Annual Restaurant Guide: NSW top 25

You'd be crazy to forgo the flavour-forward $75 prix fixe menu at this bastion of fair pricing, but be sure to add a turnip cake or two.

Chefs momentarily down tools to welcome guests and lead them to the dining room, where views over the gum-lined creek and single estate vineyard delight.

As far as last meals go, you'd be hard pressed to go out with a more satisfying bang than Fino's Basque cheesecake and a nip of Seppeltsfield Para Vintage Tawny.

GT visits the stately Noosa stayer as it sails towards its second decade. It's in sparklingly good form.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Since grabbing attention in 2013 with their low-waste farm-to-table concept, O.My has only gone bigger and better.

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.

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

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

Expect magnificent flavours to emerge from this Hobart restaurant.

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

An elegant take on progressive dining.

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

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

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.

Clayton Wells pulls it off time and time again.

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

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

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

REVIEW An evening at Acme is like kicking on at your mate’s place after a big night out. There’s Drake and Cardi B on the stereo. Staff greet you like the party couldn’t start until you got there. And the best part? Your mate’s a banging cook whose combinations blow your mind. On the menu, […]

REVIEW There’s a frog on our table. No, our uninvited visitor isn’t on the menu, but plenty of other items from this rural restaurant’s multi-acre garden are: kipfler potatoes (roasted), heirloom tomatoes (fried), just-picked green leaves (lightly dressed with horseradish). Using local produce isn’t novel, but Alex Delly’s way with flavours and textures is deft. […]

REVIEW At one end of the long, elegant room, a table of silks roars at a joke from the senior partner. At the other end, the arts maven and the former premier collude on the banquette at half the volume and twice the intensity. This is a place for machers who like their dining fine, […]

REVIEW Sitting pretty in wine country, surrounded by mountain and vineyard, Margan is more than worthy of a detour. The estate bottles its share of fine wine (not least the shiraz), but it’s also a fine place to while away an hour or two at the table. They’re good at growing things other than grapes, […]

REVIEW Chickens and children are as much part of the experience as the food here: there’s a playground for kids, while cows, pigs and chooks are star attractions at The Farm, the restaurant’s grand agricultural, ecological and educational project. Embraced by locals and mobbed by visitors, things can get chaotic, but the floor staff keep […]

REVIEW If you can judge the quality of a chef by their terrine, then John Evans is worth knowing. His jamón-wrapped example, studded with Thirlmere chicken and quail, is Impressionist art – a still life with a small loaf of brioche, chutney and tarragon butter. So, too, a salad of beetroot and fig with Binnorie […]

REVIEW Named after the gardens it graces, this restaurant has a Hamptons-meets-the-Highlands look that resembles a busy conservatory. Soumak rugs and the open kitchen framed by jars of preserved vegetable jars set the curated-homely tone for Matt Moran’s tribute to garden-to-plate dining. Yes, you’ll see  lamb from the Moran family farm, plus a seasonal map […]

REVIEW This is, hands down, the best place to break bread in Newcastle. You wouldn’t know it by looking at the restaurant’s unassuming shopfront, but Subo is a gem. And the bread you’re breaking is local Baked Uprising sourdough with butter, caramelised garlic and chive salt. It’s so good you’ll want seconds, but hey, there’s […]