Three New Restaurants and an Exceptional Cocktail Bar Proving Service Still Matters

The Hot List is the definitive guide to Melbourne’s most essential food and drink experiences, updated weekly.

 It’s just the way things go: some years, it feels like nothing opens. In others, it feels like everything opens – and 2025 is the latter. Melbourne’s hospitality scene has rarely felt this alive, this diverse, this inventive. Some of the year’s strongest openings are just weeks old, and they’re already leaving a massive imprint on the city.

At first glance, there’s no common thread between all these spots, but they share an unswerving commitment to making your time with them special. They do it through food, of course. And they do it via their great atmospheres. Most of all, though, they do it through service.

Yiaga

When Vue de Monde’s executive chef Hugh Allen finally opened his hotly anticipated restaurant Yiaga, in Fitzroy Gardens, we called it an heirloom restaurant for future Melburnians. But for Melburnians visiting right now, it’s already an unmissable dining experience.

“I think if it’s done really well, which obviously we hope to be able to do, it can be such a special evening,” says Allen. “It can be more than a meal, it can be something really beautiful.” And with 27 staff across the restaurant, tending to 40 diners, service is integral to that.

As Allen puts it: “To be able to come for a few hours and be totally looked after by really nice people and sit in a beautiful setting, it can be such a special thing.”

Daphne

 Hannah Green, the owner of Brunswick East gem Etta, is renowned around town for her charismatic front-of-house charm. She’s an unmissable presence on the floor, whether she’s bussing plates, recommending wines or just having a good old chat. Green’s spirit – coupled with Etta’s stellar food – have made it one of the most beloved restaurants in Melbourne. And Daphne, her follow-up just metres away from its older sibling, is doubling down on that formula.

 It’s designed to be a more approachable offering, both in terms of the menu and its atmosphere, that encourages casual visitations. Etta may have morphed into more of a special-occasion proposition, but Daphne is an all-occasions place.

“I wanted it to feel comfortable straightaway,” Green says. “It needs to be rooted in casualness.” And after almost a decade of independent venue ownership, Green’s never been more bullish about the state of the industry. “Hospitality is in Melbourne’s DNA, to see people getting behind this is so exciting,” she says. “Let’s build something for the masses to come to.”

Three Horses

Speaking of second venues: with Three Horses, the Caretaker’s Cottage crew has proven that lightning can, in fact, strike twice. The larger companion to the cocktail hotspot that’s grown into one of the world’s finest bars may not have the same pubby charm, but it has all the same immaculate attention to detail, innovative bartending and peerless service.

Three Horses is inspired by a trip to Madrid owners Matthew Stirling, Ryan Noreiks and Rob Libecans took last year. There they found a century-old sherry bar, La Venencia, suffused with a classic atmosphere and gruff charm. They decided to replicate that vibe in Melbourne.

The result is a sherry-focused cocktail bar combining all that classic southern European hospitality with the trio’s modern service sensibility – a spot that begs you to settle in for a long of night of sherry-fuelled conversation. It’s just over a month old, but it already feels like an essential addition to the Melbourne cocktail canon.

Saadi

When Saavni Krishnan and Sriram Aditya started doing pop-up dinners under the Saadi banner, the goal was always to eventually open a restaurant. But the key to pop-up success isn’t just the strength of the food, it’s the personalities of the people behind it. And wherever they popped up, whether it was at a market, or a function, or in one of Melbourne’s top kitchens, the city ended up falling for the pair. Pretty soon Saadi commanded enough of a fanbase to make their restaurant dreams a reality.

Now, in the space that once housed Sunda, Saadi is open – for real and for good. And that’s where you’ll find some of the finest Indian cuisine in Melbourne right now.

There’s a sense that everyone at Saadi is thrilled to be there, including service staff, who are eager, attentive and generous. And all the fans who followed Saadi around town now get to support Krishnan and Aditya in their next chapter. 

The Hot List is proudly sponsored by Square.