Snack Bar: Lona Misa Closes, 10 Restaurants We Can’t Wait To Try and More Local Food News This Week

• Lona Misa, the vegan restaurant at the front of South Yarra’s Ovolo Hotel overseen by Shannon Martinez, has closed. It’s been replaced by non-vegan restaurant Bar Yarra. Martinez stepped away from her role at the venue in December. 

• Mornington Peninsula’s Quealy Winemakers and DOC Gastronomia have teamed up for a summer pop-up series at Quealy. Every Saturday and Sunday until January 25, the team from DOC will make pizzas with toppings designed to match Quealy’s wines, including its pinot grigio and single-vineyard pinot noirs.

• After the success of their mystery grey gelato collaboration, Piccolina and MPavilion have teamed up again. This time, the gelateria has made a dessert inspired by MPavilion architect Tadao Ando’s green apple motif. It sees green apple sorbet, lemon myrtle gelato apple compote and brown-sugar-syrup-soaked sponge cake encased in a white chocolate shell and served on a stick like a toffee apple. The dessert is available at MPavilion from 11am to 5pm on Friday January 16 to Sunday January 18; Friday January 23 to Monday January 26; and Friday January 30 to  Sunday February 1.

What we covered this week

• How to support Victorian businesses devastated by the bushfires.

• Coming soon: 10 Melbourne restaurants to watch out for in 2026.

• Eight things to eat at the Australian Open.

• First look: find your perfect green match at Matcha Mate’s new Collingwood cafe.

• Where Chefs Eat: A Mornington Peninsula restaurant hit list from Many Little’s Gayan Pieris.

• Slowpoke’s Pat Rafter cocktail is Melbourne’s answer to the US Open’s Honey Deuce.

• Visit these 15 top bars for limited-edition cocktails made with Victorian spirits.

• Three to try: new bakeries for doughnuts, sourdough and jet black croissants.

• The Pebble and Sebastian kaya custard mango collab kakigori screams summer.

• Le Meridien’s CBD rooftop pool and bar are open to the public for summer.

You might have missed

• Recipe: Mali Bakes founder Patti Chimkire’s citrusy spin on Japanese cotton cheesecake.