A new chef, a new direction for South Melbourne’s fantastical fine diner, Lûmé. Young gun chef John Rivera has taken the reins from founder Shaun Quade, changing from the tricksy, what-you-see-isn’t-what-you-get molecular styles of Quade to a less prescriptive, shorter carte that draws broadly on his Filipino heritage. 

There’s still an extraordinary amount of detail that goes into each dish now served across three ($100) through seven courses ($170) – see: a one-bite take on Filipino barbecue pork glazed with black banana – but it’s now less formal, more fun. 

A tiny tomato tart filled with bottarga custard might precede an elegantly delicious cucumber “soup” in which tender sweet slivers of Port Phillip calamari and toasted coconut shards are placed. 

Calamansi – a citrus used extensively throughout Filipino cuisine – adds sticky sweetness to a shiitake broth of downy softness, but it’s the dual act of red currants and lap cheong that elevates the gravy served across dry-aged duck – both breast and leg – to the stuff of dreams.

An early adopter of vegan cooking, Rivera ensures the meat-free options across the carte are as good – if not better – than those they replace. The room is still one of Melbourne’s nicest to spend time in, and service as a whole from the Ilanit Bard-led team is calm and engaged – though the worldly wine list comes at a whistlingly steep price. 

Still edgy and experimental but now with added accessibility, Lûmé is shining bright. 

Must Eat Dish: Otway shiitake with dry-aged duck ham