One ring to rule them all

Melbourne and bagel shops go together like cream cheese and, well, bagels. Since Glick’s in Balaclava first started lobbing them into its kettle over 40 years ago, the doughy rings have been firmly wedged on the city’s breakfast and lunch A-list.

The latest bagel debutante to draw crowds is Masses, which opened last week on Smith Street. It started out as a market stall at the Carlton Farmers Market back in 2023, and folks have been clamouring for it to get a permanent home ever since.

Last week it did. And it came out swinging. In addition to all of the wild-fermented bagels that Masses OGs know and love, the new spot is packing some brand new menu items, like an oven-warm rip’n’dip bagel designed to swipe through a ramekin of chivey, onioney quark. Or a new (dare we say almost doughnut-esque) sugary ginger and cardamom bagel.

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In a town awash with excellent bagels, from Mile End to Baker Bleu and everywhere in between, it takes a pretty special bagel to cut through the noise and attract the kind of queues – and following – that Masses has. But this place deserves to be showered in praise – and everything seasoning. That’s why it’s joining The Hot List this week.

The sun sets on Sunda

Great new restaurants, bars and cafes open in Melbourne every day. But sadly, the reverse is also true: fantastic spots close all the time as well. This latest one hurts even more than most: Sunda is closing. In 10 days. It just reopened today after its summer holiday, but it won’t be here for long, so get booking. It’ll shut for good on Saturday January 25, and it’ll be sorely missed. Thanks for the memories, Sunda.

Show Bar Bellamy some love

During its summer closure period, Bar Bellamy was robbed. The beloved Carlton spot had its tips and cash takings for December completely stolen. It’s a gut-wrenching start to 2025. If you’d been meaning to come in, or haven’t had the pleasure of a meal and a drink there yet, it’s a great time to head in, show some support, and order generously.

Brico’s celebrating its birthday with a special guest

In more uplifting news, Brico, not too far away in Carlton North, is celebrating its first birthday in a couple of weeks’ time. It’s marking the occasion with a special lunch by Laura Jackson of London’s Towpath. Lunch is on January 26, so be sure to book in soon.

Stokehouse’s tennis ball dessert is back for the Australian Open

Is there a better pastry chef in the game right now than Stokehouse’s Ash Smith? The group pastry chef at the St Kilda institution has made the desserts there appointment-eating, and he’s just brought back an old favourite. His Tennis Ball dessert, a fuzzy lemonade Eton Mess hiding in a spherical green shell, is back on the menu at Stokehouse for the duration of the tournament. That’s one you’ll want courtside seats for.

This week's Hot List Activity

• Added: Masses Bagels
• Most trending restaurant: Marmont (runner-up: Marmelo)
• Most trending bar: Above Board (runner-up: Purple Pit)
• Most trending cafe: Florian (runner-up: Moon Mart)