The Gilson crew will open a late-night hang on Chapel Street (plus four more hot openings)

In the nearly 10 years that Gilson has drawn the bright and beautiful to South Yarra, owners James McBride and Marc Gurman have shaped it into a fixture of all-day dining. Indeed, McBride, is no stranger to early mornings having helped launch a string of Melbourne cafes, including Mammoth, Touchwood and Pillar of Salt.

Now, he’s swapping early starts for late nights as he and Gurman work on their next venture, The Frog Club – the kind of lively after-dark spot they felt was missing in Melbourne.

The bar-restaurant will open next autumn in the former site of Windsor hotspot Morris Jones, which the duo bought in June. Morris Jones closed in February and was later reported to have debts of more than $1 million accrued under the previous owners.

While the site comes with a 1am liquor licence, McBride is clear the new venue will leave that party reputation behind.

“This is going to be a food-driven business, not a nightclub,” he says. “Melbourne has got incredible restaurants, but not many places where you can get a proper late-night meal. We wanted to create a place where you can arrive at 10.30pm and still feel like the night is young.”

The menu – drawing on American and European bistro staples – will be served across the entire 200-capacity venue until midnight, seven days a week.

‘We want to create a room where it stays alive through dinner and past it; where the music and conversation gets better as the night goes on.’

Co-owner James McBride

Meat and seafood cooked over charcoal will be a focus, alongside seafood towers, wedge salads and burgers. Drinks will lean into the venue’s heritage feel – it was once a furniture and carpet warehouse – with classic cocktails such as Gin Rickeys. The European-driven wine list will have an emphasis on grower champagne.

The space will be split into a bar and a dining room, with plush banquettes, tufted carpet and aged brass accents alongside a colour palette of red and butter yellow.

A daily program of live music and vinyl will shape the atmosphere. “It’s not an afterthought or an add-on. It’s a central part of the restaurant,” McBride says.

“We want to create a room where it stays alive through dinner and past it; where the music and conversation gets better as the night goes on.”

The Frog Club is slated to open in autumn 2026

163-165 Chapel Street, Windsor.

Four more hot venues coming in 2026

Chris Lucas venues on Bourke Street

The ever-busy Lucas is working on two venues for a new office tower at 435 Bourke Street. One will be street-facing, the other down a laneway, and Lucas has indicated a contemporary Chinese restaurant and a Mediterranean bistro that’s heavily Greek-influenced are planned. Mitchell and Eades, who designed Maison Batard, and Tombo Den’s designers DKO are both on board.

67 Pall Mall

A private members’ club for wine lovers, this four-level playground will open in mid-2026 on Spring Street. It will have a restaurant, rooftop whisky bar, champagne lounge and all-day clubroom where 1000 wines by the glass will be at guests’ disposal. Martin Benn and Vicki Wild (ex-Sepia) are culinary directors.

Frenchie

Landing in January, this Parisian-style wine bar on Collins Street’s Paris End (where else?) promises no dish or drink over $14, and an energetic take on the brasserie, with trolleys and tableside service part of the fun. Geared around share plates, the menu will include confit duck and chicken liver parfait eclairs, and will be available late into the night.

Roma & Sergio’s

From Con Christopoulos (The European, Kirk’s, French Saloon), this pair of venues at 120 Collins Street will deliver Roman-style casual dining at a trattoria (Roma) and drinks and tunes at a bar (Sergio’s), with a courtyard the focal point. Both were due to open in December, but Good Food understands delays have pushed that to next year.

With Emma Breheny