The Melbourne Food & Wine Festival is back from March 20 to 29, 2026, with over 200 events across the city. That’s ten days of long lunches, pastry pop-ups, barbecue throwdowns, and enough degustation menus to bankrupt your savings account.
But you don’t need to wade through 200 events. You need to know which ones are actually worth it. Here’s our no-fluff guide.
The Free Stuff (Yes, Free)
Something Saucy: The Pizza Party — March 26
The lads from Super Norma in Carlton — Luca Muscato and Marco Salzano — are giving away 1,000 free slices of pizza at Leonardo’s Pizza Palace. The pizza? Eggplant, tomato and cheese, riffing on their namesake pasta alla Norma. Oh, and there are 800 free Bloody Marys for anyone who reckons 11:30am on a Thursday is cocktail o’clock.
Where: Leonardo’s Pizza Palace, 29 Grattan Street, Carlton When: Thursday March 26, 11:30am until they run out Cost: Free. Get there early or weep.
Baker’s Dozen — March 28–29
A two-day baking and cake extravaganza in the heart of the city. Lune, Monforte, Raya and other pastry heavyweights are baking alongside visiting international stars. The internationally famous Cake Picnic makes its Southern Hemisphere debut. Free entry.
Where: Federation Square precinct When: Friday March 28 – Saturday March 29
The Unmissable Dinners
Tala at Stokehouse — March 24–25
This is the one. Henry Onesemo brings his three-hat Auckland restaurant Tala to St Kilda’s Stokehouse for a rare chance to experience Samoan fine dining in Melbourne. Expect umu chicken — traditional hot rocks cooking the bird from the inside out in banana leaf. Onesemo is redefining Pacific Island cuisine at the highest level.
Where: Stokehouse, 30 Jacka Boulevard, St Kilda When: Tuesday March 24 (dinner), Wednesday March 25 (lunch) Price: Check melbournefoodandwine.com.au — this will sell out.
JP Anglo × Serai Kitchen — March 25
Filipino food pioneer JP Anglo (Sarsa, Manila / Kooya, Dubai) teams up with Serai’s Ross Magnaye for one evening of Filipino flavours cranked to 11. Sizzling sisig, barbecued chicken inasal, and serious pork. Two sittings.
Where: Serai Kitchen, 7 Racing Club Lane, Melbourne When: Wednesday March 25, 5:30pm and 8:30pm sittings Price: Check the festival program.
Clichy: Iain “Huey” Hewitson Revives His Collingwood Legend — March 23–26
If you grew up watching Huey cook on daytime telly, this one’s for you. Iain Hewitson is reviving dishes from his influential Collingwood restaurant Clichy (which opened over 40 years ago) at Carlton’s Bistra. Four-course menu. This also coincides with the launch of his memoir, Who Called the Cook a Bastard?
Where: Bistra, 157 Elgin Street, Carlton When: Monday March 23 – Thursday March 26, 5:30pm–8:45pm
The Barbecue You Didn’t Know You Needed
Slav-a-cue — March 21–22
Eat Pierogi Make Love in Brunswick East is hosting its second Balkan-influenced barbecue. Chef Ola Gladysz brings grilled seafood, slow-baked lamb shoulder, pierogi, and her legendary kaszanka (black pudding and sauerkraut). Internet chef Daniel Dobra and MasterChef’s Snezana Calic join the kitchen. Balkan meets western Slavic. The grill is the main character.
Where: Eat Pierogi Make Love, 161 Lygon Street, Brunswick East When: Saturday March 21 and Sunday March 22, various sittings
The Pizza Pop-Up That Already Sold Out (Almost)
Pizza Pronto: James Lowe at Figlia — March 26
London chef James Lowe (of Lyle’s fame) already sold out his main MFWF appearance, but this second pop-up still has spots. His spin on the Hawaiian comes with Scotch bonnet peppers, grilled pineapple, red onion and guanciale. He’s also doing a clam pizza. At Figlia in Brunswick East.
Where: Figlia, 335 Lygon Street, Brunswick East When: Thursday March 26, sittings from 6pm
Lunch with Helen Goh — March 29
Helen Goh — longtime Ottolenghi collaborator and baking legend — teams with pastry star Emelia Jackson for a discussion about life in baking, paired with a three-course lunch. Prawn sambal buns, puttanesca galette, red curry pies, chewy cheese puffs, and more from her cookbook Baking and the Meaning of Life.
Where: Federation Square When: Sunday March 29, noon–4pm
Wine & Cheese Fest — Until March 16
If you’re reading this on the day it drops, you’ve still got time. The Wine & Cheese Fest at Port Melbourne wraps up this weekend. VIP gets you a Riedel glass, masterclasses, and a room overlooking the whole festival.
Where: Port Melbourne When: Through Sunday March 16
How to Book
Most events book through melbournefoodandwine.com.au. The big-name dinners sell out fast — Tala and JP Anglo should be your first clicks if you haven’t booked yet. The free events (pizza party, Baker’s Dozen) are first-come-first-served.
The Bottom Line
MFWF 2026 is stacked. The free pizza at Leonardo’s is the no-brainer move. Tala at Stokehouse is the once-in-a-lifetime dinner. Slav-a-cue is the sleeper hit. And Baker’s Dozen is where you’ll spend too much money on pastry and feel great about it.
Ten days. Over 200 events. Your wallet might not survive, but your taste buds will thank you.
Prices and availability subject to change. Check the official MFWF website for the latest.