The 26 Hottest Dishes in Melbourne Right Now

The Hot List is the definitive guide to Melbourne’s most essential food and drink experiences, updated weekly. Learn more.

If the warmer months are all about crowning the drink of the summer, winter tends to be for comforting food trends: hearty soup bowls, homey pasta plates and roasts. But as the cooler seasons come to an end, it’s clear that Melburnians aren’t following a particular path this year – although we’re certainly eating well.

Sweet treats, salty snacks and protein-heavy mains are all being bought in abundance, though nothing particularly dominates menu trends. The most common ingredient among these dishes is duck, but it was only mentioned three times.

The lack of a trend is probably one itself. There’s an eclectic mix of food and cultures in this city and, according to these Hot Listed spots, variety seems to be the spice of the cooler seasons. If you’re looking for a hot new dish to try, or a popular classic, here are some excellent options.

Roast duck, Ho Jiak – $60

“The roast duck is our bestseller right now. Currently, we’re going through 120 ducks per week – each serve is a half duck. We use ducks from Aurum Poultry and they’re dry aged for 10 days before we roast them. They’re served with a Moutai hoisin sauce alongside pancakes, sugar, spring onion, chilli rub and cucumber.” – Junda Khoo, founder

Crying tiger, Dodee Paidang Little Collins Street – $21.90

“The crying tiger is definitely one of our most popular dishes lately. We’ve been consistently serving 700–900 per month! The name is often the first thing that catches people’s attention, then they quickly fall in love with the taste. It’s made with a generous portion of marinated Angus beef that’s grilled until tender and smoky, then served with our homemade tamarind and dried chilli sauce, finished with a sweet and spicy glaze. The beef is juicy and full of flavour, while the tangy, slightly smoky dipping sauce adds a kick.” – Nina Khamphan, restaurant manager

Pork, caramelised apple and fennel sausage roll, Urbanstead – $14

“We work hard to keep up with demand for our pork sausage rolls – we bake several times a day, so they’re super fresh, flaky and delicious. Our puff pastry is made with cultured butter sheets from St David Dairy in Fitzroy, and we source organic pork. We caramelise the apples and onions, combine them with pork mince, toasted fennel seeds, sourdough breadcrumbs and lots of herbs to give the pork sausage roll flavour and texture.” – Michael James, co-founder

Salted Murray cod and potato croquette, Marmelo – $16

“While travelling through Portugal, I couldn’t ignore the classic Portuguese salted cod and potato croquettes. I had a particularly memorable one at Gambrinus in Lisbon, which stuck with me and inspired our version at Marmelo. We use Australian Murray cod in place of the traditional salted and dried Norwegian cod, pairing it with potato and serving it with whipped potato and a hot mustard sauce. It’s one of our bestsellers with more than 400 croquettes served each week. They’ve become such a hit that our chefs now work as a team on the production line, rolling and crumbing the croquettes together as there are simply too many for one chef, or even one section, to keep up with.” – Ross Lusted, chef-owner

Slow-braised pork cheek with celeriac, Public Wine Shop – $39

“Our bestselling dish over the past two months is inspired by my Mum’s Christmas Eve tradition growing up in Norfolk. This is an exceptionally delicious cut of meat, in some ways underutilised. The cheek is braised overnight in black coffee and chicken stock, which provides an earthy counterpoint to the richness of the pork. We then add a pinch of brown sugar and reduce the stock until it becomes sticky and concentrated, then we serve with roast celeriac dressed in black garlic mayonnaise. The inherent freshness of the celeriac is a nice accompaniment to the pork – a lovely marriage.” – Jake Mayhew, head chef

Fried Brussels sprouts, Smith & Daughters – $15

“Our most popular dish right now is the fried Brussels sprouts with bagna cauda – a spicy Italian sauce that’s served warm – and parmesan. Everyone loves a deep-fried treat, especially when it’s something healthy, and Brussels sprouts are in season and tasting so good right now. The bagna cauda and parmesan make it super savoury.” – Smith & Daughters team

Cereal milk croissant, Butter Days – $12.50

“The cereal milk croissant is the one our customers keep coming back for. The pastry is caramelised all over, with crushed peanuts, cornflakes and salted honey layered into the coating for extra crunch. Inside, it’s first baked with a malted milk custard, then filled to the brim with a whipped cereal milk cheesecake. It hits that sweet spot between indulgence and balance. I think people find it exciting, yet somehow familiar.” – John Demetrios, co-owner

Chicken liver parfait, Suze – $18

“The chicken liver parfait has been one of our bestsellers since opening and still is right now. Lots of love and care goes into this dish. We hand-clean each little liver, removing every impurity, before soaking them in milk overnight. We serve the parfait with a pear chutney and our pain d’épices, a lightly spiced, French-style bread. It’s available on our à la carte menu and it’s also part of the entree selection in our chef’s menu.” – Giulia Giorgetti, co-founder

S’mores tart, Tarts Anon – $13.90

“Our most popular tart lately is our s’mores tart. We’ve sold around 1600 slices or thereabouts in the last month. It’s heaps of chocolate with smoky, toasted marshmallow. I think it’s been soothing a few of those winter blues.” – Gareth Whitton, head chef

Aylesbury duck pithivier, Harriot – $95

“This started as a special but it’s been so popular we’ve kept it on. The pie is just under half a kilo, made for sharing between two to four diners: Gippsland duck, Oloroso sherry, Kampot pepper, foie gras and duck liver mousse covered with puff pastry, served with prune jam and our clarified duck sauce.” – James Kelly, head chef

’Nduja prawn pizza, Molly Rose – $28

“Prawn on pizza is almost as polarising as pineapple – I’m in camp Hawaiian, by the way – but we’ve found that even the haters are getting on board with this month’s special. The spicy ’nduja and prawn combo is perfectly balanced by bright pesto and fresh rocket. It’s so moreish that not a bite has been left on a plate and it’s already making many people rethink their opinions on prawns on pizza.” – Nic Sandery, founder

Rib eye taco, Chabela – $8 each

“Currently, the most popular item is the simplest taco on our menu, honouring the Mexican tradition of easy tacos with minimal garnish and a good salsa. We run premium rib eye through a meat slicer before finishing it quickly on the grill, then we serve it on our homemade blue corn tortilla with salsa, coriander and pico de gallo.” – Harry Lawrence, co-owner

Norwegian verdens beste cake, Dua – $12 per slice

“What’s hot right now is our take on the Norwegian verdens beste cake, which simply translates to the ‘world’s best’ cake. It’s fluffy and dreamy with airy baked meringue on top and layers of cake, cream and curd. Our current version is filled with diplomat cream and passionfruit curd.” – Raymond Tan, owner

Al pastor torta, Frankie’s Tortas and Tacos – $24

“Our most sold item is still the al pastor torta – the people have spoken in the form of patronage. We like to think we made our own lane in the Melbourne sandwich and Mexican scenes. The quality control and ingredients have stayed consistent from the al pastor’s inception, so we won’t ever change that.” – Stu Morton, co-owner

Dry-aged duck, Askal – $85 half, $125 whole

“Guests are really loving our duck main course right now. It starts with beautiful corn-fed ducks that we get in whole then break down into the crown, legs, neck and wings. The crowns are brined overnight in Shaoxing rice wine, brown sugar and heaps of spices, then blanched in boiling water, then lathered with a maltose syrup and brown rice vinegar concoction. It spends a couple weeks dry aging.

“With the legs, we grind it down and turn it into longganisa mince, a savoury style of Filipino sausage flavoured with heaps of garlic, caramelised onion, black pepper and smoked paprika. That gets stuffed between the breast and skin before it roasts to a beautiful golden brown sheen. The plate is finished with a dollop of our house-made banana ketchup – think like a really fruity barbeque sauce.” – John Rivera, co-owner

Sweet and sour chicories, roasted shallot and mascarpone cream, Brae

“It’s our go-to dish of the moment. Treviso svelta, puntarelle, rhubarb, quince, shallots, grapes for vinegar, shiso, chinotto oranges and fennel seeds are all grown organically here at Brae Farm for this dish. The treviso is cooked in a rhubarb and shiso vinegar pickle, then glazed with a sweet and sour sauce made from roasted duck and a juice of roasted beetroots, onions and shiso vinegar. It’s spiced up with house-made chinotto made from Brae Farm roasted chinotto oranges, sugar and spices. Raw leaves of endive, radicchio, puntarelle are then added, along with lush cream of roasted shallots and mascarpone.” – Julianne Bagnato, co-founder

Gato manioc (cassava) cake, Manze – part of $80 set menu

“We’ve had guests telling us this is the best dessert they’ve had in years. We served it at a recent pop-up and we had diners who attended the event emailing us asking to serve it again when they’re back in town. The manioc (cassava) gives it a beautiful soft yet chewy texture; it’s sweet and caramelised, and perfectly balanced with tart poached rhubarb and cream.” – Sophie Carles, general manager

Beef pho, Good Days – $26

“It has to be the beef pho from both of our locations. A predictable answer, but the data does not lie. It’s our bestselling dish currently and retains that rank for most of the year. We simmer and steep our broth for a minimum of 24 hours. This allows the bones, marrow, vegetables, aromatics and spices to gently release their depth and character. It’s a meditative experience to witness behind the scenes, and you can feel that dedication each time you gaze past the sheen on a bowl of our pho. Harmony created by love. Spiritual material.” – Michael Hooton, front-of-house team member

Khao tan koi hed, Bar Spontana – $11

“Our new dish khao tan koi hed has very quickly become a favourite with our guests. A crispy watermelon rice cracker is topped with spicy mushrooms, pickled choko and Vietnamese mint, making it the perfect snack to pair with a crisp beer or a chilled glass of wine. It’s crunchy, spicy, tangy and packed with flavour in every bite.” – Dimitra Sarakinis, co-owner

Tagliolini al nero, calamari, bottarga, salmon roe, Tipo 00 – $38

“On the menu since day one and showing no signs of slowing! The squid ink gives the pasta a beautiful richness that holds the weight of the calamari ribbons, the umami character of the bottarga and the pops of energy from the salmon roe. Some of our regulars will come in and order a bowl without even looking at the menu.” – Federico Valotti, venue manager

Jerusalem artichoke abacus beads, shimejis, nuoc mam, Anchovy – $34

“This looks like a very simple bowl of field mushrooms, under a mound of shimejis, under yet another mound of deep-fried shallots, but there’s a lot going on. It’s chewy, smoky, nutty and savoury all at once with fantastic texture to the Jerusalem artichoke abacus beads masquerading as field mushrooms. Abacus beads can be attributed to the Ngái people of northern Vietnam – something so small can hold so much in terms of agriculture, migration, prosperity and cultural memory.” – Anchovy team

Half chicken combo, Yang Thai – $37

“Our current and forever bestseller is our half chicken combo. You get a bit of the breast, wing, thigh and drummy plus sticky rice, som tum and green sauce. It could feed two people or one really hungry person, so it’s extremely affordable. I get it why it’s so popular.” – Narit Kimsat, owner

Bulgogi hotteok, Gamja Hotteok – $11.50

Our bestseller right now is definitely the bulgogi hotteok, and customers usually pair it with our house-made Favi Ade. Freshly cooked hotteok is filled with savoury bulgogi, with a crisp outside, chewy dough and rich, savoury filling. Our Favi Ade is a popular addition. We make it in-house with Favi fermented fruit vinegar and fresh fruit juice, then carbonate it for a bright, refreshing acidity that cuts through the richness of the food.” – Sangsoo Kim, chef-owner

Chocolate and wattleseed croissant, Daybaker – $8.50

“Since opening, people are showing a lot of love for our chocolate and wattleseed croissant. We use single-origin chocolate batons sourced from Fiji and made at Planet Cocoa, a small chocolate roastery based in West Melbourne. The wattleseed is speckled through the dough, which adds flavours of coffee and toasted hazelnut. It’s a pastry that reflects our focus on quality, locality and creating something that feels both familiar but unique.” – Charlie Duffy, owner

Tahini and walnut crumble, Luther’s Scoops – $7.20

“We ran this special last year after we tried some of Very Good Falafel’s walnut and tahini brownies. We had no intention to keep it on long-term, but we had so many requests from customers that we had to bring it back. It's a soy, chocolate tahini ice cream base with dark chocolate brownie chunks and toasted walnuts swirled through. Super popular right now.” – Alex Barrington, co-owner

Vampiro, Taqueria Sin Nombre – $14

“Our most popular dish right now comes from our trompo – spicy marinated pork that’s caramelised on a vertical spit, shaved onto a crispy corn tostada with melted Oaxacan Cheese, pineapple, avocado, and salsa, then topped with another crispy tostada. It’s the best of Mexican street food – crispy, juicy, delicious and an absolute mess to eat.” – Katherine Simkins, co-owner

The Hot List is proudly sponsored by Square.