This May, American Express delicious. Month Out (AEDMO) returns with a month-long invitation to dine, discover and reconnect with Australia’s world-class food scene – this time with a playful twist.

The theme of the seventh consecutive instalment of the culinary campaign shines a light on nostalgia in food, while encouraging diners across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra to get out and eat out.

At a time when food fads are coming and going faster than a TikTok trend, nostalgia in food feels like a comforting hug. Mum’s sponge cake, Yiayia’s baklava, those after-school malt milkshakes from the corner store – each one inseparable from the memories that made them.

More than just indulgence, nostalgia is what shapes our core dining memories – the ones that linger long after the last spoonful.

This year, Amex and delicious. are teaming up with some of their favourite venues to plate up more must-try moments, from bespoke menus and limited-time dishes to special chef residencies.

At Melbourne’s lauded Butter Days Bakery, pastry chef John Demetrios is creating a baked treat steeped in nostalgia especially for AEDMO. Speaking to this year’s theme of playful reinvention, the former fine-dining pastry chef and Dessert Masters winner is making an elevated riff on the pumpkin pie, reimagining the American classic for an Australian autumn. Demetrios’ version is still comforting and nostalgic at its core, but brightened and refined for a Melbourne palate.

“We’ll do a refined version of the American classic and lean into the roots of AMEX,” he says. “We’ll do that in a tart shell with our roasted pumpkin custard, then top it with candied walnuts and white chocolate.”

On Friday, May 8, from 7:30am-2pm, the first 50 Amex Card Members to visit the bakery will receive a complimentary pie valued at $13.50¹. And for one day only, Butter Days will also be serving up an iced pumpkin chai latte ($13), the perfect pairing for the pumpkin pie.

“Nostalgia is so important,” says Demetrios. “I think it makes everything taste better and takes you back in time. You don’t remember everything that happens when you travel, for instance, but you do remember how things tasted. It captures that time so well.”

It’s a theme that runs deep at his Malvern bakery in Melbourne. Opened in 2025 with his wife Martina, Butter Days pays tribute to Demetrios’ Cypriot background and Martina’s Swedish roots.

“Nostalgia is our angle at the bakery – we’re doing the stuff we both grew up with,” Demetrios says. “The core items are so nostalgic for us – cinnamon buns, our signature sun bun (a take on the Norwegian cardamom-laced solboller) and lots of Scandinavian flavours.”

The bakery’s signature sandwich, the BMO (an acronym for the Danish breakfast bun, bolle med ost), is its savoury case in point, featuring a warm spelt sourdough roll spread thick with salted cultured butter and filled with Gruyère cheese.

“It’s traditionally Scandinavian – they eat it open-faced there – but here in Australia, we eat things as a sandwich, so it makes sense to serve it like that here,” Demetrios explains.

Across town at Fitzroy’s Hands Down, Khanh Ong is designing a retro snack menu paired with a special Gimlet No.Blue cocktail ($18) that leans into old-school feel-good flavours. Expect mortadella party skewers finished with parmesan cream, pickled onion, pistachio and pangrattato; a classic chicken sandwich built on fluffy white bread; Ong’s grown-up take on Vegemite on toast featuring whipped miso butter; tarama-based fish, chips and caviar, which Ong describes as “somewhere between fish and chips and a bowl of dip”; and a garden salad martini, taking its flavour cues from your mum’s favourite side of dressed greens.

The theme continues nationwide. At Brisbane’s Ada Lane Italian diner Biànca, aperitivo classics will be available every Saturday and Sunday from 3-5pm during May. Enjoy a selection of Biànca favourites including snacks, seasonal antipasti and cocktails, designed to capture the spirit of aperitivo.

In Sydney, the hotly anticipated Australian debut of Christina Tosi’s Milk Bar is driving the power of nostalgia home, as the Momofuku NYC alum bought her signature brand of reinvention to AEDMO. Serving Milk Bar’s signature cookies and iconic Cereal Milk in drink and soft-serve form, plus a limited time sweet treat inspired by a much-loved Aussie bakery favourite. The pop-up was held from May 1-3 between 8am and 2pm at Ace Hotel’s laneway cafe Good Chemistry in Surry Hills.

“I’m so excited to be bringing Milk Bar to Ace Hotel Sydney in partnership with American Express,” Tosi says.

“I can’t wait to share some of our most-loved creations, along with a dessert for this moment – an homage to the flavours Australians know and love, with a signature Milk Bar twist.”

Michelin-starred chef and star of Netflix’s Chef’s Table, Gaggan Anand is descending on Crown Sydney for the first of a limited run of sold-out immersive dining events across Australia. The Bangkok-based, Kolkata-born chef will curate a sold-out 12-course tasting menu showcasing his signature bold take on Indian cuisine, alongside a contemporary Indian lunch series (May 1-3) and bespoke snack menu, Bites by Gaggan, at Crown’s rooftop lounge, Cirq, running throughout the month.

A playful fusion of Indian and Mexican flavours, the Bites by Gaggan menu features avocado bhel puri, a dressed-up take on the Indian street food snack with puffed rice, nuts and tamarind chutney, tossed with tomatillo guacamole and served with crisp papdi (fried crackers). There’s also chilli cheese pao – truffle-infused, deep-fried bites with a molten cheese centre – and a tuna belly tartare alight with habanero aioli and smoky salsa macha, served with tortillas.

The lunch series then moves to Crown Melbourne from May 6, where Anand joins forces with Grant Smillie’s Marmont for an eight-course multisensory menu in a dinner-meets-dance-party event, soundtracked late into the night.

Whether it’s your local neighbourhood gem or a new dining experience, Australians are being asked to support one of the country’s most important industries this May. And, as usual, AEDMO is sweetening the deal with a month of exclusive offers, including the return of the American Express Card Member Offer. When you pay with your Amex card at any of the 65,000-plus participating venues nationwide, you’ll receive up to $25 per card back, from April 28 to May 31².

“At its heart, AEDMO is about encouraging people to dine out, whether that’s at their favourite restaurant or venturing out somewhere new,” says American Express vice-president of brand, marketing and membership experience, Naysla Edwards.

Since its launch in 2020, the AEDMO Amex Card Member Offer has contributed more than $216 million to Australia’s hospitality industry³, supporting tens of thousands of restaurants. AEDMO also forms part of American Express’ long-time commitment to backing Australian small business via key annual programs including Amex Shop Small, now in its 14th year.

Consider this your official excuse to finally try that restaurant you’ve been eyeing, or revisit an old faithful. (Not that you need one.)

¹T&Cs Apply. Wait times may apply. While stocks last.
²For Amex Card Member Offer, offer must be saved to eligible Amex Card first. Enrolments
limited. Offer valid until 31 May 2026 at participating venues. Exclusions, T&Cs apply.
³Based on internal Amex data as of March 2026.

For a full list of offers, events and details for American Express delicious. Month Out, visit amex.com.au/delicious.