Food & Drink: The best new openings of 2021, so far

A standing ovation for Melbourne’s hospitality class of ’21. Despite the extraordinary challenges of the past 18 months, which has seen heartbreaking lockdowns and delayed new restaurant openings, we’ve been blessed with some of the most exciting and innovative restaurants, cafes, bars and produce stores our amazing city has ever seen. 

Most anticipated

More than three years (and five lockdowns) after restaurateur Chris Lucas teamed up with Martin Benn and Vicki Wild (formerly of Sepia restaurant in Sydney), the trio has finally opened Society in the 80 Collins Precinct. It’s a jaw-dropping, mid-century, modern-inspired beast that seats hundreds of people over 11 spaces, including two restaurants and a marble martini bar. The Society dining room is where Benn’s creativity and attention to detail shine, while Lillian Terrace is inspired by European bistro dining.

societyrestaurant.com

Cool factor

Digital radio station Hope St Radio found a permanent home in the Collingwood Yards precinct this year, and with it came the most sought-after tables in the inner north. Ellie Bouhadana and Jack Shaw serve an ever-changing seasonal menu (think raw seafood and house-made pasta), with natural and local wines aplenty. With a custom sound system and guest DJs, you know the soundtrack is going to be good, too.

hopestradio.community

Vegan vibes

Set in the new Ovolo hotel in South Yarra, Lona Misa is the first southside venue to receive the golden vegan touch of Shannon Martinez (Smith & Daughters and Smith & Deli). Ian Curley (Kirk’s Wine Bar, French Saloon) is also on board, which means slick service and a Josper oven dedicated to vegetables. It’s open all day, but visit for dinner for chicken tamales with tomatillo, moqueca Brazilian seafood stew and peri-peri cauliflower.

ovolohotels.com

Best value

A four-course chef’s menu is only $59 (or seven courses for $89) at Gigi’s Wine & Tapas Bar, a 32-seat restaurant in an arcade off Carlisle Street in Balaclava, which opened at the start of 2021. You might eat fat scallops with foraged mushrooms, burrata with trout caviar or the house pasta of the day. It’s also incredibly vegan-friendly (down to a vegan cheeseboard), and wine matches are also brilliant value ($30 or $45 for the two set menus, respectively).

gigiswinetapas.com.au

Best new restaurant

Everyone is abuzz with excitement for Aru, the polished city restaurant from chef Khanh Nguyen (also Sunda). He flawlessly combines the Asian flavours of his heritage with native Australian ingredients and creativity, cooking over fire and adding ferments and pickles. The result is dishes like pate en croute with “flavours of banh mi” and duck dry-aged onsite with quandong, black cabbage and bamboo.

aru.net.au

Coffee hit

Industry Beans opened a 100-seat cafe and coffee roastery in April, right beside the Tiffany and Co entrance of Chadstone Shopping Centre. The modern cafe is in a glass box beneath a white structure and looks more like a high-end fashion store than an all-day dining venue. Order a cold-brew negroni and the sous-vide salmon “garden”.

industrybeans.com

COVID success story

Al Dente Enoteca is a pasta phoenix risen from the pandemic’s ashes. Chef Andrea Vignali couldn’t continue working at Grossi Florentino during lockdown, as his visa made him ineligible for JobKeeper. Instead, he made and delivered pasta from a commercial kitchen, and the concept has since morphed into a permanent restaurant on Nicholson Street in Carlton. Dinner is still delivered weekly, but now you can eat his handmade lobster ravioli and seasonally stuffed tortellini hot from the kitchen.

aldenteenoteca.com

Perfect pastry

The queues have not abated at Kate Reid’s latest project, Moon Cruller, just up the road from her Lune Croissanterie in Rose Street in Fitzroy. She’s piping and deep-frying crullers, which are somewhere between a choux pastry doughnut and canele. The six flavours are displayed on hooks in the New York warehouse-inspired space. They’re takeaway only and best enjoyed fresh on the sidewalk with a cup from Coffee Supreme or a Mork hot chocolate. 

mooncruller.com

Gelato season

The competition is stiff when it comes to being crowned Melbourne’s best gelato, but Ivanhoe landed a contender this year with Boca Gelato. Brought to you by Coda chef Adam D’Sylva and pastry chef Monika Frkovic, you can’t miss the mint-green palette and confetti terrazzo benchtop. Flavours range from traditional, to inspired by D’Sylva’s Indian-Italian heritage, to experimental. Also try the choc-tops based on classic Aussie ice creams (hello, Cherry Ripe). 

bocagelato.com.au

Produce picks

Andrew McConnell is on fire this year, and not just in the restaurant department. He opened a fourth Meatsmith on Whitehorse Road in Balwyn, continuing the legacy of a 40-year-old butcher shop, as well as a second Morning Market on High Street in Prahran’s East Village (the first is in Fitzroy). The one-stop grocer sells local flowers, Baker Bleu pastries and sourdough, house-made sandwiches and salads, restaurant-quality staples, specialty food items, pre-prepared home meals and more. 

meatsmith.com.au, morning.market

Top shelf

There’s plenty happening in the drinks department in 2021. Deeds Taproom opened in their Glen Iris craft brewery, pouring 22 tap beers (they’re big on IPA) and serving ale-glazed wagyu and hop-cured salmon. In Werribee, Corked opened a wine bar with a secret entrance, cosy fireplace seating and an outdoor area right on the river. And for those abstaining, Brunswick Aces is Melbourne’s first non-alcoholic distillery, bar and bottle shop.

deedsbrewing.com.au, corkedwb.com, brunswickaces.com