The Hot List Gets Its Biggest Update Ever, With 13 New Additions

When we launched The Hot List in December 2024, we spent weeks debating an initial list of 100 essential food and drink experiences that define Melbourne now. Some places made the list because they were new, hot and had the whole city talking. Others were institutions continuing to define how we eat. And some got the nod because they were doing something incredibly unique that couldn’t be found anywhere else in town.

Since then the list has been regularly updated as new restaurants have opened and closed, chefs have moved around and menus have evolved. But by and large, we’ve been practising incremental refinement. Every week or two a few spots would come off, and a few newbies would go on.

Today we’re taking a break from regular programming with a massive update. We’ve added 13 restaurants, cafes and bars we think are defining how Melbourne is eating and drinking right now.

This diverse group includes Gamja Hotteok, where a former fine dining chef is introducing Melburnians to Korean potato pancakes; Santito, a taqueria where the tortillas are made from scratch (an absolute rarity in Melbourne); the slightly slicker and more central location of peerless Brunswick pho joint Good Days (on the Hot list since the beginning); and Regulars, a viral coffee shop that’s much more than a gimmick. Check the full list below.

April 2 Hot List additions

• Aunty’s Dumplings, Carlton
• Bar Carnation, Carlton North
• Boon Chouu, Melbourne
• Gamja Hotteok, West Melbourne
• Good Days, Collingwood
• Huzzah, Glen Iris
• Kent Hotel, Carlton North
• Pebble, West Melbourne
• Regulars, Melbourne
• Santito, Collingwood
• Taqueria Sin Nombre, Melbourne
• Tyga, Carnegie
• Urbanstead, Abbotsford

The Hot List is proudly sponsored by Square.