The 12 Best New Restaurants In Melbourne In 2024
Image: @doju.melbourne
— 12 March 2024

The 12 Best New Restaurants In Melbourne In 2024

— 12 March 2024
Nick Kenyon
WORDS BY
Nick Kenyon

What’s the best new restaurant in Melbourne? This is a question we’re often asked at Boss Hunting, and one we’ve almost certainly got the answer to. In that spirit, we’ve compiled a rolling list — updated on a quarterly basis — of all the best new Melbourne restaurants (all opened within a year) below.

Note that this list is not ranked.



The Best New Melbourne Restaurants In 2024

Kafeneion “emeis & emeis” Melbourne (Melbourne Supper Club), Melbourne CBD

best new restaurants melbourne
Image: @kafeneion_melbourne

Nestled between The European ceiling and the Siglo bar floorboards, the Melbourne Supper Club has warmly welcomed the Con Christopoulos and Stavros Konis-owned restaurant Kafeneion. The new venue has already established an intimate atmosphere under the watchful eye of the iconic Columbia Pictures logo, with space for up to 100 diners to enjoy the Athenian tavern-inspired hospitality.

You can expect a menu that includes a carefully curated selection of Greek classics, including braised beef cheek and pork, lamb and potatoes, oven-baked Greek pasta with chicken, and more. There are also fried sweetbreads, spicy cheese croquettes, and other delicacies to look forward to, while Greek-grown wine is available by the carafe or the glass.

Address: First Floor, 161 Spring St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: (03) 9654 6300
Opened: February 2024
Price Guide: $$
Opening Hours: Tuesday — Saturday (5 PM — 3 AM)
Bookings: Recommended


Lucia Melbourne, South Melbourne

best new restaurants melbourne
Lucia Melbourne

Melbourne’s already burgeoning dining landscape has levelled up even further with the arrival of Lucia Melbourne, bringing together decades of local hospitality experience under one roof. Opened by the same team responsible for Riserva, Baia Di Vino, and San Lorenzo, it’s located in South Melbourne’s new high-rise, Eleven Eastern.

With a 25-seat private dining area known as “The Vault” available for gatherings on the larger side — complete with a soundproof ceiling and a marble bar — the main restaurant is split across two sections, while there’s also a bar to perch at with a cocktail in hand. Expect modern European cuisine on the menu, while the wine list is up there with some of the very best in Melbourne after the owners spent much of the pandemic collecting rare and otherwise hard-to-get vintages.

Address: 11 Eastern Rd, South Melbourne VIC 3205
Phone: (03) 9765 6444
Opened: March 2024
Price Guide: $$$
Opening Hours: Tuesday — Saturday (12 PM — 10 PM)
Bookings: Recommended


Wang Wang BBQ, Malvern

best new restaurants melbourne
WangWang BBQ

Recently opened on Glenferrie Rd, Malvern, WangWang BBQ is already turning heads with the enticing sight of meat and veg sizzling over table-integrated charcoal grills visible from the street. Boasting a modern ambience that’s both spacious and inviting, you’re immediately greeted by the aroma of a dozen barbecues, before you’re presented with a pair of tongs and Wang Wang’s signature blend of seasonings after you order.

The menu is focused on traditional Qiqihar barbecue with thinly sliced seasoned beef and premium Wagyu sets, as well as other northeast Chinese dishes that include gada soup and rice noodles. As far as drinks go, you’ll find fun Chinese-style cocktails, including the Lychee Daiquiri and Jasmine Negroni, rounding off a distinctive dining experience.

Address: 267 Glenferrie Rd, Malvern VIC 3144
Phone: 0432 801 267
Opened: February 2024
Price Guide: $$$
Opening Hours: Tuesday — Sunday (11 AM — 3 PM, 5 PM – 10:30 PM)
Bookings: Recommended


Castlerose, South Melbourne

best new restaurants melbourne
Image: @castlerosewinebar

With an atmosphere that’s been meticulously considered by Melbourne hospitality veteran Glen Bagnara (responsible for Hemingway’s Wine Room and Clementine), Castlerose is a 40-seat underground bar and restaurant that’s recently opened doors in South Yarra. The kitchen is taken care of by Head Chef David Yuan, whose menu celebrates classic European fare with a modern twist and is designed for communal enjoyment.

Highlights from Yuan’s menu include delights such as ratatouille tarte tatin and succulent roast chicken bathed in black garlic and lemon gravy, while the Wagyu rump cap 6+ with Yorkshire pudding is a must-try. As you’d hope, the wine menu is no slouch either, serving Old World bottles with a specific emphasis on Champagne and Burgundy, alongside half a dozen thoughtfully presented house cocktails (naturally, the classics are also available).

Address: 67 Palmerston Cres, South Melbourne VIC 3205
Phone: (03) 9982 9369
Chef(s): David Yuan
Opened: February 2024
Price Guide: $$$
Opening Hours: Wednesday — Saturday (4 PM – 11 PM)
Bookings: Recommended


Token, South Yarra

best new restaurants melbourne
Token

South Yarra already enjoys some of the very best restaurants in Melbourne, but its ranks have swollen with the opening of Token, an izakaya-inspired diner bringing the energy and diverse flavours of Japanese food. Created by the masterminds behind some of the city’s most beloved brunch spots — Higher Ground, Top Paddock, and The Kettle Black — Token is poised to become another local hotspot with 150 seats designed for casual dining and socialising.

Token offers an enticing array of sashimi and temaki from its raw bar, alongside flame-grilled delights from the yakitori grill, with the concept celebrating the informal beer-and-bar snack tradition that has seen a recent resurgence in Melbourne. With a focus on shared plates, Japanese beers, cocktails, and sake, Token is ready to offer a dining experience that brings together the culinary tradition of Japanese yakitori in a contemporary and unmistakably “Melbourne” setting.

Address: 151 Toorak Rd, South Yarra VIC 3141
Phone: (03) 9000 8937
Chef(s): Jun Sun
Opened: January 2024
Price Guide: $$$
Opening Hours: Monday — Sunday (5 PM — 9 PM)
Bookings: Recommended


The Walrus, St Kilda

best new restaurants melbourne
Image: @thewalrusoysterbar

The Walrus, the latest wine and oyster bar to grace the former Mr Wolf site on Inkerman Street, is swiftly becoming a cherished addition to the neighbourhood. With its warm, inviting atmosphere and friendly service, it was opened to offer St Kilda locals a place to enjoy a great glass of wine.

Visitors can indulge in an extensive selection of more than a hundred premium wines from Europe and Australia, with approximately 20 varieties available by the glass at the affordable price of around $14. Complementing the wine list are daily-rotating pintxos and a changing assortment of fresh Australian oysters, while the venue’s turntables provide the score for what combines into an idyllic scene.

Address: 9 Inkerman St, St Kilda VIC 3182
Phone: (03) 8626 7711
Opened: February 2024
Price Guide: $$
Opening Hours: Tuesday — Thursday (3 PM — 10 PM); Friday — Saturday (12 PM — 11 PM); Sunday(12 PM — 6 PM)
Bookings: Recommended


JollyGood Diner, Collingwood

best new restaurants melbourne
Image: @jollygood_melbourne

JollyGood Diner, the latest venture from ex-Gimlet chef Raphael Exton-Pery, marks a delightful evolution from fine dining to the laid-back charm of a classic US diner, tinged with a touch of Melbourne’s wine bar polish. The venue combines booths, a communal high table, and a bar with stools, crafting a casual, inviting atmosphere that transitions seamlessly from morning coffee (something Collinwood is famous for) to late-night drinks.

As a homage to diner-style classics, the menu has been refined through Raph’s extensive travels in the US, with breakfast highlights including buttermilk pancakes and a hearty breakfast sandwich, while the evening menu features JollyGood’s stacked New York deli sandwiches and burgers. If you’re after a pick-me-up, the team is serving Supreme coffee, while if you’re after something to relax into the evening with, you’ll find beer, wine, and inventive house cocktails like the bourbon and peach iced tea-infused Arnold Palmer.

Address: 27A-29A Johnston St, Collingwood VIC 3066
Opened: January 2024
Price Guide: $$
Opening Hours: Monday — Wednesday (11 AM — 5 PM); Thursday (11 AM — 10 PM); Friday — Saturday (9 AM — 11 PM); Sunday (9 AM — 4 PM)
Bookings: Recommended


Doju, Melbourne CBD

Image: @doju.melbourne

Recently opened by owner and head chef Mika Chae, Doju is a testament to Chae’s journey from South Korea to becoming a respected chef in Australia, with stints at Sezar, Attica, and as head chef at Grain of the Silos in Launceston. This journey enriched his appreciation for Australian produce, closely working with Tasmanian farmers to source the finest ingredients, an approach that is now a hallmark of Doju’s ethos.

As a result, the menu is inspired by Korean flavours and techniques with a focus on local produce, offering a compelling line-up of snacks and small dishes, such as gochujang-flavoured sourdough and beef tartare on a seaweed cracker. Larger dishes feature seasonal vegetables and meat cooked over a charcoal grill, while you can also expect a curated list of wines, soju, beers, and house cocktails with Korean elements, like yuzu and gochujang.

Address: 9/530 Little Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: (03) 9576 7447
Chef(s): Mika Chae
Opened: January 2024
Price Guide: $$$
Opening Hours: Tuesday — Thursday (3 PM — 10 PM)
Bookings: Recommended


Reine & La Rue, Melbourne CBD

Dramatic high ceilings and stained glass windows give an appropriately grand look to Nomad Group’s latest opening and one of Melbourne CBD’s best new restaurants. Reine, a generous 140-seater in the former Melbourne Stock Exchange, is the city’s most impressive new restaurant, transforming this heritage space into a kinetic, big-ticket diner complemented by a small eight-seat wine bar called La Rue.

Nomad Sydney’s Jacqui Challinor leads the kitchen through a world-class menu, weaving together flavours from Australia, France and America. Think lobster cocktails and seafood platters, whole fish, half ducks, beef sourced from the country’s top producers, and mushroom pithivier. That hard-working ironbark grill is responsible for many of the highlights while the 700-strong wine list rounds out the swanky offering.

Address: 380 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: (02) 9280 3395
Chef(s): Jacqui Challinor and Brendan Katich
Opened: August 2023
Price Guide: $$$$
Opening Hours: Tuesday — Saturday (12 PM — 12 AM)
Bookings: Recommended


Alta Trattoria, Fitzroy

Italy’s northwest is on show at Alta Trattoria. Focused on the Piedmont region, which sits at the foot of the Alps and pulls influences from both France and Switzerland, the kitchen brings something different than what you’d usually expect from Melbourne’s vibrant Italian dining scene.

Think dishes like rabbit ragu taglioni, a fig and ricotta crostata, and standout-starter anchovies al verde served with mussels veal and tuna sauce. The kitchen’s freshly made pasta has been getting major points from some of Melbourne’s most influential food writers, so if you’ve been feeling disillusioned with the ubiquity of Italian in Melbourne lately then this could be the kitchen to restore some of that carb-loading enthusiasm.

Address: 274 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy VIC 3065
Phone: (03) 9417 0526
Opened: February 2023
Price Guide: $$$
Opening Hours: Monday — Friday (6 PM — 11 PM); Saturday (12 PM — 11 PM); Sunday (12 PM — 5 PM)
Bookings: Recommended


Studio Amaro, Windsor

The walk-in-only basement bar at Studio Amaro hums with Italo disco records and even has its own radio station. Above that sits an equally energetic 100-seat dining room powered by classic Italian dishes and framed by a smart, fashionable interior designed by Wendy Bergman, the same mastermind behind Hawker Hall and Chin Chin.

To say Studio Amaro is a swift victory for Windsor’s dining scene is an understatement. Here, you’ll find an approachable and seasonal menu that goes hard on snacks like whipped ricotta with lemon oil and woodfired caponata before spread into substantials like mafaldine with prawns and citrus bisque, and a beaut 1kg T-bone.

Address: 168 Chapel Street, Windsor VIC 3181
Phone: (03) 7046 0891
Opened: September 2023
Price Guide: $$$
Opening Hours: Monday — Wednesday (12 PM — 10 PM); Thursday — Saturday (12 PM — 1 AM); Sunday (12 PM — 10 PM)
Bookings: Recommended


Atria, Melbourne CBD

Atria is one of the best new restaurants in Melbourne.

Head to the top of the swanky Ritz-Carlton Melbourne and you’ll be 80 floors above the CBD, wrapped in the subtle elegance of the luxury hotel’s resident restaurant, Atria. The fine dining star is one of the biggest new openings in Melbourne, presenting million-dollar views that stretch all the way to Port Phillip Bay.

Chef Michael Greenlaw rises to the occasion with a hyper-seasonal approach with highlights including a 1/2 wood-roasted Southern Rock lobster, aged Murray Cod and a fragrant Flinders Island wallaby broth with braised saltbush.

Address: 650 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: (03) 9122 2858
Chef(s): Michael Greenlaw
Opened: April 2023
Price Guide: $$$
Opening Hours: Monday — Wednesday (6 PM — 11 PM); Thursday — Saturday (12 PM — 2:30 PM, 6 PM — 11 PM); Sunday (6 PM — 11 PM)
Bookings: Recommended


Feeling like the tried-and-true favourites instead? Check out the Best Restaurants in Melbourne.

If you’ve enjoyed this round-up of the best new restaurants in Melbourne, consider checking out these other locally-based dining guides below:

Nick Kenyon
WORDS by
Nick Kenyon is the Editor of Boss Hunting, joining the team after working as the Deputy Editor of luxury watch magazine Time+Tide. He has a passion for watches, with other interests across style, sports and more. Get in touch at nick (at) luxity.com.au

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