The latest opening from the Sunda and Aru team brings a bakery by morning and a wood-fired brasserie by night.

Antara 128: Where Morning Pastry Meets Evening Flame

From the minds behind Sunda and Aru comes Antara 128, a venue that shifts personality as the day unfolds. In the early hours, it hums as a bakery, sunlight spilling across the counter stacked with croissants, kouign-amann and crusty sourdough still warm from the oven. As the afternoon fades, the scent of firewood replaces coffee, the lights dim and the space transforms into a brasserie that feels as calm as it is confident.

It is hospitality with dual intent, merging Melbourne’s obsession with breakfast culture and its love of slow, open-flame dining. Every detail speaks of craft, from the butter folded through laminated pastry to the wood that feeds the hearth at night.

The Heart of the Kitchen

Fire sits at the centre of everything here. The chefs use it like punctuation, giving each dish a rhythm that feels deliberate. Flatbreads arrive blistered and steaming, brushed with yeasted butter that melts before you finish the first bite. Seafood crudo follows, dressed with citrus and salt, delicate enough to contrast the smoke that lingers in the air. Later come the larger plates, roast chicken carved tableside, lamb shoulder crisped at the edges, vegetables cooked until their sweetness deepens and softens against the flame.

The result is food that feels honest, guided by restraint rather than spectacle. It is the same confidence that made Aru such a success, only more intimate, more personal, and quietly built around the people behind the pass.

A Space That Breathes Warmth

Antara 128 feels intentionally grown-up yet unpretentious. Concrete and timber balance with soft leather tones and gentle lighting that moves from daylight brightness to evening glow. Mornings are filled with chatter and the hiss of espresso, while dinner service settles into something slower, the sound of corks easing and knives gliding through charred bread. The team works with an ease that comes from experience, offering service that feels both polished and grounded.

This is not just another new opening but a continuation of a story that has helped define Melbourne dining in the last decade. Antara 128 bridges two moods of the same city, showing that good food can start with butter and end with smoke, all under one roof.