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597 Hawksburn, Toorak
It’s been three years since Gail and Kevin Donovan passed Donovans to long-time general manager Nick Parkhouse and his business partner Andrew Renfrey. With the forthcoming 5967 Hawksburn, Parkhouse is proving not just a worthy custodian of the St Kilda institution, but a restaurateur capable of expanding its influence. Read more.
Agnii, Windsor
Open-fire cooking has been popular in Australia for a few decades now. But in Sri Lanka, it never went away. Sri Lankan-born chef Gayan Pieris, founder of well-regarded Red Hill restaurant Many Little, is raring to cook on Agnii’s dara lipa (an open clay hearth) and poranuwa (an enclosed hearth more akin to a kiln or oven). “In a commercial kitchen context, I don’t think it’s ever been done before,” he says. Read more.
Bar Familiar, Abbotsford
Cam’s Kiosk was a fixture at Abbotsford Convent for 17 sweet years before suddenly closing in June. But in good news for al fresco drinkers across the inner north, two former employees have taken over the space and plan to reopen this month. Read more.
Bar Gabi, Yarraville
Hot Listed Yarraville restaurant Navi isn’t the sort of place you can eat at once a week. Or probably even once a month. Enter Bar Gabi, the degustation destination’s younger, louder sister. The two-storey, 60-seat restaurant and bar arrives soon, powered entirely by various charcoals, including tea tree, mallee root and red gum, with no traditional ovens. Read more.
Dafina, St Kilda
Cookbook author, former Hope St Radio chef and serial pop-up host Ellie Bouhadana and her husband Rapha Tamir are opening their debut restaurant – and it’s at one of St Kilda’s most iconic addresses. Read more.
Fleurie, Armadale
Since it opened in late 2022, Hot Listed Clover has been one of the city’s sharpest wine bars. Owners Lyndon Kubis and chef Charley Snadden-Wilson are now planning their second venue together. Named for a style of beaujolais wine, Fleurie will take over a Beatty Avenue shopfront that locals know well – the old Chez Bob. Read more.
Hanoi Hannah, Prahran
Commune Group restaurants have steadily sprouted across the south-east over the past 14 years. But before Studio Amaro, before Firebird, before Moonhouse, before Tokyo Tina, there was only one: Hanoi Hannah. And the Vietnamese spot is about to move to a slick new development. Read more.
Masia, Melbourne
We’ve never seen this before. Alejandro Saravia, the chef behind Farmer’s Daughters and Morena, is opening a new CBD restaurant – with a free membership program giving future customers a behind-the-scenes look at the process. Read more.
Mott 32, Southbank
This esteemed, high-end Chinese restaurant won over Hong Kong’s notoriously fickle diners before opening eight global outposts in cities including Bangkok, Seoul and Vancouver. Now it’s our turn. Read more.
Nina, Northcote
Last year former Marion restaurant manager Giulia Giorgetti and former Napier Quarter head chef Steve Harry opened Fitzroy North wine bar Suze, one of our 14 best restaurants of 2025. Soon they’ll follow up with Nina, a more casual counterpart. Read more.
Noema, Melbourne
For years, people have wondered why Chris Lucas, the Greek Australian restaurateur behind Southeast Asian diner Chin Chin, French palace Maison Batard, Italian steakhouse Grill Americano and sushi temple Kisume has never opened a Greek restaurant. Now, he finally is. Read more.
Victor Churchill, Southbank
“I want to build the most beautiful and the best steak restaurant and bar experience in the world,” says Anthony Puharich, the same man who built what Anthony Bourdain called the most beautiful butcher shop in the world. We reckon he can actually do it. Read more.
Wishbone, Melbourne
Another cuisine Lucas has never tackled? Chinese. That ends this spring, when he and wife Sarah Lucas open Wishbone, inspired by Hong Kong’s small restaurants and street food stalls. And he’s signed up has a star chef already. Read more.
With additional reporting by Quincy Malesovas, Katya Wachtel and Audrey Payne.
Need more? See all 17 new restaurants, cafes and bars we covered in August.