The team at Prince Wine Store have opened their Euro-inspired wine bar right next door to the mothership in South Melbourne. With a little help from their mates Gerald Diffey (Gerald's Bar, Brooks) on design and Brigitte Hafner (Gertrude Street Enoteca) on food, this converted terrace has become a Europhile's dream. With access to 3,000-plus bottles next door at Prince Wine Store, you may never want to leave.

City location, check. Glamorous rooftop, check. Food to drink with, check. This is the latest incarnation from chef Jesse Gerner, who turned his fine-dining restaurant The Aylesbury into a Spanish worker's bar called Bomba. This unique space has both ground floor and rooftop action, with a tapas menu and a Spanish-influenced drinks list to suit. There's vermouth on tap, too.

The latest opening from Melbourne's Greek god George Calombaris interprets the modern souvlaki, which is known affectionately here as 'souvas' and given catchy nicknames such as Boner and Mr. Papa. A pumping soundtrack, graffitied walls, and chips with everything ensures queues snaking onto the door. Save room for Jimmy Dimmys (Chinese-inspired dumplings).

Hot on the heels of the South American trend of the moment is Piqueos, an Argentinean and Peruvian operation. Set up in a brick conversion and complete with a parrilla grill, this gem in Melbourne's inner north has been wowing diners with its charred and smoky barbecued meats tempered with a refined Peruvian show of cebiche. It's been enough to earn the chefs, Blair Williams and Daniel Salcedo, the Hot Talent gong at the Time Out Food Awards.

The darling of the recent award season — winning best new restaurant at the Good Food Awards — Saint Crispin is the best, hottest, coolest new table in town. A collaboration between Scott Pickett (The Estelle) and Joe Grbac (The Press Club) — chefs who both worked the pans at Phil Howard's The Square in London — this restaurant is serving punchy and innovative seasonal fare.

A new lease of life has been given to this restaurant site, which has seen many seasoned hospitality operators come and go. In the back streets of Carlton, a stone's throw away from Little Italy, lies an oasis of modern and stylish food, drinks and design. The menu offers slow roasted lamb shoulder, wagyu rump, and not a bruschetta in sight.

After the success of basement hotspot Coda, business partners Adam D'Sylva and Mykal Bartholomew have followed up with Tonka, a modern and upmarket Indian space. Complete with a laneway address and rich in 90's history (a previous incarnation was nightclub Honky Tonks), Tonka capitalizes on D'Sylva's paternal heritage. It's showing diners there is more to Indian food than curries.

Fiery. Chili. Italian. That's what can be found at this Hawksburn Village newbie by hunter-gatherer chef Riccardo Momesso, formerly of Sarti. Expect regional and traditional dishes at this smart, casual diner that celebrates Momesso's Calabrian ancestry. Complete with antipasti bar and pizza oven, watch out for a glimpse of mamma Momesso in the kitchen.