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Stan’s Grill’s cevapi sandwich.

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Melbourne hit list December 2023: Hot, new and just-reviewed places to check out, right now

Sizzling sandwich spots, Indian snacks and sweets, Polish dumplings, American barbecue and more globe-trotting eats to seek out this month.

24 stories
Marinated chicken and lamb with curry, banana and chow mein at Banana Leaf in Hampton Park.

Four delicious reasons to head on a food excursion to Hampton Park

  • Dani Valent
Antara 128 restaurant.
14/20

All-day venue Antara 128 is new, unconventional, and the baked goods are a triumph

  • Besha Rodell
Sfincione, Sicily’s answer to pizza, is on the new Mister Bianco menu.

Sicilian-style loaded focaccia is how dinner starts at Kew’s new Mister Bianco 2.0

  • Emma Breheny
Guy Daley and Dominika Sikorska want Eat Pierogi, Make Love to show people another side of Poland.

Eat Pierogi Make Love breaks down stodgy Polish food stereotypes in Brunswick East

  • Emma Breheny
Sadhya, a traditional dish of 12 different elements served on a banana leaf.

Newly hatted restaurant Babaji’s Keralan Kitchen opens a second location on Melbourne’s fringe

  • Emma Breheny
The Bologna at Stefanino Panino.

Six fresh sandwich joints worth queuing up for (including Stefanino Panino’s new home)

  • Daniela Frangos
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Fish nadan, a crowd favourite from the Rochester Hotel.

Expect saffron martinis, dosas and Indian disco at Fitzroy’s new Toddy Shop

  • Emma Breheny
Melburnians took some convincing to sit at the restaurant’s tapas bar (right).
Good Food hat15/20

The original MoVida is still setting the bar high, two decades after it opened

  • Dani Valent
Stan’s Grill’s cevapi sandwich.

Stan’s Grill is a different kind of sausage sizzle in Spotswood

  • Emma Breheny
The La Sirene team in their new Reservoir brewery and bar.

Brew-bar La Sirene reopens in Reservoir with Portuguese steak sangers on the menu

  • Emma Breheny
Pistachio cheesecake.

Truganina’s Dessert Corner Lounge should be high on sweet-tooth’s hit lists

  • Dani Valent
Messmates occupies a former bakery in the centre of Warragul.
Good Food hat15/20

Freshly hatted country restaurant Messmates is worth travelling for

  • Besha Rodell
Gelato Messina has added a fifth Melbourne shop, with three other new ice-cream spots also arriving in time for summer.

Scoop up the summer specials at four new ice-cream outposts across town

  • Emma Breheny
The meat platter at Southern Grace Diner by Big Boy BBQ.

Gather a crew to feast on American BBQ at Sundays-only Southern Grace Diner

  • Dani Valent
Chef Yu Orita passing one of eight rounds of sushi to Nidaime’s diners.
Good Food hat15.5/20

Is Yugen Dining offshoot Nidaime serving Melbourne’s best value omakase menu?

  • Larissa Dubecki
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Muli, tucked into a quiet residential pocket of Carlton, brings serious seafood cred to the neighbourhood.

Cult Footscray seafood shop’s new restaurant Muli may be Carlton’s best kept secret

  • Sasha Geyer
Sardinas is a wine bar, liquor shop and flower store in Reservoir.

Popular La Pinta’s new spin-off Sardinas is a charming store, wine bar and snackery

  • Dani Valent
Prawns with a fiery jungle curry are just one of the full-throttle dishes in store at the rebooted Sunda.

Acclaimed Melbourne city restaurant Sunda reopens with a whole new offering

  • Dani Valent
Culurgiones in red curry.
Good Food hat15/20

Bayside fine diner Bottarga definitely doesn’t play it safe, but does it pay off?

  • Dani Valent
The Part Time Friend cocktail.

One of Melbourne’s best bars, Bar Tobala, is on a busy corner in the ’burbs

  • Dani Valent
Go-to dish: Chicken, shallots, brassica, preserved lemon.
Good Food hatGood Food hat17.5/20

The Age Good Food Guide Restaurant of the Year O.My, the review

  • Dani Valent
Pulled pork burger at Red Gum BBQ

Mornington Peninsula gem Red Gum BBQ opens an offshoot closer to Melbourne

  • Sasha Geyer
Yellow curry with sweet picked crab meat.

Pa Tong’s southern Thai food is ‘absorbingly delicious’ and affordable

  • Dani Valent
Two of Humdinger’s new owners

Humdinger in Frankston is your dream US-style dive bar (but with far better food)

  • Dani Valent
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