Audrey Payne

Melbourne

Food and Drink Editor at Broadsheet Melbourne

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Articles

Melbourne’s Best New Bars of 2025 (So Far)

3 days ago | broadsheet.com.au | Audrey Payne

We lost two greats when Michael and Zara Madrusan’s influential and adored bars The Everleigh and Bar Margaux closed in March. But 2025 is also shaping up to be an exciting year for new bars with two Everleigh alumni bringing their expertise to Pendant in Brunswick East, DJ-turned-restaurateur Grant Smillie returning to Melbourne, and the Bar Bellamy team’s anticipated sibling venue and Con Christopoulos’s Italian bar still to come.
Melbourne’s Best New Restaurants of 2025 (So Far)

4 days ago | broadsheet.com.au | Audrey Payne

The restaurants on this list are brimming with personality. The talents behind these venues all bring their full selves to the table. Each one – from Mischa Tropp’s Indian Members Club-inspired Crown Melbourne restaurant, to Barragunda Dining, a destination diner Simone Watts spent four years preparing to open – has a strong identity and offers something new to the city. Here are the 12 best new restaurants of the year so far.
Bookings With Benefits at Etta

4 days ago | broadsheet.com.au | Audrey Payne

Photography: Courtesy of Etta1/5Photography: Courtesy of Etta1/5Photography: Courtesy of Etta1/5Mon 16th June, 2025 – Tue 16th December, 2025 60 Lygon Street Brunswick East 3057NAB credit card customers only pay $400 when the bill is $500 at Hannah Green’s Hot-Listed Brunswick East restaurant – and they use their NAB credit card.
This Pastry Chef Makes Some of the Best Mochi in the Melbourne CBD

4 days ago | broadsheet.com.au | Audrey Payne

“I really wanted customers to taste real mochi skin,” says pastry chef Sayaka Otsu, who oversees the desserts at all San Telmo Group venues, including Exhibition Street Japanese restaurant Robata. The Robata dessert menu has typically included European-style plated desserts with Japanese flavours, including matcha tiramisu and baked yuzu cheesecake. But you’ll now find fresh mochi stuffed with a raspberry and condensed milk parfait, alongside specials with changing fillings.
These New Melbourne Banh Mi Shops Are Just Getting Started

5 days ago | broadsheet.com.au | Audrey Payne

Banh mi is one of the country’s most loved sandwiches. Everyone from Anchovy chef Thi Le to Masterchef judge Sofia Levin has a favourite banh mi shop. And even the New York Times notes “it is only a slight exaggeration to say that Australia runs on banh mi”. In recent years, Melbourne’s banh mi scene has continued to evolve, with a new wave of shops changing the way the lunchtime staple is viewed and valued.
How Selling Her Fitzroy North Restaurant Helped This Hospo Pro Find a Sense of Calm

1 week ago | broadsheet.com.au | Audrey Payne

Heidi Modra ran her restaurant Pinotta for 14 years before deciding to close at the end of April. Part of the reason for closing was, she tells Broadsheet, “to have a life that wasn’t all-encompassing about where I worked. I made a commitment to have a personal life.”She’s now joined Yolk Group (Terror Twilight, Hi Fi) as venue manager at its Westgarth cafe and bar Ophelia. Just two weeks into the role, Modra has helped launch dinner service on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday nights.
A New CBD Banh Mi Go-To, Tarts Anon’s Flagship Opens and More Melbourne Food News This Week

1 week ago | broadsheet.com.au | Audrey Payne

What’s on around town• First events revealed for Dine Out, Broadsheet’s debut food festival. Book now. • Carvery, a new grab-and-go spot inspired by Aussie takeaway shops of the ’70s and ’80s, has opened in Hawksburn Village. Stop by for rolls, roast chicken and chop salads, as well as ready-made meals including lasagne and eggplant parm. • Casual Japanese restaurant Ilza is opening a new location in Kilsyth South.
Everything We Know About Season Four of FX’s The Bear

1 week ago | broadsheet.com.au | Audrey Payne

Since its first season premiered in June 2022, FX’s The Bear has done something rare in today’s overcrowded television offering – had a lasting cultural impact. The series has put Chicago beef sandwiches on the map, influenced the way people dress, and made bona fide stars out of its previously under-the-radar leads Jeremy Allen White (The Iron Claw, Shameless) and Ayo Edebiri (Inside Out 2, Bottoms).
Junda Khoo Opens His Most Ambitious Restaurant Yet in Melbourne’s CBD

1 week ago | broadsheet.com.au | Audrey Payne

Junda Khoo is tired. And after opening three restaurants in as many weeks, who can blame him? On Friday June 13, the Sydney chef cut the proverbial ribbon on Ho Jiak: Junda’s Playground, the final piece in the chef’s $7 million Malaysian food destination, located in the revamped Tivoli Arcade (aka 235 Bourke Street).
All Are Welcome Calls It Quits - All Three Stores to Shut

1 week ago | broadsheet.com.au | Audrey Payne

Founded in 2017, Northcote’s All Are Welcome quickly grew into one of the city’s most-loved bakeries, with equally busy locations in Thornbury and Ivanhoe East. But things turned earlier this week, with news that owner Boris Portnoy allegedly owes current and former employees $243,000 in superannuation and $125,000 in leave entitlements. Portnoy declined to confirm these figures to Broadsheet. In a lengthy Instagram post on Saturday June 14, the business announced its permanent closure.