The return of international tennis stars and major matches is big news in Melbourne each January, but there’s another festival putting a spin on the word “service”. After its debut earlier this year, Serve returns in January 2025, giving Mastercard cardholders exclusive access to two weeks of special dishes and priceless dining experiences from our city’s best restaurants and bars.

Along with plenty of special offers still to be announced, Serve 2025 will be headlined by one-off dinners at four top Melbourne venues. The ticketed experiences take place from January 16 to 23, and each venue will serve unique menus for the night. Here’s what to expect.

Atria

A dizzying 80 floors above the city is The Ritz-Carlton’s Atria. While the view is worth the adventure alone, there are plenty of other reasons to visit the fine diner – not least the menu by ex-Vue de Monde chef Michael Greenlaw. It splits its focus between cold seafood starters and steak cooked on the woodfired grill.

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To kick off Serve, expect a drink on arrival and five dishes, including local Victorian crudo with cucumber, hakurei turnip and tempura Warrigal greens; a classic Atria steak – striploin with bush tomato bearnaise and air-dried kangaroo. And the signature peach melba to finish.

Date: Thursday 16 January
Price: $110
Book Tickets

Circl

New city spot Circl is like a dialled-up wine bar (the owners call it a “wine house”) with a fondness for the finer drops (the wine list is 125 pages and there are 4000 bottles in the cellar). The team has worked hard to match the fine wine with a thoughtful menu by chef Elias Salomonsson, another Vue de Monde alum.

Circl’s Serve party will involve a spread of some of the wine bar’s best share plates. The menu will feature early favourites like the goat cheese éclair, smoked eel tart and snapper with lobster sauce. Pair it all with a bottle from the cellar (not included in the ticket price).

Date: Friday 17 January
Price: $110
Book Tickets

Yugen Dining

You’ll find Yugen Dining down a subterranean glass-walled elevator. It’s the innovative Japanese eatery known for its opulent fit-out and six-person omakase sets. And after its debut dinner at Serve last year, it’s back for seconds.

The new menu starts with a Yuzu Toki Sour before swinging into a four-course menu featuring rock flathead with furikake, finger lime and shisho; baby corn with wild crispy rice, brown butter and smoked eel; and dry-aged duck with black ginger and kombu dressing. Yugen’s Serve event sold out quickly last year, so don’t wait too long.

Date: Tuesday 21 January
Price: $110
Book Tickets

Poodle Bar & Bistro

Poodle’s menu of retro-inspired Euro classics and eclectic marble-and-glass interior has made it a Gertrude Street favourite. Head chef Emma Dawson leans into slightly-kitschy, nostalgic dishes that deflty strike the balance between the old-school and the new.

Expect that same blend on Poodle’s seven-dish Serve menu, with reborn classics like the house prawn cocktail (with pickled celery, avocado and cucumber), spanner crab and cod roe profiterole, and steak tartare with tarragon mayonnaise. You’ll also nab a glass of sparkling chenin blanc from Voyager Estate when you arrive.

Date: Thursday 23 January
Price: $110
Book Tickets

Serve Festival is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Mastercard.