Experience Michelin-star dining at this Melbourne pop-up

Aussies can experience Michelin-star dining at this exclusive Melbourne pop-up in March.

Michelin-star dining is universally considered the ultimate foodie experience. Given to only the most exceptional restaurants around the world, the highly coveted award signifies brilliance in all aspects, from the food to the service and everything in between.

Unfortunately for us, Australia is yet to be recognised under the Michelin Guide . However, foodies are marking their calendars for March, when famed Michelin-starred London restaurant, St. JOHN opens its highly anticipated pop-up at the 2025 Melbourne Food & Wine Festival.

Farokh Talati and Trevor Gulliver for the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival — St. JOHN co-founder Trevor Gulliver and head chef Farokh Talati will run the pop-up.

How can I attend the St. JOHN pop-up?

The coveted St. JOHN pop-up will take place for five days only (25–29 March) at French Saloon , one of Melbourne’s best restaurants. Co-founder Trevor Gulliver and executive chef Farokh Talati will join French Saloon co-owner Ian Curley and head chef Luke Fraser to present a set four-course menu at each service. The exclusive meal will be paired with wines shipped over from St. JOHN’s Boulevard Napoléon vineyard in the Minervois, as well as tipples from French Saloon’s cellar.

French Saloon in Melbourne, Victoria — Melbourne restaurant French Saloon will host the exclusive pop-up. (Image: Visit Victoria)

It’s the internationally acclaimed eatery’s first-ever Aussie appearance and the country’s second Michelin-starred visitor. It’s preceded only by Copenhagen-based restaurant noma ’s hugely successful Sydney pop-up in 2016. Bookings were finite, with 5000 available slots selling out in minutes. Around 30,000 people were left on the waitlist, fingers crossed and mouths watering.

But those wanting to get a taste of Michelin-starred magnificence in 2025 haven’t missed out – yet. Tickets for the St. JOHN pop-up are on sale now, but selling out fast. Priced at $135 per person, each ticket includes all four courses, with drinks charged upon consumption.

A dish at St. JOHN restaurant in London, UK — St. JOHN spearheaded the sustainable nose-to-tail food philosophy. (Image: Matthew Falsetti)

St. JOHN’s sophisticated menu, top-quality produce and experimental style saw it awarded one Michelin star in 2009, as well as Best British and Best London Restaurant in the 2001 Moët & Chandon Restaurant Awards. In 2023, founders Trevor Gulliver and Fergus Henderson earned a Lifetime Achievement Award at the National Restaurant Awards. It’s also credited for pioneering the nose-to-tail method, an environmentally conscious food philosophy that encourages chefs to use every part of an animal when cooking to reduce food waste.

St. JOHN restaurant in London, UK — St. JOHN has three venues across the boroughs of London. (Image: Alla Tsyganova)

What other pop-ups should I attend?

While the St. JOHN pop-up is an obvious program highlight, here’s what else hungry foodies can look forward to at the 2025 Melbourne Food & Wine Festival.

Philip Khoury x Smith + Deli Bake Sale

Globally recognised plant-based chefs Shannon Martinez and Philip Khoury will host an exclusive pop-up bakery at Smith + Deli . It’s an all-out vegan extravaganza, with freshly baked pastries, cakes, tarts and other delicious desserts up for grabs at one of the city’s best cafes on 22 March.

Konstantin and Manuela Filippou x Liberty: The Greek Table

Konstantin and Manuela Filippou for the 2025 Melbourne Food & Wine Festival — Konstantin and Manuela Filippou will host The Greek Table.

If you miss out on St. JOHN tickets, you can still get a taste of the Michelin-star experience at Bar Liberty, a stalwart of Melbourne’s world-class bar scene, each Sunday from 23 March. Fine-dining chef Konstantin Filippou’s two Michelin stars will be on full display at the Fitzroy establishment via a relaxed lunch offering, The Greek Table .

Something Saucy by Leggo’s

Linguine lovers, this one is for you! Aussie pasta sauce brand Leggo’s is setting up shop in Whitehart Lane with Italian eatery, Super Norma. On 25 March, grab a bowl of fresh pasta al forno before securing your free jar of Leggo’s Australian passata, while stocks last.

Dim City by Emporium Melbourne

Dim Sim for Dim City at Melbourne Food & Wine Festival — Devour a range of delightful dim sim variants.

Celebrate 80 years of the dim sim the right way – by eating as many as you can for free! Up-and-coming Melbourne chefs Rosheen Kaul, John Rivera and Eun Hee An will be dishing out their own versions of the beloved dumpling-style snack, from cheesy kimchi to spicy lamb. It’s all happening at Dim City on 28 March.

Tacos and Toum by Wesley Place

Mexico and the Middle East meet on 26 March at Tacos and Toum , a cross-cultural culinary affair between food truck founder Raph Rashid and hummus king Tom Sarafian. Think tacos stacked with Lebanese toppings, Puebla’s take on kibbeh and finger-licking flavours from the Caribbean coast.

Her Majesty’s Theatre, Ballarat

Her Majesty’s Theatre in Ballarat has been standing for 150 years. (Image: Michael Pham)

A monument to the immense gold rush wealth flooding through Ballarat in the second half of the 19th century, Her Majesty’s Theatre (‘Her Maj’ to locals) celebrates its 150th anniversary as the city’s premier performing arts venue this year.

Built in a classical style and immaculately preserved (thanks largely to a recent $16-million restoration), this Lydiard Street landmark is the oldest continuously operating theatre in mainland Australia, notable for its double balcony and a stage that slopes towards the front, making it one of the most audience-friendly venues in the country to see a show.

The Capital, Bendigo

The Capital in Bendigo was built in 1873 as a Masonic Hall. (Image: Michael Pham)

Denoted by its distinctive Corinthian columns, more reminiscent of ancient Greece than regional Victoria, The Capital theatre in Bendigo has been through several iterations since the first stone was laid in 1873.

Originally a Masonic hall, the renaissance revival-style building became a theatre in the 1890s, falling into disrepair for a time during the 1970s, before being restored and reopened (as the Bendigo Regional Arts Centre) in 1991. Today, the 480-seat venue hosts everything from comedy to cabaret to traditional theatre, dance, opera and live music.

Ulumbarra Theatre, Bendigo

a look insideBendigo’s Ulumbarra Theatre

Inside Bendigo’s Ulumbarra Theatre, a former prison. (Image: Michael Pham)

Bendigo has busted out as a regional performing arts hotspot, so it’s fitting that one of its newest venues is housed within a former prison. Meaning ‘meeting place’ or ‘gather together’ in the language of the local Dja Dja Wurrung people, the $26-million, 950-seat auditorium rose from within the red brick walls of the historic Sandhurst Gaol in 2015.

It’s an eerie feeling as you approach the imposing granite facade, pass beneath the old gallows and pick up your ticket from the box office occupying a repurposed cell block. With the building playing a main character in the show, this is performative architecture at its finest.

Rex Theatre, Charlton

The 1938-built Rex Theatre in Charlton is an Art Deco gem. (Image: Jenny Pollard)

Regional theatres don’t come more romantic than this Art Deco gem in the river town of Charlton, in north-central Victoria. Built in 1938, the 350-seat community-owned theatre provides an essential entertainment outlet for residents in the Wimmera Mallee region, as well as visitors making the trip up the Calder Highway from Melbourne.

The volunteer-run venue is the last remaining purpose-built cinema in regional Victoria, and hosts the Charlton Film Festival every February, plus three weekly film screenings (Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday).

London restaurant is coming to Australia – for 5 days only

Aussies can experience Michelin-star dining at this exclusive Melbourne pop-up in March.

How can I attend the St. JOHN pop-up?