New Restaurant of the Year, presented by Aurum Poultry: Zareh

Collingwood

At what point does hype become hindrance? Last year, word came that Melbourne’s favourite itinerant chef Tom Sarafian was zeroing in on a place of his own. Cue the screaming. But despite the pressure, in August, Zareh debuted in Collingwood to unanimous praise: a singular vision from a chef with a striking sense of purpose. It’s the sum of his working life, it’s the clear-eyed expression of his cultural identity.

You can file it under Armenian-Lebanese, you can file it under categorically Melbourne: a whip-smart wine bar powered by flame and fenugreek, the sound system blasting Armenian funk all the while.

The dips, indispensably Sarafian, are front and centre: toum slathered over chicken kebabs, hummus loaded with spanner crab – his signature. But they’re just one part of a story that’s still being written. The hype was justified; Tom Sarafian has arrived. Zareh is the restaurant Melbourne has been waiting for.