• First Look: wildly popular supper club Enter Via Laundry evolves into an intimate 20-seat diner. The original pop-up at chef Helly Raichura’s home had room for just a handful of diners. Now, after amassing a waitlist in the thousands, Raichura is serving 20-dish Bengali banquets made with native Australian produce at her first restaurant, hidden down a laneway in Carlton.

• After a colossal $7 million expansion, Victoria’s Four Pillars reasserts itself as a world-class gin destination. Shrouded by a striking copper veil, it’s a sight to behold. The original cellar door struggled to keep up with demand as soon as it opened in 2015. Now, it’s tripled capacity – and it should be at the top of your hit list.

• Now open: new Italian disco diner Connie’s could’ve been plucked straight from an old-school movie. By the Heartbreaker team, it’s a “cinematic experience” – with a jukebox, disco balls and red vinyl everywhere. Ascend the stairs for supersized pastas and grandma pies, “tirami-sundaes” and cocktail pitchers.

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• Come for reimagined cacio e pepe, stay for the food “scrap” revolution at Parcs, an energetic new wine bar from the Sunda and Aru team. Boundary-pushing chef Dennis Yong wants to challenge how we think about food waste. He’s creating clever, considered dishes with produce other restaurants might toss aside – or overlook altogether.

• First Look: bask in the glow of Bar Paradox, Supernormal’s subterranean drinking den. For two weeks only, the now-closed pop-up was the place to be. Beyond the spiral staircase, it served delightfully squishable pork katsu rolls and build-your-own “baolinis” paired with expertly curated cocktails by Orlando Marzo.

• First Look: swish 30-seat oyster and chablis bar Pearl is hidden in a CBD arcade. In the same way as its sibling Pinchy’s is all about champagne and lobster, Pearl champions another age-old pairing – with oyster degustations and 500 Burgundy wines to choose from.

• Benyue Kitchen, a new Chinese restaurant by Lau’s Family Kitchen alumni, is putting Aberfeldie on the culinary map. Behind an unassuming brick facade, the homey, family-friendly diner is serving some favourites from the now-closed St Kilda institution – such as phenomenal scallop dumplings – plus a raft of Cantonese classics.

• First Look: Mortadeli’s new deli and grocer is like a mini, modernised Mediterranean Wholesalers. Right across from the OG Torquay cafe, shop sliced-to-order cold-cuts (including much mortadella), charcuterie-board essentials and fancy Italian pantry staples. There’s even an in-house fishmonger.

• First Look: El Jannah’s legendary charcoal chicken makes its Melbourne debut at a drive-through in Preston. After dark, the already busy store has a green neon halo that can be seen from blocks away. It’s a beacon for the Lebanese chain, which has ascended to cult status since opening in Sydney in 1998.

• Your big brekkie comes in ramen form at Kissaten, a Japanese-inspired cafe in leafy Alphington surrounds. It also does katsu sandos, fluffy omurice and Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki – all from 8am.

• At Baguette Studios, a chic new North Melbourne cafe, pretzel croissants and beautifully buttery ham sangas are unexpected winners. Co-owner Aileen Seo is melding her French culinary training with her Korean heritage, so you’ll also find riffs on dishes from her homeland, such as a beef bulgogi-inspired cheesesteak slathered in jalapeno mayo.

• First Look: a historical church hall loses its religion to become pub and food-truck park Trinity St Kilda. Get big burgers and mac’n’cheese bites from the shiny 1965 Airstream out front, then head inside for a beer in the plant-filled main hall, or a Shirazmataz cocktail in what feels like your nanna’s fancy lounge room.

• Serving Cameroonian soul food from an orange shipping container, Vola Foods transforms an empty Brunswick lot. It hasn’t been an easy road here for Cameroon-born chef Ashley Vola, but now she’s helping Melbourne get acquainted with lesser-known traditional dishes (including fried dough balls) from her homeland.

• Now open: slurp lobster-topped or truffle-infused ramen at Parco, a tiny new spot in Moonee Ponds. What started as an under-the-radar lockdown pop-up at Shujinko is now a fully-fledged ramen restaurant. Turns out Di Stasio executive chef Federico Congiu is just as proficient in Japanese cooking as he is in Italian.

• One of Korea’s greatest comfort foods, jajangmyeon, is the star at Paik’s Noodle – now open in Melbourne. It’s by South Korean celebrity chef Paik Jong-won. Thick, chewy, house-made noodles come topped with a decadent black bean sauce, plus there’s Korean fried chicken and sweet-and-sour pork.

• It’s a family affair at Thy Thy Counter & Canteen – the next generation of Richmond’s beloved Vietnamese eatery. Serving southern Vietnamese classics, as well as specialties from the north, the relaunched family restaurant brings together a retro yet modern dining room and generations of experience.

• Now open in Carnegie: Coco’s Patisserie, with seven-layer lamingtons by an ex-Vue Group executive pastry chef. Owner Katherine Marks left her corporate job to pursue her passion for pastry – and recruited Tivoli Road Bakery founder Michael James to help make it a reality.