11 Restaurants, Bars and Cafes Coming Soon to Melbourne

There’s no denying this year has been a challenging one for restaurants; venues like 15-year-old Izakaya Den and 18-year-old Gingerboy have all closed.

But what’s exciting about the industry, especially in Melbourne, is there’s always new and ambitious venues to look forward to. Here are 11 new places – covering bars, cafes, restaurants, sandwich shops and even an Italian food hall – to look forward to.

Reed House, CBD

Chef Mark Hannell and front-of-house pro Rebecca Baker met while working at Yotam Ottolenghi’s Nopi in England. Now the couple is using their life savings to open a restaurant opposite Caretaker’s Cottage. Hannell tells Broadsheet the menu at the 80-seat venue will be “modern Australian”, with nods to his British upbringing. The drinks, overseen by Baker, will focus on wines and sippers like mezcal and whisky, as well as a tight cocktail list. The venue opens at the end of the month.

Morena and Morena Barra, CBD

In April this year, Farmer’s Daughters’ Alejandro Saravia, a Peruvian chef who has lived in Australia since 2006, opened Morena in Sydney, a sophisticated Latin American diner in Martin Place’s 150-year-old GPO building.

He’s bringing the concept to Melbourne and will open two Morena venues on Little Collins Street this spring: Morena restaurant, a formal affair with both an à la carte option and a set chef’s menu, and Morena Barra, an all-day bar inspired by Latin American cantinas.

“We want to bring an elevated, refined professional experience that takes our guests on a journey through Latin American flavours and traditions. And we want to stay completely away from all the stereotypes,” Saravia tells Broadsheet

Ophelia, Westgarth

Yolk knows eggs. The prolific team is behind beloved brunch spots Terror Twilight, Tinker, Convoy and takeaway sandwich shop Hi Fi. Now the group is branching out with Ophelia, its fifth cafe, at the former home of Barry in Westgarth.

It’s planning a condensed, changing menu that spans breakfast and lunch. Expect galettes, tartines, French toast, a market plate, classic eggs on toast and five sandwich options to go. As at Terror Twilight and Tinker, there’ll also be cocktails, and a tight list of local lo-fi wines and beers on tap.

Kirbie, South Melbourne

Operator Kirbie Tate is closing her upmarket Korean- and Japanese-influenced restaurant James to make way for a neighbourhood bistro that shares her name. Kirbie will be a local bistro or “Euro cafe” she describes as a “casual, familial offering”.

She’s not planning a big cosmetic change or refurb. The vibe shift will come through in the menu and atmosphere. James currently has an à la carte offering, but is focused on the $165 set menu with Korean- and Japanese-influenced dishes that use ingredients including miso, adzuki beans and gochujang.

When Kirbie opens later in the year there’ll be a “less is more approach” that will involve comfort dishes like chicken lemon soup. Tate plans to keep most of the existing kitchen team, and more details on the menu will be announced closer to opening.

Juju’s Deli, South Melbourne

In January, Joseph Rahme opened the first location of his sandwich shop Juju’s Deli on High Street, Thornbury. For the past few months Rahme has been readying the second Juju’s – just two doors down from Hector’s Deli’s South Melbourne shop.

While Hector’s is known for stacked American-style sandwiches, Juju’s specialises in Italian-style sandwiches made on fluffy focaccia and with unfussy fillings including a chicken schnitzel number with spicy mayo, a yuzu slaw and That’s Amore cheese.

Marmelo and Mr Mills, CBD

Sydney hospo couple Ross and Sunny Lusted (Woodcut, The Bridge Room) are opening two venues on the same block as Dave Verheul’s Embla and the yet-to-open boutique hotel Melbourne Place.

Marmelo, a Portuguese restaurant that seats 90 and will centre a charcoal grill, and Mr Mill, a basement bar that will focus on Spanish food.

Tombo Den, Windsor

Chris Lucas’s new restaurant sits next to his Malaysian- and Singaporean-inspired Hawker Hall on Chapel Street, Windsor. The restaurateur (Chin Chin, Grill Americano, Society) already has Japanese restaurants (the slick upmarket Kisume and the Blade Runner 2049-inspired Yakimono). He says Tombo Den is the third piece of that story.

It’s inspired by late-night Tokyo has sharing dishes including dumplings, a raw bar, rice and noodle dishes, and proteins cooked over coals, as well as a sushi counter helmed by two former Kisume chefs.

Il Mercato Centrale, CBD

After more than two years of planning, the highly anticipated Il Mercato Centrale will finally open at 4pm on Thursday September 19.

The sprawling 3500-metre-square Italian food market runs over three levels in the landmark 1937 McPherson building near the corner of Collins and King streets in the CBD. The $18 to 20 million renovation will host 23 artisanal food vendors, each with a different specialty.

It’s the first location outside Italy for the popular food co-op, which has buzzy markets in Florence, Rome, Turin and Milan. The ambitious venture has been brought to Melbourne by hospo veteran Eddie Muto of Barman and Larder group (he has previously worked at that group’s venues St Kilda’s Flour Child and Southbank’s Left Bank), alongside general manager Gary Patikkis.

Untitled Andrew McConnell Restaurant, CBD

We know very little about the new restaurant from Melbourne hospo gun Andrew McConnell, whose Tader House group is behind some of the city’s best restaurants including Obama-approved Gilmet, Cutler & Co and Supernormal. What we do know is McConnell is taking over the Becco space at 25 Crossley Street to open a new yet-to-be-named restaurant that will start service in 2025.

Between Becco (which is still operating) closing and the new McConnell spot opening, Trader House will open a temporary outpost of Morning Market, the European-style grocery-cafe-bakery that launched during the pandemic.

Additional reporting by Holly Bodeker-Smith, Ilana Cohen, Michael Harry and Akia Kerr