Saadi

This venue is included in Good Food’s 100 Essential Restaurants list.

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.

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

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.

Last visited: May 2026

More:

• Melbourne
• Saadi
• Indian
• Accepts bookings
• Prix fixe
• Date night
• Special occasion
• Long lunch
• Good for groups
• Vegetarian-friendly
• Gluten-free options
• Pre- or post-theatre
• Restaurant
• Reviews
• Good Food Guide
• 100 Essential Restaurants
• Critics’ Pick