Good Food Guide reviewers
Whether it’s an impromptu afternoon of snacks and drinks in a leafy suburban courtyard, or a trip to the countryside for a leisurely degustation bracketed by views of vineyards and kitchen gardens, the long lunch can take many forms.
These Good Food Guide-approved restaurants and wine bars are perfect places to while away the rest of the day.
Arnold’s
This Kensington wine bar is a fantastic place to go for a drink and a nibble − or all of the nibbles, if you opt for the “All the Little Things” selection ($45 per person). It thrums with the kind of intimate warmth made from friendly chatter, an eclectic record collection and an open kitchen. Food leans Mexican and South American − larger plates might include wagyu tartare dressed with pineapple and chorizo − and super-keen staff are glad to recommend from the brief but intriguing drinks list.
192 Bellair Street, Kensington, arnoldskensington.com; reopens January 2
Auterra
What does a neighbourhood wine bar look like when that neighbourhood is well-heeled Armadale? Auterra, the relaxed yet polished sibling of three-hatted Amaru across the road. The stylishly simple shopfront dining room leads to a sunny courtyard. Snacks pack the biggest punch, perhaps a cake-like crumpet ferrying duck parfait and a curl of house-made duck ham, or abalone schnitzel sandwiched between rounds of shokupan − each bite a great match for a broad wine list.
1160 High Street, Armadale, auterrawinebar.com.au; reopens January 5
Chauncy
Lunch at two-hatted Chauncy was always a relaxed affair, but with a new all-inclusive set menu ($280-$350 including drinks), there are zero decisions to be made. Six courses flow serenely, with host Tess Murray’s drink pairings interwoven with flair. There will probably be pasta, perhaps ricotta tortellini over chestnut veloute; lunch might conclude with poached meringue in rich custard, as late afternoon sunbeams pour into the 1854 sandstone building, surrounded by a produce garden.
178 High Street, Heathcote, chauncy.com.au, check website for availability
Clover
Few places in Richmond offer as thrilling a journey down the natural-wine rabbit hole as Clover, a Good Food Guide Critics’ Pick led by vin-thusiasts who guide the way with easygoing excellence. Playing with fire is where chef Charley Snadden-Wilson excels. Half-chickens are scorched but burstingly juicy, pooled by pungent curry butter that infuses the air with spice, even wafting to the vine-covered courtyard. Clover has been drawing diners like moths to a flame since 2022, but the cooking is only getting more confident, and the Sunday lunch set menu ($59) is a good introduction.
193 Swan Street, Richmond, clover.wine; closed January 1-2
Greasy Zoes
Like Chauncy (above), Zoe Birch and Lachlan Gardner have built their intimate two-hatted restaurant on their terms, sourcing drinks and produce from small, sustainable suppliers for 32 guests a week. Gardner manages front of house, while Birch tends the fire and prepares every dish that comes from it. Twelve courses later, as you’re sliding a spoon into parsnip ice-cream with burnt-butter caramel, Birch has shaped tomorrow’s sourdough and scoured the kitchen, ready for a new day at the hearth.
3/850 Heidelberg−Kinglake Road, Hurstbridge, greasyzoes.com.au, closed until January 29
Hogget Kitchen
A visit to Hogget isn’t so much a meal as a journey into the heart of Gippsland. The dining room offers two compelling views: a sweep of vines and a distant dam, or the open kitchen where chefs treat local produce with reverential simplicity. The kitchen pickles, smokes, bottles and butchers almost everything on the plate. The menu, a generous four or six-course narrative about what’s good right now, begins with a flurry of snacks, and generally includes pasta and a hero protein.
6 Farrington Close, Warragul, hogget.com.au; reopens January 8
Julie
The dining room glows with butter-yellow tiles and pastel walls, while a snack menu is offered on the outdoor terrace overlooking Abbotsford Convent’s grounds (go for a wander after lunch). The kitchen garden thrums with life: heirloom tomatoes, kohlrabi, capsicum and broad beans are waiting to make the short trip to the plate. Purple daikon and radish with whipped ricotta taste of the morning’s harvest, and glossy Calvados creme caramel closes a meal deeply in step with both the season and your own rhythms.
1 St Heliers Street, Abbotsford, julierestaurant.com.au; reopens January 2
No. 7 Healesville
Yes, the Yarra Valley is all scenic vine-embroidered hills, but sometimes it pays to go off-piste. Set in a scrappy backstreet, this one-time mechanics garage now tinkers with revved-up Euro dishes and a tight wine list designed to surprise. Pitch up under the pergola and while away the day. Staff will cherry-pick a glass to match the plate of your choosing – perhaps roast peppers threaded with briny anchovies, or a savoury caramelised leek and blue cheese tarte tartin.
7 Lilydale Road, Healesville, no7healesville.com; reopens January 2
Port Phillip Estate
This outlook must be in the running for most quintessentially Victorian vineyard view. A brutalist limestone edifice gently curves to frame the spectacular landscape. Below: sloping rows of vines and wetlands abuzz with birdlife. Above: views stretching out to the eponymous bay. It’s all about precision in the minimalist, glossy dining room. You’ll want an excuse to get into the single-block pinots on offer, and that excuse is an excellent piece of duck: seared, blushing and juicy under toasted pistachios and a little jus.
263 Red Hill Road, Red Hill South, portphillipestate.com.au; closed January 1
Stokehouse
It’s always golden hour here, above St Kilda beach. The sun glows across the bay as couples canoodle over chablis by beachfront windows. Start with a standout potato cake – crisp, puffy and piqued with saltbush and vinegar. Move on to poached calamari ribbons tumbled with lovage oil and lemonade-pickled celtuce. Rock flathead fillet comes crisply crumbed, atop sauce gribiche speckled with salmon caviar. First opened in 1990, and rebuilt after a 2014 fire, Stokehouse remains a beloved destination with good reason.
30 Jacka Boulevard, St Kilda, stokehouse.com.au, open throughout
Taverna
Modelled on the Athenian taverna – a forum for sharing wine and humble nourishment – this Good Food Guide Critics’ Pick is a pacey, informal and precious paean to gathering with feeling. You might build a meal around vegetables: beetroot cooked to soft sweetness, piled on soft white cheese and scattered with toasted walnuts. Potato wedges fried in herb oil are pure happiness, while lamb shoulder is roasted to collapse for abandoned destruction with forks.
434 Lygon Street, Brunswick East, ourtaverna.com, reopens January 6
Tedesca Osteria
The Age Good Food Guide’s Regional Restaurant of the Year is also one of our state’s hardest restaurants to book, but cancellations happen frequently so put your name on the waiting list for your best shot. Once you’re in, the room is cosy and humming. Wide windows look out over vast gardens and the pace is languid. There’s a sense that nothing matters outside these walls, where chef Brigitte Hafner and sommelier James Broadway serve what might be the perfect long lunch.
1175 Mornington-Flinders Road, Red Hill, tedesca.com.au, check website for availability
Zareh
The Age Good Food Guide New Restaurant of the Year bursts with energy: from the crowd to the cooks working the fire in the open kitchen to the vinyl-only soundtrack that goes heavy on Armenian funk spun through Pitt & Giblin speakers. Sundays are your only shot at lunch, but the team goes all out with a special menu that still riffs on Middle Eastern flavours but with special dishes, such as jweneh, garlicky Lebanese chicken wings, and Persian-influenced rice and salads. Be sure to add a glass of something Armenian.
368 Smith Street, Collingwood, zareh.com.au; reopens January 7
Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide
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