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You’ve probably driven along St Kilda Rd and seen that huge ‘stacked block’ building and thought, ‘I wonder what that place is about?’ Well mostly it’s about annoying modern architecture. But it’s also about the secret speakeasy bar on the ground floor.

This place will strrrreeetch your idea of what makes a good pizza. Stretched is a new Coburg pizzeria from husband and wife duo chef Dario D’Agostino and Ly Nguyen, along with ex-banker turned pizza-maker Joe Codespoti, and it’s making waves with some very unorthodox flavour combos.

Melbourne’s restaurant scene doesn’t hang about, does it? About seven months ago, Commune Group (Neptune, Tokyo Tina, Hanoi Hannah) opened BKK in Windsor. And seven months later it’s transformed into something entirely new: Alter Dining.

Sitting on an unassuming part of Brunswick Street, Mukka is quietly serving up some of the most authentic Indian cuisine in Melbourne.

Ahhh, so THIS is how the other half live. Those swish, globe-trotting businessmen and women who use words like ‘dividend’ and spent domestic flights making calls to their broker in Helsinki. We noticed half a dozen in the lobby of Crown’s elegant Southbank hotel, Metropol.

Fonda Collingwood isn't one to miss. And no, we’re not just talking about the very Instagrammable pastel pink and purple wall out front…this place is bang-on with the food and drinks as well.

Want to know what $16m looks like in the hands of Victoria’s hottest architects? It looks like the new hotel at Mitchelton winery in the Goulbourn Valley, a couple of hours due north of Melbourne.

Sometimes it’s the little things that can make a big difference. Just ask Little Things café and coffee roastery, yet another smash hit addition to Blackburn’s ever-growing food scene.

If you ever tried wheel pottery in school, you’ll know it’s a) messy as hell, and b) a LOT of fun. It doesn’t even matter if your bowl comes out looking a bit wonky—call it ‘rustic’ and bump the market-stall price by 20%. Everyone’s a winner.

The Australian-made, tailored silhouettes of Manning Cartell have a glorious new postcode to call home. They've sashayed their way onto the ritzy strip of High Street, Armadale. 

There's no doubt about it: Melbourne is ageing backwards when it comes to music. If you don't have a retro turntable hooked up to a killer amp at home, do you even really have ears?

If you move in the right kind of boozy circles, you might have heard whispers of this place. A brand new cellar door for the Bellarine Distillery, down in Drysdale. Well now it’s finally here.

Blackburn’s got a new cafe on the block, and we recommend you introduce yourself quick-smart. Located right by Laburnum station in Blackburn, The Joy Parade is a pocket of tasty goodness, using Australian produce and following a mindset of keep it simple, and do it well.

The Tinker guys have done it again. Fresh off the back of Bentwood, which opened late 2017, they’ve launched Clubhouse in Malvern—a green n’ white golf-themed cafe that’s well above par (or should that be below par...we’re trying to say it’s very good).

We’ve always wanted a nom de plume. Something badass like ‘Spoons’ or ‘The Scarlet Shadow’. Not many people get nom de plumes, but Peter Jo is one of them—he’s known around town as Kimchi Pete.

If there’s a more Colombian restaurant in Melbourne, we haven’t found it yet. La Tienda is the latest eatery to join Windsor’s fabled ‘eat street’ scene: a no-holds-barred Colombian paradise, complete with housemade arepas, imported spirits and more national pride than you’ll see anywhere outside a Barranquilla football stadium.

The Essential Ingredient is a Melbourne legend. The cooking school has been going strong for the last 26 years (ever since it was The Vital Ingredient back in the 80s), but it's the cookware retail stores that have become a cult sleeper. If it chops, slices, dices, boils, fries or sous vides, chances are good you can find it here.

Just when you thought it was safe to go out in the city...

A lot gets written about South vs North sensibilities these days, as if a good pizza isn’t welcome on either side of the Yarra. It doesn’t really matter if you favour lycra or flannel. When it comes to appropriate cheese ratios, quality toppings and the perfect wood-fired base—delicious is delicious.

Everyone knows you can’t have #apartmentporn without a few monstera, fiddle leafs and Devil’s Ivy dangling from the ceiling, right?  

When QT launched a few years ago, they chose for their flagship restaurant Pascale Bar & Grill. It was a ballsy opening. Black glass, Baroque flourishes, ladies in Mia Wallace wigs out front, boobs in the toilets (long story) and a scattergun menu than ran 40 dishes deep.

Geez, what’s in the water on Punch Lane? The CBD’s theatre zone is one of the hottest strips in town right now. It’s the Hansel of dining precincts. In 2017 we got Juliet, last month we got Bar Saracen, and now (right next door) we have Sunda, new digs from the guys behind Hotel Windsor.

They don’t make butchers like this anymore.

It’s fair to say Anthony Hart knows his way around a pastry bag. This guy was the executive pastry chef for Shannon Bennet’s Vue Group for four years, before rocking baked goods at The Press Club with George Calombaris. Now he’s joined business partner Michael Furness to open a brand new dessert bar and patisserie cafe on Johnston St in Fitzroy.

As far as ramen news goes, this is huge.

Connor Cunliffe is only 23 years old.

Next time you’re moseying past The Clarendon Centre, you’ll probably notice a new resident. They’re called KooKoo—a cute new burger bar doing phat stacks, sweet shakes and some seriously spicy loaded fries.

If you’ve ever driven through Lorne, the odds are good you’ve stopped for a burger at Bottle Of Milk. That place is like the Death Star for roadtrippers—once you’re caught in the tractor beam, there’s no pulling away.

Just when you thought Thornbury couldn’t get any cooler...we get this thing. The Thornbury Picture house. A boutique cinema inside an old 1919 motor garage, screening new releases, cult classics and more indie flicks than Sundance.  

“Simplify, simplify” has always been a pretty good motto for life (Henry David Thoreau, if you’re playing Trivial Pursuit). And it’s an ethos that chef Dylan Evans has followed at his new digs, Caddie.

You’re in the city when the hummus cravings strike. Your tummy rumbles, saliva starts running down your chin, and you’re jones-ing for a plate of creamy chickpea lotion. Where do you go? Well now, we’re happy to say, you sprint like gold medallist into Punch Lane’s newest Middle Eastern resident.

Finding dumplings in the CBD isn’t tricky. You just close your eyes and throw a brick. Chances are good you’ll hit something delicious, fried and dipped in chilli vinegar.

Tallboy & Moose has run a few different food trucks and pop-up kitchens over the years, but we reckon Wee Man’s Has gotta be the best. C’mon, it’s a dedicated Scottish restaurant running out of a Preston brewery! Haggis, tatties and/or neeps, the works, laddie. And it’s owned by the city’s unofficial Scottish ambassador, the legendary Chris Orr.

Cops and doughnuts. They go together like law enforcement and sugary pastries, right? Well, there’s a new doughnut and coffee shop in Melbourne’s that’s making sweet love to the cliché, because at Cop Shop Espresso, cops get their coffee for free.

Karaoke. Dogs. Beer. Courtyards. Sequins. These are a few of our favourite things. And when we heard there was a new karaoke bar combining all of them in a giant kitschy pot, we got our arses down there pronto.   

Glenferrie Rd’s brunch scene is already pretty pumping, but there’s always room for one more. Especially when that one is serving dark chocolate & pea protein pancakes with strawberries, roasted walnuts, salted caramel and dark choc ganache.

All hail the almighty boerewors! The emperor of the sausage kingdom is a fat, juicy, South African sausage seared over burning hot coals. And there's only one place we go to get the good stuff in Melbourne: Boeri Bros food truck.

Ovolo Laneways is one of the ‘new breed’ Melbourne hotels. Which means they’re big on added extras, little conveniences and high-speed, free-flowing WIFI.

If there’s one thing that can make the bleary-eyed commute a bit easier, it’s a good cup of caffeine. Fortunately, the team at Black Flat have got you Glen Waverley folks covered.

Now this is a combo: single malt scotch and friendly puppies. There aren’t many places in Melbourne you can get both, which is why we’re psyched to introduce Port Melbourne’s new dog-friendly whisky bar: The Tipsy Cow.

Bar Carlo sneakily opened its doors last November, but they kept the news on the DL. Mostly because they were waiting for something very special to arrive from Italy—bottles of Leone from Bassano del Grappa. The only bottles in Australia, in fact.

Gather round, Melbourne burger fans. Something big just happened. 

When most people think Crown, they think Crown Towers. But don’t dismiss Crown Promenade for a cheeky weekend getaway or city staycation. It ticks A LOT of romantic boxes.

By the power of Odin, we humbly present Melbourne’s hottest new restaurant and cocktail bar. A mighty venue, strong of heart and wide of stomach. Guys, welcome to Mjolner.

Croydon might not the suburb that screams BRUNCH, but there’s a new cafe on Paul St pumping some seriously yummy brekky. It’s called Mad Ram. Partly because the owners liked rams, and partly (we reckon) because of the press of hungry Croydon locals every Saturday morning.

If you live anywhere near Essendon, chances are good you’ve been to Johnny Pump, the unofficial home of OTT freakshakes and downtown NYC vibes.

There aren’t many places in town where you can get vegan banana waffles and a potted cactus on the same bill. One For The Crow is one of them.

Acceptance is a wonderful thing, especially when it concerns doughnuts. For everyone who’s allergic, vegan, food intolerant or just plain fussy, there’s a new specialty store, dessert bar and cafe in Hampton, built just for you.

How often do you get a new Malaysian eatery dishing up authentic Bak Kut Teh PLUS a rare selection of Australian natural wines? Never. That sh*t never happens. At least that’s what we thought, until Aunty Franklee popped up on Burwood Rd in Hawthorn.

The Melbourne hospo scene is all about who you know, which is why Eastern Road Larder has got us pretty excited. Owner Renton Carlyle knows everybody.

Where can you go to access the largest range of vegan meals in Melbourne? The Cornish Arms. Vegan parma, burritos, pizza, burgers, souvas—you name it! These guys are a vegan's dream. They're even doing a vegan 'double down'—cheez and facon sandwiched between two mock chicken fillets ala KFC.

No-one’s saying Fitzroy doesn’t have the most buzzing bar scene in Melbourne, but it’s kind of nice to see people doing something new (there’s only so much blonde timber we can take).

Libby Mclean started selling plants out of her front garden back in 2015. And slowly, like a green shoot pushing through the earth, her business started to grow.

Devonshire Tea and The Dandenong Ranges go together like jam and cream (sorry, that one was too easy). What’s less easy is getting lip-smacking, contemporary Italian food in Olinda, Sassafras, Emerald or anywhere else in the Hills. Until now, anyway...

We’ll be the first ones to admit: we suck at keeping secrets. Especially delicious, alcoholic secrets hidden inside innocent-looking High St cafes.

Balaclava locals have been enjoying Ziggy’s for a while, but if you don’t live near Carlisle St, you might not have heard the name before.

Melbourne is having a serious moment with sandwiches. We might be in love.

Nosh (v): to eat enthusiastically. Which is pretty much what you’re getting at Melbourne Central’s new poke bar.

Miss Katie's very flirtatious mobile crab shack has done the rounds for ages. It's dropped anchor in North Melbourne, Brunswick and multiple locations around the CBD—but now, we're happy to say, it's set up a permanent home in Fitzroy. 

Of all the dog breeds, greyhounds might be closest to our spirit animal. They’re sleek and majestic, but take their nap times VERY seriously. So we were pretty stoked to hear there’s a new greyhound cafe in the CBD. Better yet, a rescue greyhound cafe.