Restaurant Guide

The menu at Cafe Paci might feel familiar at first glance, but the thrills lie in the idiosyncrasies.

Accessible only by boat or seaplane, Berowra Waters Inn is as close as you can get to dégustation dining on the water without getting wet.

Few dining rooms in Australia are as true to their name as Beach.

A menu shift to more plants has only amped up the sense of exploration.

Besides the thrilling, original cooking, the most exciting thing about this modern Vietnamese-Australian restaurant is its constant evolution.

Ben Shewry recognises the expense of his world-famous 10-ish course meal and strives to honour Indigenous culture and ingredients. He succeeds, completely and beautifully.

Chef-owner Ben Willis continues to refine a menu that effortlessly drifts with the seasons.

Bar Lourinhã's emphatic 15-year influence on Melbourne's dining scene DNA has it nudging institution status, even if its fresh, modern energy makes that label seem odd.

Brae is one of Australia's great food offerings, bringing an experience that's unforgettable, educational and unmissable.

Restaurant? Bakery? This carefully restored 1898 heritage-listed building is both.

An utterly familiar menu of Italian perfection right in Melbourne's CBD.

A thoughtful experience from beginning to end, peppered with creative surprises.

Expect magnificent flavours to emerge from this Hobart restaurant.

Since opening five years ago, Embla has offered one of Melbourne's quintessential dining experiences: eating at its kitchen bar.

A Hobart restaurant that embraces and interprets local produce with flair.

There's a lot more to Firedoor than just meat. Ignore the hype, trust the chef and enjoy the show.

Fleet, the exceptional Brunswick Heads fine-diner, is getting ready to welcome diners back in January 2022.

Whether celebrating life's milestones or simply treating yourself, dining at the Drum is the ultimate expression of self-care.

A rich, multi-layered menu that draws from Lebanese, Sephardic and Ashkenazi traditions, and is boosted with an arsenal of techniques.

Forget what you know about gallery restaurants. Brisbane's GOMA is a cut above the rest.

Featuring a mysterious six-course dégustation menu that's the best thing to happen to Geelong since the Cats won the flag in 2011.

Behind a monochrome shopfront is Kazuki's, an oasis of minimalist, mustard-carpeted calm, where Japanese and European flavours are fused brilliantly.

Lake House provides many applause-worthy moments and deserves every ovation.

Victor Liong's new-style Chinese food takes its cues from the lilting elegance of Cantonese, but heads off in its own unique direction.

Set in an ultra contemporary yet cosy glass "box" on Pyrmont Bay, LuMi is unlike anything else in Sydney.

The Japanese notion of "ichigyo zammai" – doing one thing excessively well – is on vivid display at this backstreet Richmond sushi temple.

After nine years, Merivale's answer to Cantonese cuisine is still a CBD favourite.

New riverfront lodgings means Otto is an even more alluring prospect for diners keen to push the boat out.

Always bustling, but rarely raucous, this bright, buzzing place hasn't faltered for a second since opening in 2013.

Don't let the café-esque aesthetic fool you. Propeller is an operation of substance.

The elegantly refreshed Provenance has never shone brighter, promising diners a riot of colour, slow food and ceramics.

Post-lockdown, Peter Gilmore is back, and he's unveiled a new signature tasting menu that's as ingenious as ever.

A space that channels Tokyo's jumble of cheap grills and thrills, with a dash of Korea and kitsch.

From a softly glowing shopfront on the fringe of the CBD, Templo serves Hobart's best Italian food.

Refreshingly modern takes on traditional dishes, Turkish wine, pretty cocktails and well-versed staff shine through at Tulum. Clever delicious.

A punchy pan-Asian party in sunny Scandi-esque surrounds, with a Savage Garden soundtrack.

This Canberra restaurant is soaring: confident, playful and polished.

Come for the tasting menu, stay for the snacks.

A Gold Coast diner that deftly balances the old-school and the on-trend.

The aroma of fried curry leaves, mustard seed and cardamom lures diners to O Tama Carey's hot-to-trot Sri Lankan eatery.

It would be easy for this Byron mainstay to rely purely on its good looks, but chef Jason Saxby brings genuine substance to the table.

Khanh Nguyen, Melbourne's latest chef hero, deftly mixes a grab-bag of Malaysian, Indonesian and Vietnamese traditions with native ingredients to deliver something shockingly new.

A pub, a French floral name, a modern Japanese menu. It just works.

For fans of new-wave French cuisine.

Perth is crushing hard on this fantasy of '60s Roman cool.

This Margaret River pioneer has found another gear of late.

Celebrating the immediacy of the land and sea, the entire Van Bone experience is uniquely Tasmanian.

Uncomplicated, unruffled, and very, very fun.

An extensive drinks offering and clockwork service equals a leisurely dining experience at this Japanese diner.

The shining jewel in Crown Sydney's dining portfolio, a'Mare promises a polished night out without the pretence.

This agrarian fantasy is manifested in the diminutive town of Gundaroo, where comforting dishes are constructed under the historic tin roof of the 1865 Royal Hotel.

Malaysian favourites, bold takes and neon lights – expect these and more at Junda Khoo's playground.

At Sáng, spicy, sweet and fermented flavours are combined with truckloads of texture and a refined touch, expanding the definition of Korean dining in Australia.

Slick service, killer cocktails and the best steak in Sydney – you'll find yourself back at The Gidley again and again.

Breezy Mediterranean plates and spectacular beachfront views, Una Más easily takes the crown for cool, casual dining in the harbour city.

Underlined by the laidback service and the single seating policy, Tedesca Osteria has a dinner at a friend's place vibe. With faultless attention to detail, it's a must.

With escape from reality at a premium, Gimlet's gorgeously renovated, high-ceilinged space is the perfect bolthole.

Open just two days a week, Underbar plays a great game of hard-to-get. The room is minimalist, the service warm, the encounter unforgettable.

The restaurant in Adelaide's tranquil Botanic Gardens has always been perfectly situated, and has now been injected with wild new life.

Aurora is more than just a fabulous newcomer to the Adelaide restaurant scene – it's also a registered charity. Eat well and do good in one sitting.

If you ever think the quirkiness will overwhelm, just trust the chef and know it'll all work out for the best.

Sure it's a scene, but this Fortitude Valley diner is also approachable.

An elegant take on progressive dining.

The elevator pitch might be elegant share-style street food, but expect more.

Surf, turf and a touch of glamour.

A crisp Negroni Blanc on the patio is a refreshing way to ease into the four-course offering at this Barossa favourite – especially when the weather is fine.

The game plan here has always been top-dollar cosseting, and with a splendid wine list and largely accommodating service to match, that's what you get.

Changing cuisine every four months could lead to gimmickry. Not so at Atlas where Charlie Carrington's approach – a focus on essence over tradition – keeps things fresh and exciting.

Clayton Wells pulls it off time and time again.

The go-to joint for gonzo libations and none-too-serious snackage.

Nowhere else captures Canberra's special blend of the parochial and the worldly like Rochford.

Service here is confident and charming, ensuring any occasion at Bennelong is just that little bit extra.

James Viles takes Mother Nature seriously. At Biota Dining, the kitchen and the environment are closely connected, with a focus on locally gathered and grown produce.

The distance from garden to the plate has never been shorter than at this white pavilion in the centre of Adelaide Botanic Gardens.

At Barangaroo, a dining district rife with "concepts", Cirrus stands out as a real restaurant.

With expansive windows framing the bustle of Flinders Lane, there are few experiences more quintessentially Melbourne than a meal at Cumulus Inc. Now in its second decade, Andrew McConnell’s all-day diner makes the case that the simplest dishes are often the best. Tuna tartare, jewel-bright cubes adorned with nothing more than a whisper of fresh […]

REVIEW Cutler & Co is wearing its ten years well. The renovation two years ago didn’t hurt. Romantic booths for two, windows punched into the back wall and sleek metal and glass partitions breathed new life into the moodily lit dining room and transformed the bar into a sleek and sophisticated destination in itself. But […]

The coastal view from the dining room of Angelsea’s Surf Lifesaving Club is surely one of Victoria’s best.

When a restaurant's very name references diversions, you'd expect it to eschew the straight and narrow.

As reviewed for our 2020 Restaurant Guide.

Chef Philip Johnson and team ensure the whole production looks like an effortless affair.

Double-clothed tables, a capacious, sumptuously appointed room, discreetly eager staff in crisp uniforms - welcome to Est.

A string of bright young things may have recently arrived on the southside dining scene, but the prized tables at France-Soir are as hotly contested as ever.

Think of Fratelli Paradiso as a stage, its diners and staff all actors working together daily to produce a play dedicated to the joys of a peculiarly inner-city brand of Sydney-Italianness.

Landing a table can be very challenging, but once you're in it's a life of ease.

This café-by-day and restaurant-by-night has become the yardstick for ambitious Brisbane dining.

Golden Century isn't fine dining and it’s hard to do the menu justice without at least six people - but for what it is, there is no peer in Sydney.

Some come to Icebergs for the scenery, others just for the scene. Some people even come for the food.

The menu at Liberté includes nods to owner Amy Hamilton’s French training (comforting steak frites, chicken liver parfait), much of the cooking is notable for its effortless use of Vietnamese flavours.

Paul Carmichael keeps refining his sound at the Sydney outpost of David Chang's restaurant empire.