Food News

Asian-inspired favourite Supernormal will open in Brisbane in late 2023.

The much loved Sydney wine bar will be closed until further notice.

The new casual restaurant is paying it forward by sharing tasty Afghan eats, creating employment for newly arrived migrants and providing meals for those facing food insecurity.

A new pub from chef Matt Stone and his partners brings great drinks and thoughtful, veg-heavy cooking to an emerging Northern Rivers hotspot.

Following two years of lockdown trade and amid inflation and labour shortages, the hospitality industry is now facing a cancellation crisis: leaving seats empty, food wasted and restaurateurs on the edge.

Food by one of Victoria’s best chefs and drinks from one of Melbourne’s favourite wine lists. Ides’ new next-door neighbour is worth getting excited about.

The 226-seater is the latest in a long line of openings on New South Wales’ South Coast.

Some like it hot. And they should be getting their fix from Mat Garthwaite’s sauce shop.

From the co-owners behind Byron’s best new bottle shop and a chef who’s worked in some of Sydney’s best restaurants. This is an opening to put on your Northern Rivers radar.

The enterprise, which focuses on empowering and employing women escaping trauma, has opened its own brick-and-mortar café at Yirranma Place: a new Sydney incubator for social enterprises and not-for-profits.

The Turkish eatery's latest spot continues the brand's new focus on takeaway – from pastries and salads to coffee and bottles of wine.

The Carlton favourite has been dearly missed. It’s celebrating its much-anticipated return with a big old pizza party this weekend.

Clayton Wells' beloved Chippendale restaurant is the latest in a string of prominent restaurants to close.

What started as a lockdown side project is now graduating to IRL status. When it opens in Footscray, Bud of Love will be an intimate little wine bar, with bottles available to drink in or take away.

The Kakadu plum has been harvested by First Nations people for tens of thousands of years across northern Australia. Now the burgeoning industry is being shaped on country by people with knowledge and ownership of the prized fruit.

This is an exciting one.

“I really, to be honest, cannot think of any vegetable I would say is cheap – anything that’s grown in the ground is expensive at the moment.”

The meat comes from the family livestock farm and the produce comes from a plot of land the owners are learning to harvest. This neighbourhood bistro is out to prove that sustainable eating doesn’t have to be a special occasion.

6am croque madame? Late night steak frites? The dining room or the alfresco terrace? This opening – in one of Sydney’s marquee locations, at the base of the QVB – is one to get truly excited about.

Learn about the diverse culture of Sri Lanka and its cuisine's foundational recipes, from the owner of Sydney's Lankan Filling Station.

The Lodge Bar & Dining is in a beloved building on the busiest corner of Fortitude Valley, has a menu by one of New Zealand’s most venerated chefs and a wine list by New Zealand’s only Master Sommelier.

She’s a wine educator and the daughter of Gerald Diffey – the owner of the legendary Gerald’s Bar. He’s worked in some of Melbourne’s finest restaurants, bottle shops and wine bars. Together they own Vera, Newcastle’s most exciting new wine retailer.

“Playing with nostalgia is really what I want to be doing … so there’ll be a shorter hands-friendly menu at the bar and then some fun, flirty stuff happening in the bistro.”

A heart-warming book about helping others and overcoming grief, packed with traditional Greek recipes.

No prizes for guessing the focus of the latest addition to Simon Gloftis’ restaurant portfolio. Come for a sushi and a beer, or push the boat out with an 18-course omakase.

Get some of the best fish in Sydney delivered, plus ready-made meals, condiments, and meal kits (including the Nilands' famous tuna cheeseburgers).

Beachside Greek-ish eats dished out within a well curated dining room. Topikós will surely become a long lunch destination for many.

The latest venue by Michael and Zara Madrusan is a celebration of Michael’s Italian upbringing. Come for alfresco spritzes, deep pan pizza, and plenty of pasta.

There are 12 Negronis on the menu and a sizeable roster of post-dinner digestivi – from Amaro Montenegro to Sorrento-style limoncello. The food line-up is all about Italian share-plates, plus free Negroni-infused salami sticks.

It’s an entirely alfresco Mykonos-inspired neighbourhood buffet, with a whitewashed courtyard filled with olive trees. It’s the perfect setting for enjoying the hearty, all-veg Mediterranean fare.

This old dog from the team behind Bistecca and The Gidley has picked up some new tricks, with a major spruce-up to celebrate its 10th anniversary.

At night, it's a set-menu experience with ramen and snacks to try (with PS40-designed cocktails). At lunch, it's a classic ramen shop.

Catalonia, the Spanish region that borders France, inspired the Spanish restaurant that borders Franca.

Chef Orazio D’Elia has returned to the restaurant that kickstarted his career. Classics like the pizza and porchetta are back, but the casual coastal restaurant has picked up some new tricks.

It’s the latest in a string of openings for the renowned restaurateur. This time, it’s all about classic Italian cocktails, Tuscan bistecca and handmade pastas.

This beautiful Martin Place restaurant – by the team behind Nour – has a refined, shareable menu featuring an all-star cast of Middle Eastern dishes, ideas and flavours. It’s a new winner for Sydney’s CBD.

There’s an impressive menu by a former Billy Kwong and Lankan Filling Station chef. Plus, personalized sake flights and a vinyl collection that’s 2500 LPs strong. This is an opening to get jazzed about.

The beloved chef has family ties to the small town of Rockley, and the pub’s reopening yesterday marks the first stage of his ambitious plan to revitalise the area.

Following a $100 million refurbishment, the landmark Mornington Peninsula pub – with its multiple venues, new Intercontinental hotel and adjoined spa and wellness centre – is poised to become one of the biggest destinations in the region.

The evolution for the well-loved restaurant, presided over by chef Sean Connolly, is inspired by the steakhouses of New York’s Little Italy.

“Food is really about sharing, it’s about gratitude and respect — there’s dignity in how you get given a plate of food.”

From the menu through to the décor, Smith St Bistrot takes its cues from the city of light’s 1920s heyday.

The Armadale shop has all of the quality meats and special flourishes of the Sydney original, plus some Melbourne-specific tweaks.

It’s the latest effort from Federico Zanellato and Karl Firla, the owners of Restaurant Leo, and it’ll be unlike anything they – or Sydney – have tried before.

The influential plant-based deli has hopped over from Fitzroy to Collingwood. And together under the one roof with its sister restaurant, Smith & Daughters, the new spot is poised to become Australia’s biggest vegan destination.

The menu, the wine list and the cocktails are an all-Australian affair, and it’s set in an inviting space that seamlessly places old-school design cues within a modern context.

The low-lit spot is open till late (properly late) and has a menu packed with Southeast Asian street food classics inspired by Hong’s travels.

The jewel to the Crown Sydney has finally opened in a stunning dining room on the 26th floor of the casino complex’s Barangaroo tower, with 180-degree views of Sydney and its harbour. It’s one of the biggest openings of the year.

It’s a two-level ode to pasta and Italian natural wines, by a trio of hospitality pros.

“Opening a restaurant over Facetime is not an easy thing to do.”

Mauritius has a diverse cuisine, but the focus here is on its South Asian and East African influences. Plus, there's a drinks list dominated by expressive natural wines.

At this warehouse restaurant in Sydney’s inner-west, the owners’ Macedonian and Lebanese backgrounds tell part – but not the sum – of their culinary story.

Following months of Instagram teasers, co-owner Adam Liston has unveiled a permanent noodle pit-stop next door to the Shōbōsho mothership.

Snow egg, white coral, the eight-texture chocolate cake – all have entered Quay’s dessert hall of fame. Now Peter Gilmore is hoping to replicate their sweet success with his latest and greatest final course.

The Niland seafood empire shows no sign of slowing down. Fish Butchery the second will be double the size of its predecessor (and yes, the double tuna cheeseburger will be on the menu).

“It’s been such an honour to serve Sydney [...] An absolute honour.”

And don’t miss the tikka masala rigatoni.

Social media haters, mixed messaging on law enforcement, a dearth of staff and 496 COVID cases overnight. The 2021 edition of Sydney’s Great Restaurant Reopening looks very different to last year.

And a Singapore restaurant, led by a Perth-born chef, has made the shortlist.

Handmade, dietary-inclusive, and sold by weight. And just three weeks in, word has spread.

But for Attica chef-owner Ben Shewry, the gloss of the global list is worlds away from the reality of a locked-down Melbourne restaurant scene.

Something special is happening to Korean food in this country. Meet the chefs redefining the cuisine with nous, nuance and culinary smarts.

The $2.4 million rescue plan explained.

Catch of the day? This Sydney fish and chippery focuses on a single fish species year-round.

It’s a case of two becoming one, with the chef announcing plans to merge Smith & Daughters and Smith & Deli under one roof in Collingwood.

Sydney restaurant Lucio’s closed after a stellar 40-year run. But the story continues with the next-generation of the Galletto family making a seachange, and opening a waterfront trattoria in Noosa.

Everything you wanted to know about formaggio, thanks to Maker and Monger's Anthony Femia.

A recent industry survey found 63 per cent of restaurant operators are in favour of compulsory vaccines for staff. In the kitchens though, opinion is mixed about the best way to balance individual rights and responsibilities.

After 32 years, the long-running restaurant in Sydney’s Chinatown has gone into administration. But this might not mean the end.

Deli’s Continental was a hit during its December pop-up. Now it’s turning permanent, with focaccia, pizzas and meatball subs on the menu.

In Adelaide’s CBD, second-generation restaurateurs Quang and Thy Nguyen have shaped a menu of their own making, coloured in with their childhood food memories.

Joel Bickford has had his curtain call at the waterfront restaurant, and he's been tapped for an ambitious project in Sydney’s CBD.

It's been four years in the making and at last, the Fortitude Valley eatery is set to open this month. That is, if lockdown doesn't get in the way.

Despite the south-western Sydney suburb being tagged with the dreaded “hotspot” label, restaurant owners are doing their best to stay upbeat during the worst of lockdown.

“This time around, people are feeling very hopeless.”

That savoury "fifth taste", and how to make the most of it in your cooking.

Order finish-at-home meals from celebrated Sydney restaurants including Ho Jiak, Monopole and CicciaBella. It's another way to help restaurants survive the current lockdown.

How to survive lockdown, according to the industry professionals who did it the longest.

A team of local hospitality guns is set to open Nieuw Ruin in Fremantle, where the food is given as much thought as the drinks.

There’s been hype, lockdowns and delays. Now all – well, two-thirds of the venue – will be revealed on 22 July, with reservations open now.

And executive chef Steve Jacomos has put a celebrated Melbourne pasta on the menu.

And hospitality venues in regional NSW will continue to operate under the four-square-metre rule, with seated service only.

It's the food, and so much more: Indonesian aunties who ply you with sweets, staff who know your child's favourite booster seat. For these chefs, these restaurants and pubs double as a second home.

With more than 20 years’ experience serving laghman, polo and toho kordak across the city, co-owners Ershat and Hislat Shukur still run their restaurant with heart.

The 14-day lockdown affects hospitality venues in Greater Sydney, Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Wollongong areas.

After shuttling back and forth between the mainland and Tasmania, chef Ali Currey-Voumard is keeping things simple at Public Wine Shop.

Across the country, a new wave of café culture is emerging as chefs and owners bring their cultural heritage and traditions to the table.

“Without the pizza it’s not much of a palace.”

Top End humidity plus spice noodle soup? They're a more likely match than you'd expect, and queues of hungry diners at the city's laksa market stalls and eateries are proof.

From perfect roast potatoes to the cleaning power of fresh lime, we speak to nine chefs and restaurant operators about the family cooking tips they swear by.

Executive chef Khanh Nguyen has cooked up a menu featuring a Vietnamese-Bunnings sausage sanga mash-up, potato wedges with sour cream remixed, and the ice-cream sandwich of his dreams. And he’s eyeing that 16 June open date, Melbourne lockdown be damned.

From a South Melbourne market stall to Yarraville café Mabu Mabu and now her 130-seater in Federation Square, the self-described “Island girl” has many reasons to celebrate.

The lockdown is expected to last for seven days, with restaurants and cafés across the state forced to close their dining rooms.

From the Mornington Peninsula to the big smoke, the former Pt Leo Estate chef is ready to strike out on his own.

The lockdown sandwich side-hustle is turning permanent.

The industry talent pool was running dry long before the pandemic, and it’ll take a change in government policy, and self-reflection from restaurants, to make hospitality great again.

It’s a new chapter for the chef-restaurateur with the much-anticipated opening of Lucky Kwong, named in honour of her late son.

And they’re serving a traditionally maligned fish species, skin, fat and all.

Built on a foundation of impeccable pasta and good vibes, Tipo 00 has won the hearts of Melbourne diners.