Victoria

A handsome neighbourhood bistro embraces fermenting and preserving, writes MICHAEL HARDEN.

Thi Le and Jia-Yen Lee’s mod-Viet returns with gusto in its latest incarnation, writes MICHAEL HARDEN.

The art of hospitality is on show with Gerald's Bar alumni forging something new and excellent.

The Spanish sibling returns with a serious new look and seriously good food.

One of Melbourne’s most ambitous openings of 2023 is also one of the priciest, but it’s all part of the experience.

Old-school, theatrical hospitality is where Omnia shines.

The dramatic transformation that occurs as you step from hectic Lygon Street into the upholstered serenity of Kazuki's is one of Melbourne's great dining overtures.

Perhaps it's the glowy backlighting, moody as all get-out. Or maybe it's the genuine sense of hospitality, instantly evident in the bright-eyed welcome.

Patience. You'll need it to land one of six seats at chef Jung Eun Chae's Cockatoo home, where the seasonal, medicinal, ferment-heavy Korean menu unfolds.

Her Bar keeps feet on the ground with a swanky fit-out and a menu delivering greatest hits in the key of France.

A Piedmontese trattoria promises to become a Fitzroy favourite with impressive dishes and wines to match.

A Piedmontese trattoria promises to become a Fitzroy favourite with impressive dishes and wines to match.

This serene eatery is a lesson in temaki sushi and female-brewed sake.

Left-of-centre pasta plays lead alongside excellent snacks at this new-wave Italian-ish spot.

It's time to live large at this glitzy multi-faceted restaurant.

Commune's newcomer delivers good times and plenty of Aussie-Cantonese soul.

A clever new wine bar in Collingwood offers exciting pours and applause-worthy snacks to match.

Quite simply, this is one of Melbourne’s best places to be: a stylish bar-cum-casual-diner livened by wood fire and fermentation, curing and smoking, spotted gum and sandstone.

Melbourne doesn’t have a brilliant track record with restaurants in cultural institutions. Hero, at Fed Square’s ACMI, bucks that trend emphatically.

Think excellent flatbread served with “lumpy” butter and pickled green tomatoes, or parsnip dumplings with caramelised onion and yoghurt.

Underlined by the laidback service and the single seating policy, Tedesca Osteria has a dinner at a friend's place vibe. With faultless attention to detail, it's a must.

Open just two days a week, Underbar plays a great game of hard-to-get. The room is minimalist, the service warm, the encounter unforgettable.

With escape from reality at a premium, Gimlet's gorgeously renovated, high-ceilinged space is the perfect bolthole.

Khanh Nguyen, Melbourne's latest chef hero, deftly mixes a grab-bag of Malaysian, Indonesian and Vietnamese traditions with native ingredients to deliver something shockingly new.

Refreshingly modern takes on traditional dishes, Turkish wine, pretty cocktails and well-versed staff shine through at Tulum. Clever delicious.

The elegantly refreshed Provenance has never shone brighter, promising diners a riot of colour, slow food and ceramics.

Since grabbing attention in 2013 with their low-waste farm-to-table concept, O.My has only gone bigger and better.

The Japanese notion of "ichigyo zammai" – doing one thing excessively well – is on vivid display at this backstreet Richmond sushi temple.

Victor Liong's new-style Chinese food takes its cues from the lilting elegance of Cantonese, but heads off in its own unique direction.

Lake House provides many applause-worthy moments and deserves every ovation.

Behind a monochrome shopfront is Kazuki's, an oasis of minimalist, mustard-carpeted calm, where Japanese and European flavours are fused brilliantly.

Featuring a mysterious six-course dégustation menu that's the best thing to happen to Geelong since the Cats won the flag in 2011.

With chandeliers, meticulously ironed linen, charming service and menus that riff on grand Roman ristorante, Grossi Florentino is one of the foundations of Melbourne's dining scene.

Whether celebrating life's milestones or simply treating yourself, dining at the Drum is the ultimate expression of self-care.

Since opening five years ago, Embla has offered one of Melbourne's quintessential dining experiences: eating at its kitchen bar.

An utterly familiar menu of Italian perfection right in Melbourne's CBD.

Brae is one of Australia's great food offerings, bringing an experience that's unforgettable, educational and unmissable.

Bar Lourinhã's emphatic 15-year influence on Melbourne's dining scene DNA has it nudging institution status, even if its fresh, modern energy makes that label seem odd.

Ben Shewry recognises the expense of his world-famous 10-ish course meal and strives to honour Indigenous culture and ingredients. He succeeds, completely and beautifully.

Besides the thrilling, original cooking, the most exciting thing about this modern Vietnamese-Australian restaurant is its constant evolution.

A hotel-restaurant-spa from a hospitality veteran, a Japanese-leaning fine diner and GT's Restaurant of the Year. These restaurants are worth the road trip.

Kokis, hoppers and a thali you won't forget any time soon. This Sri Lankan-inspired bistro and bar is spicing things up in regional Victoria.

It hasn't been an easy ride for this Victorian fine-dining restaurant. But judging by the food, service and polished dining room, you wouldn't know it.

From the folks behind Neighbourhood Wine comes a fine local bistro with wood-fired dishes that reference the chef's South African heritage, and a sweet and smoky pork chop that just won't quit.

REVIEW Laura is a complete restaurant experience. The location is incredible, at one end of a sweeping arc of a building overlooking Pt. Leo Estate’s sculpture park, tucked beyond the establishment’s cellar door and casual dining room. It’s a cosseted enclave that is both elevated and comfortable, and the set menu showcases Phil Wood’s questing […]

Tansy's has returned, this time in regional Victoria. It's all classics and class, and serving sardines so beautiful they could make a grown man cry. Time to set the GPS to Kyneton.