Adding yet another cafe to that ever-growing To-Eat List is a wonderful problem to have, but staying up to date can get overwhelming.

Here’s a list of recent openings worthy of your attention, and more importantly, you’re appetite.

• Where to eat the best brunch right now
• The coolest new dining hotspots

NEW SOUTH WALES

Pei Modern
 | Four Seasons Hotel, 
199 George St, Sydney | 
(02) 9250 3160

In a move that will upset those who insist that “Melbourne-is-better-than-Sydney-so-there”, Pei Modern has opened a second branch at the Four Seasons Hotel. Mark Best’s menu continues to tastefully present diners with exquisite ingredient combinations, such as casarecce pasta with chicken dumplings and reggiano (pictured), beef tartare with local sea urchin and horseradish on toast, or Kurobuta pork cutlet with fermented blueberries.

The Lemon Tree | Australia Square, Cnr Pitt & Bond Sts, Sydney | (02) 9241 1685

Interiors don’t come much more aesthetically pleasing than the white number punctuated with pink terrazzo and citrus tiles at The Lemon Tree. This restaurant brings a little piece of the Amalfi Coast to the CBD with the food to back it up. Think spaghetti e vongole and veal Milanese. It’s also owned by Sneaky Sound System muso Daimon Downey.

VICTORIA

Heartattack and Vine | 329 Lygon St, Carlton | (03) 9005 8624

Step into Heartattack and Vine, an espresso and wine bar modelled on warm European hospitality, and become acquainted with cicchetti (the Italian equivalent of tapas). Backed by Brunswick cafe classic Wide Open Road, they serve specialty coffee from morning through night, as well as fresh pastries for brekkie, McIvor Farms porchetta at lunch and polpette and arancini from the bar in the evening. The perfect all-rounder.

Gradi Crown | Shop 25, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank | (
03) 9696 9888

Those sick of battling the queues at 400 Gradi in East Brunswick can now head to the new riverfront sister venue at Crown. The 330-seater is glitzier than the original, but all the favorites – including the margherita that took out the title of World’s Best Pizza at the World Pizza Championships in Parma, Italy – are there, alongside some new additions.

Doc Martin’s | Collins Quarter, 86 Collins St, Melbourne | (03) 9650 8500

Collins Quarter has welcomed an aperitif and digestif bar to the venue, and it’s exactly what the doctor ordered. Diners can eat at Doc Martin’s by day and quench their thirst by night, sipping Dolin Bitter de Chambery at outdoor tables overlooking the Paris End of Collins Street.

QUEENSLAND

LostBoys | 694 Ann St, Fortitude Valley | 0413 345 242

Stepping into LostBoys is like entering an enchanted fairytale: a Faraway-style tree dangles colourful lights over wooden tables and menus arrive in vintage children’s books. But what’s important here is that this little cafe’s menu is 100 per cent organic, vegetarian and carbon neutral, so treating yourself to breakfast or lunch means that you’re doing your bit for the earth.

Nikuya Japanese | Shop 8, 100 Maclachlan St, Fortitude Valley | (07) 3252 3883

With a name that translates to “meat house” in English, Nikuya opens full of promise. On the ground floor you’ll find a slick izakaya with round timber booths, but the yakinuku grills at the tables on the mezzanine floor are prime real estate. Try the signature tonkatsu (crumbed, deep-fried pork cutlet) washed down with sake.

PERTH

The Flour Factory | 16 Queen St, Perth | (08) 9485 1711

What better way to pay homage to a building’s beginnings as a flourmill than by opening a bakery? By opening a bakery and a butcher, apparently. The Flour Factory is open all day, serving top coffee from 7am through to charcuterie and fancy hotdogs come sundown. House-smoked bacon and chorizo aside, it’s the baked goods that have everyone talking, such as their double caramel chocolate explosion cupcake.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Vietnamese Laundry | 152 Sturt St, Adelaide

What was a laundromat is now a gorgeous little Vietnamese café set up in what appears to be a wooden box. The fit out is impressive given the space, a thoughtful jumble of red brick, white tiles, concrete flooring and raw timber. The cheap and cheerful menu features all the favourites: bánh mì, rice paper rolls, noodle salad bowls, phở and the perfect pick-me-up, Vietnamese iced coffee.

TASMANIA

Providore |100 Elizabeth St, Hobart | (03) 6231 1165

Bought to you by the team behind Ethos Eat Drink, Providore opened in September brining with it self-serve salads priced by weight, fancy sangas, Ploughman’s platters, sweet treats and a rotating blackboard menu. The Scandinavian-inspired interior is a breath of fresh air, while the steel and timber shelves that line the walls are heaving with artisan goodies, like house-made fermented vegetable salt.

Willing Bros. Wine Merchants | 390 Elizabeth St, North Hobart | (03) 6234 3053

Willing Bros. Wine Merchants is an easy sell, positioning themselves as a (much-needed) neighbourhood wine bar that delivers quality snacks. Watch as charcuterie plates and pickled beets with goat’s cheese are assembled in front of you, and then dig in at the marble bar. Booze is a solid mix of local offerings that spreads out to the rest of Australia and beyond.

Sofia Levin is a Melbourne-based writer and food blogger.