Being a restaurant is no longer enough. These new kids on the block come with cocktail bars, delis and even an art gallery bolted on, as restaurateurs get savvy at creating go-to destinations for all hours of the day.
Melbourne has lost a few beloved restaurants so far in 2024, but the tough outlook hasn’t dampened the ambitions of a new crop of restaurateurs who are pushing their creativity to the limits.
They’re opening multi-hyphenate venues that plan to serve guests their first coffee of the day and a speedy lunch (probably on focaccia), through to dinner and then a nightcap. It could be a bulletproof model, capturing diners no matter what their budget is that day.
Tom Sarafian’s long-awaited debut restaurant, Zareh, will open in central Melbourne this winter serving dishes from Armenia, Lebanon, North Africa and more, cooked over a wood-burning grill. But the ex-Bar Saracen chef’s not stopping there. Zareh will be followed by a delicatessen and daytime venue named Sarafian. The location of each venue is yet to be revealed.
Chris Lucas has a bumper year planned. August is the new date for his as-yet-unnamed casual Japanese restaurant next door to Hawker Hall (100 Chapel Street, Windsor).
His lavish French venue Batard (25 Bourke Street, Melbourne) is set to light up Bourke Street later in spring after first being announced in 2018. With the building now little more than a facade, and an ambitious four levels planned – including a rooftop, ground-floor oyster bar, and a moodier space for late nights – the clock is ticking.
Sydney power couple Ross and Sunny Lusted (Woodcut, The Bridge Room) have set their sights on Melbourne, with plans to open two venues at new boutique hotel Melbourne Place (130 Russell Street, Melbourne). Marmelo will be a Portuguese and Spanish-influenced restaurant, while Mr Mills will filter those influences into a cocktail bar. Both are slated for a spring arrival.
Alejandro Saravia (Farmer’s Daughters) is expanding his square footage in the 80 Collins precinct this spring, opening a Melbourne version of his new hatted Sydney restaurant, Morena.
Here, the menu will spotlight more obscure ingredients and dishes from Saravia’s native Peru, plus Cuba, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Venezuela. Joining the upmarket two-level restaurant is the more casual Morena Barra, celebrating Latin American bar culture (71 Collins Street, Melbourne).
Two-storey city venue Circl (22 Punch Lane, Melbourne) will tread the line between bar and restaurant, offering 150 wines by the glass and opening a rare bottle every week to share it with more people. A dream of former Ten Minutes by Tractor sommelier Xavier Vigier, it’s supposed to be a welcoming environment for anyone curious about wine. It opens in the second half of July.
Pace-setting restaurateur Con Christopoulos (Kafeneion, The European) is tapping the superpowers of chef Victor Liong (Lee Ho Fook) to open a polished sushi train, Bossa Nova Sushi, with Japanese and Brazilian influences (70 Bourke Street, Melbourne). Drawing on Brazil’s significant Japanese food scene, quality sushi and izakaya-style hot food will be served to a soundtrack of tropicalia. It’ll be open by early August.
Veteran chef-restaurateur Michael Lambie (Stokehouse, Circa, Taxi Dining Room) is working on a new restaurant in the CBD called Juni (136 Exhibition Street). Opening in late 2024, it will serve a contemporary Asian menu – something Lambie last did at Lucy Liu, which he’s no longer involved with.
Fine-diner Aanya (368 Smith Street, Collingwood) is the debut from chefs Nishant Arora and Janos Roman (ex-Society), anchored by a chef’s table for 16 people. The pair’s high-wire contemporary Indian cooking will be in the spotlight from August, with creations such as cuttlefish cured in the style of guanciale (pork cheek) and a mango lassi dessert.
And Rinaldo Di Stasio continues to hone his latest project. Above his original St Kilda restaurant, Spazio Di Stasio will show new artwork by frequent collaborator Shaun Gladwell, while Cafe Di Stasio will return to business as usual for the first time since the pandemic. Next door, Bar Di Stasio will focus on Neapolitan street food (31 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda).
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Emma Breheny – Emma is Good Food’s Melbourne-based reporter and co-editor of The Age Good Food Guide 2024.