Sonia Nair

December 2024: Jiminy cricket! Is it really the end of the year already? What a whirlwind! Last month went by as fast as a flash – or maybe we should say a splash, since our calendar featured some fun pool bars. We hung out at Afloat (where we got to meet Mr. Gordon Ramsay himself), and we also checked out a glamorous hotel's rooftop pool bar – now open to the public for the first time ever this summer. Other exciting events included the launch of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2025 program and an incredible lunch at the CBD's red-hot new French restaurant Maison Bâtard. Young spots like Reed House and Lucia also blew us away. But for now, we take a break for silly season. Until next year, dear readers! Here's your ultimate guide to Melbourne's most exciting recent restaurant and bar openings, updated monthly for your reading (and tasting) pleasure. With this list on hand, you'll be the first to know where to find the hottest brunch spot, vino bar or fine diner – all sussed out by our fastidious team of writers and critics. Note: we generally include venues that are only twelve months (give or take) young in this list.  Ready to make a booking somewhere spesh? Read on. Still hungry? These are the 50 best restaurants in Melbourne right now. Fancy a tipple? Check out the 50 best bars in Melbourne. Lauren Dinse is Time Out Melbourne’s Food and Drink Writer. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

Take your pick from the likes of Scandinavian and German feasts, boozy rooftop parties with snacks galore, punchy Asian-style banquets, seafood spreads and an ultra-glamorous subterannean soirée to usher in 2025. Book your spot, don your fancy clothes and brace yourself for the party of the year.  Keen to kick on? These are the best New Year's parties and events to bring in 2025. Drank too much? Cure your hangover at one of these restaurants and cafès open on New Year's Day. 

One fell madly in love with a sumptuous sundae-style dessert at a new French restaurant, another just couldn't get enough of a pop-up's fried chicken burgers. But no matter what dishes sent the Time Out team into a scrumptious spin, one thing's for sure: it would be selfish to keep them a secret! So read on for a hit list of everything we tried in 2024 that had us swooning, so you can go and have a taste, too. Still hungry? Check out the 50 best restaurants in Melbourne right now. And if you're thirsty, these are the 50 best bars in Melbourne right now.

December 2024: Summer in Melbourne is the time to shimmy out of those trackpants, off the couch and into a shiny new world. There's been a ton of exciting new restaurant openings to celebrate, while plenty of old favourites are still merrily thrumming along – all ready to welcome you with open arms. So put on something cute, grab a date and check out the best eating and drinking the city has to offer.  The continually evolving and expanding dining scene in Melbourne is both a blessing and a curse: how do you choose between so many incredible restaurants? Well, that's where we come in. Stop endlessly scrolling, and commit to making your way through Time Out’s list of the best restaurants in the state right now. Our always-hungry local experts, including Time Out Melbourne's Food and Drink Writer, Lauren Dinse, have curated 2024's most delicious and divine, innovative and imaginative, comforting and familiar, memorable and magical dining experiences right here at your fingertips. From culinary institutions like Attica, Stokehouse and Flower Drum, to emerging standouts and instant icons such as Serai, Gimlet and Amaru, we've got it all covered here. And as for the brand new restaurant and bar openings catching our eye? Check out this guide instead. Get out, and get eating! You've got a lot to get through!  RECOMMENDED READ:  Don't want to break the bank? Check out Melbourne's best cheap eats.

December 2024: "It's the most wonderful time of the yeeear" goes that old classic Christmas croon. But let's be real: it certainly doesn't feel that way when you're staring at a rapidly dwindling bank balance. The festive period in Melbourne can quickly rack up unexpected expenses, which is where our handy cheap eats guide comes in – a monthly-updated list to help you fill your social calendar with more affordable dining out options. The late and great respected chef Anthony Bourdain once famously said: “I'd rather eat in Melbourne than Paris." It goes without saying that Melbourne has long been revered as one of Asia Pacific's most exciting food cities, but that status isn't just attributed to our fancy restaurants – special as many of those upper crust institutions may be. Our laneways and hidden alcoves are brimming with cheap street eats, smashable pub deals and dinner options you can enjoy for $20, $15 or even under $10, so you can stop counting your hard-earned pennies and start eating instead. Lauren Dinse is Time Out Melbourne’s Food and Drink Writer, and has spent an impressive time scouting for the city's tastiest cheap eats – from her early student days spent wandering around Carlton and the CBD in search of a pocket change lunch, to the present day covering fun new openings for Time Out.  For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. If you'd rather not spend any money at all right now, we've got you covered with our guide on the best things to do f

Like in all the best global cities, you can find a plethora of food options in Melbourne past midnight, if only you know where to look. Wander down laneways for pizza by the slice, unearth hidden cocktail bars for fancy cheeseburgers, and let the steam of piping hot bowls of noodles warm you when the temperature outside has plummeted. These are the best late-night eats in Melbourne to sate your hunger after a big night out. Looking for something sweet? Many of these dessert bars have the best vibes after dark. For more late-night antics, peruse our guides to Melbourne's best late-night bars, nightclubs and bars for dancing.

There’s just something superior about sipping an Aperol Spritz high in the sky rather than on solid ground. Maybe it’s the stellar skyline views and the magic of golden hour, or perhaps it’s just the alcohol talking – either way, we can’t resist the temptation of a top-notch rooftop bar. Luckily, Australia is spoiled for choice with spectacular spots to drink and dine in the sky. Our expert local writers have risen (quite literally) to the occasion to bring you this list of the best rooftop bars across the country. From a trendy terrace with an infinity pool to an open-air oasis with 360-degree skyline views, these are the trendiest spots to be seen or not be seen by the revellers down below. 🍹 The best bars in Australia🍺 Australia's greatest pubs for a pint🍷 The best wineries to visit Down Under

Compiling a list of the best Indian restaurants in a city, let alone a country, is no easy task. Every region, city and family have their own specialties, offering a diverse line-up of comforting curries, crunchy pakoras, fluffy naan bread, tangy pickles and cooling lassis. Time Out Australia has enlisted its team of well-travelled editors and writers to bring you this list of must-try Indian restaurants in every capital city. In Melbourne, a tiny at-home restaurant presents one of Melbourne’s most singular degustations, taking diners on a journey through different regions and seasons. In Sydney, a vibrant late-night eatery serves up colourful curry plates and roti wraps until 2am on the weekends. Meanwhile, a beloved Adelaide institution has been dishing up crowd-favourite butter chicken and beef vindaloo curries for almost 50 years. Wherever you are, your next spice fix awaits. 🍽 All the best restaurants in Australia🍱 The best Japanese joints in Australia🍕Where to find the best pizza in Australia

Since the 1960s, Lygon Street has been known and loved as Melbourne's Little Italy precinct. Locals and tourists alike flock to the leafy strip – abuzz on weekends with the roaring of fancy cars and roaming of uni students, teens and families – for proper espresso, pasta and cake, and a true taste of Italian-style al fresco action.  Sure, you might get a bit of hassle from the sales-y footpath waiters trying to lure you in, but true Melburnians know that's a part of the street's charm. And though much has changed in the last decade, there's no doubt that if you want to sit out on a terrace with a pizza bigger than your head or sip Spritzes on a rooftop, Lygon Street is still the place to be.  In 2024, there's a much larger and more diverse culinary offering in this area than ever before. Particularly on the southern end of the Carlton stretch, you'll discover incredible eateries for Egyptian, Japanese, Indian, Thai, plus a variety of other cuisines. No longer just the domain of spaghetti and salumi, Lygon Street is now also worth heading to for a bangin' biryani or world-class Asian fusion. And that's not all. Take a stroll up towards Brunswick East and you'll discover trendy wine bars, pubs with live music, American barbecue, Polish dumplings, Sicilian food and one of the best taco joints in town. Hungry yet? Let's go for a wander! We've listed Lygon Street's best restaurants in Google Maps-checked order so you'll know where to find them. Looking for the cream of the crop?

A traditional bánh mì has bread with crunch, but not so much that it scrapes the roof of your mouth. It’s fluffy and light, but not so flaky it completely disintegrates into your lap. It’s the perfect vessel for liberal amounts of pâté, a Vietnamese condiment called egg mayo butter, fresh cucumber, pickled carrot (and daikon if you’re lucky), generous sprigs of coriander and chilli, plus the protein of your choice. On the sauce front, some shops will opt for a dash of Maggi seasoning and soy, others go the hoisin route or even a combination of more than one. Word of warning: you may encounter a holier-than-thou type on your bánh mì travels who insists your choice of sanga is "not the authentic way". But the truth is that 'bánh mì' literally translates to the short baguette itself. You can enjoy this freshly baked delight stuffed with any filling you like – crispy pork belly, nem nuong (grilled pork sausage), chicken, mixed ham, tofu, beef or just plain salad! We love the braised pork and duck confit options at Banh Mi Stand, but we're equally partial to the no-nonsense cold cuts at Phuoc Thanh. There are plenty of regional variances all across Vietnam, and some Vietnamese even like to enjoy theirs filled with ice cream. So how did we come up with this list? Well, we ate a lot of bánh mì. We kept a rolling document that helped us to compare each one. We considered the balance of condiments, the quality of the bread and the freshness of the meat and salad. And we washed it all

South Indian, North Indian, Malaysian-Indian, Indo-Chinese, Indian fusion – Melbourne has it all. Australians’ perennial favourite butter chicken can, of course, be found at a lot of these restaurants but we encourage you to expand your palate. There's a whole world of ingenious, time-honoured dishes hailing from every regional pocket of the subcontinent. Our team of writers have kept an eye on Melbourne's Indian food scene over the years, trying out new suburban joints, casual diners and some of the newer 'mod-Indian' restaurants that have popped up in the last few years. The results? We've compiled our fave spots here for your eating pleasure. Go on and spice up your life. Looking for budget-friendly meals? Here are the best cheap eats in Melbourne.

Australians have a slight obsession with Japanese food. From silky bowls of ramen and glossy slithers of sashimi to crispy gyoza and bite-sized sushi rolls, we’d go to great lengths for a taste of Tokyo. Luckily, you don’t need to splurge on a ticket to Tokyo, since we’re blessed with some of the finest Japanese restaurants Down Under. Steeped in precision and ancient traditions, Japanese cuisine is a meticulous art form in its own right. In Australia, you’ll find highly awarded chefs firing Kobe beef right before your eyes, grandmas pouring fragrant teas and sake in cosy izakayas, and new-wave cooks serving high-end sashimi in exquisite omakases. Whether you’re after no-frills or all of the frills, here are some of the best Japanese restaurants in Australia. 🍽 All the best restaurants in Australia🐠 The best fish and chips in Australia🍕Where to find the best pizza in Australia

Until recently, Sydney Road and its surrounding backstreets weren’t known for their wine-forward bars and restaurants. This has gradually started to change – there’s now laidback yet classy French bistro Bar Magnolia, neighbourhood wine bar Nina’s alongside the Anstey Station bike path, and intimate 35-seater Gemini further north.  You’d be forgiven for thinking Bar Magnolia is a lot stuffier than what it actually is, with its pressed white linen tablecloths and fastidiously attentive service. The more-than-a-year-old wine bar has retained the bones of the historical 1920s building it’s in – exposed red brick walls, stained-glass detailing in the upper windows. What you’ll find is a bistro fancy enough for a special date or notable occasion, but so warm and friendly it’s more akin to a neighbourhood wine bar.  There are tables out the front on the footpath, a sun-filled front room and then a cosier, darker nook out the back. There’s the option to perch by the wraparound bar, sit on stools overlooking the street, or settle into one of several tables with a view of the open, bustling kitchen where animated exclamations of “yes chef” are commonplace.  At $85 per person, the chef’s three-course seasonally rotating menu that includes nearly everything on the regular menu, bar dessert, is well worth the price tag.   Served alongside cultured butter, the Iris Bakery baguette starter performs an exemplar job of singing the praises of the crowdfunded local Brunswick bakery. The black

Time Out Melbourne never writes starred reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills for reviews so that readers can trust our critique. Nestled in the leafy backstreets of Fitzroy, Carnation Canteen is an elegant cornerside 20-seater restaurant. Inside where unembellished walls reign supreme, it feels like a modern rustic French bistro. In the white rear courtyard beneath the unfiltered rays, you almost feel like you’re in the back alleys of a Greek island.  At the risk of sounding older than I am, the loopy cursive scrawl on Carnation Canteen’s weekly rotating menu isn’t easy to decipher. The food continues in this vein – ever stylish, if not always the most satiating.  In any case, there are some noteworthy moments throughout the meal. A wedge of baked ricotta, presumably cut out of the impressive ricotta cake on the display counter, is pleasantly salty, luxuriant and crumbly. Spreading it on the accompanying slice of black kalamata olive crostini further ups the savoury ante. The small serving of al dente spears of baby asparagus infused in the flavours of an oily pistachio crumble heaped on top is moreish, though credit to its addictive salt crunch, we wish there was a bit more of it. And the charcoal-grilled prawns with chilli and garlic, while not extraordinary, have a beautiful char and saltiness reminiscent of the sea.  The saucisson (thick, dry-cured sausage) is pleasingly paired with fava, mint and the salty, sharp tang of pecorino rom

Time Out Melbourne never writes starred reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills for reviews so that readers can trust our critique. Tucked away in the residential backstreets of Abbotsford is Molli, a neighbourhood bar and bistro just a stone’s throw away from stalwart café Three Bags Full. Funnily enough, the perennially popular brunch destination is an earlier venture of Nathan Toleman, owner of Molli and founder of hospitality conglomerate the Mulberry Group, the same establishment behind CBD restaurants Hazel and Dessous.  Molli is a warm and inviting space, belying its expansiveness as a 100-seater. Clad in dark timber and light-filled, with sage green walls adorned by still life oil paintings and vintage furnishings, Molli is simultaneously classy and cosy. Seating can range from tables and banquettes to a wraparound bar overlooking the open kitchen, where one can witness firsthand the flames of Molli’s prized Josper charcoal oven. Get there between the witching hours of 5 and 6pm on weekdays to capitalise on Molli’s aperitivo hour, a delightful window in time when oysters are $4.50, select beer and wines are $10 and a curated list of cocktails are $14 each. Molli excels in reasonably priced daily specials, whether it’s their $30 pasta and vino lunch on Friday and Saturday or their $60 Sunday set meal. Adjacent sister venue Little Molli is a daytime café and deli.  Kayla Saito brings her extensive experience as bar manager at Dessous t

Update October 2024: This review was originally written in 2023, so please be aware that some elements may have changed since. Time Out Melbourne never writes starred reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills for reviews so that readers can trust our critique. Moody, intimate and tastefully lit, Black Kite Commune is the latest addition to the illustrious Russell Place – joining sister bars Gin Palace (a Melbourne institution), its lively adjunct Bar Ampere, and until recently, Con Christopoulos’s celebrated all-day wine bar Neapoli.  But fret not – Black Kite Commune has stepped into Neapoli’s shoes, ticking all boxes and then some. Spread across two levels, the mood is '70s bar meets French bistro – wooden panelling and low ceilings meet black walls and dark carpeted floors. Take your pick between black leather banquettes upstairs where a gold button garners you immediate service, round high tables surrounded by stools upon entry, or a seat by the golden backlit bar. A birdcage contraption on the far corner of the first floor adds a playful energy, while the purple hues of a lightbox night sky installation overlooking the entire venue creates an ethereal feel.  The drinks menu is expansive. Expect to see bottles of wine delineated by their texture, fragrance and mouthfeel rather than variety (‘bright and perfumed’, ‘juicy and full’, ‘dense and rich’). The wine list blends the classics with the new-fangled – old-world reds sit alongside a met

Time Out Melbourne never writes starred reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills for reviews so that readers can trust our critique. Asian-inspired, Asian fusion, modern Asian restaurants – whatever you want to call them – are familiar to Melbourne diners. Longrain and Gingerboy were early adopters way back when the focus was on rendering these cuisines ‘approachable’, Chin Chin and Supernormal inspired queues around the block in the 2010s, and the Hotel Windsor empire of Sunda, Aru and Parcs further upped the ante. But I’d argue Lygon Street stalwart Lagoon Dining – outlier in a sea of Italian restaurants – is the best of them.  Started up by Ezard trio Ned Trumble, Keat Lee and Chris Lerch, Lagoon Dining is consistently tantalising our tastebuds with some of the most considered and punchiest contemporary takes on classic dishes. If you’re fixated with labels, Lagoon would be best categorised under that all-encompassing moniker ‘pan-Asian’. Very few dishes hew to the traditional. Yet true Southeast and East Asian influences are apparent everywhere, from the dishes Lagoon chooses to spotlight to the condiments they incorporate into said dishes – think sambal belacan, white pepper togarashi, gochujang, Chinkiang vinegar. The vibe is contemporary 70s with whitewashed exposed brick walls, black granite and lush curtains demarcating one space from the next. Co-owner and front-of-house manager Lerch is a wonder – all it takes is for you to have vi

The Lygon Street space that once housed the Alehouse Project is now home to expansive cocktail bar Maggie’s. Exposed brick walls adorned with French-style art deco posters and a candle-lit shrine that looks like something out of The Craft form the cosy backdrop to your visit. Despite floor-to-ceiling windows, the space retains a pleasant warmth in cooler weather and the din of nearby people is absorbed by perfect acoustics – this is a place you can bring your parents.  Maggie’s has a laidback enough quality that it beckons you in for dessert and a drink as much as it’s ideal for an hours-long meal. The menu is eclectic, with a strong Polynesian influence coming through in dishes like the Māori fried bread, the Cook Island ceviche and the hangi potato smashies – owing to New Zealand-born chef Scott Blomfield. Apart from a few outliers, the dishes are rich and indulgent, so order wisely or conserve some much-needed stomach space. Divided into ‘nibblish’, snackish’, ‘peckish’ and ‘famished’, it’s a menu designed for sharing.  Beers, ciders and wines on offer spotlight Australian producers, while the sophisticated cocktails are fashioned from byproducts of the kitchen. When we visit, the horchata for the horchata fizz cocktail has run out, but the pistachio orgeat used in its place nevertheless culminates in flavours reminiscent of the Mexican rice milk dish. One of the two pet nats we want also isn’t in stock, but we’re offered the more expensive bottle for the price of the chea

Time Out Melbourne never writes starred reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills for reviews so that readers can trust our critique. Ras Dashen has been sating the appetites of inner westies for more than a decade, and it shows no signs of abating. The colourfully eclectic interiors of Ras Dashen are as inviting as they were when Ethiopian refugee Wondimu Alemu first set up shop on Nicholson Street in 2011. Having since moved to Barkly Street in 2017, paintings and scarves striped in the green, yellow and red of the Ethiopian flag hang from terracotta-coloured walls alongside ornate bowls and woven hats – if you look closely, you can even see Alemu’s beaming face memorialised in one of the paintings.  Alemu and his wife Alemitu Aberra are the heart and soul of Ras Dashen. Alemu is as friendly to first-timers as he is to seasoned visitors, full of such mirth it’s impossible not to smile in his presence as he punctuates each sentence with a merry cackle. Ras Dashen’s Ethiopian fare has something for everyone (vegans included), but what you do need to be is someone who’s comfortable eating with your hands. There’s no better way to enjoy torn off bits of injera – the fermented flatbread that's one of Ethiopia’s most famed exports – laden with your favourite curries.  The best thing to do is order several dishes, all of which will arrive on two different kinds of injera: a white sorghum one and a brown sorghum one. Doro wot is traditionally exceed

First making a name for itself as a food truck in Preston, Wazzup Falafel set up a permanent outpost earlier this year along High Street in Northcote – excellent news for lovers of the Palestinian-Jordanian outfit, now able to enjoy their famed falafels in the most extreme of Melbourne’s weather conditions.  Wazzup Falafel owner Ahmad Al Alaea swapped a career in fitness with cheffing after he couldn’t find equivalent falafels to what he’d enjoyed growing up in Jordan as a Palestinian refugee. Training with the best falafel chefs back in Jordan, he opened his food truck in the fateful month of March 2020, soon garnering an ardent following within a five kilometre-radius. Thankfully, more people are now able to enjoy Wazzup Falafel’s fare. With a view of the kitchen where everything is made from scratch, the restaurant is sizeable without being huge and clad in warm timber – a perfectly cosy spot to enjoy a falafel or ten. The playfulness behind Wazzup Falafel’s name extends to its service – staff are smiley, jovial and only too happy to make recommendations on what you should order.  Falafels are unsurprisingly the name of the game here, but you get to decide how they’re served up to you – in a box alongside a medley of other ingredients, threaded on to a stick, atop piping hot chips in the self-fashioned ‘FSP’, slotted into wraps, swallowed by the folds of baked pita pockets.  You’d be hard-pressed to find someone in Melbourne who hasn’t ever tasted a falafel, but Wazzup’s a

Time Out Melbourne never writes starred reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills for reviews so that readers can trust our critique. Sparsely decorated with bright pops of colour synonymous with the Mexican flag and jaunty Latin music playing from within its confines, new Johnston Street eatery El Columpio is bringing a slice of homestyle cooking to an oft-underappreciated quarter of Fitzroy.  Tortas and Tacos has livened up a strip traditionally associated with late-night shenanigans – think live music institution Old Bar and afrobeats club Laundry – but things remain tough for restaurants bold enough to set up shop in a stretch that can only be described as having bad ‘feng shui’. Vegan pinchos bar Follies shuttered after only a year and a half, citing the cost-of-living crisis. Doncaster Chinese vegetarian import Vegie Mum survived a far bit longer, but it too is shutting its doors at the end of this month. But not all is lost for those looking for a bite in the vicinity – not if El Columpio has anything to do with it.  Established by chef Ricardo Garcia Flores as part of a dream to introduce Melburnians to the family heirloom Mexican dishes he grew up with, El Columpio has a short but sweet menu. If you arrive before midday, you’ll be treated to a breakfast menu that comprises tamales and chilaquiles. Arrive after midday and the menu is identical, no matter if you arrive at 1pm or 8pm – expect the traditional Mexican soup pozole, a select

The co-founding team of John Rivera, Carlos Consunji, Ralph Libo-on, Michael Mabuti and Dhenvirg Ugot – proud Filipinos themselves – are also some of the names behind Kariton Sorbetes and Serai, ensuring bold and vibrant Filipino flavours are front and centre at Askal.  Think sizzling pork jowl and abalone sisig, ox tail kare kare doughnuts and torched scallop adobo. The showstopper dish making the rounds on socials is the roasted bone marrow, sitting in a claypot of crispy confit garlic rice and caramel-braised wagyu oyster blade for the grand total of $100. But it’s by far the most expensive dish on an otherwise reasonably priced menu of ‘pulutan’ (snacks and bites), ‘meryenda’ (entrees), ‘ulam’ (mains and sides) and ‘matamis’ (dessert). The moody yet otherwise nondescript space is a semi-industrial one with textured charcoal walls and simple shell chandeliers – sit by the bar to enjoy a peek into the bustling kitchen. Curate your own experience by ordering off the ala carte menu, or if you have choice paralysis as we did, opt for the $95 ‘feed me’ menu, that features a representative cross-section of the menu, though you may still want to add one or two must-order items.  Askal’s inventiveness extends to its cocktails – the same Tanduay rum in the leche flan appears in the banana-reminiscent Pahanocoy Dream, the nostalgia of childhood is revisited with the Hard Sarsi, and pineapple rum coupled with blackstrap rum and Campari are natural counterparts in the Ibong Adarna, As

Before Nina’s took residence at the base of Brunswick’s Nightingale Studios, it was a lively Bangladeshi restaurant and prior to that, a café that changed hands a few times. It’s the first time a wine bar serving food has popped up in the space and judging by residents’ warm reception, it’s being appreciated as much as its forebears.  Simultaneously cosy and industrial, Nina’s has retained the exposed pipes of yesteryear venues but where it stylistically departs the most is in its almost Hellenic light blue colour scheme, from the leather seats to the bright planter boxes bordering the outdoor space. The big windows bordering the bike track that runs in parallel to the Upfield line lends the space plenty of natural light, a sense of space and constant movement.  Service is both personable and personal, with a menu that speaks of the intimate network co-owners Shae and Hayley have built within their surrounding community – from the honey, a gift from a Nightingale resident, that features in a dessert to the curry leaves that garnish the king prawns, bounty from Hayley’s mum’s garden. Exemplifying this community spirit is their $35 Monday pasta nights – a godsend when most hospitality outfits are taking a much-needed day off – and their happy hour specials from 4 to 6pm four days a week. The menu leans heavily on seasonal produce and mostly comprises vegetables and seafood – a treat for pescatarians. Excitingly, there’s a compact specials menu below the regular menu, ranging fr

Much fuss is made about Collingwood eatery Commis’ connections to Gerald’s Bar, but even if you didn’t know its trio of co-owners’ were alumni at the Carlton North perennial crowd favourite, you’d be able to distinguish its pedigree.  Stepping into Commis’ warm confines is like crossing the threshold of a friend’s house – service is effortlessly affable, laidback and jovial without being effusive or overbearing. Framed artwork depicting fresh produce pepper the walls, and seating is ample – you can choose between leather booths, standalone tables and a generously proportioned courtyard in the event of good weather.  The playful drinks menu and the seasonally changing food menu reflect the wine bar’s joie de vivre. Open your drinks menu one way and be met with a ‘traditionalist’ selection divided by type, but flip it around and open the ‘expressionist’ section and you’ll encounter headings like ‘a quick drink while I think about what I really want’, ‘something old’ (remind me of my last trip to Europe’) and ‘something new’ (my drink is a fashion accessory). Wines are similarly demarcated into emotively labelled sections like ‘we f%#king deserve it’ and ‘slap me in the face and make me feel something’.  I enquire after the cocktail ‘Jessica Hates Everything’ and am told it’s named after an aunty known for abhorring every drink made in her honour. It’s a cocktail specifically concocted for its end user – I’m told I look as though I’d like a sour beverage that’s not too sweet (th