The Sydney Morning Herald logo
The Sydney Morning Herald logo
Saved
Fig leaf Mousse at Vex Dining in Northcote.

Collection

Melbourne restaurant reviews 2021

Catch up on The Age chief restaurant critic Gemima Cody's reviews.

27 stories
Ichiyaboshi-style calamari.
Good Food hatGood Food hat17.5/20

The pandemic has made Provenance better than ever

  • Gemima Cody
Marron in native Australian curry broth.
Good Food hatGood Food hatGood Food hat18/20

The sky's the limit at Vue de Monde

  • Gemima Cody
Salt and vinegar zucchini fritto.
14.5/20

La Madonna is the Next's best thing

  • Gemima Cody
Dry-aged roast duck with quandong, black cabbage and bamboo.
Good Food hatGood Food hat16/20

Sunda's sibling Aru stokes the fires of passion

  • Gemima Cody
Jerusalem artichoke, grilled radicchio, goat's feta.
Good Food hat15/20

Samesyn slipped under the radar, but the secret's out

  • Gemima Cody
Strozzapreti carbonara with truffle.
14.5/20

Abbiocco takes carbs (and carbonara) to the next level

  • Gemima Cody
Advertisement
Banh mi-inspired fingers filled with pâté.
14/20

New Quarter offers a fun new take on Vietnamese food

  • Gemima Cody
Deep-fried chicken ribs with chimichurri and guindilla peppers.
14/20

The Moorabbin resto-bar that's good for the 'hood

  • Gemima Cody
Aguachile "prawns".
14/20

Lona Misa plates up fun food without faces

  • Gemima Cody
Lazeezan with premium lamb cuts and kofta.
Good Food hatGood Food hat16/20

Enter via Laundry is a hell of a ride

  • Gemima Cody
Doughnuts with Davidson plum jam and lavender Chantilly.
14/20

Footscray's Bar Thyme is a wine bar for right now

  • Gemima Cody
Chef Jung Eun Chae in her eponymous apartment restaurant.
Good Food hatGood Food hat16/20

Meet Melbourne's tiniest restaurant, Korean slow food gamechanger CHAE

  • Gemima Cody
Pork tortellini with jerusalem artichoke puree and smoked pancetta.
14/20

Luci lands in Melbourne's legal district

  • Gemima Cody
Spanner crab ravioli.
14.5/20

Carlton's Al Dente Enoteca is the post-COVID success story we crave

  • Gemima Cody
Pickles, 'fats' and rye bread to start.
Good Food hat15/20

Discover Melbourne's hidden Georgian-Russian restaurant Gray and Gray

  • Gemima Cody
Advertisement
Mimosa oyster with mouse melons.
Good Food hatGood Food hat17.5/20

Brothers' can-do attitude wins out at O.MY in Beaconsfield

  • Gemima Cody
Shunde-style porridge base hotpot with seafood, sliced beef and delicate fish and pork balls.
14/20

Wu Mi Zhou brings porridge hotpots to the city

  • Gemima Cody
Crumbed fish sandwich with tartare and iceberg.
Good Food hat15/20

The Melbourne CBD has been holding out for a Hero

  • Gemima Cody
Pata (deep-fried pork knuckle with condiments).
14/20

A feast of Filipino flavours at Chibog, West Footscray

  • Gemima Cody
Anchovy on crisp potato.
Good Food hat15/20

Yarraville's Bar Romanee has French pedigree but local soul

  • Gemima Cody
Barramundi crackers and dip.

The future is bright at Future Food System, Federation Square

  • Gemima Cody
The dessert trolley is a weapon of mass destruction.

Attica lets its hair down at Summer Camp

  • Gemima Cody
Portuguese chicken with green goddess salad.
14/20

Ride the wave with Three Blue Ducks at URBNSURF

  • Gemima Cody
Stockbrot (bread on a stick) served with creme fraiche and pumpkin seed oil.

Less is enough at Vex Dining in Westgarth

  • Gemima Cody
Advertisement
Gascony apple dessert at Omnia in South Yarra.

More Melbourne restaurant reviews

Entrecote has landed in Prahran, a place where frothy French fantasies can come true.
Good Food hat15/20

So Frenchy, so chic at Entrecote, Prahran

  • Gemima Cody
Big Esso brings big energy, a reminder of what makes Melbourne one of the world's great cities.
14.5/20

Big Esso is the start of a new chapter at Fed Square

  • Gemima Cody