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Gemini is a cafe by day, and wine bar by night.

Our 10 favourite new Melbourne restaurant and bar openings of the year (so far)

Half-way through 2024 it’s clear economic pressures are hitting the hospitality industry hard. But there’s been some exciting new venues, and trends, to emerge.

  • Emma Breheny and Dani Valent
Helen Goh’s almond shortbread with Stephanie’s mother’s cumquat marmalade.

Five old-fashioned biscuit recipes to bake this weekend

Take a (melting) moment for yourself this weekend with a freshly baked bikkie and a cup of tea.

Blue swimmer crab egg tart (right) and cauliflower egg tart with caviar.

Savoury Portuguese tarts a taste of big things to come at this high-profile CBD opening

Sydney hospo power couple Ross and Sunny Lusted reveal more details about their upcoming Melbourne CBD project, a 90-seat diner and adjoining basement bar.

  • Tomas Telegramma
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Go-to dish: Beyaynetu vegan platter on injera.
13.5/20

‘Doubly exceptional’: Why this humble Ethiopian restaurant’s injera is twice as nice

Sinq’s sisters cook Ethiopian dishes you can find in dozens of Melbourne dining rooms, but with uncommon deftness and detail, and a warm, generous spirit.

  • Dani Valent
Adam Liaw’s version of the viral internet dish Marry me chicken.

The 50 most popular new recipes of the year (so far)

From budget-friendly family favourites to proposal-worthy one-pan wonders, catch up on 2024’s most clicked and cooked recipes.

The best recipes from Australia's leading chefs straight to your inbox.

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Melbourne Eat Streets

Tiamo restaurant in Carlton.

Five years ago, Lygon Street was dying. Now diners are queuing out the door

  • Dani Valent
Tocca restaurant in Werribee.

How a run-down strip became the most exciting culinary street in the west

  • Dani Valent
Victor Churchill in Armadale.

How a well-heeled street of wedding dress shops became a premier dining strip

  • Dani Valent
Modu restaurant on Clayton Road.

The gritty ‘eating street’ in the south-east that boasts more than 200 restaurants

  • Dani Valent
Crosta D’Oro in Thornbury.

High Street is jam-packed with bars, cafes and restaurants – but this is its best section

  • Dani Valent

Eating out

The hefty porchetta roll at G. McBean Family Butcher.

Is this hefty porchetta roll as good as Jamie Oliver reckons?

The Italian rolled pork roast is a thing of salty, crackly joy. These six Melbourne spots are nailing it and slapping it on rolls you need to know about.

  • Tomas Telegramma
Italian-ish restaurant Slim’s Upstairs has opened above the more casual Slim’s Hot Pizza.

For a slice of Mount Eliza’s hottest opening of the year, head upstairs

  • Tomas Telegramma
Molli bistro-bar (left) and Little Molli cafe-deli are sibling venues in Abbotsford.

Meet Molli, a mini dining precinct in Abbotsford’s backstreets

  • Tomas Telegramma
Dan Hong has scoured Hong Kong for time-honoured dishes.

Dan Hong shares his food go-tos from airport McDonald’s to Michelin-starred sushi

  • Jane Rocca

Lists & guides

Oysters, fries and free-range chicken with burnt chilli nuoc mam at Firebird.

From oysters to yum cha: The best all-you-can-eat (and drink) deals around Melbourne

The hefty porchetta roll at G. McBean Family Butcher.

Six of Melbourne’s best porchetta sandwiches

A coffee window is part of Stanley Street Bodega’s convenient pitch.

Corner shops are cool again: 10 new delis with a difference in Melbourne

Pat Cremean (right) is following in his father Terry’s footsteps at Pieman’s Son.

10 of the best bakery pies featuring a next-gen pieman from a Melbourne pastry dynasty

Doju chef Mika Chae at KT Mart Korean supermarket in Melbourne.

The chef’s essential guide to Korean food shopping

Arbory’s $55 fondue is plenty for lunch between two.

Forget lunch al desko and go al fresco with this fondue (plus more great value city lunch deals)

The Muffin Top with omelette, beef patty, zucchini pickles, American cheese and chilli Kewpie mayo.

June hit list:  Hot, new and just-reviewed places to check out this month

Stokehouse Pasta and Bar’s Wednesday night lasagne special.

Wallet-friendly winter warmers: Eight top meal deals from noodle bowls to bolognese

Pasta carbonara from Sarah Cicolini, a young gun chef from Santo Palato in Rome.

The overseas restaurants you need on your bucket list, according to the Good Food team

Australian-Japanese food writer Emiko Davies, from Enoteca Marilù cooking school in Tuscany.

From Tuscany to Bali: 12 cooking schools worth planning a trip around

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

10 new neighbourhood wine bars to spend a cosy Sunday afternoon in

Negroni sbagliatos and snacks at Bianchetto.

These bars are handing out free snacks most days. Here’s when to stop by

Recent reviews

Zoe Birch in the tiny dining room at Greasy Zoes in Hurstbridge.
Good Food hatGood Food hat16.5/20

Eight-seater Greasy Zoes is smaller than some families’ dining rooms

  • Emma Breheny
Olympia Wine’s rooftop is all blue and white.

This hidden rooftop bar is a dose of Greek island heat during a bitter winter

  • Dani Valent
Roti banjir - roti bread in curry sauce with two soft-boiled eggs and sambal.

‘I’m full of praise for Terry’s, a Malaysian canteen in a suburban megachurch’

  • Dani Valent
Momos are a popular order.
13/20

More than momos: Trek down to this CBD basement Lakhey for a taste of the Himalayas

  • Dani Valent
Lucia’s coffee, bourbon and chocolate dessert.
Good Food hat15.5/20

Rediscover an endangered brand of old-school fine dining at newcomer Lucia

  • Besha Rodell

Recipes

Mexican-inspired soup with all the toppings.

Give tacos, Thai green curry and carbonara the soup treatment

Katrina Meynink transforms three dinnertime classics − and one cocktail − into fortifying, satisfying soups.

  • Katrina Meynink
Korean fried chicken.

RecipeTin reveals the secret to making ‘Sydney’s best-ever’ Korean fried chicken

  • Nagi Maehashi
Fish pakoras with turmeric yoghurt and lime.

Adam Liaw’s fish pakoras plus his beginner’s guide to deep-frying

  • 30 mins - 1 hr
  • Adam Liaw
Roast chicken with sauce vin John.

Level-up your roast chicken with this recipe from hatted Melbourne restaurant Embla

  • Dave Verheul

Recipe collections

Adam Liaw’s version of the viral internet dish Marry me chicken.

The 50 most popular new recipes of the year (so far)

Rainbow chard and orzo salad with crispy feta.

14 interesting and filling winter-friendly salads to make this week

Crepes with hazelnut chocolate spread and bananas.

Crepe expectations: Five great pancake toppings to make this weekend

Adam Liaw’s mince stroganoff.

15 new (and improved) ways with mince starring Adam Liaw’s low-cost stroganoff

Speedy prawn and noodle laksa with tofu puffs.

25 of RecipeTin’s midweek winners ready in 30 minutes (or less!)

Pizza rice.

14 of our favourite fast and affordable one-pots to make this week

Five warm and saucy puddings to make this weekend

Five warm and saucy puddings to make this weekend

Adam Liaw’s chicken fricassee recipe.

14 of Adam Liaw’s best ever winter recipes to cook this week

Helen Goh’s banana, rye and cocoa tart with miso caramel.

20 sweet and squishy dishes to go bananas over

***EMBARGOED FOR GOOD WEEKEND, SEPTEMBER 12/20 ISSUE*** Neil Perry recipe : Slow-roasted Rib of Beef with Horseradish Cream and Potato Gratin Photograph by William Meppem (photographer on contract, no restrictions) 

Five creamy, dreamy potato gratins to eat with a spoon this weekend

Yes, you can occasionally dunk a cheese toastie into your tomato and kimchi soup.

Eight great soup and sandwich combos for a satisfying winter lunch

No need to preheat the oven for casseroles and braises.

20 of last winter’s most-loved recipes to cook again this one

Our recipe writers

Explore recipes

Tips & advice

Cooking with whole foods is preferable to ultra-processed products.

16 small changes to your diet that will help you live longer

  • Emily Craig
Adam Liaw’s roast chicken noodle soup.

Six steps that take a soup from good to great (and why you should follow the OMFG rule)

  • Alice Zaslavsky
Jill Dupleix’s chicken noodle soup.

Does chicken soup really fix a cold? A dietitian weighs up six winter ailment myths

  • Susie Burrell
It may be hard to stick to your food budget, but there are ways to be resourceful with what you have.

Nine simple tips to stretch your household’s food budget

  • Krysten Chambrot
Nagi Maehashi with her dog Dozer and new book Tonight, which will be out on October 15.

RecipeTin Eats: The 10 things I wish every home cook knew

  • Nagi Maehashi

From our partners

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Drinks

Does the term ‘fine wine’ refer to a wine’s quality or its texture?

  • Huon Hooke

A bunch of grapes: Why some single-region wines now use fruit from different places

  • Huon Hooke

More from Good Food

Limited edition chicken snack at Prince Dining Room in St Kilda.

New snack series is a fun and tasty way to try six of Melbourne’s top restaurants for less

  • Bianca Hrovat
Good Food Guide tote bundle available from The Store.

The Good Food Guide 2024 magazines are on sale now

Popular on Good Food

Gemini is a cafe by day, and wine bar by night.

Our 10 favourite new Melbourne restaurant and bar openings of the year (so far)

  • Emma Breheny and Dani Valent
Helen Goh’s almond shortbread with Stephanie’s mother’s cumquat marmalade.

Five old-fashioned biscuit recipes to bake this weekend

Pasta with roasted shallot, chorizo and tinned tomato sauce

Do the can-can: 12 budget-friendly recipes using tinned pantry ingredients

Dan Hong has scoured Hong Kong for time-honoured dishes.

The hidden gems that chef Dan Hong loves to eat at

  • Jane Rocca
Blue swimmer crab egg tart (right) and cauliflower egg tart with caviar.

Savoury Portuguese tarts a taste of big things to come at this high-profile CBD opening

  • Tomas Telegramma
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