As the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2026 arrives in late March, a delectable array of French-linked events promises to infuse Melbourne’s culinary scene with Gallic flair, from head-to-head wine battles and Lyonnaise bouchons to regenerative farm feasts and Belle Époque revivals. Ignite your senses in laneways, historic cellars, and chic bistros turned playgrounds for Franco-Australian showdowns, terroir-driven tastings, and immersive homages to Paris’s golden eras. Expect everything from duelling chefs channelling French finesse against local legends, to molten fondues from the Alps, and rare Champagnes paired with caviar toasties. These limited-ticket events, spanning 20-29 March across venues like Maison Bâtard, Brae, L’Hôtel Gitan , and Smith St Bistrot, blend tradition, rivalry, and innovation for food lovers craving a taste of France Down Under.
FRENCH FOOD AT MELBOURNE FOOD AND WINE 2026
21-22 March, Bistro Gitan, $145 SOLD OUT
This isn’t just any kitchen showdown, this is an epic title fight. In the red corner, English chef Chris Lesson, who has spent time perfecting his craft in the kitchens of France. In the blue corner, Melbourne legend Jacques Reymond, who brought his French finesse to English soil.
The pair will duke it out over 12 courses of classic flavours and modern twists in a friendly (but fiery) battle that pays homage to both country’s culinary legacies.
29 March, Clover, $130
For one day and night only this March, Clover transforms into a traditional bouchon of Lyon. Gingham tablecloths, communal atmosphere, carafes of Beaujolais, hearty Lyonnais cooking. Matt Podbury, head chef of Gerald’s Bar, joins the Clover team to recreate his take on the great dishes of Lyon.
The welcome drink will be a twist on the Clover Spritz du jour using an aperitif from the Lyon region.
“This one is so exciting,” says Clover chef Charley Snadden-Wilson. “A chance to create a menu that is soulful and delicious, nourishing and thoughtful. All through the lens of tradition.
“The idea of this event is to be a convivial and high-energy day, with wine flowing, and conversation and laughs humming through the venue.”
Yum Cha à la Française at L’Hôtel Gitan
28-29 March, L’Hôtel Gitan, $110
Due to popular demand, Gitan’s yum cha lunch is back. Enjoy a banquet of dishes where a fusion of France and Asia comes together on your plate
The event offers a sophisticated twist on classic dim sum: expect the likes of duck and orange wontons, French-onion xiao long bao, XO beef tartare and much more.
Clichy: Original Food in the French Manner
23-26 March, Bistra, $165
Clichy, Iain Hewitson’s seminal Collingwood restaurant, will live again for three nights only at Bistra amid an installation by design collective TCYK. Hewitson will revive his fondest dishes from Clichy, which ran from 1977 to 1982, over a four-course menu alongside a showcase of great wines from Victoria and France (charged on consumption). The menu will feature a soup course, a choice of entrée, a choice of main course, and dessert. The event coincides with the launch of Hewitson’s memoir, Who Called the Cook a Bastard?
Bookings are available between 5:30pm and 8:45pm.
26-28 March, Brae, $415-$515
Chef and co-owner of Brae, Dan Hunter, is excited to invite you to a not-to-be-missed Festival highlight as he welcomes to his celebrated destination-restaurant fellow traveller James Henry of Le Doyenné.
Le Doyenné is a restaurant, guesthouse, and farm set within the historical grounds of the Château de Saint-Vrain, in the village of Saint-Vrain, 40 kilometres south of central Paris. The Château was once the country retreat of the Countess du Barry and Borghese family, and has been the home of the Mortemart family for more than two centuries. Le Doyenné sits on the estate’s former stables where the French-American sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle and Swiss sculptor Jean Tinguely created their monumental works in the 1970s.
Chefs and owners James Henry and Shaun Kelly, together with the Mortemart family, have lovingly restored and converted Le Doyenné – the Mortemart family’s name for the centuries-old barn – into a restaurant and guesthouse. They called upon the expertise of local artisans to preserve the integrity of this classified historic site, re-imagining it as the French farmhouse of their dreams.
“In the potager, regenerative agricultural practices that have nurtured the land for generations are being revived to grow heirloom vegetables which form the foundation of our culinary offerings,” says Henry.
James Henry was born in Australia and worked for Andrew McConnell in Melbourne before making his way to Paris, where he opened Au Passage and Bones, two key names in the world of bistronomy, before devoting his attention to Le Doyenné.
Good Food described it as “the one restaurant we would travel across the world just to eat at again”, while Vogue praised its “true taste of French terroir”.
This is a meeting of two remarkable regenerative agriculture projects, a celebration of fine organic produce and the work of two chefs of international repute – don’t miss it.
The Frederic Rock Lobster x Denver & Liely Glassware x Penfolds
21-22 March, Frederic, $185-$285
Join an elevated dining experience as Frederic Bar and Bistro proudly presents the Annual Frederic Rock Lobster Tour, a Melbourne Food & Wine Festival favourite, now with an added touch of craftsmanship thanks to an exclusive partnership with Denver & Liely glassware and Penfolds wines.
This year, chef Victor Blain draws inspiration from across Europe, plating up a six-course celebration of premium southern rock lobster. Expect chilled lobster consommé, lobster spaghetti and a take on surf and turf all crafted with finesse and seasonal ingredients.
If you’d like to match wines to your meal this option is available for an additional $100 per person and can be pre-purchased or added on the day.
When premium crustaceans count, it simply must be Frederic Bar and Bistro: the lobster capital of Melbourne at Melbourne Food & Wine Festival 2026.
23-24 March, Malin, $175
An immersive and playful five-course dining experience inspired by the touch points of Australian lifestyle brand, Maison Balzac.
Fragrance and flavour combine in a dreamlike transformation of both Malin’s main and private dining rooms. Experience five courses inspired by five different Maison Balzac scents, opening with Le Sel (“the trace sea leaves on the skin, the minerality of the wind, the crystallisation of life”), matched with oyster and beef tartare, a seaweed tartlet and sourdough with shellfish butter.
For the main course, Le Rouge 1924, inspired by the famous Le Train Bleu ballet (“the skin sun-kissed and salty, one returns to dine in a grand Parisian restaurant. The sunset meets the city, sunlight turns to red velvet”). On the plate, that translates as red mullet, langoustine bisque and orange blossom, and veal sweetbreads with cassis jus.
Everyone will leave with a special gift as a reminder of the experience.
The Lost Recipes of the Belle Epoque
25 March, Smith St Bistrot, $135
Step through the doors of Smith St Bistrot and into a culinary time capsule – an ode to Paris’s Belle Époque, the city’s golden age of food, art and opulence that flourished before World War I reshaped the world.
The menu revives dishes once served in legendary institutions such as Café de Paris and Le Grand Véfour, where the great chefs of the time reigned. Expect the likes of chicken-liver and foie gras parfait with Sauternes jelly, quenelles de brochet with lobster and sauce Américaine, and saddle of lamb Belle Époque. Some recipes had all but vanished, others slipped between the pages of history – until now.
With period music, historical storytelling, and dishes revived from the city’s golden age, this is a delicious historical resurrection.
24 March, Omnia, $184
On Tuesday, 24 March, Nik Hill brings the bold, nose-to-tail ethos of Porcine, his beloved French bistro in Paddington, Sydney, to Melbourne, teaming up with Omnia culinary director Stephen Nairn to create a lively, one-night-only feast that’s rustic, rich, and unapologetically French.
In 2025, Hill was the winner of the Golden Knife prize at the Bocuse d’Or Australia, and when he won Gourmet Traveller’s peer-voted Chef of the Year award in August, the magazine lauded his commitment to quality at every turn: “Every dish, every detail at Porcine pushes that little bit beyond the ordinary”.
Porcine x Omnia will be a feast of classic bistro fare reimagined by two chefs who share a passion for gutsy eating at the table and some serious finesse in the kitchen.
28 March, French Saloon, $135
Join the gang from French Saloon, Kirks Wine Bar and Le Pub for The Whole Hog on Hardware Lane. After last year’s sold-out collaboration with London’s renowned St. John, the team are back presenting another unique nose-to-tail dining experience.
Pull up a chair at the long communal table in a light-filled loft and settle in for an afternoon of pork-fuelled good times. Enjoy a three-course menu including pig’s heads doughnuts and a whole-roasted pig cooked on the outdoor terrace by chef Luke Fraser, which will be served directly from the spit.
And to drink? Magnums of wine, including perfect pork pairings from the Alsace.
21 March, Como House and Garden, $270-$290
Celebrate 70 years of the National Trust of Australia at Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2026. Step into Como’s grand ballroom for an evening where French elegance meets Victorian tradition. Inspired by the last Armytage sisters’ Francophile heritage, the event sees 19th-century family recipes reimagined with modern technique and native ingredients. Each course is paired with exceptional Victorian wines and accompanied live by a soprano, echoing the soirées once held here.
A night 70 years in the making.
26 March, Maker & Monger, $95
Fondue is so good it deserves its own tradition. Maker & Monger invites you to Prahran Market after hours for a night of molten indulgence.
You’ll whisk, swirl and savour your own fondue inspired by the French, Swiss and Italian Alps, guided by the Maker & Monger team.
Expect canapes and bubbles on arrival, fresh radishes with whipped butter, endless fondue with all the trimmings, and rare Alpine wines to match.
This is more than a meal – it’s Melbourne’s fondue ritual.
24-25 March, Society Restaurant, Chin Chin & Maison Bâtard, $200
Lucas Collective plates up a roving celebration of four of its standout CBD venues, guiding you from pre-dinner drinks right through to the evening’s sweet finale, taking in Melbourne’s storied streets and laneways along the way.
Your adventure begins in The Lounge at Society with canapés and Martinis, before a quick stroll to Kisumé for an interactive sushi masterclass hosted at the acclaimed Chef’s Table. You’ll then move on to the legendary Chin Chin, where you’ll enjoy a taste of the restaurant’s bold Southeast Asian fare, before the tour’s final leg unfolds over modern French desserts at Bourke Street’s Maison Bâtard.
WINE EVENTS AT MELBOURNE FOOD AND WINE 2026
France v Australia wine dinner
25 March, Maison Bâtard, $222
The wines of France and Australia are brought head-to-head for an immersive dinner held amid the dapper velvet surrounds of Maison Bâtard’s Le Club on Thursday 26 March.
Hosted by Lucas Collective head of wine Loïc Avril and executive chef Adam Sanderson, guests will be guided through a seasonal four-course menu of modern French fare, with each course carefully paired to both a French and an Australian wine.
Rounding out the experience will be live sounds from Le Club’s broad-ranging entertainment program.
Tickets to this one-off event are limited.
25 March, Reine & La Rue $260
A night of French fare and atypical beverages awaits you in the Cathedral Room. Taste lesser-known wines, artisan liquors and classic cocktails with a twist, showcasing the diversity of French terroir (think Burgundy, Provence) paired with a four-course menu inspired by traditional dishes from these regions.
28 March, The Alps, $150
Traverse European wine regions on this hop-on, hop-off tram tasting tour. First up, celebrate the great producers of alpine regions at The Alps wine bar, with wines poured alongside snacks to match the altitude. Think vitello tonnato, bagna càuda with crudités and charcuterie.
From there, you’ll explore coastal wines of Italy and France at Toorak Cellars, paired with breezy seafood snacks such as fish rillettes and Mediterranean pasta.
To finish, you’ll head to Milton to delve into the plains in and around Naples, the pizza capital of the world. You’ll enjoy wood-fired pizzas, wines from Campania, Tuscany and the surrounding area, and a slow, easy afternoon to unwind and take in this European sojourn.
28-29 March, The Melbourne Supper Club, $175
Late-night institution The Melbourne Supper Club opens its historic cellar for a one-night-only celebration of vintage Champagne. Everyone’s favourite glass of bubbles will be matched with the Club’s renowned after-dinner fare, including elevated toasties, caviar and classic 90s throwbacks – each put together with The European’s executive chef Peter Sheldon’s signature flair.
Recently inducted into the Australian Wine List of the Year Hall of Fame, the event features a curated selection of deep cuts and blockbuster Champagnes. Expect famed houses and boutique growers, all hand-selected from celebrated vintages in one of the city’s oldest and deepest cellars.
Expect three vintage Champagnes to try, matched alongside specially curated snacks.
28 March, Bouvier Bar and Grill, $120
This is local winemaking and Melbourne’s food culture at its best: bold, indulgent, and unashamedly delicious. Experience the elegance and complexity of pinot noir matched with the rich, versatile flavours of duck done every which way.
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Whether it’s James Henry’s Le Doyenné colliding with Brae’s organic ethos, Iain Hewitson’s Clichy resurrection, or a tram-hopping vino tour through alpine and Provençal realms, these French-infused highlights elevate Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2026 into a must-savour celebration of shared heritage and bold flavours. Secure your spot fast (many are already sold out) and let Melbourne’s vibrant venues transport you straight to the heart of French gastronomy this March at Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2026.
Which events are you looking forward to at Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2026? Have you been to Melbourne Food and Wine Festival before?
For events with links to France and the Francophonie happening in Australia this month, check out our What’s on in February
