Ho Jiak
Restaurant
Celebrated Sydney chef Junda Khoo is behind Hot-Listed Malaysian restauarant Ho Jiak. He's brought the concept to Melbourne via a trio of venues set across three storeys in the revamped Tivoli Arcade.
1 Rainbow Alley, Melbourne
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Celebrated Sydney chef Junda Khoo is behind Hot-Listed Malaysian restauarant Ho Jiak. He's brought the concept to Melbourne via a trio of venues set across three storeys in the revamped Tivoli Arcade.
In 2014, Junda Khoo launched his groundbreaking Sydney restaurant Ho Jiak with no formal culinary training – just a vision to introduce diners to the dishes he grew up with in Penang.
The flavours at celebrity chef Shane Delia’s opulent Maha are familiar, but they’re assembled with more finesse than your average Middle Eastern restaurant. Vibrant mezze, a must-have lamb shoulder and an affordable wine list make this a winner for group dining.
A Portuguese restaurant from a powerhouse Sydney hospo couple, with views out over Russell Street. Come for elevated takes on Iberian classics (with an emphasis on Victorian produce), then head downstairs to sibling bar Mr Mills for a nightcap.
Shane Delia’s cocktail bar, right next to his flagship Maha restaurant. Enter for classic cocktails turned on their head by a world-class bartender and a cracking bar menu of beefy borek buns, taramasalata tarts and a saucy lamb sanga.
This three-storey love letter to Gippsland and its produce is by Alejandro Saravia, the chef behind CBD classic Pastuso. There's a deli with house-made pastrami rolls; a suave restaurant with a focus on cooking with flames; and a greenhouse-like rooftop oasis.
Morena’s more casual offshoot by Peruvian-born chef Alejandro Saravia nods to Latin American wine bars where things get a bit more playful. You’ll find Chilean smoked mussels, Venezuelan spanner crab arepas and a drinks list showcasing the region.
This neighbourhood gem is from the team behind The Alps and Toorak Cellars. More than 400 thoughtfully-curated drops make up the wine list, which you can team with sophisticated small plates.
This intimate wine bar pays homage to the excellent wine regions that encircle the European Alps – but you'll also find honest drops from Australia and New Zealand. Take inside or in the courtyard for Roman-style pizza and snacky plates.
Housed within a traditional terrace, Milton Wine Shop is the kind of place where lo-fi and classic drops hold equal footing on the evolving wine list. When hunger strikes, there's a short list of seasonal snacks that pairs beautifully with whatever's pouring at the bar.
Years ago, Junda Khoo would frequent 125 York Street. Back when it was The Cuban Place. Now he's taken over the space himself, for Ho Jiak Town Hall. The dishes are unfussy and packed with umami and punch – dishes such as the soupless fried laksa, fried chicken with herb-infused batter so succulent it drips as you dip it in salt-egg-yolk aioli, and sotong goreng berempah, a spice-heavy, battered deep-fried squid.
Dining at Lottie makes you feel like you’re on holiday. The Mexican restaurant (which sits on top of The Eve Hotel) might have inner-city views, but the polished fit-out and lush plants scream vacay. A share-friendly menu offers many gluten-free dishes. Standouts include roast chicken in Sinaloa marinade, a mochi-like sope made from potato topped with slow-cooked kangaroo, and goat barbacoa.
Set inside The Eve Hotel, the all-day 100-seat dining room is open from 6.30am until midnight. Come first thing for fruit and muesli or later in the morning for a silky French omelette and clarified Crystal Mimosa. From lunchtime till late, there are burgers, cacio e pepe and tomato tarte tatin. Or go for something more elegant with caviar and champagne, and beef tartare.
Inside a brutalist ’50s building near Martin Place, Alfie’s is the antidote to the lavish steakhouses that have become widespread around the country. It’s the third restaurant from Liquid and Larder Group, which is behind two of the CBD’s best sizzlers The Gidley and Bistecca. Here, the group is channeling speedy European steakhouses such as London’s Flat Iron, which only serves one cut at a price that won’t completely burn your wallet.
This slick French bistro, in Odd Culture’s loft space, isn’t all that serious. Expect classic French fare – like savoury French tarts with Cantabrian anchovies and a hibachi-grilled bavette steak. Plus, rare vintage drops.
Woolloomooloo’s great-grandfather of a pub has fine-dining chefs in the kitchen and a celebrated indie theatre downstairs. The 150-year-old boozer has outlasted many of its operators, but its latest incarnation – from the team behind Newtown's Odd Culture – might be the best one yet.
The sister venue to Lennox Hastie’s Firedoor is a celebration of the vibrant pintxos bars of northern Spain. The menu offers Australian ingredients with Basque-inspired touches, a taste of Spain via imported jamon iberico, and a drinks list that’ll change the way you feel about sherry.
A head-turning wine bar and diner by a team of friends who’ve done stints together at Ragazzi, Fabbrica, Yellow and more. Expect small plates, thick pastas and a big focus on nebbiolo.
This dazzling fine diner – from the duo behind legendary CBD restaurant The Bridge Room – was worth the wait. Each kitchen of the four kitchens here harness a different element: steam, fire, smoke and ice. From the seafood kitchen, you'll find piles of caviar and roe. From the woodfire grill? Think whopping, 270-day-aged T-bone steaks.
The chef behind two of acclaimed Melbourne restaurants is bringing his produce-driven approach to the GPO building in Martin Place. At Morena, he's showcasing the best of Latin American cuisine, and Australia's largest collection of wines from the region.
Helmed by esteemed chef Beau Clugston, the Ace Hotel’s eighteenth-floor diner is all about native ingredients, fire-based cooking and flavours from across the globe. The space exudes the Ace’s signature cool, with a view that’s primed for the adventurous wine list by P&V’s Mike Bennie.
The grand hotels of the world inspire this elegant European brasserie. Hit the ground floor steaks, seafood and snacks on the terrace. Upstairs is a cocktail bar pouring premium fizz by the glass.
Sitting on the top floor of the heritage-listed Naldham House, the elevated diner is serving Hong Kong-style cuisine. Take a seat for Moreton Bay bug pao fan, dim sum, deep-fried toffee ice-cream and more.
The star Melbourne chef’s first Queensland venue serves slow-roasted lamb shoulder, coal-grilled swordfish T-bone with burnt orange and saffron, and watermelon and rosewater granita.
It’s French fare with a casual twist at this diner on The Star’s terrace. Try escargot, orange duck and shucked-to-order oysters. Plus, one exceptional burger.
You’ve got choices galore at Yamas, an all-day Greek diner from Tassis Group, which loves its share plates and offers multiple banquets. Just don’t miss the melty, zingy souvlaki.
Tassis Group’s first seafood venture spotlights sustainable catches that travel from ocean to plate in 24 hours. Try freshly shucked oysters, king prawns and more – all served in a Hamptons-esque riverfront space.
Perusing Peel Street’s giant blackboard menu feels like an Adelaide rite of passage. On it you’ll find dishes mixing Asian and Middle Eastern influences, with a dash of laneway attitude. Sit at the bar, order well and enjoy the hum of the space.
A former drycleaner is the setting for one of Adelaide's most exciting drinking dens – a cosy, cleverly designed natural-wine bar serving world-class vino and inventive plates by a young chef with Michelin Star cred.
With a European menu and a record collection that’s off the charts, this vinyl-spinning bistro is another solid effort from the Clever Little Tailor gang.
Scott Bridger has made his triumphant return to Fremantle with an intimate seafood restaurant that lets him cook more instinctively.
Piles of pide and mountains of meze are found at this relaxed-yet-refined restaurant at Barton's Burbury Hotel, inspired by the cuisines and cultures of the east Mediterranean.
The Doma Group bistro takes its cues from French cuisine. Come for rich, traditional plates like Burgundy snail and steak frites, and ask staff about wine pairings.
The Burbury’s rooftop bar is a prime knock-off spot boasting excellent Martinis. Get yours with a Sydney Rock oyster on the side, and take in the sweeping skyline view.
Hotel Realm’s in-house restaurant has breakfast, lunch and dinner sorted. Find crowd-pleasers like parmigiana and woodfired pizza, and perch by the indoor fire pit.
Find Doma Group’s cellar door, tasting room, restaurant and popular wedding venue in lush Murrumbateman. The produce-driven menu leans Italian, while drops come in flights of four to six.