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Ravioli del plin filled with veal cheeks, beef brisket and pork shoulder.

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16 hatted restaurants: Catch up on every Good Food Victorian review of 2023 (so far)

From Victoria’s first hatted lasagne joint to a former jailhouse, these are the new and recently reviewed restaurants making waves in the first half of 2023.

36 stories
Go-to dish: Banh khot (coconut and turmeric mini pancakes).
14/20

Rue de Thanh is serving some of the most interesting and delicious Vietnamese food in Melbourne

  • Besha Rodell
Con Christopoulos can often be found on the floor at his first Greek restaurant, Kafeneion.
14/20

‘So very Melbourne’: Why humble Greek restaurant Kafeneion is an instant classic

  • Besha Rodell
North & Common restaurant inside what was once Pentridge Prison’s canteen.
Good Food hat15/20

Why this jailhouse rocks: North & Common brings mod-Oz cooking to a former prison canteen

  • Michael Harden
Cityfields is a grand new restaurant at Chadstone Shopping Centre.
14/20

The verdict on Chadstone’s shiny new 600-seat restaurant Cityfields

  • Besha Rodell
Puffy Turkish bread, pulled straight from the wood-fired oven and served with spice-flecked oil.
13.5/20

‘Seriously, all the bready things here are so good’: You’ll break bread (but not the bank) at generous Yakamoz

  • Besha Rodell
Beef short ribs with sauteed kale.
14/20

Does smoky, mod-Asian Sydney-transplant Yan work in South Yarra?

  • Besha Rodell
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Molly Rose in Collingwood.
14/20

Molly Rose Brewing brings the fun, the beers and mind-bendingly good chicken wings

  • Besha Rodell
Bar Bellamy in Rathdowne Street, Carlton.
14/20

Bar Bellamy brings the Rathdowne Village spirit and charm into Carlton proper

  • Besha Rodell
Beverly rooftop restaurant in South Yarra offers a view Melburnians haven’t seen before.
13.5/20

California-cool rooftop bar Beverly serves up never-before-seen views and glam food

  • Dani Valent
Atria Restaurant, part of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel on the 80TH floor and on the old The Age site at 650 Lonsdale St, Melbourne.
Good Food hat15.5/20

Ritz-Carlton’s sky-high Atria restaurant has the hype, glitz and views, but how’s the food?

  • Besha Rodell
Koichi Minamishima behind the omakase counter at Minamishima in Richmond.
Good Food hatGood Food hatGood Food hat18/20

Is Minamishima the GOAT when it comes to Melbourne sushi?

  • Besha Rodell
The Saint’s dining room is hemmed in by red brick and walls of glass, with black marble tabletops lit by tiny lamps.
14/20

Is the third time a charm for the Saint in St Kilda?

  • Larissa Dubecki
Little Picket at Lorne Bowls Club.
Good Food hat15/20

How humble bowlo restaurant Little Picket bowled our critic over (and gained a hat)

  • Besha Rodell
Duck kari at Mahob by Amok.
14/20

Mahob by Amok serves top Cambodian cuisine in an unlikely setting

  • Besha Rodell
Inside Firebird’s long dining room.
14/20

Is Firebird still firing? The flavours are fantastic but the service is lukewarm

  • Besha Rodell
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Assorted dishes at Totti’s Lorne.
Good Food hat15.5/20

Has Merivale’s gamble to open Italian powerhouse Totti’s in Lorne paid off?

  • Besha Rodell
Inside Ballarat’s cosy and colourful Pancho restaurant.
14.5/20

‘I’d eat here every week if it was in Melbourne’: Pancho is a whirlwind tour of Latin America in Ballarat

  • Besha Rodell
Bahama Gold in Brunswick East.
14.5/20

This low-key Lygon Street bar typifies why Melbourne is one of the best eating cities in the world

  • Besha Rodell
Beef with beetroot, blackberry and horseradish.
Good Food hat15.5/20

Underbar’s menu is an abundance of riches and an act of endurance

  • Besha Rodell
Prince Dining Room in St Kilda.
Good Food hat15.5/20

St Kilda’s charming Prince Dining Room is crowned with a hat

  • Besha Rodell
Chefs Tei Gim and Jun Pak behind their omakase counter at Aoi Tsuki in South Yarra.
Good Food hat15.5/20

Aoi Tsuki goes from fancy sushi boxes to a two-man omakase stage show

  • Besha Rodell
Confit cherry tomato tarts at Maha North.
14/20

The snacks are the biz at Shane Delia’s rejigged Maha North

  • Larissa Dubecki
Ravioli del plin filled with veal cheeks, beef brisket and pork shoulder.
Good Food hat15/20

Alta’s pasta is one of my favourite dishes of the year so far

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Squid ink fettuccine with spanner crab.
13.5/20

Alt Pasta says hasta la vista, salt

  • Besha Rodell
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Tagliolini with spanner crab.
14/20

The MCG's Committee Room by Grossi is an old-school room with a view

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Chicken mousse eclairs.
14.5/20

Lilac Wine Bar begins to bloom in Cremorne

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Rendang shakshuka with roti.
13/20

Beef rendang meets baked eggs at Dale La Pau

  • Dani Valent
Go-to dish: Chicken kara-age.
Good Food hat15/20

Japanese stalwart Izakaya Den serves Melbourne's best fried chicken

  • Larissa Dubecki
Go-to dish: Pommes Anna with romano beans and Main Ridge Dairy chevre.
Good Food hat15/20

Destination-worthy food and a multimillion-dollar view at Pt. Leo Restaurant 2.0

  • Besha Rodell
Sculptural: Smoked eel encased in olive pastry.
Good Food hatGood Food hat16/20

Why Laura deserves top spot on your occasion-worthy dining list

  • Besha Rodell
Bang' n Bird fried chicken plate for two at Bird.
13.5/20

Bird is the word at this glammed-up fried-chicken joint

  • Besha Rodell
The signature lasagne is a "goddamn wonder".
Good Food hat15/20

1800 Lasagne is Melbourne's first hatted lasagne restaurant

  • Besha Rodell
Sushi On showcases local fish in its nigiri, such as this garfish.
Good Food hat15.5/20

Sushi On's omakase menu keeps it simple in Kew

  • Besha Rodell
Go-to dish: Vitello tonnato.
13/20

Cinque Terre brings White Lotus seaside resort chic to Chadstone

  • Besha Rodell
McConnell magic: Inside the warm and convivial wine bar.
Good Food hat15.5/20

Why Marion is one of Melbourne's best wine bars

  • Besha Rodell
The "private" cage hangs over the dining room.
Good Food hatGood Food hat16/20

Does South Yarra's gilded Yugen Dining have substance?

  • Besha Rodell
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