One-off treats, lush surrounds and ‘greatest hits’: How restaurants keep you coming back

Good food isn’t enough to draw a crowd in 2026. We take a look at what else Melbourne venues do to get your attention, and keep it.

When Hector’s Deli – one of Melbourne’s busiest sandwich shops – recently opened on Lygon Street, Max Allison-Brock wasn’t nervous about the newcomer. His own cafe, Good Measure, sits just 400 metres away and is equally busy. If people ask whether he thinks the queues for his internet-famous Mont Blanc coffee will move down the road, he tells this story.

“I saw people sitting out the front of Garfield [also on Lygon Street] eating pizza, and they had Hector’s doughnuts in a bag and a bunch of Mont Blancs on the table.

“People are shying away from bar-hopping and now want to do the ‘little treat hop’,” he says.

Rather than a street of competitors, he sees an emerging hub for flavour chasers.

If you haven’t heard of a Mont Blanc, you’d probably be able to spot one: the cream-capped coffee scented with orange and nutmeg has spawned hundreds of imitations across Melbourne since Good Measure opened in October 2021.

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The cafe was one of the first to create a so-called signature drink: a creative calling card often involving several different components from cream “clouds” to sodas and syrups.

In the past five years, cafes new and old have added such drinks to their menu in a bid to differentiate themselves from competitors – and convince cash-strapped diners they can’t get this at home.

“I might not go out and be able to spend hundreds of dollars on dinner, but boy can I buy a Mont Blanc,” says Sophie McIntyre, founder of Club Sup.

McIntyre organises events for adults to make friends, ranging from a book swap over coffee and pastries to a pub dinner complete with trivia. Every venue where she stages events is chosen for its homey atmosphere.

She was part of a round-table discussion on Melbourne’s evolving dining scene, presented by The Age Good Food Guide and presenting partner T2 Tea. Kayla Saito, group bar manager for The Mulberry Group’s venues including Lilac Wine and Hazel, and Kantaro Okada, founder of 279, Hareruya Pantry and Le Bajo cafes, were among the attendees.

“It’s such an experience; there’s so much joy in drinking that drink,” McIntyre says of the Mont Blanc.

This phenomenon of buying small luxuries, often called the lipstick effect by economists, is believed to spike during economic downturns.

Good Measure sells close to 6500 Mont Blancs in an average week. At $9 (or $12 for a large), it’s by no means cheap compared to a flat whit