Five one-of-a-kind restaurants no one’s talking about in Melbourne – yet

Trends don’t just dominate fashion: food follows cycles too. As soon as one venue starts doing tableside tiramisu or extra-filthy martinis, suddenly every place is doing it. But not at these restaurants. Come for Bhutanese “pizza”, hearty South American breakfast, and other dishes you’re not going to find anywhere else.

Mauritian: Baz Kreole

Mauritius may be small, but its culture incorporates French, Indian, Chinese and African traditions, resulting in a distinctive Creole cuisine. To try it in Melbourne, head to Dandenong, home to a large Mauritian community, or North Melbourne’s hatted Manze and its bar Boire, where influences are woven into broader menus. Then there’s Richmond’s Baz Kreole – less than a year old – where owner Yashley Chukourey sets out to showcase dishes rarely seen locally.

Dholl puri, a thin, supple flatbread filled with chana dahl, will be familiar to those who know the cuisine. Less common is halim, a variation on the savoury Indian porridge often eaten during Ramadan, that combines lamb, five types of lentils and cracked wheat, slow-cooked for six hours. Tuna and potato croquettes hint at French influence, and mine frire – a wok-tossed noodle dish – reflects Chinese migration to the island.

Must-order dish: Dholl puri wrap with yellow chana dal, lima bean curry, Creole tomato sauce and pickled vegetables.

270 Bridge Road, Richmond, bazkreole.com.au

Bhutanese: Apa’s Canteen

Until recently, Melbourne had no Bhutanese restaurants. But in December, along came Apa’s Canteen, where owner Sonam Thinley draws inspiration from her father, the cook in her family. (Apa means father in Dzongkha, Bhutan’s official language).

The menu translates Bhutanese flavours into more familiar formats to Australians such as onigiri, Japanese in name but similar to the Bhutanese rice balls typically eaten alongside other dishes. Here, they are flavoured like ema datshi, a chilli and cheese stew that’s the country’s national dish, or sikam, an air-dried pork product. “Rice pizza”, a pressed rice base topped with ingredients such as air-dried beef, is popular with younger generations back home, says Thinley.

Suja, Bhutan’s distinctive butter tea, is offered traditionally or in playful two-toned variations such as banana-butter matcha.

Must-order dish: Ema datshi onigiri.

4/353 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, instagram.com/apascanteen

Jamaican: Mama Blu’s

Stephanie Kamener has trained with culinary heavyweights including Stephanie Alexander, London chef Sally Clarke, and Phillippa Grogan of Phillippa’s Bakery. But, homesick for the food she grew up eating as a Jamaican-Brit in London, she turned her focus to Caribbean cooking, most recently opening Mama Blu’s. Aside from a handful of caterers and food trucks, it remains one of Melbourne’s few dedicated Jamaican venues, and Kamener is committed to cooking as closely to tradition as possible.

Jerk chicken may be the most recognisable dish to newcomers, but it’s just the start. Ackee and saltfish, Jamaica’s national dish, pairs soft, buttery ackee fruit with salted cod. Curried goat showcases Kamener’s house-blended spice mix and sits alongside sides such as callaloo, a leafy green common across the Caribbean, and a distinctly Jamaican take on mac and cheese. Desserts rotate regularly, with past offerings including rum-spiked sweet potato tiramisu and mango creme Catalan.

Must-order dish: Curried goat.

61 Glen Huntly Road, Elwood, mamablu.com.au

Ecuadorian: Ecuadorian Corner

Chef Leo Bravo first cooked for Melbourne’s small Ecuadorian community from his CBD apartment, sending WhatsApp messages every fortnight announcing the menu. A stall at Il Mercato Centrale food hall on Collins Street has since brought those dishes to more people.

Hornado is the hero, featuring whole roast pork served both shredded and as crisp rinds of chicharron, alongside the corn dish hominy and the potato pancakes llapingachos. Bolon, a roadside staple traditionally eaten before a long day’s work, combines mashed green plantain with pork crackling and cheese, shaped into balls and fried. It arrives topped with cheese sauce, a fried egg and your choice of pulled chicken or beef, lifted by a punchy aji chilli and peanut sauce.

For something lighter, ceviche comes two ways – prawn in a subtly sweet tomato-based marinade or calamari dressed in a sharp herb mix.

Must-order dish: Hornado – pulled pork, chicharron, potato pancakes, avocado and hominy.

Il Mercato Centrale, 546 Collins Street, Melbourne, instagram.com/ecuadoriancorner

Iraqi: Meso Bites

Meso Bites grew from owner Haider Karim Al-Baghdadi’s desire to introduce Iraqi food to the CBD, where there are no dedicated restaurants. His inspiration? His country’s history as Mesopotamia, one of the world’s oldest recorded civilisations, as well as family recipes passed down through generations.

The top seller is one of the simplest dishes: skewers of beef, chicken, lamb or kofta, marinated in a secret house spice blend, and served with hummus and tabbouleh. But carbohydrates play a starring role too, often appearing more than once in a single dish. Pudgy bulghur dumplings filled with beef and lamb are simmered with chickpeas and onion in a rich beef stew known as yakhni, based on the owner’s mother’s recipe. Sham quzi is another staple, made from thin flaky pastry stuffed with aromatic spiced rice.

Must order dish: Yakhni – handmade beef and lamb dumplings served in a bowl of brothy chickpeas.

14 Degraves Street, Melbourne, mesobites.com.au