Bar Olo owner Anthony Scutella inside his new venue,which complements his restaurant Scopri.

The high-end restaurants opening more casual,more affordable,just as delicious bars next door

You don’t need to plan weeks in advance,you can name your budget,and it’s OK if you haven’t dressed up. Is there a catch to this new breed of Melbourne bar?

  • Emma Breheny
Light but tough enough to stand upright,the bagnum holds the equivalent of two bottles of wine.

Raise a glass to the bagnum,the plastic wine pouch that’s made cask wine cool again

There’s a growing thirst for wine in alternative packaging,from pouches and cans to the new-school goon bag.

  • Katie Spain
Sparkling wine with friends

The best sparkling wines for your buck (featuring Aldi’s ‘fresh and fun’ French fizz for just $9)

The expert’s guide to buying the best value pet-nat,prosecco,Aussie sparkling and French champagne for less than you may think.

  • Katie Spain
Coffee on tap at Single O cafe in Surry Hills,Sydney.

Espresso-meets-cocktail bars,high-tech tools at home:10 coffee trends to tap into,right now

From next-level gadgetry to improve your espresso to unbridled creativity in iced drinks,here’s what’s brewing in the caffeine scene.

  • Emma Breheny
Cindy Tandinata enjoys a limoncello cocktail at Catalina Restaurant in Rose Bay

Move over,Aperol Spritz. There’s a zesty new must-sip drink this summer

After visiting Italy,Australian travellers have developed a thirst for limoncello,a lemon-flavoured liqueur that evokes good times.

  • Katie Spain
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Melbourne cafes are creating extensive menus of iced drinks that turn heads,as iced coffee enters a new phase.

The new iced coffee is fizzy,foamy − and might not even contain coffee

Melbourne cafes are racing to outdo each other with next-gen iced drinks. Plus five cool new iced coffees to try.

  • Emma Breheny
Tiramisu,the “pick me up” dessert we’d like to put down.

Tiramisu,we’re so over you:Five current dining trends we never want to see again (and seven we love)

Stingy wine pours,restaurants without phones and tiramisu are among dining trends we never want to see again.

  • Emma Breheny andEllen Fraser
At Mudgee restaurant The Zin House,the ingredients for tea are plucked direct from the garden.

Coming soon to a glass near you:Four drinks trends to look forward to sipping this summer

Plus:the Good Food Guide 2024 finalists for Drinks List of the Year.

  • Katie Spain
Bar Besuto,which specialises in Japanese whisky.

Moody new Circular Quay bar boasts Sydney’s largest Japanese whisky collection

Riding a Japanese whisky wave,the new Circular Quay bar has assembled what it says is the biggest collection of the spirit in a Sydney venue.

  • Scott Bolles
Pickled octopus (front) and baked ricotta with agrodolce at Carlton all-day cafe and wine bar Sunhands.

‘Is everything a wine bar now?’:Melbourne’s changing dining scene,deconstructed

The Age Good Food Guide editors take the temperature of Victoria’s restaurant industry in the first half of 2023. After a lukewarm start,things are finally heating up.

  • Emma Breheny andEllen Fraser