To question Gimlet’s beauty is like pondering out loud whether the sky is blue. One foot through the door into the Trader House team’s almighty fine diner (in fact, our crowned winner of the Best Fine Dining award in 2023) and you’re swept into an era of astonishingly impressive 1920s glamour. The handsome, plush curved booths invite you to settle in and share a bottle of Champers with a friend, uniformed staff skate around the floor with ease, and warm light dances off the grand chandeliers overhead. You can, of course, go all out at Gimlet and dine on lobster, caviar service and exxy bottles of wine all night, but even just popping in for a few cocktails and a taste of a few dishes here and there is truly a lovely way to experience the restaurant, which tends to feel welcoming and adaptive no matter how much you’re willing to splurge.
March 2024: We Victorians are blessed with two long weekends (and shorter work weeks) in March, thanks to Labour Day and the Easter holidays. Why not make the most of your free time by catching up with friends or family over an A-grade meal at one of these top spots around Melbourne? Whether you've been waiting for a good time to revisit an old classic or you're keen to try somewhere new, this list is the ultimate place to start.
The continually evolving and expanding dining scene in Melbourne is both a blessing and a curse: how do you choose between so many incredible restaurants? Well, that's where we come in. Stop endlessly scrolling, and commit to making your way through Time Out’s list of the best restaurants in the state right now. Our always-hungry local experts and editors have curated 2024's most delicious and divine, innovative and imaginative, comforting and familiar, memorable and magical dining experiences right here at your fingertips. From old favourites and culinary institutions such as Attica, Stokehouse and Flower Drum, to emerging standouts and instant icons such as Serai, Gimlet, Amaru and Reine and La Rue, we've got it all covered here.
Get out, and get eating! You've got a lot to get through!