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Good Weekend

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
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
Huon Hooke's trio of white wines for right now.

Three white wines you should be drinking right now

An early-autumn white should be light and dry, fruit-accented, unwooded and, above all, refreshing.

  • Huon Hooke
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
The bruschetta of the day changes with the seasons, with the charred bread perhaps topped with ricotta mousse, tomato, shaved zucchini and prosciutto.
14/20

Lunchtime BYO, ‘glorious’ bruschetta: Count yourself lucky if this Italian is your local

The 30-seater from two ex-Caffe e Cucina stalwarts is slicker than your average middle-suburban restaurant, reviews Dani Valent.

  • Dani Valent
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Wonderful, natural light gleams on black floorboards of The Lodge Dining Room on level one of Rodd & Gunn’s flagship store.
Good Food hat15/20

Why a fashion label’s fine-dining restaurant won over our cynical, shopping-phobe critic

Rodd & Gunn’s newly hatted restaurant is a very charming place, reviews Dani Valent. Plus: there’s free bread that’s good enough to pay for.

  • Dani Valent
Paranormal Wines.
Good Food hat15/20

A bottle shop with a chefs’ hat? This surprising spot lives up to the hoo-ha

Intuitive service and bracing flavours are at the heart of Paranormal Wines, which created a “small hoo-ha” when it became the first bottle shop in NSW or the ACT to be awarded a hat.

  • Callan Boys
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We found the ultimate proseccos for a spritz (including one from Aldi for $12)

And if you like pet nat, try the bottle-fermented cousin of regular prosecco, which has bolder aromas and a deeper flavour, as if the volume has been turned up.

  • Mike Bennie
Xiao long bao.
14/20

It’s easy to find dumplings in the CBD. But this ‘smashing’ new spot is doing things differently

Hoppy Dumpling combines two of its owner’s passions under one roof: dumplings and craft beer. Plus, there’s a basket of free, help-yourself prawn crackers.

  • Dani Valent
Lamb naye balls coated with sesame seeds, crushed pistachio and dried rose petals.
14/20

Discover a modern Middle Eastern restaurant tucked inside a grand old suburban pub

Head to the carpark at the back of the three-storey 1888 landmark and look for the pink neon sign that says “Sama”.

  • Dani Valent