• First Look: La Cave Garage is Melbourne’s newest, tiniest natural-wine shop – in a CBD car park ticket booth. Right across the way from sibling venue Soi 38, it also serves as a sommelier in a box for the outstanding Thai diner. And with more than 200 bottles packed into the minuscule space, it gives new meaning to “tight” wine list.

• Fitzroy North’s longstanding Royal Oak Hotel is now a big burgundy boozer with Marquis of Lorne DNA. One of Melbourne’s favourite pub groups has added the 1871 neighbourhood watering hole to its stable. And while the bright green facade might be gone, the corner pub still has all of its old-school charm.

• First Look: Is Don’s, is good. Four things to love about Prahran’s tiny new wine bar by a Stan’s co-owner. Right across from Prahran Market, the facade isn’t exactly attention-grabbing. But what’s inside certainly is. The stomping fried-chicken sanga is just one of many reasons it’s a welcome addition to the south side.

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• Now open: in what looks like a gothic cathedral, Freyja is Melbourne’s two-level new Nordic restaurant. A chef with Michelin pedigree is serving all sorts of smorrebrod, or Scandi open sandwiches, by day. But the main event comes after dark, when you’ll find standout savoury waffles and not-your-average beef tartare.

• First Look: The tacos come lightning-fast at CDMX, Melbourne’s new Mexico City-inspired taqueria. From the team behind Seddon’s Superchido, it’s here for a good time, not a long time. Stay on-trend with saucy birria tacos, or try the just-as-impressive confit-beef-brisket number – both served on La Tortilleria tortillas.

• First Look: Keep the tapas and sangria coming – Arbory Afloat returns to the Yarra as a Spanish beach club. All burnt orange, salmon and sage, Melbourne’s favourite floating bar has a new look thanks to a leading interior designer. And some exciting stuff is still to come, including a brand new tiled pool on the lower deck.

• First Look: A sun-drenched rooftop bar is the cherry on top of South Yarra’s new Italian destination Stella. Four storeys, almost four years in the making. Get your golden-hour fix up top, then head downstairs to the golden-lit trattoria for pizza made from a family recipe. Or a barrel-aged Negroni in the cocktail bar.

• Now open: at Galok in Windsor, the pan-Asian brief means succulent prawn toast and spicy Tom Yum Daiquiris. A gleaming 100-litre still sits at the centre of Chapel Street’s new red-accented bar and restaurant. It’s where owner (and distiller) Carlo Tran makes the gin you’ll find in your Asian-inspired cocktails – most of which are on tap.

• Now open: Halcyon Days aren’t a thing of the past at Albert Park’s delightfully decked-out new corner cafe. The former Fat Albert site is now a Euro-inspired daytime diner from the owner of South Melbourne Market’s Proper & Son. Perch on a snazzy stool for marmalade-slathered carrot-cake toast or hotcakes two ways.

• Five to try: new Melbourne bakeries that really hit the sweet spot. Including an infectiously cheerful cake shop open just one day a week; an ex-Sunda pastry chef’s pocket-sized gluten-free bakery hidden in a heritage hotel; and a tiny temple of tarts for both the north and south sides.

• Melbourne’s biggest cafe group has taken over Beach House Geelong – and added a freewheeling Asian restaurant upstairs. The historic brick building is right on Eastern Beach, probably the best location in the city. Visit for dimmies and potato cakes out front, white-chocolate French toast inside and fun Asian fare at the newly opened upstairs.

• It’s all about charcoal-grilled steaks and seafood at elegant new diner Marble & Pearl at Richmond’s 168-year-old Kingston Hotel. There are 11 steak cuts to choose from – hung and dry-aged in-house – cooked on the parrilla grill. Splash some cash by adding sliced foie gras or truffle to the top, or go the old-school surf’n’turf route with a jumbo prawn with garlic butter.

• After custardy croissant “wheels” go viral in NYC, new Melbourne bakery Calle introduces its own version. You’ll need two hands to tackle these chunky, custardy creations – only available on weekends. Gird your loins.

• First Look: Flock to Bird, Brunswick East’s fancy new chicken joint, for fried chook in many, many forms. A red neon arrow beckons you inside for a choose-your-own-chicken adventure. Just decide what cut, heat and sauce you want – then add on silky mash with 48-hour gravy and some wads of garlic-butter brioche.

• An important mental-health mission underpins everything at Fitzroy’s new Mediterranean-inspired restaurant Oko. Staff wellbeing – in an industry that can often push the boundaries – is the number-one priority for mother-and-son owners Sebastian and Luciana Pasinetti at their moody new diner in the former Hell of the North site.

• Ensure a sweet start to your weekend as heavenly cake shop Mali Bakes opens for by-the-slice saturdays. It was once appointment-only, but you no longer have to order a whole cake – in advance – to experience Patchanida Chimkire’s piping prowess. Her playful creations channel retro cookbooks and the Wes Anderson world.

• Now open: matcha-pandan waffles by day, biang biang noodles by night at Glen Iris’s new two-pronged eatery. An ingenious rotating sign signals the swap from bright coffee and brunch spot Pantry Glen Iris to moody Asian-inspired diner and cocktail bar Too Good Talker – by one of Melbourne’s most prolific cafe operators.