Introducing Dan’s Diner, your 2024 Melbourne Food & Wine Festival centrepiece

The classic American-style diner is a marvel of wholesome food, great service and throwback decor – a dining experience built for everyone. Dan’s Diner is all of that, for sure, but it wouldn’t be a Dan Murphy’s x MFWF crossover episode without kicking things up a few notches. 

For the entire festival duration from 15 to 24 March, Dan’s Diner will bring classic diner vibes with a hefty 2024 edge to a full-service restaurant and bar, with festival-exclusive food and drink menus coming from some of the most well-regarded Dans since Daniel Francis Murphy himself. We’ve wrangled all-star chefs Dan Hunter (of Birregurra’s three-hatted restaurant Brae), Dan Puskas (of fellow triple-hatter Sixpenny in Sydney) and Daniel Wilson (of fire-focused Japanese eatery Yakimono) to craft our menus, while cocktail king Dan Docherty (co-owner and bartender at Commis) is getting creative with the drinks list. All that, plus a full dance-card of activities, tasting tables and educational sessions across the whole 10 days and nights.

Dan’s Diner will be open for walk-ins after lunch, dinner and drinks each day and night of the festival, with an all-day diner menu of large plates and drink-ready snacks curated by our three super chefs. We’re talking pancake short stacks with bacon, serrano chilli honey and smoked eel butter; fried mozzarella with spicy tomatoes; Wagyu patty melts on sourdough with Bloody Mary-spiced crispy onions; and peach cobbler donuts. And that’s just a teeny taste of the full menu. All day, every day. Just stroll on in, no ticket necessary.

In addition to the casual walk-ins, we’re hosting three exclusive, ticketed dinner events on 18, 19 and 20 March – one with each of the three chefs. Across three courses and cocktails, expect reimagined takes on classic diner-inspired staples that blend comfort-food tradition with fine-dining flair, reflecting the signature culinary styles of each master foodie. Think prawn omelette peanut butter toast from Dan Hunter’s menu, crepe lasagne with osso buco ragu from Dan Puskas, or peach pie and yuzu colada spiders from Daniel Wilson’s Tokyo-style takeover. Like we said, these exclusive dinner events are taking the diner theme and running with it, so you don’t want to miss out. Seriously limited tickets are on sale on the MFWF website from January 29.

It wouldn’t be a Dan Murphy’s do if we didn’t bring our drinks A-game. So, diner walk-ins will also get the chance to sip from Dan Docherty’s MFWF-exclusive cocktail list, worthy of its own spot in the cocktail hall of fame. For instance, try the Dan Murphizz, which shakes Melbourne Gin Company dry gin with Marionette apricot brandy, lemon juice and soda. Or the Coffee Up, a take on American diner coffee that combines Mr Black coffee liqueur with Marionette Nocino walnut liqueur and Inglewood espresso. Better yet, order a Dan's Super-Extra Ultra Deluxe Double-Straw Honey Wattle White Light Vodka Shake. A mouthful in more ways than one, it’s a combo of vodka, wattleseed burnt-honey syrup, Pidapipo fior di latte gelato, lime and vanilla. There’s more where those came from, plus excellent non-alc cocktails, too. 

Rounding out the drinks selection is a local-focused aperitifs, beer, wine and spirits list put together by the experts at Dan Murphy’s. Highlighting Victoria’s buzziest independent producers, it’s a list you’ll want to bookmark for later. Think Patrick Sullivan, Boatrocker, MDI, William Downie, Four Pillars, and plenty, plenty more.