My Favourite Restaurant in the World 🌏

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A Bite-Sized Summary:

• Feature: my favourite restaurant in the world (and what makes a restaurant favourite material)

• List: 14 Latin American breakfasts in Melbourne (premium only)

• Turn the Tables: finally, it’s time to review customers

• Just Open: Thai barbecue hot pot lands in Melbourne’s Postal Lane

Picture this: I’m being held hostage in a restaurant cold room. My menacing capturer has a kitchen-grade blowtorch to my temple. Pig carcasses sway forebodingly from hooks. “TELL ME YOUR FAVOURITE RESTAURANT,” he bellows, flinging spittle into my teary eyes. Honestly, his timing is spot on — having previously refused to answer this question approximately 1000 times, I’ve recently delved into what makes a restaurant worthy of being your favourite. In doing so, I found mine. I hope you visit it one day. In the meantime, feel free to hit “reply” and share yours with me, too.

Sofia x

P.S. If you’re new here or need reminding, you can access past newsletters here.

FEATURE: My Favourite Restaurant in the World

After refusing to answer the question, “Where is your favourite restaurant?” my entire career as a food writer, I’ve finally landed on one. But it also got me thinking: what actually makes a restaurant worthy of favouritism? The answer is far more than what’s on the plate.

OFF MENU: 14 Latin American breakfasts in Melbourne

Everyone loves a breakfast taco, but what about arepas, tamales and chilaquiles? From Chile to Chiapas, here’s where to eat the best Latin American breakfasts in Melbourne. This is the fourth instalment of the Melbourne Alt-Breakfast Series, for Off Menu subscribers only. Sign up here.

TURN THE TABLES: Brutal Customer Reviews

I’m always appalled at how impatient and unreasonable diners can be, both in person and when leaving reviews. It’s time to turn the tables, kicking off with one that might surprise you. Submissions welcome, click the button below.

JUST OPEN: Khaosan Lane, CBD

Khaosan Lane is the latest in a string of Thai mookata restaurants to open in Melbourne. Mookata, for the uninitiated, is a particular form of barbecue-meets-hot pot where meat and seafood are cooked on a raised grill, while add-ins like vegetables and noodles are simmered in a soup moat surrounding it (crack an egg into it, too). You’ll find this newcomer in Postal Lane, Melbourne GPO, at 350 Bourke Street. Expect laneway vibes, nightly live music, beer tower happy hour and all-round good times.