The best New Year's Eve dinners in Melbourne to feast on

CBD

The following CBD restaurants are open on New Year's Eve.

Usher in 2024 Scandinavian-style at Freyja, with the chef's selection of six courses at $345 per person. Each course can be paired with an indulgent alcoholic beverage for an additional $50pp to upgrade, and before the clock strikes twelve, you'll have the chance to make your way up to the 35th level for Champagne and fireworks with views over the river. Book online.

Gordon Ramsay recently called Aru "amazing" and we can't disagree. Luckily, the restaurant is offering a super luxe New Year’s Eve feast if you feel like kicking things up a notch. On top of the menu, you can add festive additions such as caviar service (served with fried potato cakes and nori, whipped crème fraîche and chicken fat and chopped chives and eggs), Mayura Station Wagyu rib-eye with Bordelaise sauce and mushrooms and Southern Rock lobster. Book through the website. 

Ring in 2024 with Chin Chin this New Year’s Eve. There’ll be rivers of drinks, DJs spinning tunes all night and loads of Chin Chin's most famous dishes available – think crispy duck pancakes, twice-cooked barbecue lamb, yellow toothfish curry, black sticky rice ice cream and lots more. Choose between a $125 or $150 per person menu. Book through the website.

Indulge at Chancery Lane for your last meal of the year with a decadent European feast from celebrated chef and restaurateur Scott Pickett. Housed in Melbourne’s historic Normanby Chambers building, this restaurant delivers classic European dishes with a twist. You can view the full NYE menu here. For the first sitting from 6pm, Chancery Lane will be offering a $150 four-course menu, and for the second sitting from 8.30pm, a $180 five-course feast. Wine matches are optional and will put you out $70 for the first sitting and $85 for the second sitting. Book through the website.

With new places constantly mushrooming in the city, it’s nice to hark back to an oldie but a goodie. Enter Longrain, a popular destination ever since it opened in 2005. Scott Pickett and head chef Long Le have curated a $120 banquet featuring the restaurant’s classic dishes as well as new favourites, from freshly shucked oysters and crispy turmeric crepes to Longrain’s succulent duck breast with mangosteens and black garlic cured kingfish. Save room for dessert: the stunning coconut pudding with mango mousse, black sticky rice sorbet and coconut crumble. The first sitting is an early one from 5pm, and the second sitting is from 8.15pm, with wine match options are available. Book through the website. 

Refined Thai-inspired cocktail bar Longsong is opening its venue from 5pm until late for a night of generous food and drink specials with DJ Hoxton Fox on the decks from 8pm. From signature spicy oysters to festive lobster rolls and with Champagne and cocktail specials all night, this casual feast under the lanterns is the perfect no-fuss way to ring in the New Year with your nearest and dearest. Book a table here.

If you love your NYE parties loud and racuous, you can't go wrong with a table at this 900-seat traditional Bavarian bier hall. Amidst the spectacular fireworks lighting up the city, opt for a la carte dining, a generous canapé package or a next-level NYE celebration feast that includes a trio of Munich Brauhaus’ best-selling platters. For more info on all the NYE food and drinks available at this beloved South Wharf party venue this year, check out the website.

Welcome the New Year in one of the most beautiful dining rooms in Melbourne. Luci is offering a $240 five-course degustation menu, featuring arancini, crab and caviar waffles, slow-cooked duck leg cigars, prawn orrecchiette, roast barramundi and more. The meal will conclude with a sophisticated limoncello tiramisu and petit fours. Book online.

It wouldn't be a silly season round-up without including one of our favourite CBD party venues: Her Bar. This New Year's Eve, the swanky ground-floor establishment is hosting a four-course feast of seasonal delights and contemporary specials for $195 per person. You can expect a cocktail on arrival and two hours of free-flowing beer and wine, plus a menu that features dishes like fried paccheri with prawn mousse; roasted spatchcock with charred leek; and heirloom tomatoes with goat’s curd, pickled shallot and basil. Talk about delicious. If you're feeling fancy you can go all out with an exclusive two-hour free-flowing Champagne service for an additional $45 per person. Book through the website.

If grooving hard with tacos and tequila by the river sounds way too hectic for you, then what about an elegant Italian-style dinner party? Marameo is putting on a $99 (what a steal!) share-style feast fit for a principessa. Start with housemade rosemary focaccia and Borgo Soppressata chilli salami and graduate onto the likes of squid ink linguine with spanner crab, roe, tomato and chilli or casarecce cacio e pepe with black truffle. With funky DJs, cocktails and delicious eats all night long, what else could you need? Book through the website. 

You can expect a three-course meal, white tablecloths, warm service and a touch of Venetian glamour at Il Bacaro’s New Year’s Eve celebration – priced at $155 per person. Specially curated by executive chef David Dellai, you have multiple options for every course – think the likes of zucchini flowers with miso and egg yolk or kangaroo carpaccio with fermented honey and mustard crackers for entrée, spaghetti with Moreton Bay bugs or suckling pig with a yoghurt gelato for main, and agave nectar cheesecake or rhubarb crumble for dessert. Il Bacaro’s sommeliers will be on hand to assist you in finding the perfect drop from its collection of more than 300 rare and premium wines. Book through the website.

Dig into a chef's selection menu at contemporary diner, Cumulus Inc. Open from noon to midnight, you'll be able to feast on its pristine seafood, heirloom vegetables and an exciting array of wines by the glass and celebratory cocktails in the lead-up to the end of the year. Reserve via the website.

North

The following northside restaurants are open on New Year's Eve.

↑ Back to top

Lygon Street's Lagoon Dining will open its doors on New Year's Eve and offer a Chinese-inspired menu that will showcase four of its signature dishes including dessert, with a premium drinks package. Priced at $210 per adult, the meal is set to excite with plenty of spice and the signature creativity Lagoon is known for. Kids under five years old eat free! Reserve via its website.

It’s hard to escape the influence of Scott Pickett if you’re dining in Melbourne. Bid au revoir to 2023 with an exuberant French feast that delivers a melange of Pickett’s best-known dishes. Expect menu items such as chicken liver and foie gras parfait, citrus-cured salmon with spanner crab vinaigrette, rockling, dry-aged Loddon Farm duck, and strawberry and elderflower tart, complete with wild strawberry sorbet. The first sitting from 6pm is $150 per person (with matched wines at $75) and the second sitting from 8.30pm is $180 per person (with matched wines at $90). Book now through the website. 

Old local Northcote favourite Estelle offers what it’s best known for – a quintessential modern Australian feast – this New Year’s Eve. Seasonality rules with a menu that includes summer tomato tartlet, fresh milk curd with wild garlic and Yarra Valley caviar, red snapper, Wagyu sirloin and more. You'll also get a glass of premium Champagne on arrival. You can either choose an earlier or later sitting, both priced at $155 a head with an optional wine pairing package for $70. Book through the website.

South

The following southside restaurants are open on New Year's Eve.

↑ Back to top

There's no swankier lair to kick off your New Year’s Eve than the glamorous and impressive dining room at Yūgen. Choose from two dining sittings till 10:30pm, plus an after party to kick on the festivities. The package includes a glass of Champers on arrival, with superstar DJ DNE kicking off the night and live entertainment to follow. You can customise your night to include an a la carte dinner, late night snacks from the supper menu and more. Check out the website for more info.

Moonhouse, a Chinese-inspired bistro in Balaclava, could be where you perform this year’s countdown. Moonhouse’s set menu includes nine snack plates to share – think scallops with XO foam, beef and bone marrow spring rolls, roast chook with black vinegar and spring onion and Cantonese sponge cake with ginger and mandarin sorbet for dessert. The NYE luxe set menu comes in at $80 per person, but you can opt for the a la carte menu instead if you prefer. Book through the website.

Say goodbye to 2023 with Firebird’s duo of set menus to ring in your NYE. At just $85 per person, enjoy a refreshing summer cocktail on arrival before digging into an array of Firebird's most favoured delights, including finger lime and beef carpaccio, freee-range chook with burnt chilli nuoc nam and spicy peanut and papaya salad, plus more. The slightly pricier option at $125 a head includes Cloudy Bay clams with calamansi and hot mint and a juicy grilled squid course, plus the option to choose fire-roasted duck or market fish for your main instead, and a burnt fudge dessert offering. We don't know about you but our mouths are watering. Check out all the details here.

Love a bite of modern Japanese? Then choose Tokyo Tina as the site of your NYE bash. Tokyo Tina’s set menu comes with nine of the restaurant's most loved dishes at an auspicious $88 per person. You can look forward to spiced edamame, sticky sesame eggplant, crispy five-spice chicken, hibachi-grilled chicken with nori miso butter and more. The night will round off with dorayaki served with chocolate cream, koji caramel and roasted peanuts for dessert. For $45 per person, the unlimited cockails package will keep the good times flowing. Book through the website.

Riverside views: tick. Delish seafood: tick. Once again, Saké Restaurant and Bar in Hamer Hall will provide NYE revellers with a contemporary Japanese-inspired experience by the river this year. Check out its à la carte menu featuring fresh sashimi and more or its specially curated NYE set menu for $139 per person. Get all the details now and book through the website.

Located in Crown, Spice Temple offers a regional Chinese gastronomic tour with a $149 per person set menu on New Year’s Eve. Past favourite dishes have included Nanjing-style red braised pork hock, braised lamb shoulder served in bread pockets and Jiangxi-style stir-fried prawns tossed with pickled mustard greens, chilli and garlic shoots. Hungry to get in on the action? Book through the website.

This Italian-inspired cocktail bar and restaurant usually has a party vibe, with live music or a DJ spinning tunes most nights, but they're going all-out for NYE. Say arrivederci to 2023 in style with a four-course culinary journey crafted by head chef Thibault Boggio. Sip on a glass of Moet & Chandon as you arrive followed by fresh oysters, before enjoying the evening with fabulous food and French wine. Of course, there'll be live music, including a performance from their very own Rossi jazz band. When things wrap up, you'll have access to kick ons at one of the restaurant's sibling venues, which include the ultra-exclusive Electric bar. From there, you'll simply see where the night takes you. Book through the website.  

Forget the noise and craziness of the city and indulge in a luxe NYE escape to Sorrento instead. With its incredible views over Port Phillip Bay, Audrey's is the perfect destination. Is it pricey? Sure. But your $500 ticket doesn't just guarantee an A-grade dining experience, it's all about the impeccable vibes and attention to detail. Upon arrival, you'll be greeted with a flute of the restaurant's finest Champagne. The gastronomic adventure to follow features fresh oysters, caviar, and the most exquisite seasonal produce available. After your meal, there's a vibrant party to dance and drink as the clock strikes twelve with your fellow revellers. Check out details of the full experience here.

West

The following restaurants in Melbourne's west are open on New Year's Eve.

↑ Back to top

Station Hotel's famous steaks and modern pub classics ensure there’s something for every foodie, making it the perfect venue for a relaxed yet indulgent NYE celebration. The a la carte menu will be available throughout the evening, alongside kitchen specials and you'll also get a complimentary glass of bubbly on arrival. For more info, check out the website.