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Dani Valent

Dani Valent

Dani Valent is a food writer and restaurant reviewer.

Bar Local Drop is an extension of wine delivery business the Local Drop.
14.5/20

This all-day wine bar and its handwritten little black book has our reviewer hooked

Lunch, dinner or snacks and drinks at Bar Local Drop can stretch happily from “a quick one” to “one more” to “we might as well”...

  • Dani Valent

Latest

Boomtown is set within a Castlemaine winery.

The Good Food guide to a road trip in Castlemaine from beers to bang-on banh mi

Castlemaine has lately become a destination in its own right – particularly for anyone who’s hungry. These 15 bakeries, bars, coffee windows and fine diners are our top picks.

  • Dani Valent and Emily Holgate
The golden, fluffy, crunchy chips at Northern Soul in St Kilda.

The secret to making crunchy, fluffy chip shop-style chippies at home

Peel on or off? And which potatoes? Popular Melbourne chip shop and spice bag specialist, Northern Soul, and other spud experts give us the inside scoop.

  • Dani Valent
Inside the Box Hill North restaurant.

‘I can imagine expats weeping over it’: This new eatery spotlights Burmese comfort food

Ka Gyi owner-chef Aung Kyaw took a leap of faith opening a restaurant in Box Hill serving a little-known cuisine with a Melbourne twist, from salmon risotto to tofu noodles.

  • Dani Valent
George Calombaris in 2024, when he appointed culinary director at Hotel Sorrento.

The recalibration of George Calombaris: A nervous chef returns to the city that left his empire in ruins

After a high-profile underpayments debacle, George Calombaris found himself in a dark spiral – but he says he came out the other side a different man. In the fifth instalment of a special series on restaurant tycoons, we lift the lid on the “new George”.

  • Dani Valent
The room buzzes during the burlesque performance.
14/20

‘Outstanding value’: A two-course dinner and a show (with a bit of skin on show) for $69

Le Bar Supper Club brings theatrical drinks and burlesque nights to a bayside suburb better known for its golf.

  • Dani Valent
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Adelle (left) and Claudia Frittitta: “They say people die twice: once when they die, and again when people stop talking about them,” Adelle says. “I want to keep Nonna and Nonno alive.”

‘She’s played a big role in shaping who I am’: How a 15-year age gap impacts a sibling relationship

Art teacher Adelle Frittitta was 15 when her sister, Claudia, now an illustrator, was born. Today, the pair are collaborators and best friends.

  • Dani Valent
Kopi santan Blora, coffee brewed with coconut milk, rimmed with toasted coconut.
13.5/20

As Melburnians, we know our coffee, but have you tried this strong coconut one?

There are a dozen different coffees and meals are mostly under $20 at this cosy new Indonesian eatery.

  • Dani Valent
Complimentary bread: crown-shaped brioche brushed with a caramel made from vegetable scraps.
Good Food hat15/20

The Lodge Dining Room

Kiwi menswear label Rodd and Gunn throws its flat cap in the restaurant ring.

  • Dani Valent
Tori Bicknell of Glory Us cafe in Melbourne’s Fitzroy North and its signature salad sandwich.

You’ve been layering the salad in your sandwich wrong all along. Not anymore

Experts share the crucial construction considerations and seasoning secrets that separate a great salad sandwich from a sad, soggy mess.

  • Dani Valent