The Best New Openings in Abbotsford
Abbotsford has always been the quiet achiever of Melbourne’s inner east. While neighbouring Collingwood grabs headlines for every new warehouse conversion and Fitzroy getsCredit for every cutting-edge dining concept, Abbotsford has been steadily evolving — adding new venues, hosting emerging talent, and doing it all with the kind of understated confidence that says “we don’t need a PR campaign.”
But 2025 and into 2026, the quiet evolution has turned into something harder to ignore. New restaurants, refreshed bars, creative spaces, and hospitality concepts are popping up across Abbotsford at a pace that’s putting this suburb firmly on the map — not as the “next” anything, but as a destination in its own right.
Here’s what’s new, what’s worth your attention, and what’s changed in Abbotsford recently.
Molli: The Restaurant That Put Abbotsford on the Fine-Dining Map
When Molli opened its doors on Victoria Street, the local reaction was a mix of excitement and protective nervousness — the kind of “this is amazing but please don’t ruin our suburb” anxiety that inner-Melbourne locals feel whenever something polished arrives in their neighbourhood.
Thankfully, Molli has delivered. The restaurant earned a spot on Time Out Melbourne’s recommended list for 2025, and it’s easy to see why. The space is intimate — think 40-odd seats, exposed brick, warm lighting, and a small bar area where you can perch with a pre-dinner cocktail while watching the kitchen work. The menu is contemporary Australian with strong Mediterranean influences, rotating with the seasons and built around quality Victorian produce.
What sets Molli apart is the wine list. It’s not just “good for a neighbourhood restaurant” — it’s genuinely excellent, leaning heavily into small-batch Victorian producers that you won’t find at the bigger CBD spots. The staff know the list intimately and will steer you towards something unexpected without being condescending about it.
The word from locals: “It’s the place you take visiting friends to show them that Melbourne’s food scene isn’t just about the CBD.”
Budget: Mains $28–$48. Worth every cent.
Range: Johnston Street’s New Guard
Johnston Street in Abbotsford has always been pub and brewery territory — Bodriggy, Lulie, and the old-school locals have owned this strip for years. But Range, a newer addition to the Johnston Street bar scene, has brought a different energy without disrupting the neighbourhood character.
Think of Range as the “date night” upgrade to the Johnston Street strip. The fit-out is more polished than the dive-bar options, the cocktail list is considered rather than formulaic, and the space manages to feel intimate without being stuffy. But it’s not pretentious — you can still rock up in jeans and a t-shirt on a Tuesday and feel perfectly at home.
What makes Range interesting from a “new openings” perspective is what it signals about Abbotsford’s evolution. This is a suburb that’s growing up without selling out. The new venues arriving here aren’t trying to be South Yarra or Windsor — they’re building on what Abbotsford already does well and adding a layer of polish that the neighbourhood has been quietly ready for.
The word from locals: “It’s the bar you go to when you want something nicer than a pub but can’t be bothered going to the city.”
Budget: Cocktails $18–$22. Wines from $14.
The Craft Beer Renaissance: Bodriggy and Beyond
While Bodriggy Brewery isn’t brand new, its evolution over the past couple of years has been significant enough to count as a “new” experience for anyone who hasn’t visited recently. The Johnston Street taproom has expanded its range, hosted more events, and solidified its position as Abbotsford’s home-grown craft beer institution.
The brewery’s tap list now regularly features limited releases, collaboration brews, and experimental batches that you won’t find in bottle shops. The food menu has also levelled up — it’s proper pub fare done well, not an afterthought to keep you drinking longer. The weekend atmosphere in the taproom is pure Abbotsford: unpretentious, locally dominated, and genuinely fun.
The broader craft beer scene along the Collingwood-Abbotsford border has also expanded. The Johnston Street corridor now functions as an unofficial brewery trail, with Bodriggy anchoring the Abbotsford end and several newer operations on the Collingwood side. If you’re into craft beer, a Saturday afternoon walk along Johnston Street is the inner east’s answer to the Great Ocean Road — except the views are of tap handles and the destination is your next pint.
The word from locals: “Bodriggy is where you go when you want good beer without the craft beer wank.”
The Convent Precinct: Always Evolving
The Abbotsford Convent isn’t new, but its programming and precinct have evolved significantly in recent years. The Farmers Market continues to be one of Melbourne’s best, but new additions to the Convent experience include expanded evening events, rotating pop-up dining concepts in the courtyard, and an increasing focus on sustainability programming that goes beyond the usual “bring your keep cup” messaging.
The Convent’s gallery spaces have also stepped up their game, hosting exhibitions that draw genuine crowds rather than just the usual opening-night wine crowd. Recent programming has included everything from Indigenous art exhibitions to experimental photography shows to community-led projects that blur the line between art and social commentary.
What’s particularly interesting about the Convent precinct in 2026 is the growing ecosystem of creative businesses orbiting around it. Small studios, independent designers, makers, and micro-businesses are setting up shop in the streets surrounding the Convent, drawn by the cultural cachet and the relatively affordable (by inner-east standards) commercial rents. It’s creating a creative precinct that extends well beyond the Convent’s walls.
The word from locals: “The Convent is the heart of Abbotsford. Everything else orbits around it.”
Victoria Street: The Vietnamese Food Corridor Gets Fresh
Richmond’s Victoria Street — which runs directly along Abbotsford’s southern border — has long been Melbourne’s most famous Vietnamese food strip. But in 2025–2026, the strip has seen a wave of new openings and refreshes that go beyond the traditional pho-and-banh-mi formula.
New Vietnamese-fusion cafes are popping up, blending traditional flavours with Melbourne’s specialty coffee culture. Think Vietnamese egg coffee (cà phê trứng), salted coconut iced coffees, and bánh mì with creative fillings that go beyond the classic pork-and-pickle. The Broadsheet highlighted several new Vietnamese-influenced cafe openings in the Abbotsford-Collingwood corridor in late 2025, and the trend has continued into 2026.
What’s exciting about the Victoria Street evolution is that it’s being driven by second-generation Vietnamese-Australians who grew up on the strip and are now bringing their own creative visions to their family’s culinary traditions. It’s not gentrification — it’s evolution by the people who know the neighbourhood best.
The word from locals: “Victoria Street just keeps getting better. The new generation of Vietnamese-Australian operators are doing incredible things.”
What’s Coming Next
Abbotsford’s trajectory in 2026 is pointing firmly upward. The suburb benefits from a combination of factors that make it increasingly attractive for hospitality operators and creative businesses:
Location: Squared between Collingwood (the creative epicentre), Richmond (the food and sports corridor), and Kew (the leafy establishment), Abbotsford captures foot traffic and cultural energy from all three without being dominated by any of them.
Character: The heritage building stock — from the Convent to the converted warehouses along Johnston Street — provides venues with genuine character that can’t be replicated in new builds. Operators are increasingly choosing Abbotsford specifically for the bones of these buildings.
Community: Abbotsford’s residential community is established, loyal, and vocal. New venues that serve the neighbourhood well are rewarded with fierce local loyalty. Those that don’t adapt to the community character tend not to last.
The residential growth: New apartment developments along the Victoria Street corridor and in the former industrial pockets are bringing a younger demographic that’s specifically seeking the inner-east lifestyle without Fitzroy or South Yarra prices.
Expect to see more wine bars, more specialty food concepts, more creative spaces, and more evening options as the residential population grows and the suburb’s cultural infrastructure catches up to its potential.
The Neighbourhood Effect: Collingwood, Richmond, Fitzroy
One of Abbotsford’s greatest assets in 2026 is its proximity to three of Melbourne’s most dynamic suburbs. New openings in Abbotsford don’t exist in isolation — they benefit from and contribute to a broader inner-east ecosystem.
Collingwood’s Smith Street strip — just a short walk across Hoddle Street — continues to be one of Melbourne’s most exciting dining and retail corridors. New openings in Collingwood are a five-minute walk from Abbotsford, and many Abbotsford locals treat the two suburbs as a single experience.
Richmond’s Victoria Street and Bridge Road corridors offer everything from Vietnamese street food to sports-adjacent dining, and the new openings in Richmond’s food scene increasingly reference and connect with what’s happening in Abbotsford.
Fitzroy’s Brunswick Street and Gertrude Street are 15 minutes’ walk from the heart of Abbotsford, and the creative energy of Fitzroy has always spilled over into the Convent precinct and beyond.
The result is that a night out or a weekend in Abbotsford can seamlessly extend into three or four suburbs without ever needing a tram, train, or rideshare. That walkability is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
New Openings Worth Your Time
Abbotsford in 2026 isn’t a suburb trying to reinvent itself — it’s a suburb that’s been quietly excellent for years and is now getting the recognition it deserves. The new arrivals aren’t displacing what made Abbotsford great; they’re adding to it.
Whether you’re checking out Molli for a special dinner, exploring Range for Friday drinks, working your way through Bodriggy’s tap list, or discovering the latest Vietnamese-fusion cafe on Victoria Street, Abbotsford rewards the curious — as it always has.
Also explore: Collingwood new openings · Richmond food guide · Fitzroy new openings
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