Hot-Listed Tori’s, hidden on Niagara Lane, would be hard to find if it wasn’t for the constant line down the street. The hype has sustained itself since the cafe from Tinee Su (Humble Rays, Regale) opened in 2022, largely thanks to the Japanese-inspired shortcakes, delicate madeleines, Basque cheesecake slices and whisked-to-order matcha.

This winter, the team will open its second Tori’s location at 124 Exhibition Street right by Bloomwood. The new Tori’s will still have Asian-inspired baked goods, but they’ll “all be different” to the Niagara Lane store, manager Nahm Ratcha tells Broadsheet.

The new store is also considerably smaller, meaning there won’t be as much room for the mismatched cosy vintage furniture of the original location. But visitors can expect even more of the creative matcha drinks Tori’s is known for – especially the iced strawberry matcha.

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“I cannot stop serving strawberry matcha there, otherwise we’ll get complaints,” Ratcha says. Baking will be done off-site, but the location will have a dedicated matcha bar where you’ll be able to see the team brewing matcha and making drinks. They’ll also have ceremonial matcha and different specialty matchas to cater to the city’s growing interest in the drink, “Melbourne people, they have so much more knowledge about matcha compared to three years ago,” says Ratcha.

In addition to the second Tori’s location, the team will open an Asian-inspired ice-cream shop, Sugar Rays, in the CBD later this year.

Tori’s is expected to open at 124 Exhibition Street this winter.