New Openings in Collingwood — What Just Landed (2026)

Collingwood has a short attention span. The moment a new roller door goes up on Smith Street or Wellington Street, the suburb collectively leans in, phones out, ready to judge. This is a suburb that takes its food, coffee, and drinking very seriously — which means new openings either earn their spot or disappear within six months. What follows is what’s landed recently, what’s worth your time, and what to skip.

Last updated: 16 March 2026 | Collingwood Vibe Score: 87/100 🟢

Hi Fi Collingwood — Sandwiches, Coffee, and Vinyl (Opened January 2025)

The one-line review: A sandwich shop that also sells vinyl and makes proper coffee, opened by the Terror Twilight and Tinker crew, and somehow it works perfectly.

Hi Fi (316 Smith Street) is the most exciting new thing on Smith Street in recent memory. It shouldn’t work — a chef-driven sandwich shop that also operates as a record store and espresso bar sounds like a business plan someone sketched on a napkin. But the team behind it (the same people running Terror Twilight and Tinker) have the hospitality chops to make all three components genuinely good, not just gimmicky.

The sandwiches ($14–$18) are made with the kind of attention most restaurants reserve for mains: house-made pickles, quality sourdough, and fillings that rotate with the seasons. The fried chicken sando ($17) is the crowd favourite, but the specials board is where regulars find their favourites — a capicula and provolone number made an appearance when we visited and was gone by noon.

The coffee is serious — proper espresso, quality beans, no sugar-free syrup in sight. And the vinyl rack in the corner is curated, not random. You might come in for a sandwich and leave with a Japanese jazz import you didn’t know you needed.

What to try: Fried chicken sando ($17) + flat white ($5) Address: 316 Smith Street, Collingwood Hours: 7am–3pm daily How long to spend: 20 minutes for a grab-and-go, or an hour if you’re browsing records Insider tip: Saturday mornings have a vinyl DJ playing from around 10am — it turns the space into a proper hangout rather than just a takeaway shop. Arrive before 9:30am to beat the queue.

Suze — Natural Wine Bar With Serious Cooking (Opened 2025)

The one-line review: An intimate wine bar from the Marion and Napier Quarter team that proves Collingwood can do refined without doing stuffy.

Suze (368 Smith Street) is the kind of wine bar that makes you feel like you’ve been let in on a secret. The room is narrow, the lighting is low, and the wine list leans heavily into natural and minimal-intervention bottles from small Australian and European producers. Giulia Giorgetti and chef Steve Harry — who cut their teeth at Marion and Napier Quarter — bring a level of hospitality experience that elevates Suze above the dozens of wine bars that have opened across Melbourne in the past two years.

The food menu changes regularly but consistently delivers thoughtful small plates: burrata with seasonal fruit ($18), house-made pasta ($22–$26), and charcuterie sourced with the same care as the wine. This isn’t a wine bar where food is an afterthought — the kitchen pulls its own weight.

What to try: Three small plates and a bottle of something from the natural wine list ($100–$130 for two) Address: 368 Smith Street, Collingwood Hours: Wed–Sun from 5pm How long to spend: 90 minutes to three hours, depending on the wine Insider tip: The bar seats facing the kitchen are the best spots for couples — you get the theatre of watching the chefs work alongside the intimacy of a small counter. No reservations for small groups, so arrive at opening or risk a wait.

Good Day Coffee — A Second Collingwood Outpost (Late 2025)

The one-line review: Good Day’s Collingwood expansion brought another quality caffeine option to a suburb that technically doesn’t need more coffee — but welcomes it anyway.

Good Day Coffee opened a second Melbourne location in Collingwood in late 2025, adding to their existing operation. The new space follows the same template: quality single-origin coffee, a tight food menu, and a fit-out that’s clean without being sterile. Collingwood already has enough world-class coffee for a suburb its size, but Good Day’s arrival adds variety to a scene that can sometimes feel like a two-horse race between Proud Mary and everyone else.

The location and exact details are still settling in — new spots often adjust their hours and menus in the first few months — so we’ll update this entry as things stabilise.

What to try: Their single-origin espresso (prices vary, expect $5–$6) Address: Collingwood (check their socials for exact location) Hours: Check locally — new openings often adjust Insider tip: New cafes are most relaxed and experimental in their first three months. Go now, before the queues build and the menu gets “optimised.”

Zareh — Armenian-Influenced Dining (Smith Street)

The one-line review: A newer addition to Collingwood’s dining scene bringing Armenian flavours to a strip that was already impressively multicultural.

Zareh (368 Smith Street area) adds something genuinely different to Collingwood’s restaurant landscape. While the suburb has long been strong on Italian, Vietnamese, and modern Australian, Armenian-influenced cooking is a new thread. Expect grilled meats, flatbreads, and flavour profiles that sit somewhere between Middle Eastern and Caucasian (the country, not the race). The space is small and the menu is focused, which usually signals a kitchen that knows what it’s doing.

What to try: Grilled meats and flatbreads (expect mains in the $22–$35 range) Address: Smith Street, Collingwood Hours: Check locally Insider tip: Armenian food pairs beautifully with natural wine — if Suze up the street is doing takeaway bottles (or if Zareh has a BYO-friendly policy), this could be the start of a beautiful evening.

The Terror Twilight Empire Expands

Terror Twilight (11-13 Johnston Street) isn’t new — it’s been a Collingwood brunch institution for years. But the team behind it has been busy expanding their footprint: Hi Fi on Smith Street (covered above), Tinker, and continued menu evolution at the original Johnston Street location. The fact that one kitchen team now runs multiple well-regarded spots across Collingwood says something about the quality of the operation. If you haven’t been back to Terror Twilight recently, their current menu — focused on wholesome bowls, broths, and cold-pressed juices — is worth a re-visit.

Coming Soon — What to Watch in 2026

Collingwood is in a constant state of renovation. Walk down Smith Street on any given week and you’ll see at least one roller door with a “COMING SOON” sign and absolutely no other information. The inner north’s food scene is in a period of renewed energy after a few quiet years, and Collingwood is positioned to benefit.

What we’re hearing through the grapevine:

• More natural wine bars — the success of Suze has reportedly inspired at least two more openings on Smith Street. Collingwood’s rents are lower than Fitzroy’s, making it attractive for small operators.
• Specialty bakeries — post-pandemic, Melbourne’s bakery boom continues. Collingwood’s industrial spaces are ideal for bread-focused operations with retail shopfronts.
• Late-night food — Collingwood’s biggest gap right now is quality late-night food. The bars go late, but food options thin out after 10pm. There’s an opening for a proper late-night spot — dumplings, sandwiches, or noodles — that serves the post-bar crowd.

We’ll update this page as new venues confirm their openings.

What We Skipped and Why

• Established venues that didn’t open recently — Proud Mary (2009), Alimentari, Molly Rose (2018), Le Bon Ton (2016) — these are institutions, not new openings. We cover them in our Best Restaurants and Date Night guides.
• Pop-ups and markets — Pop-up food stalls at the Abbotsford Convent farmers’ market or weekend markets are too temporary to list as “openings.” Check event listings for what’s on this weekend.
• Places that opened and closed — Collingwood has a high hospitality turnover rate. Some spots that generated buzz in 2024 are already gone. We only list places that are currently operating and likely to last.

The Bottom Line

Collingwood’s new openings in 2025–2026 lean heavily into the things this suburb does best: quality coffee, chef-driven casual food, natural wine, and spaces that blur the line between retail and hospitality. Hi Fi is the standout — a genuinely new concept that fills a gap on Smith Street — while Suze proves that Collingwood’s wine scene is maturing beyond brewery taps and into something more refined. If you haven’t been to either yet, fix that this weekend.

Your Collingwood Vibe Score this week: 87/100 — new energy, same scrappy attitude.

Know a new opening we missed? Drop us a tip. → Related reads: Best Restaurants in Collingwood | Cheap Eats in Collingwood | Things to Do This Weekend → Nearby suburbs: New Openings in Fitzroy | Abbotsford Guide | Richmond New Openings

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