3 days ago
4
There’s a stylish ode to regional Indian cooking and a hard-to-book bistro with fire-licked Armenian food and a soundtrack of South Caucasian funk to match.
What do Korean temple food, sushi rolls and smoky lamb seekh kebabs have in common? Absolutely nothing, except that they come from Victorian restaurants that have opened in the past 12 months.
Editing the latest edition of The Age Good Food Guide, we’ve had front-row seats to what we reckon is the most exciting year for restaurant openings since the pandemic. Sure, budgets have been tight among consumers, but that’s led to an explosion in creativity, as operators leave no stone unturned in giving people a reason to go out for dinner.
You’re not going to find ridiculously decadent Portuguese seafood rice on UberEats. Or idli, delicate steamed rice cakes from India, with a spicy grilled carrot topping. Or the experience of watching a pair of chefs serve you a gentle beef broth seasoned with nothing more than salt.
This year’s finalists for New Restaurant of the Year, presented by Aurum Poultry Co., cover a multitude of different dining experiences and price points. There’s a family-friendly venue inspired by hawker markets, a hotel restaurant marching to its own beat, and an Indian restaurant that brings poise and polish to an unlikely location. The winner will be announced on October 27 at the 2026 Good Food Guide Awards.
Because Victoria’s been blessed with so many thrilling new restaurants in the past year, we’ve picked out five more that you’ll want to add to your dining hit list – that is, if they’re not on there already.
EatAlley
FINALIST
Opening one restaurant overseas is hard work. But 10? That’s madness. It’s exactly what Kher Chink Pang and his team did with this hawker-market-in-a-mall, showcasing 10 beloved eateries from Malaysia. Some are in their third-generation, some have been revived just for this project, all are under one roof in Melbourne. There’s Hainanese chicken rice, moonlight hor fun noodles, soothing soups such as bak kut teh, duck braised with herbs, nasi lemak – the list goes on and on. Repeat visits and big groups are recommended.
QV, cnr Lonsdale and Swanston streets, Melbourne, instagram.com/eatalley.qv
Saadi
Take two young chefs, years of fine-dining experience, and palates shaped by Indian upbringings: what do you get? One of the most unique dining concepts to land in Melbourne in a long time. Saadi steadily built a following over many years of pop-ups, winning fans with its small-plate snapshot of regional Indian cooking. This year, the restaurant found a permanent home on a city laneway, meaning Saavni Krishnan (the current Age Good Food Guide Young Chef of the Year) and Adi Suresh are only going to soar higher in their exploration of the many places Indian food can go in 2025.
18 Punch Lane, Melbourne, saadimelbourne.com
Malin
FINALIST
Opening just as the Guide went to press last year, Malin has proven itself over the past 12 months with its novel take on fine-dining. Young French chef Clement Pilatre displays classic technique that’s rarely seen any more. But there’s also a freedom to the food that’s uniquely Australian: a dumpling with a filling reminiscent of a tagine, a starter of bluefin tuna paired with mustard ice-cream. Tucked into a quaint Carlton North terrace shopfront, Malin holds many surprises.
687 Rathdowne Street, Carlton North, malinmelbourne.com
Nori Maki
Historically, two categories of sushi have ruled Melbourne: humble officeworker sushi, and extremely fancy omakase sushi. The question of where to find quality, middle-class fish was tricky to answer. That was, until Nori Maki burst to life from the corridors of Bourke Street’s former Tivoli Arcade. The focus is on hand rolls – not the tightly rolled, premade kind, but a looser formation using premium nori wrappers and less rice. It also offers omakase – potentially the cheapest in town – from just $69.
7/235 Bourke Street, Melbourne, norimaki.com.au
Sogumm
You want high Korean food without the high price tag. Chefs Changhoon “Kimi” Kim and Suhyun “Su” Kim want to take you there. Cremorne went from industrial afterthought to thriving food suburb this year, and this casual, cream-walled diner was instrumental. Every second table has a bowl of gomtang: a clear soup of striking purity marked by tender brisket. But the most delicious moments are the fermented ones, from the sticky doenjang coating skewers of Jerusalem artichoke to the mustard leaves the couple magics into kimchi.
466 Church Street, Cremorne, instagram.com/sogumm_melbourne
Kolkata Cricket Club
FINALIST
It’s Saturday night at Crown. You’ve just put the house on red and come away with an extra house. A victory curry is in order, and thanks to chef Mischa Tropp, it’s going to be a ripper. Evoking a West Bengali sporting club, Crown’s new home of Indian dining layers vintage cricket memorabilia with block print lamps from Jaipur and elegant folding chairs. Tropp’s butter chicken deserves its flowers, but there is much to be celebrated from the tandoor: smoky, juicy seekh kebabs and enormous, pea-stuffed kulcha bread are just the start.
Crown Melbourne, Level 1, 8 Whiteman Street, Southbank, kolkatacricketclub.com
Marmelo
FINALIST
Portuguese fine dining from leading Sydney chef Ross Lusted? Sim, por favor! The crowning jewel of Russell Street boutique hotel Hyde Melbourne Place, Marmelo’s arrival late last year felt properly new: excellent wine service and Lusted’s colourful way with seafood adding intrigue to a handsome brick-clad room. Kick off with a crab-loaded riff on a Portuguese tart and an elegant skewer of firm garfish; close with a nip of rum in a chocolate thimble and an elevated sense of well-being.
130 Russell Street, Melbourne, marmelorestaurant.com.au
Zareh
FINALIST
The wait is over. Tom Sarafian, marauding dip wizard of Melbourne, planted the flag on Smith Street in August to a city-wide thumbs-up. It’s Armenian, it’s Lebanese, it’s Egyptian, it’s wood-fired; it’s a fragrant survey of Sarafian’s cultural background and working life, and it’s become one of Melbourne’s most coveted bookings. Armenian funk spins on the turntable, arak spins through the house martini, and diners of all demographics nod along in tacit satisfaction. And that hummus, an icon, is worth the hype.
368 Smith Street, Collingwood, zareh.com.au
Taverna
If there was a cuisine that defined 2025, Greek might be it. Sure, it’s been part of Melbourne’s restaurant tapestry for decades but, this year, Taverna and a raft of other venues turned the spotlight onto home-style dishes and rewrote the tried-and-true formula of menus past. This Brunswick East diner, from respected restaurateur Angie Giannakodakis, is a love letter to her culture. Dishes are as simple as flathead tail grilled just right and served with lemon, and potato wedges fried in herb oil. Old-school heart given new soul.
434 Lygon Street, Brunswick East, ourtaverna.com
Barragunda
Restaurant. Farm. Native revegetation project. Social enterprise. For a new restaurant, Barragunda has dreamed big. Chef Simone Watts and philanthropist Hayley Morris spent nearly five years planning Barragunda and it shows. On the plate, Watts draws on her training under Greg Malouf and the bounty on her doorstep. Black Angus, reared right there, is paired with yellow gazpacho. Apples and celery make a Waldorf-ish salad alongside cured fish. Orchard fruits lead the desserts. It’s got destination dining written all over it.
113 Cape Schanck Road, Cape Schanck, barragunda.com.au
The winners of The Age Good Food Guide 2026 Awards will be announced on Monday, October 27, presented by Oceania Cruises and T2 Tea. The awards ceremony will be live-blogged via The Age from 3pm, and the 2026 edition of the Guide will be available on the Good Food app from 8pm. A free 80-page Good Food Guide liftout will be inserted in The Age on Tuesday, October 28.
The home of the Good Food Guide, the app is free for premium subscribers of The Age and also available as a standalone subscription. You can download the Good Food app here.
Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.
