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Scallop tartare with caviar at Tartine in Richmond.

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Melbourne restaurant reviews 2022

Catch up on The Age chief restaurant critic Besha Rodell's reviews, as published in Good Food on Tuesdays and Good Weekend on Saturdays.

64 stories
Rodell enjoyed many solo lunches of khao soi at tiny Thai restaurant Soi 38.

Year in review(s): Besha Rodell's Melbourne dining highlights of 2022

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Truffle-poached lobster.
14/20

Le Bouchon's lobster is a love letter to classic French cooking, near Daylesford

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: The "carrot, carrot" side dish is carrot to the power of carrot.
13.5/20

Fire-driven Fitzroy newcomer Flint is a hot prospect

  • Besha Rodell
Fish-on-seafood-on-fish: Roast turbot with smoked mussles.
14.5/20

Wine meets wood-fire at Richmond hotspot Clover

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Chicken milanese torta.
13.5/20

Retro diner meets hipster taqueria at Frankie's Tortas and Tacos in Fitzroy

  • Besha Rodell
Steak tartare with oyster cream and Yorkshire pudding.
Good Food hat15/20

Why The Lincoln holds a magical place among Melbourne's beloved pubs

  • Besha Rodell
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The "after service sandwich" filled with Maha's signature lamb shoulder.
13.5/20

Jayda serves Maha's famous lamb shoulder in a sandwich

  • Besha Rodell
The "cheese course": Yunnan milk curd and bing bread.
Good Food hatGood Food hat16/20

Why Lee Ho Fook is still one of the best restaurants in the city

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Akitma - mini crumpets with taramasalata and salmon roe.
13.5/20

Melbourne's Turkish wine bar Nazar is worth a look

  • Besha Rodell
The nine tapas tasting box.
14/20

North Melbourne's Sakedokoro Namara will transport you to Tokyo

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dishes: Pickled mussels with a side of flatbread.
14/20

This Bonny bar snack combo is not to be missed

  • Besha Rodell
Arepitas topped with confit duck.
14/20

Tino brings a taste of Latin America to Sydney Road

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Murray cod with broad beans.
14.5/20

One Trick Pony captures Melbourne's palomino glow

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Crab tartine.
14/20

Toast with the most at Richmond charmer Tartine

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Peking duck.
Good Food hatGood Food hat17/20

Icon review: Flower Drum is a drum worth beating

  • Besha Rodell
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Go-to dish: Abalone with smoked eel.
Good Food hatGood Food hat16/20

Fen's truly exceptional tasting menu is worth travelling for

  • Besha Rodell
Pizza with spanner crab, yellow tomato sauce, grilled zucchini and mizuna.
14.5/20

Italian-style pizza meets modern Australiana at Figlia

  • Besha Rodell
Chicken schnitzel with mustard gravy and fennel salad.
13.5/20

Fitzroy North's Royal Oak Hotel feels like the real deal again

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Ultimate bowl with prawns, scallops, calamari, crispy pork, instant noodles and egg yolks.
14/20

Why Soi 38 is one of the most fun places to eat in Melbourne

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Green-chilli pickled mussels.
14/20

Ides' casual spin-off has a real feeling of specialness

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Fazzoletti pasta with prawns, fried nettles, ricotta and lemon.
14/20

Donna Maria is a gem of a restaurant on the Mornington Peninsula

  • Besha Rodell
Rabbit, pork and veal agnolotti.
Good Food hat15/20

Scopri is the best of what Melbourne's Italian restaurants used to be like

  • Besha Rodell
Strato faces the CBD, with a view over the Convention and Exhibition Centre.
12.5/20

Plenty of swanky LA-style, not much substance at this hotel restaurant in the sky

  • Besha Rodell
Crispy deep-fried chicken wings with chilli sauce.
13.5/20

German drinks meet Malaysian snacks at Zaubertrank, Thornbury

  • Besha Rodell
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Go-to dish: Tarte tatin.
14/20

Victoria by Farmer's Daughters puts the state on plate

  • Besha Rodell
Chopped Cambodian fried chicken and rice.
13/20

Cambodia's Kitchen brings a taste of Cambodia to the CBD

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Beef Wellington.
14.5/20

Marble & Pearl serves surf and turf with retro flourish

  • Dani Valent
Otsukuri (sashimi plate of the day).
14.5/20

Melbourne's Asoko is a tiny omakase with big plans

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Steamed tapioca pearls.
Good Food hat15.5/20

Great balls of tapioca! Jeow serves the 'dish of the century'

  • Besha Rodell
Whole chicken plate with pickles, pita and toum (tangy garlic sauce).
13/20

Sydney's cult chicken chain hits Melbourne. Here's our verdict

  • Besha Rodell
Wagyu.
Good Food hat15/20

Glen Waverley's Marble Yakiniku offers an embarrassment of magnificence

  • Besha Rodell
The Boiling Crab offers ungodly amounts of crab and other crustaceans.
10/20

Big chain, small reward at The Boiling Crab

  • Besha Rodell
The gold-domed barbecue is surrounded by a well that’s filled with bone broth.
13.5/20

Join the queue for hotpot meets barbecue

  • Besha Rodell
"Bloody delicious": Crab doughnut.
14/20

Benchmark bar snacks and 'bloody delicious' doughnuts at Dessous

  • Besha Rodell
Lamb shoulder with almond sauce, anchovy, parmesan and pine nuts.
14/20

Hotel Bellinzona's lamb shoulder is a thing of glory

  • Besha Rodell
Buckwheat risotto with truffle.
14/20

Neighbourhood restaurant Henry Sugar punches well above its weight

  • Besha Rodell
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