There’s something to be said for doing one thing really well. And many of the year’s best spots do just that, focusing on katsu, bagels and killer charcoal chicken. But there was room for the maximalists this year too, with a more-is-more Scandinasian bakery and a convenience store-inspired diner both standing out. These are the best new bakeries and casual spots of 2025.

Casual Spots

Yang Thai, St Kilda

Narit Kimsat always wanted to open a chicken shop. With Yang Thai, he and co-founder Jimmy Pham have taken a concept found in most suburbs across the country and turned it into a must-visit diner. Everything about Kimsat and Pham’s Thai chicken shop is cool, from the metal shelves filled with CDs and cookbooks to the glowing graphic of a chicken with a head of fire by Bangkok-based illustrator Puck. But what keeps the crowds coming are the salt-brined birds marinated in black pepper and turmeric sauce cooked over charcoal. Order the $15 lunch pack and get chicken, rice, som tum (green papaya salad) and my favourite condiment of the year: Yang Thai’s coriander, green chilli and lime sauce. – Audrey Payne, Melbourne food and drink editor

Cumbe, Brunswick

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Mexican food is too limited in Australia. Give me molletes and tamales, goddamn it! In the meantime, I’ll happily settle for a torta de chilaquiles. The popular Mexico City sanga features stewed meats, requeson (ricotta) and deep-fried tortilla strips (ie corn chips) in a crusty bolillo roll, very similar to a banh mi. At Cumbe, Australian chef Ross McCombe – who’s owned a taqueria in Mexico City for seven years – is using La Tortilleria totopos, That’s Amore ricotta and tiger rolls from Coburg bakery Dat Thanh. You can pair with multiple proteins, including vegan cheese, but the star is undoubtedly 14-hour cochinita pibil pork, a recipe McCombe developed working at Quintonil, last year named number three in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards. Bonus: it’s also used to fill house-made pies with house-fermented tomato sauce playfully labelled caballo muerto (“dead horse”). – Nick Connellan, Australia editor

Taqueria Sin Nombre, CBD

Down a Chinatown laneway, and round another cobbled lane, you’ll find Taqueria Sin Nombre. The new and permanent spot from the Dingo Ate My Taco crew feels like a slice of late-night Mexico City. Fresh masa is milled and pressed through a small imported tortilla machine, then piled with hand-spun al pastor, Texas-style brisket or hibachi-grilled kangaroo asada. The vegan menu is killer, swapping imitation meat for clever stand-ins like fried avocado “fish”. It’s confident, and one of the city’s most exciting new dinner spots. – Claire Adey, contributor

Suupaa, Cremorne

Melbourne has long had an affinity for Japanese food, but no one has ever opened something quite like Suupaa. The venue from the Future Future crew combines Japanese convenience store vibes with a distinctly Melbourne sensibility. Bull-Dog sauce is spiked with Vegemite, onigiri comes filled with mortadella, and iced matcha is mixed with passionfruit and grapefruit curd. The pantry section is well-stocked, thanks in large part to fermentation expert and former Parcs head chef Dennis Yong, who helps with menu design and makes Suupaa’s bottled hot sauce. And the futuristic design and the flexibility of the space – it’s as good for a sit-down lunch as it is for grab-and-go snacks – has made it a favourite for Cremorne’s creative class. – Audrey Payne, Melbourne food and drink editor

Cham, West Melbourne

There’s no place I’d rather go for breakfast or lunch (dare I say brunch?) than Cham. Chef Tony Nguyen, formerly of Aru and Supernormal, turns his expert lens onto dishes including banh mi chao, a Vietnamese breakfast skillet that’s essentially a deconstructed banh mi, and chicken pho infused with kombu and a hint of bonito. The panda-infused coco-cloud matcha is my favourite of all the cloud drinks that popped up everywhere in Melbourne this year. And the decor, a curated selection of pieces from different Vietnamese artists and designers, makes it one of the slickest cafe rooms in Melbourne. – Audrey Payne, Melbourne food and drink editor

Atsu, Carlton

At Atsu, katsu is the main attraction, but everything is executed exceptionally well. The venue, in the former Leonie Upstairs space, is the work of Kantaro Okada (279, Chiaki, Le Bajo Milkbar) and former Kisume head chef Reki Reinantha, who also opened Japanese restaurant Sachi in the CBD this year. The panko crumb varies depending on the katsu and options are kept to a minimum with Wagyu, chicken, Otway pork, salmon and a changing veggie option all served over rice. Come dinnertime, the menu expands with kushikatsu (deep-fried skewers) and some sides. Atsu could also secretly be one of the best new bars of the year. I’ve been known to drop in just for one of the nine highballs. Go classic with the OG lemon or the strawberry, or branch out and order the savoury tomato miso number. – Audrey Payne, Melbourne food and drink editor

Bakeries

Butter Days Bakery, Malvern

The Malvern bakery from pastry chef John Demetrios and sommelier Martina Cissig Demetrios has quickly become a local favourite. After years in top kitchens – and John’s Dessert Masters season two win – the pair opened Butter Days, combining culinary precision and neighbourhood warmth. On the weekends, you’ll see lines out the door and locals sitting at the communal table catching up over cinnamon buns and the signature sunshine bun, a take on the Norwegian solboller with lemon and cinnamon custard in the centre. It’s a place made for slow mornings, good coffee and something fresh out of the oven, which you can usually see John preparing in the semi-open kitchen. – Irene Zhang, contributor

Urbanstead, Abbotsford

Tivoli Road is one of the most influential bakeries to ever open in Melbourne. Founded by Michael and Pippa James in 2013, the South Yarra bakery worked to showcase local grains and produce, and focus on heritage baking, long before players like Falco and Baker Bleu started firing their ovens. But the Jameses sold in 2018, and while they’ve consulted and popped up at markets, they hadn’t run a bricks-and-mortar bakery until Urbanstead opened earlier this month. Their triumphant return is a continuation of the work they did when overseeing Tivoli Road. Spelt galettes come topped with seasonal fruit and vegetables. Chicken sandwiches served on sourdough have pickled celery mixed through the filling. And pork, apple and fennel sausage rolls, a Tivoli favourite, are back. – Audrey Payne, Melbourne food and drink editor

Pecks Road, CBD

As a Filipino living in Melbourne, I’ve known about Pecks Road for years, but Caroline Springs was just a bit too far for me to get to, no matter how much I craved turon (brûléed banana) doughnuts and ube lattes. Thankfully, the new CBD location is an easy trek. While Filipino flavours abound in the doughnuts, pastries and sangas (the Filipino banh mi is a standout on the menu), there are other classic and inventive combinations, too. The sticky-sweet spice of the XO chilli cheese twist was something I didn’t know I needed but now crave constantly. And I’m crossing my fingers I won’t have to wait till next Easter for the ube hot cross bun to make a comeback. – Chynna Santos, deputy branded content editor

Masses Bagels, Collingwood

Have you tried quark, the tangy German-style cheese similar to fromage blanc and cottage cheese? If not, get yourself to Masses Bagels’ new Smith Street store, where the good stuff from Schulz Organic Dairy appears on most bagels. I’m hooked. (That’s both a good and a bad thing for this in-denial lactose intolerant). The crowd-favourite sees a quark-streaked bagel topped with pickled green tomatoes and green onions. And for my go-to, the cheese is paired with olive oil and banksia honey, which drips down your hands like ice-cream in Christmas Day heat. Unlike me, the hordes of punters who line up on Saturdays aren’t just here for the hard-to-find cheese. They’re here for the singular wild-fermented bagels that take three days to make, and the unlikely but delightful combos they’re served with. The chatty staff, high-quality matcha and breezy window seats make it easy to stick around, too. – Holly Bodeker-Smith, newsletter editor

Dua, Collingwood

I’ll keep saying it until they burn my brittle bones into dust: everyone needs to eat Raymond Tan’s sweets. This will give you a sense of how ambitious he is: the first time he tried to bake in 2006, he made macarons. Bloody macarons. Since then, the self-taught cake king has gained the attention of Vogue and Moma and, closer to home, become known for making delightful spins on Southeast Asian sweets at his bakeries Raya and Dua. The latter is an airy, Scandi-style paradise in Collingwood Yards and my current favourite spot for sweet-treatie-o’clock on weekdays. The pandan princess cake, fluffy kare pan and cardamom bun are standouts. But it’s the matcha and white chocolate chip cookie (with 12 grams of matcha that exceeds my daily quota) that keeps me coming back for more. – Holly Bodeker Smith, Newsletter editor

Honourable mentions

This year, Tarts Anon was forced to move out of its original Cremorne site. But the move, brought on because the building sold, meant the team relocated production to Richmond and opened, as our Hot List editor put it, the flagship it always deserved. Hector’s Deli opened Hector’s Bakery, where head of pastry Aram Yun turns out some of the best croissants and pains au chocolat around. The popular Niagara Lane cafe Tori’s, known for eclectic vintage furniture and Asian bakes, opened a second more grown-up location on Exhibition Street, adding to an already crowded area for bakeries. And Baker Bleu opened two locations: its biggest yet by Suupaa in Cremorne, and a smaller outpost by The Tan.

The Best of 2025 is proudly presented by Square, Kia, NAB and Four Pillars. The venues in this article were selected independently by Broadsheet’s editors.