Even before the first frosts, Melbourne's winter dining slate is one of the deepest in recent memory. Andrew McConnell's Trader House group will open a Basque-leaning grill at 228 Langridge Street in Abbotsford, with a wood-fired chuleta and a tiled bar designed for txakoli and beer.

Shannon Martinez, the chef behind Smith & Daughters, debuts a vegan deli on Russell Street pitched at the lunchtime trade — bocadillos, schnitzels and an entire fridge of house-made dips. Across town, the team behind Daybaker and Roma open a 90-seater on Smith Street that will trade as a pasta bar by night and a coffee room by day.

Add a long-anticipated reopening of a heritage pub in Carlton, a French wine bar in Fitzroy and a Vietnamese rotisserie in Footscray, and the winter calendar is full before June is out.