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Ravioli del plin filled with veal cheeks, beef brisket and pork shoulder.

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16 hatted restaurants: Catch up on every Good Food Victorian review of 2023 (so far)

From Victoria’s first hatted lasagne joint to a former jailhouse, these are the new and recently reviewed restaurants making waves in the first half of 2023.

36 stories
Go-to dish: Banh khot (coconut and turmeric mini pancakes).
14/20

Rue de Thanh is serving some of the most interesting and delicious Vietnamese food in Melbourne

  • Besha Rodell
Con Christopoulos can often be found on the floor at his first Greek restaurant, Kafeneion.
14/20

‘So very Melbourne’: Why humble Greek restaurant Kafeneion is an instant classic

  • Besha Rodell
North & Common restaurant inside what was once Pentridge Prison’s canteen.
Good Food hat15/20

Why this jailhouse rocks: North & Common brings mod-Oz cooking to a former prison canteen

  • Michael Harden
Cityfields is a grand new restaurant at Chadstone Shopping Centre.
14/20

The verdict on Chadstone’s shiny new 600-seat restaurant Cityfields

  • Besha Rodell
Puffy Turkish bread, pulled straight from the wood-fired oven and served with spice-flecked oil.
13.5/20

‘Seriously, all the bready things here are so good’: You’ll break bread (but not the bank) at generous Yakamoz

  • Besha Rodell
Beef short ribs with sauteed kale.
14/20

Does smoky, mod-Asian Sydney-transplant Yan work in South Yarra?

  • Besha Rodell
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Molly Rose in Collingwood.
14/20

Molly Rose Brewing brings the fun, the beers and mind-bendingly good chicken wings

  • Besha Rodell
Bar Bellamy in Rathdowne Street, Carlton.
14/20

Bar Bellamy brings the Rathdowne Village spirit and charm into Carlton proper

  • Besha Rodell
Beverly rooftop restaurant in South Yarra offers a view Melburnians haven’t seen before.
13.5/20

California-cool rooftop bar Beverly serves up never-before-seen views and glam food

  • Dani Valent
Atria Restaurant, part of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel on the 80TH floor and on the old The Age site at 650 Lonsdale St, Melbourne.
Good Food hat15.5/20

Ritz-Carlton’s sky-high Atria restaurant has the hype, glitz and views, but how’s the food?

  • Besha Rodell
Koichi Minamishima behind the omakase counter at Minamishima in Richmond.
Good Food hatGood Food hatGood Food hat18/20

Is Minamishima the GOAT when it comes to Melbourne sushi?

  • Besha Rodell
The Saint’s dining room is hemmed in by red brick and walls of glass, with black marble tabletops lit by tiny lamps.
14/20

Is the third time a charm for the Saint in St Kilda?

  • Larissa Dubecki
Little Picket at Lorne Bowls Club.
Good Food hat15/20

How humble bowlo restaurant Little Picket bowled our critic over (and gained a hat)

  • Besha Rodell
Duck kari at Mahob by Amok.
14/20

Mahob by Amok serves top Cambodian cuisine in an unlikely setting

  • Besha Rodell
Inside Firebird’s long dining room.
14/20

Is Firebird still firing? The flavours are fantastic but the service is lukewarm

  • Besha Rodell
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Assorted dishes at Totti’s Lorne.
Good Food hat15.5/20

Has Merivale’s gamble to open Italian powerhouse Totti’s in Lorne paid off?

  • Besha Rodell
Inside Ballarat’s cosy and colourful Pancho restaurant.
14.5/20

‘I’d eat here every week if it was in Melbourne’: Pancho is a whirlwind tour of Latin America in Ballarat

  • Besha Rodell
Bahama Gold in Brunswick East.
14.5/20

This low-key Lygon Street bar typifies why Melbourne is one of the best eating cities in the world

  • Besha Rodell
Beef with beetroot, blackberry and horseradish.
Good Food hat15.5/20

Underbar’s menu is an abundance of riches and an act of endurance

  • Besha Rodell
Prince Dining Room in St Kilda.
Good Food hat15.5/20

St Kilda’s charming Prince Dining Room is crowned with a hat

  • Besha Rodell
Chefs Tei Gim and Jun Pak behind their omakase counter at Aoi Tsuki in South Yarra.
Good Food hat15.5/20

Aoi Tsuki goes from fancy sushi boxes to a two-man omakase stage show

  • Besha Rodell
Confit cherry tomato tarts at Maha North.
14/20

The snacks are the biz at Shane Delia’s rejigged Maha North

  • Larissa Dubecki
Ravioli del plin filled with veal cheeks, beef brisket and pork shoulder.
Good Food hat15/20

Alta’s pasta is one of my favourite dishes of the year so far

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Squid ink fettuccine with spanner crab.
13.5/20

Alt Pasta says hasta la vista, salt

  • Besha Rodell
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Tagliolini with spanner crab.
14/20

The MCG's Committee Room by Grossi is an old-school room with a view

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Chicken mousse eclairs.
14.5/20

Lilac Wine Bar begins to bloom in Cremorne

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Rendang shakshuka with roti.
13/20

Beef rendang meets baked eggs at Dale La Pau

  • Dani Valent
Go-to dish: Chicken kara-age.
Good Food hat15/20

Japanese stalwart Izakaya Den serves Melbourne's best fried chicken

  • Larissa Dubecki
Go-to dish: Pommes Anna with romano beans and Main Ridge Dairy chevre.
Good Food hat15/20

Destination-worthy food and a multimillion-dollar view at Pt. Leo Restaurant 2.0

  • Besha Rodell
Sculptural: Smoked eel encased in olive pastry.
Good Food hatGood Food hat16/20

Why Laura deserves top spot on your occasion-worthy dining list

  • Besha Rodell
Bang' n Bird fried chicken plate for two at Bird.
13.5/20

Bird is the word at this glammed-up fried-chicken joint

  • Besha Rodell
The signature lasagne is a "goddamn wonder".
Good Food hat15/20

1800 Lasagne is Melbourne's first hatted lasagne restaurant

  • Besha Rodell
Sushi On showcases local fish in its nigiri, such as this garfish.
Good Food hat15.5/20

Sushi On's omakase menu keeps it simple in Kew

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Vitello tonnato.
13/20

Cinque Terre brings White Lotus seaside resort chic to Chadstone

  • Besha Rodell
McConnell magic: Inside the warm and convivial wine bar.
Good Food hat15.5/20

Why Marion is one of Melbourne's best wine bars

  • Besha Rodell
The "private" cage hangs over the dining room.
Good Food hatGood Food hat16/20

Does South Yarra's gilded Yugen Dining have substance?

  • Besha Rodell

Continue this series

Melbourne heats up: The trends, dishes and restaurants you need to know about now
Previously
Inside Merivale import Totti’s at the Lorne Hotel.

Victoria’s most exciting new restaurants and bars for 2023 so far (and the ones to look forward to)

Loud Italian trattorias rub shoulders with seriously refined omakase counters in this year’s varied spread of venue openings.

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