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Daphne is Etta’s more affordable, casual sibling venue.

Collection

The 24 restaurants, cafes and bars to put on your list for December, Melbourne

Catch up on all the hot, new and just-reviewed places around town. From suburban bakeries to relaxed hatted restaurant spin-offs (hello Etta’s sister Daphne – (pictured right), Manze’s brother Boire and Bar Bellamy offshoot Melitta Next Door), you’ll find somewhere for every kind of end-of-year catch-up this month. Plus, you can create your own custom saved hit list on the Good Food app.

20 stories
Coffee is by Every Half Coffee Roasters.

Going out for brunch is back at Cham, a Vietnamese cafe near Queen Victoria Market

  • Emma Breheny
Strawberry maritozzo at Luna.

Six hot new Melbourne bakeries to try (plus the signature item at each)

  • Aastha Agrawal
Sogumm owners Changhoon and Suhyun Kim.
14.5/20

Our critic has been patiently waiting to tell you all about lunch-only venue Sogumm

  • Besha Rodell
Build your own nasi campur plate from the selection in the bain-marie.
13.5/20

No-frills suburban canteen Matt Malaysia serves some of the city’s best Malaysian food

  • Dani Valent
Moondrop is bringing Chinese influences to cocktails in a legendary Fitzroy site.

Fitzroy icon The Everleigh is reborn as Chinese-inspired cocktail bar Moondrop

  • Tomas Telegramma
From Here by Mike at 1 Hotel Melbourne.
Good Food hat15/20

Why our critic was blown away by new hotel restaurant From Here By Mike

  • Dani Valent
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Tamal with mole is served at brunch (with fried egg, pictured) and dinner (with chicken).
13.5/20

Maiz y Cacao serves brunch dishes and enchiladas, but not as you might know them

  • Besha Rodell
The third-storey rooftop terrace on Bourke Street.

Disuko is the retro Japanese rooftop bar formerly known as Madame Brussels

  • Tomas Telegramma
Flatbreads are lathered in whipped spring onion butter like Macca’s hotcakes gone salty.
14/20

Summer nights are made for RTDs, flatbread and $3 skewers at Melitta Next Door

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

Rodd & Gunn unveils French-influenced fine diner, moody bar in four-storey precinct

  • Dani Valent
Bloody Mary salad.

$15 martinis, midnight spag, Bloody Mary salad. Meet Lygon Street local Daphne

  • Tomas Telegramma
Hands Down is a new cocktail bar just off Smith Street in Fitzroy.

Thumbs up for Hands Down, a drinking den with Above Board and Bar Liberty DNA

  • Tomas Telegramma
Charrd’s classic burger, a cheeseburger with a single patty.

The Charrd burger may be Melbourne’s most hyped-up bite right now. Is it any good?

  • Emma Breheny
Inside Boire, the offshoot of hatted Mauritian restaurant Manze.
14/20

Manze’s wine bar sibling Boire is a fine example of casual Melbourne excellence

  • Besha Rodell
Cappelletti stuffed with four cheeses on top of cavolo nero purée with a parmigiano fondue, burnt-butter sage and hazelnuts.
Good Food hat15/20

‘Bursting with new energy’: Karen Martini’s Bar Carolina is an instant hit – and hat

  • Dani Valent
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Levriero Italiano is a panini kiosk in Heidelberg.

Train station kiosk Levriero Italiano nods to Melbourne’s Italian food culture

  • Sanka Amadoru
Shelanous bills itself as an “experience restaurant”.
14.5/20

Katy Perry booked out 23-seat ‘experience restaurant’ Shelanous, but did our critic overcome the initial ick?

  • Dani Valent
Inside Misuzu’s in Albert Park

Long after sparking Melbourne’s love of Japanese food, local gem Misuzu’s still shines

  • Dani Valent
Trattoria Emilia.
Good Food hat15.5/20

Italian charmer Trattoria Emilia clocks up a decade, but still flies under the radar

  • Besha Rodell
On the Good Food app, you can save all of your favourite recipes and restaurants in one easy place, and create your own custom saved lists.

Save your favourite restaurants now on the Good Food app