Taking over from the old Lygon Food Store in Carlton comes a modern Asian eatery by Ezard alums, Chris Lerch, Ned Trumble and Keat Lee. Located in Melbourne’s Little Italy, the vibrant new venue offers a detour further east, with a menu that focuses on Chinese cuisine with trickles of inspiration from Taiwan and Japan.

The menu wades into East Asian territory with an emphasis on Chinese cuisine and its various interpretations around the world. Expect people-friendly plates like hot and numbing beef tartare with Chinese doughnuts and popcorn chicken, spiced with curry leaf, white pepper and togarashi pepper.

Lagoon Dining boasts a sophisticated cocktails list that combines the best in local and imported spirits with refreshing Asian ingredients. The line-up includes a sake and lemon curd highball and a sugarcane and pineapple sour, or why not go with the flow and try the house spritz, a fizzy concoction of umeshu, sparkling wine and yuzu soda. Sommelier Ben Skipper (ex-Vue de monde) has put together an inclusive and affordable wine list, with options available by the half bottle.

The 80-seater restaurant was designed by Olaver Architecture in collaboration with design studio Never Now. The considered space, which marries raw brick work with smooth, checked tiles, features a main dining room, private dining space, sit-in bar and window tables, with views across the passing parade.

Lagoon Dining is located at 263 Lygon Street, Carlton. It opens Mon, Wed, Thu and Fri 5pm–late and Sat-Sun 12pm-late. For more details or to book, head to lagoondining.com or @lagoondining.