If 2025 was all about chawanmushi, 2026’s dining trend is more surprising

In 2024, Melbourne was hit by a tasty wave of taramasalata. In 2025, there was a chawanmushi at every second restaurant – and not just Japanese venues. And what did we see dotting every table in Victoria in 2026? Well, meat. Meat and potatoes. Protein – and a little starch – as far as the eye could see.

That might sound ridiculous in a state celebrated for its culinary diversity and excitable eaters. But we’re not talking corned beef and lumpy mash.

As editors of The Age Good Food Guide we enjoyed the purest, cleanest beef soupof our lives – Korea’s gomtang. It’s being simmered, skimmed and ladled into bowls right across Melbourne as we speak, with diners queuing up to get their moment with this heavenly broth.

Beef bones were relieved of their marrow en masse – the precious substance enriching everything from risotto at CBD newcomer Roma to a cake of Thai-style sticky rice at basement diner Dessous.

Some classics never die, and this year saw steak and chips rebrand to steak frites at hatted restaurants, neighbourhood pubs and everywhere in between.

As for potatoes, we ate them as fat, crunchy pucks – the perfect vessel for anything creamy and salty. We ate them chipped and fried in beef tallow for a shattering exterior (and a couple of bonus grams of protein). And, in what was one of the most unexpectedly delicious moves of the year, we ate them mashed, buttered and supercharged with a decadent sauce of crab roe and claw meat at Little Rose.

But if you’re still not convinced that Victoria ate well these past 12 months, take a look at The Age Good Food Guide when we release the 46th edition on Monday, October 12 at 8pm.

It features reviews of 500 places around the state, from charcoal chicken spots brushing their birds with Greek, Thai and Japanese flavours, to freshly hatted restaurants in dreamy beachside locations.

In a year with more groundbreaking Mexican openings than ever before, we’ve happily reviewed eight of them and are pleased to report one of Melbourne’s few dining blindspots is gradually improving. And in great news for spiced rice, West African jollof is now nearly as common as Ethiopia’s injera, as a swathe of new openings showcased the food of Nigeria, Liberia, Ghana and beyond.

All these exciting dishes, and the latest and greatest places to eat right now are captured on the Good Food app, now the home of the Good Food Guide. It features every single Guide review, and is a pocket-sized version of the Guide that’s always up to date.

On the app, you’ll find Burmese, Nigerian, Roman and Basque; pub dining, brasseries, canteens and chef’s tables. If you’re visiting Bright, Healesville, Warrnambool or Red Hill, you can be guaranteed a great meal at a Good Food Guide-approved restaurant. And if you’re just a follower of the hats and who’s got ’em, you’ll find that too.

The printed Guide – a snapshot of 100 Essential Restaurants for 2027 and all the award winners – is inserted in The Age on Tuesday, October 13.

What’s an Essential Restaurant, you ask? Hatted or not, an Essential Restaurant could be a legendary, once-in-a-lifetime institution or it could be just a few months old. It could be anywhere in the state. Pull up a stool, or sink into a plush chair at any one of them, and you’ll see how Victoria eats now. It’s a dining hit-list for the year ahead.

The winners of the 46th Age Good Food Guide Awards will be announced on Monday, October 12, presented by Oceania Cruises and T2 Tea. The awards ceremony will be live-blogged via The Age from 3pm; the Guide reviews will be available on the Good Food app from 8pm. Pick up a free 56-page Good Food Guide liftout in The Age on Tuesday, October 13.

The home of the Good Food Guide, the app is free for premium subscribers of The Age and also available as a standalone subscription. You can download the Good Food app here.