Restaurant Guide

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

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.

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.

The new kid in town has made quite the impression.

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.

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.

Pairing sublime wine with fresh produce to create a culinary sense of place.

The neighbourhood hangout that’s open seven days a week, serving hangover-busting breakfasts, killer cocktails and a casual dinner menu.

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

The dining revolution will not be televised. Mindful eaters need to drive down an unsealed road in Margaret River scrub to see (and taste) it for themselves.

A mighty tasty mash-up of Sydney’s obsession with café culture and authentic Thai eats.

Is this the best place in Australia to drink wine?

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

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

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.

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

This large gorgeous restaurant atop the former Newport Arms owes more than a dash of its sunny elegance and Med-luxe vibe to Merivale's Paddington flagship.

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.

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

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

If Cafe Paci were a piece of clothing, it would be a navy suit or little black dress – perfect for any occasion.

With retro style and riffs on classics, Capitano, from the team behind Bar Liberty, isn’t your typical red-sauce joint.

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

Uncomplicated, unruffled, and very, very fun.

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

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.

Whimsy dances with humour in inventive dishes that are consistently delicious.

Expect magnificent flavours to emerge from this Hobart restaurant.

Here's the game plan: book early for a late lunch on a Saturday or Sunday. Don't drive. Call for something interesting and natural from the wine list.

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

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

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

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

An elegant take on progressive dining.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

A joyous place where a diner feels blessed to be part of the dance rather than a mere spectator.

It's the professionalism of the service, honed over a lifetime, and the opulent setting of 85-year-old murals and chandeliers, that makes Florentino something special.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

There's plenty to like at this Brisbane off-shoot.

Nature and vineyards surround the atrium dining space at this Barossa Valley winery restaurant, where everything is inspired by Mother Nature's bounty.

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

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

It's all in the name at this Brisbane bolthole, where the chef-owners serve up plates that bring nothing by a smile to your face.

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

For fans of new-wave French cuisine.

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

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

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

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

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

This new-wave osteria in Perth's inner west redefines the possibilities of flour power

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.

Opening chef Joel Valvasori-Pereza might have left the building, but the party rages on at this CBD bunker.

Can anything be less Spanish than 6pm dinner? The popularity of this tapas bar means that may be the only sitting you get unless you're a forward-planning booker.

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

Everything here gets better with age.

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

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

Jarrahdale is an hour by car from Perth – far enough to feel like you’re escaping the city, but still well within day-trip territory.

There's a lot to love about the the culinary arm of the Maxwell Winery, located in the heart of the SA's McLaren Vale.

You'll find no burgers underground, but you will find a menu built on those same principles.

It could be one of the darkest dining rooms in town, but nine years in the ideas on the plate and in the glass at Monopole are brighter and sharper than ever.

In a world of paint-by-numbers restaurants, Nu Nu is a welcome one-off.

It’s a winery restaurant with all the trappings: vineyard views, a tasting room with spittoons, that “escaped the city” feeling.

You don't have to venture far from Adelaide's CBD to experience chef Will Doak's lively menu.

The long stretch of Military Road leads to many places: The Orpheum, Taronga Zoo, and, via the Spit Bridge - Italy.

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

Brought to you by an all-star cast, you'll want to go the whole hog at this neighbourhood newcomer.

Local vegetables and seafood play a starring role at this Northern Rivers built, quite literally, by hand by chef-owner Ben Devlin.

A meathouse that's a vegetarian's paradise? Tell your plant-based friends.

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

Pilu is a lesson in how a Sardinian outpost came to define beachside dining for Sydney.

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.

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

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

How does a kitchen compete with the finest ocean views on Australia’s east coast? An impressive raft of inventive, meticulously finessed share dishes, that's how.

Come for the tasting menu, stay for the snacks.

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.

Rockpool Bar & Grill delivers the glamour via its thrilling Deco-era dining room, all soaring pillars, mood lighting and lofty ceilings.

Restaurant Hubert has always been a good time, but in a post-lockdown world the underground bistro fizzes with excitement, sparked by diners desperate for a little escapism.

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

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

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.

Lunch at Sean's couldn't be more Bondi if a surf lifesaver popped in to say hi to her mates mid-service.

Part of Andrew McConnell's empire, this is the younger, buzzier, carefree sibling to the grown-up Cumulus Inc further up Flinders Lane.

Surf, turf and a touch of glamour.

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.

The bubblegum-pink shopfront of the former Marie-Louise salon is the unlikely façade of this smart two-storey Turkish eatery.

The discreet entry belies the popularity of this Suzie Wong inspired-China diner, which continues to attract a suited CBD lunching clientele.

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

You don't need to particularly like seafood to enjoy Josh Niland's cooking, such is his ability to transform all manner of fish bits into flavoursome bites.

When the bi-fold doors are retracted at this smartly appointed riverside restaurant, there isn't a more picturesque place in Brisbane to enjoy lunch.

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

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

An elegant and exceptional experience, housed in a discreet corner of Sydney's inner-west suburbs.

When the world is devolving into a dystopian nightmare it's good to know Tipo 00 is there ready with a soul-warming plate of pasta.

Fresh on the Bondi scene, this Mediterranean-style restaurant features a menu driven by wood fire, Italian snacks, retro classics and fun times.

The appeal's partly due to its hidden laneway address, ex-nightclub digs and the picture windows over plane trees and the MCG.

Set between the CBD and university, Temporada bridges culinary and social divides.

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.

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

Yes, The Agrarian Kitchen cooking school has a restaurant spin-off - and you can find it in the Instagram-friendly surrounds of the former New Norfolk asylum.

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

There's not a share plate in sight at this unassuming neighbourhood-style eatery. But you still may need to fend off forks when entrées land.

There's nothing else like Tetsuya's in Sydney. It's an oasis of hush in a Japanese-styled building hidden in a gated compound right in the CBD.

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.

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.

Vue de Monde impresses not just with the views that come with its lofty 55th-floor perch, but for holding its position in Melbourne's premier restaurant league for so long.

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

This Margaret River pioneer has found another gear of late.

This rooftop fine-diner crowning Perth's majestic Como The Treasury puts the special into any occasion.

Rolling vineyards before you. A thoroughly modern cellar door around you. In your glass, wine from one of the region’s rising stars: life in this scenic corner of Margaret River ain’t half bad.

Visiting Wasabi – which is cantilevered over the Noosa River – is almost like entering the mythical Japanese floating world of Ukiyo.

The 50-seat cave à manger specialises in minimal-intervention wines chosen by chef-owner Sam Winfield.