Cafés and restaurants open on New Year's Day in Melbourne

Part of Andrew McConnell’s Trader House group that includes Cutler & Co, Marion and Cumulus Inc, the Builders Arms is one of the more unassuming venues in the Melbourne-only collection. The Melbourne favourite is open on New Year’s Day and its courtyard is the perfect place to while away a sunny public holiday. Its bistro is where the gastronomic action happens – think Sunday roasts with trimmings and cult favourites like the fish pie. Book online.

A café housed in a heritage-listed former powerhouse with exposed brick walls, an almost-alarming number of plants, riffs on avo toast and other highly ‘grammable dishes: that's Higher Ground in a nutshell. Things don’t get much more Melbourne than this brunch institution, and better yet, it'll be open on New Year's Day this year. Make a booking at the website.

Stokehouse has been a bastion of traditional hospitality and serene comfort since the early 1990s, our official crowned Legend of the Year at our 2023 Food and Drink Awards. On the first day of 2026, the restaurant's luxe dining room overlooking the bay will be your perfect seaside haven for a lavish long lunch. Make a reservation at the website.

Nestled within Garden State Hotel is the dreamy, pastel-hued Tippy-Tay – an homage to the coastlines of Italy, so what better place to spend a summery New Year’s Day? Open from noon-9pm, Tippy-Tay has an expansive antipasti section perfect for snacking on – think white anchovies, calamari fritti and cacio e pepe arancini – a curated selection of pasta including spanner crab fusilli and lamb ragu pappardelle, and a smaller selection of pizzas. Book online. 

This trendy Fitzroy hotel's umbrella-shaded rooftop bar is an idyllic spot for sipping and snacking on the first day of 2026. Get tickets to the bar's Another Bloody NYD event and enjoy Champers on arrival, a three-hour drinks package starring fancy Bloody Mary cocktails and rotating snacks – all to a hot DJ set and excellent views. Find out more and secure your spot online.

Love pizza and pasta in an unfussy, modern setting? Give Baby Pizza a go. Open all day (and all week) long, the restaurant is a stalwart neighbourhood favourite in Richmond for intimate dinners, celebratory occasions, lively gatherings with friends and sundowner cocktails and snacks at happy hour. It's keeping its doors open this New Year's Day and you can make a reservation online.

Boasting a newly revamped leafy rooftop space, 44 tap beers and rotating parma specials, plus a dedicated Spritz menu, Skinny Dog Hotel offers a whole lot more than your average classic inner-suburban pub. Gorge on freshly shucked oysters with prosecco foam, fried sesame and garlic tofu chips, among other fun new additions to the menu. You can make a booking online here.

This massive outdoor eatery and beer garden sandwiched between two Melbourne icons (the Yarra River and Flinders Street Station) stretches for 120 metres along the river bank and is officially Melbourne’s longest bar. If you're keen to snag a table on New Year's Day, make a booking via the website.

Formerly known for its long queues that used to snake around the block, things have since calmed down at Chin Chin – mostly because it now takes bookings. Open from 11am-11pm, it offers Southeast Asian favourites like wagyu beef rendang, caramelised sticky pork and green papaya salad. Book online. 

How about a chill atmosphere, a pint or two and a good counter meal? Fitzroy North stalwart the Empress Hotel is open to meet your eating and drinking needs from noon until late. The front bar is walk-in only, but you can make a booking for the leafy beer garden or its low-key dining room via the website.