be imprinted in the Chongqing chilli chicken: an avalanche of Sichuan peppercorns, dried chillies and cleavered wings. This room is the flagship of the Dainty empire: dressed to impress and still sizzling.

176 Toorak Road, South Yarra, daintysichuan.com.au

Good to know: There’s a modest wine list but BYO is the move here

Italian 16/20 (Two Hats) $$$

Dramatic concrete lair for devil-may-care dining

In a stark, gallery-like space, suave waiters carry martinis on silver trays to top-end-of-towners. They like their stuzzichini with a side of video art, so they sit at the long marble bar – the best spot to take in a new Shaun Gladwell work of Venice streetscapes, skateboarding bodies and twinkling galaxies. It can feel like you’ve stumbled onto a surrealist film set, but a bite of crostini vibrant with peas and lemony ricotta is a delicious reality check. Bright prawn pasta named after Capri promises sunshine and delivers on a grey Melbourne day. Eye fillet steak perches dramatically on brioche piped with pâté; its blanket of thick, glossy jus is rich enough to roll with one of the many barolos on offer. Prolong the magic with marsala-rich zabaglione and warm soldiers of toasted brioche for dipping – or perhaps another cocktail mixed by a white-jacketed bartender.

45 Spring Street, Melbourne, distasio.com.au

Good to know: Pastas can be upgraded from entree to main for an additional $10

Korean, Contemporary 15/20 (One Hat) $$

A low-key sanctuary composing inventive dishes

Bring someone you love to Doju. It’s an excuse to practice the Korean tradition of feeding a hand-wrapped ssam directly to a partner. And if that DIY lettuce bundle contains wagyu intercostal, chive kimchi, oyster mushroom and romesco-like macadamia paste? It’s practically a proposal. In a split-level space shrouded from the street by sheer drapes, chef Mika Chae splices his Jeollanam-do upbringing with seasonal Australian ingredients. In autumn, hotteok pancakes stuffed with brown sugar and wattleseed syrup are finished with a perfect quenelle of Jerusalem artichoke ice-cream. Gochujang focaccia is a perennial highlight, ruddy with fermented chilli paste. For tempura yakbap, a crisp, batter-dipped perilla leaf hides a baklava-like pine nut filling balanced by soy vinaigrette. Add a drinks list that taps into the house ferments lining the bar, and savvy, personable service, and it’s clear that Doju has hit a bold, confident stride.

530 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, doju.com.au

Good to know: Don’t leave without a jar of house-made macadamia ssamjang ($30) to make lettuce wraps at home

Vietnamese 14/20 $

A statement of deep respect for culinary tradition

It doesn’t take long to realise Duong is built on care. Tea is poured into small octagonal cups painted with bamboo motifs. Beef pho comes with a bowl of kumquats and fresh chillies steeped in vinegar. Hoisin is offered separately – for the thick-sliced beef, not the clear broth. Loyal fans flock here for Northern Vietnamese food cooked with precision and generosity. Puffy golden spring rolls filled with pork and wood ear mushrooms are served with warmed nuoc cham, a graceful touch that lets flavours bloom. “Traditional vermicelli” is a meaty Hanoi specialty of pork belly, tofu and sticky-sweet slices of cha com – pork patties studded with young green rice. For those here for the deep cuts, take your pick from silken, iron-tinged congee with offal or a texturally thrilling jellyfish salad. This is cooking that expects you to meet it on its own terms. Ready?

82 Warwick Road, Sunshine North

Must-order: Chao long (congee with offal)

Sri Lankan 14.5/20 $$

A time-honoured institution for elevated benchmark dishes

Elephant Corridor is, thankfully, free of its namesake creature. Instead, find a spacious dining room made cosy by dark wood, warm lighting and prompt, confident service. Sri Lankan and North Indian dishes lead the menu, but it’s the former that you want. A whole bisected curried crab crowns a smoky stir-fry of ribboned kothu flatbread and vegetables. Lightly battered calamari comes adorned with caramelised banana pepper, and fish and potato croquettes hum with warm spices. Lamprais is the scene-stealer, though – a platter of aromatic short-grain rice, sambol, green plantains and a triple-threat curry of chicken, lamb and pork, spoon-tender in a coconut and pepper-spice gravy. A wide beverage list, including cocktails and some Sri Lankan beers, rounds out the experience. There’s no other restaurant quite like this in the food-mad suburb of Glen Waverley, and it’s been an institution for years with good reason.

179 Coleman Parade, Glen Waverley, elephantcorridor.com.au

Good to know: Things get spicy quickly in this corridor

Contemporary 15.5/20 (One Hat) $$

The often-copied, seldom equalled city wine bar is as hot as ever

When outsiders ask where to eat in Melbourne, clued-in locals usually point here. Step inside and you’ll get it: the welcome is warm, the music loud and the open kitchen led by Dave Verheul crackles with good energy and great cooking. At the bar, solos, dates and mates sip wines spanning classic to esoteric while snacking on fantasy-grade combos like brittle chicken skin crisps topped with whipped anchovy, or feta tiled with jewels of pickled cucumber (don’t forget the spectacular sourdough for moppage). Whole calamari – char-grilled, curling and tender in all the right spots – carries berbere’s spice, the smoky warmth offset by chickpeas and yoghurt. Succulent yet crackly pork loin is another wood-fired hit, with gremolata providing a knockout zesty punch. It might be dark and inky but Embla is never brooding. Go as little or as large as you like: it’s the wine bar of the people.

122 Russell Street, Melbourne, embla.com.au

Best for: Spontaneous late-night suppers and rendezvous – it’s open until midnight most nights

Contemporary 15.5/20 (One Hat) $$

A beloved favourite enters its brightest, boldest chapter yet

Etta could coast on reputation and still fill the room. Instead, under chef Lorcan Kan, it’s firing with renewed force. Dishes carry wood fire, ferments, chilli and acid, with Chinese-Malaysian traditions used as a launchpad, not a leash. Spanner crab wontons in smoked watermelon tom yum sound improbable until first bite – delicate and electric. Bouncy oyster mushroom zongzi with black bean hold exhilarating depth within each rice parcel. And who ever heard of a better use for rendang butter than ladled over smoky wagyu rump cap? A dessert of chilli oil parfait earns its cult following: fragrant, fluffy, citrus-pricked and cooled by lychee-lime leaf sorbet. The drinks list has its own gravitational pull, including an eye-opening champagne section. Well-versed staff make you feel like the only table in a teeming room. Etta is a restaurant with nothing to prove, proving it anyway.

60 Lygon Street, Brunswick East, ettadining.com.au

Good to know: Visit nearby sibling Daphne for before-or-after drinks

Cantonese 16.5/20 (Two Hats) $$$

The Southern Chinese restaurant by which all others in Australia are judged

Overheard in the Flower Drum lift: “I love traditional things done well, that don’t feel the need to change.” A bulls-eye summation from a fellow diner of this 51-year-old icon. Things done well start one step into the dining room. A vanguard of suited waiters springs into service – an icy Tsingtao as you peruse the wine almanac (surprisingly, there is value to be found, particularly among Victorian wines), then a glass swiftly filled, never allowed to drain. The menu remains unburdened by fad. Why would it when there are peerless stalwarts like ribbons of braised pearl meat, or quail sang choy bao studded with fragrant lap cheong? Duck pancakes are velvety and carefully assembled while O’Connor Angus beef is never more melting than here, doused in tingly Sichuan pepper sauce. Order banana fritters as a golden, crunchy ode to the glory of resisting change.

17 Market Lane, Melbourne, flowerdrum.melbourne

Good to know: Don’t miss off-menu treats like shrimp paste-marinated chicken wings or steamed savoury custard with crab or lobster

French 14.5/20 $$

The place to be for the past four decades

“If it makes you happier, I am happy.” If there’s one thing you can count on at Melbourne’s most venerated bistro, it’s that the chorus line of waiters know exactly how to work the room. So you’d like to try your Bourgogne Rouge from a differently shaped glass? A clean plate for your salad? Consider it done, with a very French combination of efficiency and charm that is key to France-Soir’s magic. The leek vol au vent is perennially slept on: a rich, cheesy comfort plated simply with dressed leaves. Hanger steak is graphically delicious: bold, bloody and topped with diced shallots for extra oomph. And if one or two dishes don’t quite hit the same heights? You’re having too much fun dipping fries into the boat of bearnaise, shattering the top of creme brulee, and ordering another glass to even notice. Utterly peerless.

11 Toorak Road, South Yarra, france-soir.com.au

Best for: People-watching over a long, wine-centric lunch that rolls into dinnertime

Indonesian 13/20 $

A choose-your-own-adventure experience

The queue of homesick Indonesians is constant. They’re all making tough decisions about their nasi bungkus – up to four meat and veg dishes scooped from bains-marie onto rice, then wrapped in a banana leaf. This odyssey for the tastebuds might begin with Medan-style eggplant, anchovy and chilli: a right hook of spice and texture. For a battle of the senses, buddy it up with crisp-edged cubes of potato, shallots, green chilli and chilli jam. Favourites like gado gado are carefully handled as is sticky grilled chicken with red chilli sambal that will have you seeing stars. The new location has more room for diners, but this canteen is still more Jetstar than Qantas with its laminate tables, well-worn menus and shaved-ice machine soundtrack. The food, however, is as close as you’ll come to Sumatra without a boarding pass.

348 St Kilda Road, Melbourne

Best for: A grab-and-go feed that feels ceremonial

European, Brasserie 16.5/20 (Two Hats) $$$

Grandstand dining suffused with Melbourne soul

The ground floor of 1927-built Cavendish House blends art-deco grandeur with the verve of a restaurant that pulses from noon to late at night. Bigger groups, solo bar diners and one-on-one liaisons are all ably looked after by a consummately professional team. They’ll guide you across herringbone floors to your table, to the right bottle on the classic-meets-contemporary wine list, to the digestif for your chosen dessert. A bite-sized parcel of parmesan and bresaola might be paired with the namesake cocktail, an all-too-drinkable Gimlet. Steaks dot most tables, each a triumph of farming, butchery and cooking. But veering away from the obvious might lead you to a main of honeyed celeriac and truffle tart that nimbly walks a sweet-savoury line. A slab of enriched, just-set dark chocolate needs nothing more than creme fraiche and salt to sing, proof that classicism never dies.

33 Russell Street, Melbourne, gimlet.melbourne

Best for: A celebration of loved ones (or yourself)

Contemporary 16.5/20 (Two Hats) $$$$

Fine dining that’s filled with heart and feels like home, literally

There’s a pot of gold at the end of the Hurstbridge train line. This tiny-but-mighty fine diner – with two staff and eight seats – makes a strong case for thinking small. Zoe Birch and Lachlan Gardner preside over the fire and the floor, respectively. Birch harnesses the hearth with precision and restraint; Gardner brings gentle warmth to each table. Flathead, ever-so-lightly smoked, is swathed in purple daikon and nasturtium leaf to form a tiny taco. Gnarly flame-thrown greens take the glory on a meal-starting tart. This is slow food, without shortcuts. Birch churns her own kefir-cultured butter, repurposing the whey in other dishes, and bakes pinwheel croissants mid-service as a vessel for cheese. Hyper-seasonality and locality are owed to a family of suppliers who are as small as this operation. Just 32 people a week get to experience Greasy Zoes. A decade in, it remains a dining opportunity to seize.

3/850 Heidelberg-Kinglake Road, Hurstbridge, greasyzoes.com.au

Good to know: Don’t want to drive? It’s a quick stroll from the train station

West African 13/20 $

A generous introduction to the defining dish of an enormous region

It’s a courageous move to build a Melbourne food business around jollof, the tomato-laced rice dish that’s the subject of great discussion, debate and delight in West Africa. You’ll find nine iterations at this casual Racecourse Road eatery, each beginning with a base of tomato, spices, garlic and onions. So, where to begin? Why not the Liberian version, which trades basmati rice for jasmine and comes with strips of deeply flavourful beef and fried plantains? Beyond the namesake dish lies a broader world of West African deliciousness. A hearty trevally and okra stew belies the vegetable’s unpopular reputation. Egusi stew holds it down for Nigeria: hulking cubes of tender beef lie in a crayfish-based gravy, thickened by ground melon seeds. Served with plenty of gleefully smooth fufu, West Africa’s favourite pounded carb, it’s a big vibe in itself.

268 Racecourse Road, Flemington, jollofvibe.com.au

Must-order: Liberian jollof

Persian 13.5/20 $

Blistering charcoal cooking in an industrial refuge

Step off Sunshine’s factory strip and find an invitation into one family’s sanctuary. Under a central chandelier, a matronly chef commands the brick hearth, turning skewers over charcoal near traditional rice pots called degs. This is the evening counterpart to Salamatea, a social enterprise by Hamed Allahyari, who came to Australia as an asylum seeker in 2012. Saffron, pistachio, pomegranate, sumac and barberries lead the menu. Plump dolmeh – Persian stuffed grape leaves – melt away on the tongue leaving a clean, umeboshi-like tang. A  shared dip platter excels with walnut- rich marinated olives and dadami, Allahyari’s version of labne made with cumin, basil and mint. Grilled meat (perhaps chicken, lamb sausage or backstrap) paired with saffron rice or nan lavash flatbread makes a showstopper – but an omelette layered with eggplant, tomato paste and turmeric is a sleeper hit. Persian love cake is even lovelier accompanied by sour cherry or cardamom-scented saffron tea.

18A Market Road, Sunshine, kababi.com.au

Good to know: The daytime Salamatea menu is also available at night

Greek 15/20 (One Hat) $$

An Athens-inspired uplift for an iconic late-night venue

Floor one of this Spring Street nesting doll does double duty: as an unconventional Greek diner first, and, from 10pm, as Melbourne Supper Club. No matter the hour, the wood-panelled room feels warm and intimate. Gossiping politicians and off-duty actors hunch over the expensive end of the weighty drinks list. The Kafeneion touch translates to snappy Grecian wines like assyrtiko, plus cleverly tweaked cocktails such as the Cretan Old Fashioned, sweet with rakomelo, a honey- and herb-infused raki liqueur. The foil to all that top-notch booze is an unfussy menu. Swipe chunks of rustic bread through warm split-pea dip pumped up with garlic, capers and chilli. Go easy on youvetsi, a comforting plate of orzo and slow-cooked chicken topped with snowy drifts of kefalotyri cheese – there’s still unmissable lamb shoulder and the unique finale of portokalopita, a syrupy orange cake made with delicate layers of filo pastry.

Level 1, 161 Spring Street, Melbourne, kafeneion.com.au

Good to know: You’ll still find a few Greek moments on the late-night menu, but you’ll also find party pies

Turkish 12.5/20 $

Adana heaven at the end of the Upfield line

Campbellfield, Tuesday, 5.57pm. A calm takeaway grills bargain Turkish dinners at a manageable clip. By 6.07pm, the shop is utterly rammed – and stays that way for hours. Many have declared its adana wrap Melbourne’s best, and seasoned visitors know to rip open the foil, stat, to preserve the bread’s crisp shell. It crackles with each bite yet somehow maintains a feathery inner layer. The meat itself is speckled with jaunty red flecks of capsicum. Kiymali pide – a thin lamb flatbread that’s more like lahmacun – is lifted by yet more parsley, while boat-shaped pide cradling egg and the spiced sausage sucuk has a gentle thrum of cumin and sesame seeds. Men gesticulate as they chat and wait for takeaway, staff haul enormous trays of meat skewers from kitchen to grill, and the precious few booths continuously fill and empty.

3061/349 Barry Road, Campbellfield

Good to know: Dining in? Plates of grilled meat come with crunchy salad heavy on chopped parsley, plus one of five dips that span hummus to carrot with yoghurt

Indonesian 13/20 $

Unhurried warung where the signs are fading but the food is warm

The chef, Dede, trained as a nurse. Her sister, who owns the place, is a pastor. Between them they’ve built something that feels like a place of care. It is for the Indonesian woman in a big puffy jacket and pink trackies slurping steaming meatball soup. Ditto the two men sitting quietly at the long table well after they finish their meals. Smoky beef ribs come with sambal that’s dense with terasi funk. Stuffed tofu achieves pillowy yet crunchy texture goals. Lamb fried rice is resolutely lamby, each oily grain carrying spice and heat. Richly gelatinous beef tendon soup is steadied by bitter melinjo crackers and sharp sambal. A ghost of a blue swordfish sign still lingers from eight years ago when this place sold fish and chips. What it is now is harder to define, but it won’t rush you to figure it out.

Springvale Plaza, 12/792-806 Heatherton Road, Springvale South

Good to know: Kedai Kampung is fully halal

Turkish 14/20 $$

An astonishing bargain out the back of a hatted restaurant

We’re living in the golden age of hummus. Take the version at Kismet, a side project in the back room of Tulum, the Turkish restaurant in Balaclava that turns 10 this year. Rich with tahini, it comes topped with warm chickpeas cooked with Turkish bastourma, a dried and spice-rubbed beef that gives the whole dish a deep umami foundation. Vibrant green chilli and cumin sauce blankets the top, zapping the plate with freshness and verve. Everyone here dines on a $69 three-course mezze sharing menu, an astounding price considering the quantity and quality of food. It might feature lamb kebab covered in drifts of parsley, dill and mint, with pistachios and pickled radish and turnip, or perhaps stewed baby goat underpinned by cinnamon, served over cheese and eggplant puree. Dessert isn’t included, but how could you say no to baklava with cooling pomegranate sorbet?

217 Carlisle Street, Balaclava, kismetmezebar.com.au

Good to know: Kismet shares a drinks list with parent restaurant Tulum. Fancy a glass of Turkish bubbles?

Indian 15/20 (One Hat) $$

Pitch-perfect culinary ambition meets high-octane energy

Where else could a maitre d’ welcome you beneath vintage photos of cricketing heroes while an Irish waiter apologises for the thumping bass overhead? Kolkata Cricket Club leads with colonial nostalgia, but chef Mischa Tropp’s menu trades box-ticking staples for the robust, mustard-spiked flavours of West Bengal. Forget samosas; instead, start with the bright, minty crunch of puchkas, a punchier take on the sphere-shaped pani puri. Smoky mushroom skewers and magnificent, blistered naan – dry-roasted in the tandoor by a seasoned specialist – showcase real technique. Service is engaging, if occasionally stretched thin, and the spillover sound from the upstairs nightclub may test your patience at weekends. Yet as the unctuous, spoon-tender kosha mangsho goat braise arrives, such minor niggles go through to the keeper. It’s no place for an intimate chat, but for Indian fare with serious swagger, Kolkata Cricket Club hits it for six.

Crown Melbourne, Level 1, 8 Whiteman Street, Southbank, crownmelbourne.com.au

Must-order: Pillowy, milky naan cooked to order by an experienced tandoor chef

Chinese, Contemporary 16.5/20 (Two Hats) $$

A modern classic that remains one of the city’s blockbusters

The names of staff are listed on the menu like film credits. It’s a fitting touch for a restaurant whose story has unfolded over more than a decade, from Smith Street to this laneway, where chef Victor Liong’s plates play like a biopic of modern Australian dining. First, a cast of sublime snacks takes the spotlight. Unashamedly rich prawn toast is wantonly draped in uni and finished with salted egg yolk butter. Ethereal, shattering duck skin bears a gift of Chinese caviar. Pristine chilled mussels co-star with fennel and nasturtium vinegar, served ceremoniously on ice. More familiar storylines appear. Sweet and sour pork, bejewelled with lychees and strawberries, reclaims a nostalgic classic. Ginger and spring onion oil dresses pearlescent toothfish, steamed with precision over organic tofu. Apt that Lee Ho Fook has red carpet in its plush, comfortable dining room: this restaurant shines like a Hollywood star.

11-15 Duckboard Place, Melbourne, leehofook.com.au

Good to know: Weekday celebration? Open something special from your cellar, with free BYO Monday to Wednesday

Chinese, French 15/20 (One Hat) $$$

Visionary behaviour from a restless wunderkind

There’s something wonderfully audacious about Rosheen Kaul’s cooking at Little Rose. The menu, room and facade look and feel like a brasserie, with all the familiar trappings of that genre: fruits de mer, plats principaux, starched linen. But dive a little deeper and you’ll discover that while the dishes themselves are indeed takes on French classics, the twists go beyond your average “Asian-influenced” territory and into something braver, bolder, better. Pommes puree get a topping of no-holds-barred, utterly funk-tastic crab roe sauce that tastes like the heart of the ocean. The fish of the day rides a glorious line between browned butter, caper-heavy meuniere and Sichuan green chilli-braised fish – Kaul somehow channels both dishes with equal smarts and reverence, and invents a new classic in the process. The wine list is predictably wonderful for the Francophiles among us, but there are fascinating Chinese bottles, too. This is not a restaurant for everyone, but Little Rose offers that rare glimpse of something new taking delicious shape right there on your plate.

Rear, 274 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, littlerosefitzroy.com

Must-order: Pommes puree with Suzhou-style crab roe sauce

Italian 15/20 (One Hat) $$$

Casual elegance – with just a hint of kitsch – in an unexpected location

Nearly three years on, Lucia has found its groove. Shiny happy people order caviar and martinis; laughter and clinking glasses tinkle from luxurious booths and cosy tables. White-jacketed, white-sneakered waitstaff spirit away coats, unfurl napkins and pour barolo. Eclectic snacks include deftly cut tartare presented in a marrow bone, and a “taco” of wafer-thin kohlrabi wrapping a zesty mix of lobster, avocado and tequila dressing. The best mains are fine-dining level, such as tender duck breast with skin the colour of walnut floorboards, and service keeps pace from first to last dish. The handsome dining room and striking bar are elegant spaces in an unlikely office-block location, screened from Kings Way by creamy sheer drapes and an upbeat soundtrack. Pick something bracing and herbal from the long list of amari while you watch bourbon-coffee sauce spiral its way down Melbourne’s most mesmerising meringue.

11 Eastern Road, South Melbourne, luciamelbourne.com

Good to know: Next door’s Via Lucia Caffe and Mercato, by the same team, does upscale work lunches and take-home meals

American 13/20 $

Superior smash burgers for the babes and the beefcakes

Why have the people declared this backstreet burger shop Melbourne’s pound-for-pound champion? You could start with the grind on the beef: fine enough to piledrive into the grill, coarse enough to keep its juice. Maybe it’s the naughty cheeses – American and Swiss – or the mochi-like squodge of the Martin’s potato roll. Is it the beef tallow fries and their almost candied exterior? Maybe it’s the secret salt they’re tossed in – the dried-and-blitzed dregs of the gherkin jar, a substance the crew calls “pickle crack”. It could be the charming fitout: a one-time milk bar that also served as a film set, now dressed up with chequerboard floors and wood finishes to look like a New York deli. Or maybe it’s just the chipper service, the come-as-you-are comfort, the sizzle, the waft. In any case, a Macgregor’s smash burger is a thing of beauty in a crowded burger scene, no matter if it’s a slinky single, a thick double, or a colossal triple.

212 Nicholson Street, Abbotsford, macgregorsoriginal.com

Good to know: Get in early for a grilled mortadella breakfast sandwich that smashes you

Mexican 13.5/20 $

Another leap forward for a cuisine in the limelight

The tacos are good. But this is a place to come and try something new, something you may not have seen before in Australia, or have been longing for since that trip you took to Mexico or Los Angeles. Molotes are crunchy torpedoes of plantain dough stuffed with smoked cheese and served in a pool of Oaxacan-style mole that’s bitter, sweet and complex. Elegant enchiladas are no oxymoron. Filled with chicken and drenched in tomatillo salsa that’s almost fluffy in texture, they’re much closer to what you’d get in Mexico. Counter them with the magnificent mess of a pambazo sandwich: layers of chorizo, potato, sour cream and fire engine-red chilli sauce that’s ready to ruin white T-shirts and first dates. Colourful trinkets and murals lift the room while Tommy’s margaritas, spicy mezcal cocktails and well-made horchata raise the mood, aided by proud, happy staff.

1/189 Queen Street, Melbourne, maizycacao.com.au

Best for: Dinner with a group of good friends – food is easily shared and strawberry margaritas get the fun started

Mauritian 15.5/20 (One Hat) $$

Island cooking with memory, momentum and an unmistakable point of view

First comes trust. Then comes joy. That’s the Manze deal. Choose the short or full menu, then let chef Nagesh Seethiah and his team send out a punchy, generous, deeply personal Mauritian menu built on Australian produce and all things pickled, spiced and charred. Dishes change often, but the rhythm holds. Nashi pear and radish with salted feijoa chutney snaps you awake with crunch, sweetness and heat. Calamari could arrive turmeric-yellow, fire-licked, bursting with mustard seeds. Cari gros pois – a curry of butter beans, sorrel chutney and wild-caught tiger prawn – comes with the king of flatbreads, dal puri, for scooping every last streak. If salted coconut sorbet appears, brace for happy tears. Breezy staff know the details, whether steering you through natural wines or island-accented cocktails. In this compact room, Manze serves food with history in its bones and hot sauce in its veins.

2/1-5 Errol Street, North Melbourne, manze.com.au

Good to know: Start and finish at Boire, Manze’s sibling bar that’s right across the road

Italian 14/20 $

The place that pioneered all-day brekkie celebrates the big 4-0

Having status as a regular here – a home away from home, a public living room – is one of the keys to the city. Professional but relaxed, efficient but friendly, Marios exemplifies a type of service specific to Melbourne. The trick is to pick the dishes the kitchen does well and stick to them. Things with pan sauces that include lemon and wine are often a safe bet. Almost all pasta dishes are reasonably good, in the old-school Melbourne way, which is to say: don’t expect Rome-grade carbonara. The chicken livers, however, might be the best in town: marsala, bacon, spinach, livers cooked just to pink, not a second more. The lasagne? Legendary. Sometimes a restaurant is more than the sum of its parts. Marios embodies the soul of the northside, of Melbourne Italian: its origins and its present and, God willing, its future, too.

303 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, marioscafe.com.au

Must-order: Penne all’amatriciana, an ultra-comforting chilli-and-bacon carb bomb

Persian 14/20 $$

Starburst banquets that feel garnished with heart

Melbourne’s blessed with a surfeit of excellent Persian restaurants, but the fact people trip over themselves to recommend Maryam speaks volumes. Fork-tender koobideh, the king of kebabs, eats as softly as the butter you just deployed over your rice. Tachin, Iran’s baked saffron rice masterpiece, looks too pretty to eat, its gilt crust festooned with barberries and pistachios. Then there’s the herbal glory of ghormeh sabzi, a rich lamb stew that pings with dried lime, a talisman of Persian cooking. Everything comes on ornate steel plates, but the real gem is the homemade ayran: a savoury yoghurt drink that could quickly inspire a habit. Iranian food is thrilling by default, but Maryam is the kind of place where you go when it’s time to celebrate. And, even if it’s a quick catch-up lunch, you’ll probably eat more than you intended to and take some home.

589 Gilbert Road, Preston, maryamrestaurant.com.au

Must-order: Koobideh, ghormeh sabzi, tachin, ayran

Malaysian 13.5/20 $

A fragrant bain-marie-tery that runs 30 trays deep

Solo diners slurp soup. A young family shares chicken and rice. The room smells of toasted coconut, roasted chilli, shrimp paste and strong tea. Whether it makes you think of your aunty’s cooking or you’re here for your first nasi campur, hard choices lie ahead. You’re greeted by up to 30 bain-marie trays groaning with colourful, fragrant dishes: a golden tumble of fried chicken, glossy beef rendang, fish in turmeric-bright coconut gravy and much, much more. There are no wrong picks and the selection changes anyway, according to whim, season and customer pleas. Nasi kerabu, Matt’s signature, gets you a scoop of rice dyed blue with butterfly pea flower, accompanied by toasted coconut, fish crackers, shredded cabbage, sambals and fried chicken. It’s a pretty dish, but your job is to mess it up. This isn’t a fancy place, but the well-worn room is full of personal touches that signal care and pride.

1/2 Garden Boulevard, Dingley Village

Good to know: Outside the bain-marie, the a la carte menu offers an excellent Penang laksa rich with mackerel and tamarind

Japanese 18/20 (Three Hats) $$$$

Still one of the defining Melbourne meals, 12 years in

Mention Minamishima to someone who’s been and take note of their first response. Hushed awe? Knowing delight? Involuntary squeak? That’s lore and, in the case of this modern icon, it’s the product of sustained excellence. Koichi Minamishima’s omakase restaurant has it in spades. Fugu is sliced into a whisper-thin flag, topped with monkfish liver, vinegar jelly and the tiniest bouquet of flowers you’ve ever seen. Paradise prawn is a pure and unadulterated expression of the sea. Scored calamari hits the sweet spot between playfully firm and pleasingly sticky. The softer moments are everything: fleshy wagyu draped on perfect rice like a Matisse nude on a chaise longue; plump scallop plucked from icy waters and torched to sweet plushness. The inky wall that frames Minamishima while he cuts his catch, his handling of prized species and precision with the steel – it’s all breathtaking still, even in the restaurant’s second decade. Sure, there are high-gloss add-ons – gold leaf otoro, oscietra caviar nigiri – but when the baseline is this good, you hardly need them. A laser-cut piece of modern Melbourne history.

4 Lord Street, Richmond, minamishima.com.au

Good to know: The sake pages are among the state’s best

Korean 13.5/20

Gentle flavours simmer away at this cosy backstreet cafe

A rush of warm air greets you at the door, carrying the hiss of stone bowls, the scent of braised beef and the glimpse of owner-chef Jun Kwon hustling in the kitchen. Ordering is easy – the yellow stickers on the menu indicate what’s for one and what’s to share. Our story begins with the tender beef and slippery noodles of kimchi kalguksu, its broth as tart as it is nourishing, while tteokmandooguk – with its milky, beef bone broth, plump dumplings and slippery rice cakes – is a tonic as much as a meal. Kimchi pancakes are unimpeachable, but Korean fish pancakes, packed with fleshy white meat, are just as heavenly dragged through their accompanying vinegar. Service is grab-your-own- share-bowl casual; families, students and neighbours picking up coffee on the way to catch a train colour the whole experience cosy.

5 Dryburgh Street, West Melbourne, mistypot.com.au

Must-order: Grilled spicy baby octopus; samgyetang, a chicken and ginseng soup with glutinous-rice stuffed chicken

Indian 13.5/20 $

An all-day affair of spice and rice on one of Melbourne’s tastiest streets

Mornings are for nourishing goat soups and the crisp, pancake-like delights of dosa. Afternoons are all about chicken curry and street snacks. And late nights? Made for biryani. Whenever it is, whatever you’re having, you’ll be warmly welcomed and exceedingly well fed at this Carnegie hot spot. Podi-sprinkled idli is made to co-owner Jyotsna Reddy’s own recipe: grinding rice, tapioca and fenugreek seeds, letting the mixture ferment and steaming it to a soft, fluffy cake that’s brushed with warm, golden ghee. Alongside, there’s bright coconut chutney and a soupy vegetable sambar – balancing tamarind sourness and jaggery sweetness – to dip the idli in. Biryani is made with special shortgrain rice called seeraga samba and a jaunty green masala. Inclusive, creative and clever, Namma Bangalore Vibbes is a haven for Bangaloreans craving a taste of home, but really it’s for everyone.

118 Koornang Road, Carnegie, nammabangalorevibbes.com.au

Good to know: There’s an awesome (non-spicy) kids’ menu and most dishes are gluten-free

Contemporary 17/20 (Two Hats) $$$$

A dozen moments of arresting, dark beauty

Silence fell over Yarraville when chef Julian Hills debuted his macaron in 2018. It’s brilliant still: black garlic and salmon roe, an elegant compression of earth and ocean and a steely opening salvo that echoes Navi’s grey French-washed walls. These days, it’s culinary shorthand for the daring experiments that follow, many of which make keen use of native produce. Delicate threads of mud crab are sweeter for the bunya nut broth they’re served in. Rabbit finds its way into an improbably supple dumpling, underpinned by peak-season Jerusalem artichoke and topped with an unctuous rubble of pork. Duck – the official protein of 2026 – might be served as blushing breast, buttery salumi and the filling of a crisp pastry cigar. The wine list is written and served with passion for Victoria and France alike, but the cod-fat martini – subtly fishy, weighty, genuinely thrilling – is the kind of goth-hued ambition fans come here for.

83B Gamon Street, Yarraville, restaurantnavi.com.au

Good to know: Soon you’ll be able to drop into Bar Gabi, a casual sibling with flame-licked dishes nearby

Chinese 15/20 (One Hat) $$

The neighbourhood restaurant you’ve always wanted for feasts of whole fish, noodles and claypot dishes

You don’t want to spend a fortune, but you want something a cut above. You don’t necessarily want it to be fancy, but you want to be looked after by people who know their stuff. You want them to nail the classics, but you’re also looking for options that aren’t ubiquitous. You want Nihao Kitchen. In many respects it’s a typical suburban Cantonese restaurant. The decor and drinks are, well, fine. But crack that menu open and you know you’re onto something. Baby abalone? The size, XO sauce and tenderness are all exemplary. Whole parrotfish steamed with ginger and spring onion? Textbook cuisson. Chicken steamed in a lotus leaf? A party of textures with black fungus, fish mawand shiitake vying for MVP. Greens are deftly handled, there’s a whole page of regional fried rice dishes, and Sichuan staples lurk among all the Cantonese. That’s barely the tip of the tip of the iceberg. A true gem.

298-300 High Street, Kew

Good to know: Bring four, six or, better yet, eight to the table for best effect

Southern Thai 14/20 $

A snug den for knockout coastal curries and funky vegetable stir-fries

This slip of a restaurant fills and refills with comrades chasing tongue-lashing Southern Thai fare. In fact, some seafood curries are so spicy that whip-fast waitresses may suggest milder options. Start with deep-fried snacks soundtracked to Thai pop ballads. Rice paper puffs up into lacy spring rolls, wrapped around earthy seafood and taro paste – dunk in sweet plum sauce and repeat. Gui chai tod – chive rice cakes coated in vinegary molasses and toasted garlic – evoke glutinous clouds. If stink beans don’t appeal, stir-fried melinjo leaves – Thailand’s queen of vegetables – are a nutty and herbaceous plan B, strewn with wok-kissed egg curds. Risk-takers might be rewarded with turmeric-tinted barramundi curry. Its chemistry of piquant tamarind, fermented shrimp paste and bird’s eye chilli unleashes visceral heat briefly tempered by sweet bamboo shoots. Keep your plastic cup of creamy pink milk on standby anyway.

69 Davis Avenue, South Yarra, norathaimelb.com.au

Good to know: When in doubt, go for the mildest of three spice levels

Contemporary 17/20 (Two Hats) $$$$

Supremely likeable package of minimal-waste technique and deceptively casual service

You won’t find a more charming front-of-house superstar than Chayse Bertoncello. A veteran already at age 32, he runs this enduring favourite with head chef brother Blayne, and the yarns begin on arrival at their comfortably low-key suburban fine diner. “That was a BIG night,” he might recall, pouring wine made by a talented friend. “But that’s another story.” You’ll likely be in raptures by the end of a four- or seven-course menu with impeccably matched drinks. There’s rustic house-baked sourdough, elegant snacks and esoteric ingredients grown nearby: hakurei turnip, mouse melons, Warrigal greens, yacon root and more. Clever cooking abounds, from sweet and spicy pumpkin tortellini with Sri Lankan sambol to artfully aged duck with surprising variations of cauliflower. There’s pure pleasure, too: a luxe “farm jam” doughnut finished with torched meringue. Maximum heart, minimum fuss.

70 Princes Highway, Beaconsfield, omyrestaurant.com.au

Must try: House-made non-alcoholic drinks might include lemon verbena horchata and strawberry gum kombucha

Pizza 13.5/20 $

A nostalgia-fuelled favourite of the neighbourhood with a growing fanbase.

The name means “little village” and this one-room restaurant – all chequered tablecloths, framed soccer posters, hanging prosciutto – has exactly that feeling. Parents who met each other through school pick-up fill one table. Players from the local tennis club sit at another. A busy electric oven pumps out pizzas with aerated, full-flavoured crusts. The Vodkarella is a pasta-sauce-on-pizza revelation: creamy, garlicky, vodka-spiked Napoli that’s guaranteed to delight. For a medley of contrasts, meet the Maradona ’86, a plain round of dough that’s baked, topped with mortadella and stracciatella, then folded over to make a wonderful not-quite-calzone. Before your date with dough, fried artichokes served over whipped ricotta are a smart move, especially with something from the blackboard of wines. Joshua Cusato and wife Vanessa opened Paesino in 2023 after Joshua left his job in pathology and side-stepped to pizza. Melbourne’s so glad he did.

12D Kennedy Street, Keilor, paesinopizzeria.com.au

Good to know: Moka pot coffee is served as a complimentary after-dinner heart-starter

Greek 14/20 $$

Old Country comforts at your eclectic aunty’s house

Just far enough from the bustle of Lygon Street, Patris feels more like a stylish family room than a restaurant. The food, meanwhile, is what you might expect to be served in the home of a Greek cook who is trying to nourish you, body and soul. Creamy tarama comes with crisp sweet potato, labne is brightened by cucumber, plum and passionfruit. Grilled halloumi, appropriately squeaky on the teeth, is accompanied by figs poached in commandaria, a port-like Cypriot wine. Perfectly tender lamb shoulder gets a surprise drizzle of vivacious zhoug, the Yemeni sauce made with parsley, coriander and a touch of chilli heat. Add a side of lemon potatoes, and you have a feast fit for a Greek king. If you aren’t lucky enough to have a literal Greek mum or sister or aunty, now you know a place where you’ll be treated as if you do.

140 Barkly Street, Brunswick, patris.au

Good to know: The restaurant is named for the SS Patris, the ship that transported thousands of Greek migrants to Australia between the 1950s and 1970s

Seafood 15/20 (One Hat) $$

Sparkling views and effervescent dishes in an elegant, dreamy beach shack

A gorgeous, mellow fine diner where you can linger with a wine and give into the sea-sparkle hypnosis of Port Phillip Bay? Must be Pipis. The intimate room is an exhalation of champagne-coloured scrims, wicker-backed chairs and beechwood tones. Assured service will furnish you with daisy-shaped crackers of smoked eel and tingling blood plum, or hefty stems of puntarelle, the bitter Italian greens, served with stracciatella, olives and pickled grape. Shark Bay scallop crudo comes with an earthy sea urchin sauce and dainty canoes of roasted onion. Larger plates may include a generous Murray cod fillet, its char-black corners vivid against a bright, leek-scented foam, and dessert might be a seasonal parsnip Swiss roll with spiced ice-cream and zippy gooseberries, surrounded by fried parsnip as brittle as kindling. Pipis might be a kiosk by name, but it’s a portal to beachy bliss by nature.

129A Beaconsfield Parade, Albert Park, pipiskiosk.com.au

Good to know: You can stop by the takeaway window for excellent fish and chips

European 15/20 (One Hat) $$

A dressed-up dining room with mischief, manners and martinis in mind

Poodle understands the art of the entrance. The red door, with its fishbowl window, is a portal to a surreal Euro fantasy. Inside, classic bistro polish meets oddball flourishes, the whole room practically begging for a three-martini afternoon. Food plays the same game: retro shapes, clever swerves. Spanner crab and cod roe profiteroles are gleefully rich flexes of bronzed, weightless choux. A pork cutlet with stuffed onions and cider jus offers full-throttle pleasure, richer and glossier with every bite, the crackling arriving separately like a reward for ordering so well. Ile flottante keeps the old-school rhythm rolling into dessert, the meringue vanishing into tart passionfruit custard. Service is cheery and properly helpful, especially in navigating a drinks list that takes wine, aperitifs and cocktails seriously. The glorious courtyard beckons in summer, but the martini list (about half a dozen choices, all compelling) sparkles year round.

81-83 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, poodlefitzroy.com.au

Good to know: The $30 main-and-frites special on Wednesdays is a certified steal

Ethiopian 14/20 $

A hands-on East African institution

The air hangs thick with frankincense at this humming Footscray mainstay, a citywide standout for its dazzling depth of flavour and warmth of service. The team ask only that you bring good company, an empty stomach and willing hands, and they reward you with an embarrassment of riches. Injera, Ethiopia’s spongy fermented bread, doubles as plate and tangy delivery vessel. Plunge it into stewed dishes known as wats and sauteed dishes known as tibs. Smoky red lentils add surprising heft to spice-rich misir wat. Crisp-edged lamb tibs is cooked and presented with flair in a black claypot. Comforting doro wat combines tender chicken, reduced onions and hard-boiled egg, and gomen speaks to the power of properly sauteed greens. Rip, dip, then sip light-bodied Ethiopian beer. Or, if he’s got any around, try owner Wondimu Alemu’s excellent tej: a sticky elixir reminiscent of mead, but hoppier.

247 Barkly Street, Footscray

Must-order: Doro wat, a glorious, berbere-scented stew

Chinese 14.5/20 $$

Some like it hot – take them here

Queen Street in the CBD might not spring to mind when you think of regional Chinese food, but it’s home to a restaurant that serves Sichuan and Hunan dishes – plus a little from neighbouring Hubei – to a rare standard. Yabby noodles, a saucy signature, have reportedly been served over 100,000 times. Order them mala-style (heavy on the Sichuan peppercorn), Hunan-spicy (a straighter, hotter heat), or tossed with a blend of 13 spices. Chongqing chicken is a fiery treasure hunt: jewels of cleavered, fried bird scattered through a horde of angry chillies. And if chilli isn’t your jam, you’re still in safe hands with the soothing sesame paste coating your Sichuan cold noodles. Ruby-red walls are covered with cartoon princesses from bygone dynasties, yellow and red lanterns hang overhead, aching Chinese ballads play. Red Cliff is a lot, but it’s also life-giving in its vitality.

256 Queen Street, Melbourne, redmelbourne.com

Good to know: There are private rooms equipped with lazy Susans for groups

Kerala 14/20 $

A capsule of South India, from the aromatic spicing to the thoughtful interiors

First, you notice the aroma of curry leaves and cardamom at this homespun favourite of Dandenong’s Little India. Then, Kerala murals painted in vegetable pigments, and a chalkboard of daily specials that piques the appetite. At $2.50, the veg cutlet is a deep-fried wondersnack of blitzed carrot, potatoes and peas. Staff might steer you to Kozhikode biryani, a Malabari-style dish where spiced chicken is layered with short-grain rice and steamed until tender and deeply aromatic. Served with raita and pickle to balance the green chilli heat, it’s a highlight. Chatti parotta is equally compelling. Three fluffy flatbreads arrive in a claypot, each filled with a fragrant curry. The scene-stealer of the trio is a fish preparation that zings with Kerala’s secret sour weapon, kudampuli or Malabar tamarind. Booze is BYO for now, but mango lassi is the freshen-up you want between these generously spiced dishes.

118 Foster Street, Dandenong, ricengrills.com.au

Good to know: There are whispers that toddy, Kerala’s totemic fermented sap beverage, is on the way

NEW RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR WINNER

Italian 15/20 (One Hat) $$

In the shadow of an office tower, Roma stands out as much for its neon sign as for what awaits beyond its latticed doors. The room – with its mid-century Italianate vibe, white tablecloths and chequered floor tiles – gives you a magic tingle the minute you step inside. It’s the platoon of career waiters, all wit and charm and old-school repartee, led by Giovanni Patane. It’s the generosity of the enormous menu, the service from breakfast to late at night, the myriad tiny details that were obviously laboured over. A white honeycomb lattice ceiling is both a nod to Roman restaurant Trattoria al Moro and a clever design choice to muffle sound. A central table is laden with the day’s antipasti and vases overflowing with flowers. Plates, lights and even salt and pepper shakers feel carefully sourced, piece by piece, to suit the mod Italian mood. Being an ode to Rome, the menu by Matt Wilkinson includes a whole offal section: beautifully crisped lamb brains with bracing caper salsa, rosy chicken livers, a bright and saucy trippa alla Romana that somehow feels indulgent. It’s a brave wager, but it’s true to the Italian capital’s working-class dishes – and an invitation to curious Melbourne diners. Wilkinson knows how to play to the crowd, too, with pitch-perfect carbonara and all’amatriciana, gorgeously simple seafood and impeccable gelati. Italian restaurants dot nearly every high street in this city. But Con Christopoulos and his collaborators have built one that’s distinct not just for its quality but for its personality, an increasingly rare commodity in today’s dining landscape.

Must-order: Seafood carpaccio; lamb’s brains; soqquadro carbonara; salted caramel gelato

120 Collins Street, Melbourne, romamelbourne.com.au

Indian 15/20 (One Hat) $$

Fresh takes on South Asian food from two bright young things

Saavni Krishnan was named Victoria’s Young Chef of the Year in 2024 by this very Guide. At the time, Saadi was a pop-up run by Krishnan and her husband and co-chef Sriram Aditya; now it has a fixed address, the pair having moved into the former Sunda quarters. The design is as sparse as you may recall, and service remains low-key: the food is the thing. It tastes unmistakably Indian, but in higher resolution than you typically see in Australia. Brighter, crisper, clearer, fresher. Kothambir vadi has all the chickpea creaminess you might prize in a wine-bar panisse, but levelled up with green tomato-powered chutney. Pumpkin goes from menu footnote to main player when it’s crumbed, fried and in cahoots with onion chutney. Spit-roasted chicken dhansak offers juiciness and spice in equal measure, finger-lickin’ good with a glossy Parsi lentil sauce. Saadi is the new Indian benchmark – and not a curry in sight.

18 Punch Lane, Melbourne, saadimelbourne.com

Good to know: A la carte is available Tuesday to Thursday, with a four-course set menu served Friday and Saturday

CRITICS’ PICK OF THE YEAR WINNER

Korean 14/20 $

Each time the Sagye door opens to farewell a diner, they’re chased by the intoxicating musk of slow-simmered wagyu. First-timers have been lured by the steamy social media reels. Repeat diners are here to revive that powerful olfactory memory, a scent so rich you can almost chew it. Where Korea’s gomtang sits in the pantheon of beef soups is between you and your god. But at $28 a serve, this one is a fairly affordable ride to heaven – especially given it’s served in a $200 bronze bowl hand-beaten by fourth-generation Korean artisans. At the bottom, a handful of short-grain rice. Above, three cuts of wagyu beef made wondrously tender: shank, chuck roll, brisket. Meaty broth, simmered for hours and skimmed clean, is ladled over the top like liquid gold, deeply soothing, savoury and complex. House-made kimchi of radish, wombok and mustard leaves is served alongside for a lightly effervescent reprieve with instructions to help yourself to more. But it’s not all soup. Bulgogi is tossed with ginkgo nuts and five-centimetre batons of spring onions for an extra-savoury rendition. Mandoo, Korea’s chunky dumplings, are plump with juicy pork and supercharged with green tea. Service is calm and intentional, fit for purpose given there is no wine list to ogle and a hungry queue to triage. As such, your time here will be relatively brief. But it won’t be rushed: it will be soothing, it will be restorative and it will be underpinned by exemplary commitment to craft. Restrained and focused, Sagye writes another chapter in Australia’s appreciation of Korean food.

Must order: Beef gomtang soup – replenishable at no extra charge

250 Russell Street, Melbourne

Vegan 14/20 $$

A plant-based party uniting diners of all persuasions

Smith and Daughters has been embraced by diners as a restaurant dialled into the zeitgeist, from the craze for cacio e pepe to the joys of open-flame cooking. That its menu is entirely plant-based is secondary, although it remains a source of amazement for first-timers. (The phrase “Are you sure it’s all vegan?” is a constant in the handsome red-brick warehouse.) Letting its hair down as a re-badged “Social Club”, the 2026 iteration is loosely Mediterranean. Chickpeas given the cacio treatment land a vegan moonshot for Rome’s all-conquering pasta dish. Founder Shannon Martinez is a maestro of the faux: witness the meatballs on a plush bed of polenta (spoiler: they’re not meat). But oozy cheese bitterballen croquettes and lion’s mane “steak” frites tread a more conventional path. Finish with the tiramisu. It’s dairy-, nut- and gluten-free, but you’d never know it.

107 Cambridge Street, Collingwood, smithanddaughters.com

Good to know: A few doors along, Smith & Deli rocks lunchtimes with a standout Reuben

Korean 15/20 (One Hat) $

Quiet, powerful, patient cooking that restores more than your appetite

Long before you sit at Sogumm’s counter, the hardest work has begun: slow coaxing of flavour over days, weeks and months. Husband-and-wife team Changhoon and Suhyun Kim bring fine-dining polish to this nourishing spot, including time under Jeong Kwan – the Buddhist nun-chef made famous by Netflix’s Chef’s Table. The cooking is restrained, but never passive; every note deliberate. Jang, Korea’s foundational fermented sauces, are the backbone. Jerusalem artichoke is slow-cooked until chewy outside, lush and sweet within, glossed with earthy doenjang. Leek-wrapped chicken thigh marinated in nuruk, a rice-wine starter, emerges smoky and absurdly juicy. Wagyu yukhoe, Korea’s answer to tartare, crowns a bibimbap where rice, radish and nashi pear mingle with chilli and confit garlic. The philosophy is clearest in the gomtang: brisket, shank, rice and pure, meaty broth. It looks simple, but lands with mastery and soul – much like Sogumm itself.

466 Church Street, Cremorne

Good to know: Open for lunch and walk-ins only

Thai 13/20 $

Street-food stalwart that invites you to join in the chaos

You need to slurp, squint and shout. The place is loud, the menu font is tiny and the food is fiery. Numbered orange vests worn by waitstaff mimic those of Bangkok’s motorcycle taxi drivers, navigators of the city’s maze of laneways. Or, here, the clamour of Soi 38’s universe. At lunch, the menu is simple with noodles and rice dishes but come dinner, it opens up. In the raw section, chewy prawns come drenched in a lively dressing softened by sweetcorn. From the salads, sliced cucumber is tossed with sweet fermented crab and peanuts, cherry tomatoes shrivelling from the acidity of the dressing. Deep-fried pork belly is crunchy then creamy, all in one bite. Pork backbone soup contains multitudes: sour, sweet and spicy notes, meaty bones that you must grab with your hands. Fried rice with crispy pork fat is lighter than it sounds – and essential beside the fire of almost everything else. The eating is messy, and that is the point.

38 Royal Lane, Melbourne, soi38.com

Must-order: Tom leng zaap, the pork backbone soup

Cantonese 15/20 (One Hat) $$

A neighbourhood anchor for seafood celebrations and weekend gatherings

A senior gentleman in a crisp shirt debones a steamed parrotfish at your side. Mud crabs and abalone hit tables left and right as the live tanks begin to thin out. Big families debate the cook on the eggplant – perfectly al dente? Ever so slightly under? – and spin the Susan until everyone’s happy and heavy with roast meats. You’re at one of Melbourne’s Southern Chinese institutions, but it’s not Flower Drum. The tables are packed tight here on Whitehorse Road, the room fragrant with exemplary Cantonese cooking, awash with white light from above. Deep-fried king prawns with imperial kung pao sauce are everywhere you look, the crack of their thick, sweet ‘n’ sour batter a lasting sensory memory for all who eat them. But that XO sauce, a yardstick for Southern excellence, is sheer magic: chewy, rich and complex. Skip dessert and summon another ramekin.

198 Whitehorse Road, Balwyn, supremejkitchen.com

Must-order: Any combination of live seafood and roast meat

Mexican 14.5/20 $

No name, little signage, consummate cooking

It’s ironic that this restaurant feels like a chapel, given the jolt it gave Mexican dining in Melbourne when it opened. Clusters of flowers and candles sit on the dusky pink tiles of the bar, around which 16 diners perch facing the open kitchen. Its centrepiece is the trompo, a vertical spit stacked wide and tall with pineapple-brushed pork. Fatty yet crisp slices are shaved off for al pastor tacos on house-made tortillas. Meatier hunks go into the quesadilla-like gringa filled with oozy Oaxacan cheese. Kangaroo asada could be a new Mexican-Australian specialty, but plenty of established dishes appear on the menu, from tuna tostadas to fried fish tacos made with barramundi. Around you, diners might capture content “moments” between bites, such is the allure of this laneway restaurant, unmarked apart from its constant line. Persevere to experience a venue that’s both viral and vital.

12-14 Celestial Avenue, Melbourne, taqueriasinnombre.com.au

Good to know: Lines tend to form before the restaurant opens, but tables usually dine for an hour or less

Italian 15/20 (One Hat) $$

Italo bistro where the pasta and service are always the right side of firm

There’s a confidence to this Melbourne favourite, earned over 12 years of polished cooking and service, day in, day out. You’re here for pasta, of course. But first, a few worthy detours. Ox tongue is delicately sliced, glistening with balsamic reduction and artfully arranged like an accordion. Spanner crab and mussel risotto made with carnaroli, the king of Italian rice, is another delicious distraction, particularly if your dining mates are the sharing types. And the pasta? You might luck upon gorgeously gamey rabbit ragu, fragrant with marjoram and hazelnut, coating wide ribbons of pappardelle. Or pillowy half-moons of pumpkin ravioli, arranged among splodges of taleggio and offset by crisp sage. Tart rhubarb brightens chilled rice pudding; pistachio cream adds allure. This hot spot is perennially packed, so book well in advance and don’t be surprised if service runs at a brisk pace.

361 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne, tipo00.com.au

Good to know: Reservations get snapped up, but some seats are reserved for walk-ins

Japanese 14/20 $

Casual sushi spot that handily outperforms its price point

The tuna tastes like deep water and blood and power. Glinting trevally slips over your tongue with the barest whisper of clean fattiness. Snapper pops with freshness, a sesame seed garnish lending a nutty edge. Scallop is delivered in a generous pile, sweet and indulgent. For all its exceptional omakase counters, Melbourne has few restaurants that serve great sushi at approachable prices. Tochi Deli has always been the exception and, this year, it moved out of a condemned mall and into a standalone Coburg shopfront. Beyond the outstanding nigiri, $25 gets you a bowl of beautifully vinegared, pliant sushi rice, layered with kingfish, supple salmon and meaty raw tuna. Co-owner Shingo Tochimoto worked at his grandfather’s sushi restaurant in Tokyo for many years, and the heart and hard work that comes with a family business shines through here.

4/12 Victoria Street, Coburg

Good to know: You can order an omakase-style 10-piece nigiri set for under $50

Japanese 17/20 (Two Hats) $$$$

The finest kaiseki in town

Six seats, one sitting and Tomotaka Ishizuka cooking everything himself: this is formal Japanese dining at its most intimate. His unhurried 13-course kaiseki menu, shaped by training in Kanazawa, moves with quiet conviction. A teapot broth of dried scallop and herbs opens things gently. Tiger puffer fish – rarely seen in Australia – appears twice, first as pearlescent sashimi, then its skin dances in a bracing vinegared salad with sea urchin sauce. Duck breast simmered in a glossy soy-dashi broth with taro and wheat gluten is scored so finely it melts in the mouth; a dish that tastes of winter in Ishikawa. A rice porridge with spanner crab, truffle and salmon roe is at once soothing and luxurious, and sends you home warm. At $350 per person for the set menu, Tomo-An demands commitment; what you get is precision, originality and a direct line to Japan.

2 George Street, South Melbourne, tomoan.com.au

Good to know: No one has died from eating puffer fish in a restaurant in many years

Greek 14.5/20 $$

Singular ember-singed cooking that’s equal parts stunning and satisfying

For sheer visceral pleasure, you’ll go some way to find a better dessert than Tzaki’s burnt feta cheesecake. One of the restaurant’s few perennial menu items, a feta-scented sweet cream is charred to perfection in the wood oven. It’s tradition and innovation together in perfect harmony – a fitting allegory for Alex Xinis’ Yarraville game-changer, where Athenian mainstays are referenced, but the execution is altogether singular. Pull up a stool at the kitchen bar and witness chefs play the coals like an instrument, pure instinct dictating when a dish is ready. Drag blistered flatbread through “Greek salad”-flavoured butter while you rip into that Hellenic-leaning wine list. Humble ingredients sing: the signature ember-braised chickpeas, or perhaps artfully roasted Brussels sprouts with pistachios and the dry, fermented spice of soutzouki sausage. No one else is doing it like this.

31 Ballarat Street, Yarraville, tzaki.au

Must-order: The burnt feta cheesecake

French 15/20 (One Hat) $$$

A hidden gem that speaks to the France – and Melbourne – of now

Not for Vinesmith the bistro cliches of blackboard menus, Art Nouveau posters and butcher’s aprons. There’s an unmistakable and winning French accent to the food and the service, sure. And if you’re looking for saucisson sec, oysters, tartare and terrine, you’ll find them. But there’s a freshness to the way they’re presented here, and a clarity that sets Vinesmith apart. Mussels are served in a refined dressing of butternut pumpkin, ’nduja bringing a subtle (and wine-friendly) hum, rather than a wallop. Mandarin, fennel, sea urchin and burnt lemon take a fillet of dory with beurre blanc to a new and delicious place, while a tarte tatin succeeds simply on the merit of classic execution – although creme fraiche and a whole lot of caramel help. This is a polished, attractively adult proposition with the kind of view and smarts that should make it a standby of CBD dining.

1 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, vinesmith.com.au

Good to know: Vinesmith is the city cellar door for Blue Pyrenees and Glenlofty Estate wineries

Contemporary 18.5/20 (Three Hats) $$$$

The intersection of elegance and excess, 55 storeys up

Before there was Yiaga, there was Vue: a much darker creature. Chef Hugh Allen’s reverence for craft, his vision of Australia and his humanity inspire both. But where Yiaga trades in sensitivity and paints from a lighter palette, Vue pulls no punches in the delivery of pleasure. Smoked butter wafts through the air, chairs are upholstered with roo fur. The decadent custard under all that marron is infused with cultured butter; deliciously dank. Kangaroo is parcelled into nasturtiums, their dewy sap a soothing counterpoint to the shiitake soup they’re held in. You’ll spin through the kitchen for a palate-cleansing Chartreuse sorbet you help create, before finishing on the balcony with a quivering chocolate souffle, billy tea ice-cream and an unparallelled view of Melbourne. The bathroom gags are cheap, but they’re vestiges of a bygone administration. This team, however, is among Australia’s finest – and its  chef might be number one.

Level 55, Rialto Towers, 525 Collins Street, Melbourne, vuedemonde.com.au

Good to know: Not drinking? The tea pairing is extraordinary

Thai 13/20 $

The digs are low-key, but this spicy chicken is the Mayor of Flavourtown

A bookend of a little dining parklet where live music, dogs and drinks abound, this deceptively ramshackle joint has cheffy pedigree that shines bright; pull up a plastic stool and let the flame-grilled good times roll. The chicken – some of the juiciest in town – is salt-brined, marinated in turmeric, black pepper and coriander, then roasted over bespoke coconut husk charcoal until it’s all zebra-striped skin and juicy flesh. The menu is ferociously restrained – just great chicken, papaya salad pounded to order, sticky rice and a vinegar-rich green sauce of coriander, green chilli and lime. Tamarind ketchup is a death knell for barbecue sauce. You can add a side of chips, maybe a mushroom larb gai special, or a deeply spiced Thai milk tea flan courtesy of the in-house pastry chef, but it’s all about the chicken.

49 Blessington Street, St Kilda, yangthai.com.au

Good to know: You can grab a $16 lunch pack Wednesday to Friday

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR WINNER

Australian, Contemporary 18.5/20 (Three Hats) $$$$

It’s fitting that the room you first step into at Yiaga is wrapped in thousands of terracotta tiles, each one hand-made for the exact spot on the undulating wall where it sits. This near-fanatical commitment to craft forms the backbone of chef Hugh Allen’s first restaurant, run in conjunction with his duties at Vue de Monde. Beauty is the underlying philosophy. Australia, its landscapes and ingredients and culture, is the muse. Allen and architect John Wardle pored over plans, fabric samples, light fittings and ceramics to build Yiaga. The floors look like the red dirt of Western Australia. The chairs – a feat of furniture design – are crafted from Tasmanian blackwood. A fallen cypress branch from Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens was crafted into the long dining table in the semi-private dining room.

Meaning “to seek and find” in the Woiwurrung language, Yiaga serves 12 courses that roam from Queensland waters to the Victorian Alps without losing sight of flavour. Serene staff will tell you of the fleeting sea urchin season of Mallacoota, honoured in a few mouthfuls of bracing uni resting on chestnut bread. Mandarin and cascabel chilli sorbet looks as vibrant as a high-summer sunset. Squid sliced into tender slivers and bathed in a broth of Thai basil and desert lime speaks of sunshine and seafoam. Set in lush gardens on the city’s edge, framed by imposing trees and younger native plantings, this is a restaurant that Allen hopes will exist for generations. Yiaga calls itself “a small Australian restaurant nestled in the Fitzroy Gardens”. It might be the understatement of the year.

Best for: Those extra special occasions

Fitzroy Gardens, East Melbourne, yiaga.au

Thai, Isan 13.5/20 $

Funky, tangy, jubilant cooking from a region taking Melbourne by storm

Zabb Nua is the spiciest joint on King Street – and that’s saying something. The walls are plastered with colourful posters promising everything from fried pork with fermented fish paste to tom zaap: pork ribs in a hot, sweet and sour soup. It’s just a preview of the seriously bright North-Eastern Thai cooking waiting on the other side of the QR code. There are 19 som tum, Thailand’s suite of world-beating green papaya salads; you might top yours with supple raw salmon. At every turn, there are subtle flexes. Fancy a pad krapow? Make it pork jowl. How about a duck larb? Even the pad see ew cops a major textural upgrade – coiled rice rolls subbing in for flat noodles to trap more flavour. Zabb Nua is a tongue-tasering tour de force, and proof of just how delicious things get near the Laotian border.

275 King Street, Melbourne

Must-order: Yum naem khao tod: spicy, crunchy fried rice tossed with fermented pork sausage, peanuts, fish sauce, lime juice, pork skin, mint and more

Armenian, Lebanese 15/20 (One Hat) $$

Unmatched energy and razor-sharp cooking make this small room a big deal

If you’re going to build a reputation around a single dish, hummus is a glorious hill to die on. Tom Sarafian’s silken chickpea dip – crowned with spiced king prawn and crab – remains his signature. The space wraps an L-shaped bar and tight wood-fired galley kitchen with keenly sought tables. Sarafian’s pithy menu evolves gently, comfort staples lifted by seasonal twists: tamarind-bright pickles, an Alexandrian-inspired ful medames that’s as much salad as broad bean stew, and batata harra – deeply tanned potatoes spiced with ras al hanout you’ll want to eat forever. Another must-order: juicy grill-striped chicken skewers slathered with garlicky toum, balanced by a sharp parsley and pickled chilli salad. With Lebanese wine flowing, Armenian pop on the stereo and charcoal smoke in the air, Zareh feels less like a restaurant and more like an intimate, high-octane dinner party.

368 Smith Street, Collingwood, zareh.com.au

Good to know: Keep the party going by taking tubs of hummus, toum and harissa home

PUB OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNER

Pub Dining 14/20 $$

Time slows at this 141-year-old pub perched atop a hillock in Warburton at the doorstep of the Yarra Ranges. The stately red brick building – respectfully updated in 2021 by couple Rachael and Anthony Northwood – welcomes big groups in its beer garden (where you might catch live music) and families in the bistro, with a dog-friendly atrium and semi-private child-free dining area to boot. Locals mix with hikers, trail runners, cyclists and activewear-clad tourists who are here to absorb the sights, sounds and clean air of this quiet pocket of Victoria. Chef James Holdom takes every opportunity to showcase ingredients from local producers. A pub staple like the burger doesn’t skip a beat with its Yarra Valley grass-fed wagyu beef patty, and house-made burger sauce and pickled zucchini. Other dishes weave in references to the Arabian peninsula, the Indian subcontinent and East Asia. Hargreaves Hill pale ale and Watts River IPA continue the local theme, as does much of the wine and cocktail list. Monthly dinners champion independent Yarra Valley winemakers over five courses; discounts on accommodation upstairs are an extra sweetener. On Tuesdays, locals get 20 per cent off meals and, at weekends, a buffet breakfast spans roasted mushrooms, sausages and bacon, pastries, house-made jam, a delicious fruit salad, and coffee from Silva Roasters in town. Ticking every box of a true country pub while delivering exceptional food and drink, The Alpine pulls off the great tightrope walk of soul and style.

Must order: The free-range chicken parma, topped with ham from Ballarat’s Salt Kitchen Charcuterie carved off the bone in the kitchen

3340 Warburton Highway, Warburton, alpineretreat.com.au

Contemporary 15.5/20 (One Hat) $$$

Groundbreaking sustainability served at no cost to flavour or finesse

You’ll never be offered sugar with your coffee here. It’s nothing to do with the team; they’re fantastic: attentive, sensitive, invested. And the kitchen didn’t run out; they just never ordered any. Besides, there’s no coffee anyway. The Midland credo is radical sustainability, so if it can’t be grown or made in Victoria, you won’t find it here. Your Jerusalem artichoke millefeuille relies on its own sugars for sweetness. Slow-braised, locally shot venison shoulder checks its richness with an ethereal pear puree. Sure, that moussey cremant nods to the winemaking sensibilities of the Jura, and, yes, it was produced by a native thereof. But the grapes are 100 per cent Macedon Ranges magic – their bold, bready notes brought to the fore by the Long Paddock cheese gougere you’re devouring alongside. Wrap it all in the rich timber claddings of an art deco hotel, and ask yourself this: do I really miss refined sugar?

1/2 Templeton Street, Castlemaine, barmidland.com

Good to know: The all-Victorian drinks list is world class – and it was named the state’s best by this very Guide last year.

REGIONAL RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNER

Contemporary 17.5/20 (Two Hats) $$$

After a drive along crunchy gravel, through tea trees and past greenhouses, Barragunda appears – a low-slung building nestled into Mornington Peninsula dunes. Inside, the timber-rich dining room frames views of coastal plants and vegetable furrows. Estate-grown produce drives the veg-forward menu, turning up raw, cooked or plucked from the library of preserves shelved beside the kitchen. Each menu is date-stamped, further proof of chef Simone Watts’ commitment to seasonality. A meal might begin with crisp crudites alongside a fluffy sabayon dusted with leek ash, and a dish whose blunt menu description – “spent hen, fermented quince, daisy bush” – disguises a mini sausage roll with a dab of fruity sauce. Local mussels, some battered, others poached, huddle beneath a creme fraiche foam. Rosy rounds of black Angus paired with wood-fired sugarloaf cabbage may not read as groundbreaking, but when the beef is raised just metres away from the dining room, it anchors an inspiring expression of modern regionality. The restaurant – established by the Morris family who owns the 405-hectare property – uses profits to fund local charities and sustainable, regenerative food systems. Closed-loop practices and native revegetation are part of the model, and a collective of growers also uses the land to propagate flowers, native plants and vegetables.

113 Cape Schanck Road, Cape Schanck, barragunda.com.au

European 15/20 (One Hat) $$$

A charming dining room helmed by people with passion in their veins

The top floor of an 1858 building that was once the Daylesford grocer now brims with 18 happy diners. They climb spiral stairs to reach a mustard-coloured room lined with artwork arranged salon-style, a joyous backdrop for French-leaning menus based on bijou local produce. The four-course offering is tweaked weekly, but you’ll certainly find charcuterie rendered from pork down the road, and pretty green salad dressed with fine judgement. Otherwise, there could be soup – comforting lentils in adroitly seasoned stock during winter, a bright fish-studded broth with rouille when summer keeps the dining room bathed in golden light until late. Classic roasts and braises are served for sharing; desserts, however, are not. Co-owner Andy Ainsworth’s wine list happily follows the local, small-batch bias. Warm, meaningful and resonant, this is a place to relax and feel connected.

117 Vincent Street, Daylesford, barmerenda.com.au

Good to know: Ground-floor Bar Merenda is walk-ins only and the food is just as good

Contemporary 18/20 (Three Hats) $$$$

A luxurious, lyrical paean to sustainability that sets the standard for regional dining

The thrill of arriving at this serene weatherboard farmhouse is the sense of mystery: the multi-course tasting menu mirrors whatever the soil has yielded that day, and you won’t know what’s coming until it is placed before you. Under owners Julianne Bagnato and Dan Hunter, most of what is served in a glass or on a plate is grown sustainably in the farm’s maturing gardens, or by producers who share that ethos. On the plate, this might translate to the edible posy that is Brae’s emblematic garden salad; garnet-coloured radicchio hearts coaxed into sweetness with rhubarb and shiso; or a blushing slice of dry-aged Great Ocean duck breast, its skin like glass, served with pencil-thin carrots and globe artichokes. Between courses, warm, passionate staff encourage a gentle meander through the orchards – a grounded, magical touch that ties every bite back to the earth.

4285 Cape Otway Road, Birregurra, braerestaurant.com

Good to know: It’s a 90-minute drive from Melbourne. If budget permits, stay in an on-site suite and explore the farm

European 17/20 (Two Hats) $$$$

A special-occasion destination that’s in a class of its own

Imagine your most worldly friend has a French farmhouse and you’re invited to lunch – that’s Chauncy. Host and sommelier Tess Murray sweeps you into the salon for an aperitif; her chef partner Louis Naepels delivers a petite caramelised leek pastry. Then unfurls the most elegant of long lunches: six courses with matched wines or Murray’s equally compelling non-alcs. Everyone dines at one table, from one menu, with everything included. As the couple confers in French, Chauncy feels like an extension of their home – and it quite literally is. Extra bread lands the instant it’s needed to mop the chive-iest of oils (a gift of the kitchen garden) pooled around a cloud of salt cod brandade. When hazelnut veloute – artichoke-studded, truffle-topped – seems too rich, Bugey chardonnay arrives like a spritz of lemon. At first you’re a table of strangers, but with Murray’s abundant charm, it takes little to get familiar.

178 High Street, Heathcote, chauncy.com.au

Good to know: Lunch can stretch till dinnertime, so book a night nearby

French 16/20 (Two Hats) $$$

A garden-fresh masterclass in country generosity

The fire is roaring, the souffles are rising, the bourguignon is braising. Time is an afterthought inside this farmy dreamhouse. For the next four courses, the world will stop, and everything will be just so. It’s the mark of a master team: Annie Smithers in the kitchen playing conduit for her garden, Mother Nurture Bronwyn Kabboord soothing the room. There aren’t enough superlatives to praise their care, but it shows up in Kabboord’s invitation to stand by the fire, her gentle wine guidance and intuition. It’s the hot heap of gruyere in a souffle that’s proudly outgrown its mould. It’s the sear on the beef and the slow, steady cook that renders it tender. The menu is written strictly du jour. If the lemon trees are fruiting, they might become inspiration for a crisp-topped pudding, a sweet-sour finish to Victoria’s most relaxed long lunch.

42 High Street, Trentham, anniesmithers.com.au

Good to know: Historic bakery Red Beard is right down the lane; pick up a Scotch oven-fired Eccles cake for the Trentham culinary quinella

Contemporary 15/20 (One Hat) $$

Salt of the earth and polished in perfect proportions

Warmth radiates from one particular shopfront on a main street in Victoria’s north. But it’s not the lighting; it’s the much more elusive glow that emanates from content diners. Sunny, well-drilled staff put you at ease, as does a drinks list that namechecks both small-batch outfits (Beechworth Bitters) and familiar comforts such as Melbourne Bitter. Big pieces of meat, simply yet skilfully handled, satisfy big appetites, whether it’s fork-tender lamb shoulder shredded and pressed into a brick, or hanger steak cooked to a perfect medium-rare and doused with bourguignon sauce. Fish and chips get a little fancy when pan-fried flathead joins long batons of crumbed celeriac, with caper-flecked remoulade and grassy watercress sauce along for the ride. Cocktails shift seasonally, showcasing chestnuts in winter, cherries in summer, and every decision from the ceramics to the flour supplier uplifts a local maker.

84 Main Street, Rutherglen, milkinkitchen.com.au

Good to know: Mini martinis, zero per cent beers and non-alcoholic cocktails keep drivers happy

Japanese 15/20 (One Hat) $$

Open-flame cooking and house-distilled spirits unite for a soul-warming good time

Good luck nailing down the KPIs of Koji Bird. A restaurant at a distillery sharing space with a daytime coffee operation, it’s the izakaya that defies definitions. Debate them over a shochu sour featuring parent business Reed and Co’s hooch as you witness skilled chefs command the fierce-looking charcoal- fired oven. They coax big flavours from north-east Victorian produce without sacrificing nuance. Sweet-fleshed trout from nearby Harrietville is served with its own crisped skin and a sharp ume dashi. Charry yakitori – perhaps chicken oysters – are primed with an umami-rich koji glaze, the tasty fungus proving its worth in both the distillery’s Japanese spirits and on the plate. Venison tataki in a ponzu puddle is an “eat the problem” revelation, while dessert, an ice-cream sandwich made with passionfruit-spiked sake lees, is built for little and big kids alike.

15 Wills Street, Bright, reedandcodistillery.com

Good to know: Get game-ready with a pre-dinner tasting at adjacent Reed and Co Distillery

Contemporary 17.5/20 (Two Hats) $$$$

Rural idyll rendered as ambitious gastronomy

Breathe. Sink into the cushions. Regard the tranquil lake. Lake House is unhurried, expansive and serene. Alla and the late Allan Wolf-Tasker opened a cottage restaurant in a paddock in 1984. Since then, the family’s ambition has been consistent – look after people, honour small farmers, embed hospitality skills – but the scale is ever expanding, the horizon always pushing forward. Now buttressed by luxury accommodation and an on-site spa, and underpinned by a farm, bakery and wine label, Lake House showers diners with special touches and uplifting whimsy. Hamburg parsley, a sweet pale root vegetable, is snuggled into tortelli. A white egg-shaped vessel reveals elegant vichyssoise with confit yolk; a brioche toast finger makes it the world’s most luxurious dippy egg. Seared scallops are anointed with yuzu bouillabaisse, an example of French technique married with contemporary creativity. This is one of Victoria’s great dining rooms, timeless yet anchored in place.

4 King Street, Daylesford, lakehouse.com.au

Best for: Special celebrations you’ll remember forever

Contemporary 16/20 (Two Hats) $$$$

Luxuriously languid fine dining in one of Australia’s most striking settings

The Obamas lunched here in 2023 with a perfect view of Laura, the seven-metre-high bust for which the restaurant is named. But every linen-draped table in this flagship winery diner has spectacular views of sea, vines and world-renowned sculpture. There’s art, too, from the open kitchen, where Spanish-born chef Josep Espuga pairs ingredients from nearby – and inspiration from afar – in menus of up to eight courses. Dishes swoop from risotto cooked with goat’s cheese broth, blanketed with sea urchin mousse, to Victorian wagyu, the blushing beef accessorised with a charming sweetcorn ice-cream taco. Southern rock lobster might be flambeed tableside, and local chocolate could be paired with estate-grown tarragon and passionfruit. Warm service completes a picture worthy of the finest galleries. (Want to dine like a president? Ask for table one.)

3649 Frankston-Flinders Road, Merricks, ptleoestate.com.au

Good to know: Wine tasting and sculpture walk admission are included; allow yourself time

Sri Lankan, Contemporary 15/20 (One Hat) $$

A stunning, richly spiced showcase of influences from near and far

You mightn’t expect to find a South Asian feast of fantasies on a quiet country shopping strip, yet here comes a procession of intricate snacks from the kitchen of executive chef and now-owner Gayan Pieris. Built from local produce – much of it from nearby Polperro farm – each bite offers a dazzling intro to Pieris’ Sri Lankan heritage and cooking prowess. Kingfish in fragrant chilled coconut broth is sublime scooped onto crackly red rice crackers. Moreton Bay bug dressed in glossy mustard sauce and tangy dried shrimp sambol is earthy and luxurious. Punchy dishes keep landing, but save room – there’s still a gorgeous tray to come loaded with curries (tip: the chicken’s a signature for a reason), a trio of sambols and net-like string hoppers for dabbing any saucy leftovers off the plate – or your chin.

2-5/159 Shoreham Road, Red Hill South, manylittle.com.au

Good to know: Order takeaway curries to enjoy Pieris’ cooking from the comfort of home

Contemporary 15.5/20 (One Hat) $$

Lively outpost for modern, purposeful cooking

Messmates wants you to think this is easy. But look closer – past the din of locals chatting across tables, the open kitchen humming – and find a crew of people whose chief concern is your enjoyment. A simple salad and some bread is really a complex tangle of radicchio, donated quince from a local’s tree, and earthy walnut butter. The bread? Focaccia made with a nearly decade-old sourdough starter. Roast chicken adorned with Gascony butter, sharp and sweet, performs the great juggling act of regional restaurants: appealing for locals, exciting for visitors. Spuds and salad leaves come from the farm of one owner’s father, and that fiercely local ethos extends to wines, a who’s who of vintners from Baw Baw’s vineyards. It’s the restaurant this town always needed. Just 90 minutes from the city, it could be the one everyone else needs, too.

15 Palmerston Street, Warragul, messmatesdining.com

Good to know: A smart curation of local aperitifs and digestifs covers for the lack of bars nearby

Japanese, Contemporary 17/20 (Two Hats) $$$

An established High Country high-flyer that still has new tricks up its sleeve

Seventeen years on, a culinary butterfly flapping its wings in Beechworth continues to make waves across Australia. Michael Ryan’s kitchen brilliance is certified but his tinkering on the sides – the opening of an adjacent wine lounge with Japanesque snacks and an upstairs amaro bar – has seen this regional dining landmark pull a broader audience. No visit is complete without taking a seat in the dining room, where 18 bijou dishes arrive kaiseki-style across four “courses”. Artfully arrayed on timber trays, each is a first-class ticket through Ryan’s mind. There might be jerky-like dried squid and a gilda sporting pickled swordfish. Seared cabbage sings sweetly with nori vinaigrette. Earthy sunflower seed risotto is amped up with umami-rich roe. As for barbecued pork belly vigorously peppered with togarashi – more, please. Can’t finish that buttery white chocolate and miso cookie? They’ll wrap it up for a luxe midnight snack.

86 Ford Street, Beechworth, theprovenance.com.au

Must-order: A pre- or post-meal amaro from Ryan’s own Beechworth Bitters Company

Contemporary 16.5/20 (Two Hats) $$

A radical restaurant model backed by truly memorable dishes

The eclair says it all. Feather-light choux, crisped onion rubble and piped custard made from perfectly good cheese otherwise bound for landfill. This is Samesyn in one bite: waste not merely saved, but dressed to impress. Chef-owner Graham Jefferies’ seaside restaurant has no bins and no traditional waitstaff. The same person who’s chatting to you at the table may have also picked the garnish or braised the meat. Whey appears with oysters, then later as a caramel that adds funk to a dark chocolate and sourdough dessert. Chicken fat lends decadence to crunchy toast alongside roo tartare. Retired dairy cow – dry-aged, sliced pink and glossed with egg-white garum butter – brings a grown-up flavour most steaks never achieve. The food is not excellent “for a cause”; it’s excellent, full stop. That 100 per cent of profits go to local charity Feed Me only makes the achievement more delicious.

3/24 Bell Street, Torquay, samesyn.com.au

Good to know: Drinks are equally exciting – try the daisy and lime soda

Seafood 14.5/20 $$

A champion of the day’s catch, in a prime position on the Gippsland Lakes

Plenty of seafood restaurants boast about sourcing only the freshest fish. What’s rare is one that has a private jetty where fishing boats dock nightly and deliver their most coveted catches directly to the kitchen. That’s the deal at Sodafish, built on the floating bones of what was once the Raymond Island ferry and is now one of the most picturesque dining spots in the state. Outside, maritime views as far as the eye can see. Inside, refracted harbour light rippling across the wood-panelled ceiling. Chef Nick Mahlook slices hand-dived scallops into buttery and pearlescent ceviche offset by finger lime and sea spray. On the sun-drenched balcony, diners drag plump, pristine fried whitebait through thyme aioli. Others marvel at the restraint of simply grilled snapper resting on cannellini beans threaded with garlic and lemon. With produce this good, why do more?

Middle Boat Harbour, The Esplanade, Lakes Entrance, sodafish.com.au

Best for: Classic seafood dishes and unmatched harbourside views

Contemporary 14.5/20 $$

A seaside restaurant for the people

Jo Barrett has done it again. After her bowls-club restaurant triumph, Little Picket, and ethical home meals business Wildpie, the 2023 Good Food Guide Chef of the Year is back cooking with former Oakridge colleague Aaron Brodie at a venue with community at its core. An old coastal motel is now a gorgeous pub with rooms and views. Mid-century modishness matches a retro Surf Wax cocktail of tequila and Malibu. Dim sims set off your nostalgia sensors, despite their more sustainable wild boar filling. Perfectly crisp schnitzel is made with wild venison, another eco-friendly choice. Barrett is just as creative with vegetables, stuffing rainbow chard with green olives and ricotta, pushing each ingredient to its full potential. Everyone is welcome, the food is cooked with heart, and underpinning it all is an inspired environmental responsibility. What a spot.

35 The Esplanade, Torquay, surfhotel.com.au

Good to know: The hotel includes 16 rooms and suites plus a penthouse that sleeps eight

Contemporary 17.5/20 (Two Hats) $$$$

Driven by pleasure, steered by talent

You made it. You remembered when bookings open, organised your compadres and got yourselves to this lush hillside. Perhaps you’ve been waiting months, or years. Now you’re at a table dressed with white vintage linen; around you, French industrial lights, photographs by co-owner James Broadway, poppies craning their necks out of a vase. While you sip a drink, small plates arrive holding salty cured pork or skewers of grilled wagyu. Sweet pickled fennel complements nutty dip to load on focaccia. Four more generous courses come from Brigitte Hafner’s brick-flanked hearth and the Tedesca garden. Workhorse ingredients – carrot and onion – become wondrous in ravioli shaped like tiny perfect suns. The languorous feast peaks with lamb two ways: char-crusted cutlets brightened with lemon, and rouge-coloured shoulder to drag through Sichuan-style strange flavour sauce, or wrap in a spring onion pancake. Wasn’t it all worth it?

1175 Mornington-Flinders Road, Red Hill, tedesca.com.au

Good to know: The wine list is too good to miss. Book a driver or chance an Uber

Contemporary 15/20 (One Hat) $$

Sea-change charm seasoned with tropical soul

Chicken and chips go for a sumptuous spin through South Asia: blistered skin scattered with fried curry leaves, juicy breast and wing lapped by lemongrass-coconut veloute, and fries on the side for mopping every last drop. Sri Lankan-born chef Kalindu Karunasena works out of a weatherboard cottage on the main street of beachy Barwon Heads, confidently pairing just-cooked prawns with luscious seaweed-ginger sauce and crunchy potato focaccia. Bellarine scallops float in vibrant, sweet-sour curry butter that warrants slurping straight from the shell. Aromatic white wines, many keenly priced, take on the spice. A similarly inviting reds list serves regulars popping in for the house beef burger or local Sher wagyu with chimichurri. The whole package is delivered with affable polish by a sunny service team who make this humble charmer feel like a bistro for all seasons and all comers.

60 Hitchcock Avenue, Barwon Heads, tommygunns.com.au

Must-order: King prawns with seaweed-ginger butter

Contemporary 15.5/20 (One Hat) $$$

Exceptional yet unfussy dining for 20 guests in a one-table dining room

A local couple, celebrating their 50th meal here, laments the demise of Underbar’s multi-course degustation. Never fear. Its replacement – a generous three-course set menu – retains all the finesse, obsession and skill fans know from owner-chef Derek Boath (ex-Per Se, New York). He confidently works the small open kitchen alone, grilling, steaming, frying, roasting and cleaning. Tweezers come out to plate raw yellowtail kingfish splashed with zesty ponzu sauce. A flavoursome chop from nearby Western Plains Pork highlights Boath’s meticulous saucework, the sweet, warm hit of gochujang softened within a creamy beurre blanc. Lamb, peas and mint are a classic combination; staying on theme, Boath also sneaks in some nori. Velvety panna cotta gets layered with rice pudding made with koshihikari grains; lemon curd and matcha add definition. Built around one star ingredient, the weekly changing menu is one to return for, no special occasion needed.

3 Doveton Street North, Ballarat, underbar.com.au

Good to know: The six stools at the chef’s counter provide a ringside view; all other seats are at a communal table