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The Gorda tigelle at Emilietta layers mortadella, balsamic onion and pistachio.

This hatted city restaurant is now serving a rare Italian sandwich you should know about

Forget panini and focaccia. This spin-off sandwich bar is all about fluffy flatbreads served still-warm and filled with primo Italian ingredients.

  • Tomas Telegramma
A cheeseburger and beer on tap is part of the relaxed offering.

Your May hit list: The hot, new and just-reviewed places to check out this month

Affordable gems worth crossing town for and charming little wine bars galore. Here are Melbourne’s hotspots to visit this month and beyond.

Pasta at the front, diners at the back at Prova.

Enter this pasta shop via a back lane to discover Thornbury’s classy and discreet new diner

Two nights a week, the Umberto team’s pasta shop Pastificio Sandro moonlights as a restaurant, with charry mortadella skewers and a fancy version of nonna’s soup.

  • Tomas Telegramma
Enoteca Zingara is aiming to be an affordable pit-stop like those in Italy.

‘We need this in Melbourne now’: Hatted trattoria opens a more casual and affordable spin-off

You’ll find delicious things on bread, wine at retail prices and recipes from nonna’s repertoire at Alta’s new sibling, Enoteca Zingara.

  • Emma Breheny
Karl van Buuren and Josh Uljans, Moon Dog Brewery, Footscray.

Moon Dog’s Footscray brewpub ready to pour first beers after launch debacle

A fire hydrant has stopped the kegs from running at a brewpub set to open on a site many Melburnians hold dear. But the end is in sight.

  • Emma Breheny
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Suntop Plaza channels summery Noosa vibes.

Owner of hatted 1800 Lasagne transforms quiet cafe into Brunswick East’s next hot spot

Suntop Plaza has a new look and owner, but the heart of the cafe – and most of its home-style sandwich menu – remain very much intact.

  • Tomas Telegramma
Ora, already a key part of the Kew community, is about to open after dark too.

Three good-looking new locals for a low-key luxe night out

One spot rewards early birds with a free snack. Another is a favourite morning hangout that’s just added dinner. All of them you’d want in your neighbourhood.

  • Emma Breheny and Tomas Telegramma
Moon Dog Wild West in Footscray, featuring the mechanical bull ridden by owners Josh Uljans (left) and Karl van Buuren.

Footscray’s legendary Franco Cozzo site has undergone a wild transformation

A mechanical bull, tequila-sunrise slushies, sizzling fajita platters and a huge rooftop bar. Welcome to Moon Dog Brewery’s new three-level mega-venue.

  • Tomas Telegramma
Wally’s sits in a light-filled corner building in Albert Park.

Wally’s brings relaxed dining and hard-to-find wines to a corner spot in Albert Park

The bijou new wine bar hopes to become a magnet for the neighbourhood with its 300-bottle wine list and lovable Euro dishes like steak in bordelaise sauce.

  • Daniela Frangos
Entrees such as chicken liver parfait (right) will also make the most of the house-baked bread.

Bistra brings back the old-school Aussie bistro complete with 𝄒90s menu classics

There’s beer on tap, trifle in glass bowls, and battered prawns. And a near-extinct hospitality tradition – replete with white tablecloths – is being revived.

  • Emma Breheny