Magma by Dany Karam opened in Canley Vale, in November 2025 with feeling, fire and family at the forefront. Fully owned and operated by Karam, Magma is an ode to his childhood days of Sunday barbecues at home, when his family would open their doors to relatives and friends to enjoy a meal together. Karam’s mother would be found cooking her favourite dishes on the charcoal grill and it is this exact atmosphere he looked to recreate with Magma, greeting all guests with open arms into his own “home”.

And the typical restaurant precinct was never going to deliver that same feeling.

Karam, who grew up in Western Sydney and built his reputation as a top fire and grill chef at BLACK Bar & Grill at The Star, believed that his local community needed more elevated dining destinations as it continues to grow, diversify and demand more variety. Since the opening just over 7 months ago, Dany’s vision has come to life with Magma now a destination for celebrations, date nights, and family dinners for his local community, city foodies and tourists.

But the accolades aren’t just from the community. Magma has since been ranked 14th in Australia and 61st in the world in the prestigious World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants Program — making it the finest steak restaurant in Western Sydney, and one of the most decorated in the country.

“This project took four years— to say I am proud to bring my home community these dining experiences is an understatement. I speak to my community daily, and I know people are seeking more elevated concepts. We have added to an already thriving local culinary scene with something new,” said Karam.

Set in the new lifestyle precinct, Cabravale in Cabramatta, the scale of Karam’s ambition at Magma is immediate. The fire-charged culinary destination boasts a multi-million-dollar kitchen fronted by executive chef Sebastian Geray.

The impressive open-flame charcoal grill grounds the space, while a dry-ageing room known as Dany’s Butchery overlooks an impressive six-metre-high ceiling in the dining area, seating 140 diners, and an additional 16 in a private space.

The Magma menu

Drawing from Karam’s Lebanese heritage, the menu fuses charcoal-fired cuisine and premium Australian produce with refined Lebanese and Japanese influences elevated by culinary theatrics.

“I want to bring a city experience to our local area. My team is dedicated to creating and delivering a standard of dining that knocks people over.”  — Dany Karam

Menu highlights include the must-order Blackmore Wagyu Trio; Abrolhos Island scallops with Valencia orange and crispy shallot sauce; Queensland spanner crab poached in olive oil with dashi cream, coriander and brioche; semolina gnocchi with exotic mushrooms, brown butter and sage. But it’s not all steak and fire. The crème brûlée with Valrhona white chocolate, tropical sorbet and brown butter tuile has been a highlight amongst local diners.

The Dany details

From the on-site butchery — where whole wagyu carcasses are delivered from, long-standing partner, David Blackmore’s world-renowned farm in north-east Victoria to prepare and dry-age on site — to the hand-selected network of top-tier supplies, the finer details are what elevates the Magma experience. Karam works exclusively with Australian producers, choosing suppliers for their integrity as much as their quality. Appellation Oysters, Luxe Caviar, leading fish suppliers, boutique local farms, Simon Johnson cheeses — every element on the plate has a provenance story Karam can tell.

The food experience isn’t without an equally top-shelf wine and cocktails list. From the whisky bar that demands attention with lined black marble tops and copper trim, to the floor-to-ceiling wine cabinet for more than 500 carefully selected bottles. Sip the signature Magma Martini complete with seaweed, sake and house-made pickles or the Acai Sour.

Magma, and beyond

Each season, Magma deepens its ties to the region, from partnerships with MindRise, a Blue Mountains mushroom producer, to local truffles in winter. This June, a Sunday roast menu launches: whole Blackmore Wagyu beef fillet, carved tableside, a ritual that echoes those childhood Sundays. Later in the year, Primitivo, a casual Italian sibling, will open in the same precinct, continuing Karam’s vision of building something lasting for his community.

The post Magma by Dany Karam is the world-class restaurant Western Sydney was waiting for appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

The Miracle Meal comes served on a silver platter, presenting the seafood-rich Miracle Broth, a prawn roll and a crisp martini. Guests will also receive La Mer’s Mini Miracles valued at $95, including the brand’s day and night creams, so be sure to book your seat over at Gran Torino.  

The Miracle Meal 

Perry is a longtime lover and user of La Mer, saying that “no matter what,” it’s a part of his daily ritual. 

Now, we’ve joined forces with La Mer and Perry to bring The Miracle Meal to life — a collaboration shaped by a shared appreciation for true craftsmanship, quality, patience and precision. Inspiration is drawn from exceptional produce, depth of flavour and, naturally, a nod to the sea as Perry creates his interpretation of La Mer’s iconic Miracle Broth elixir.  

Together, the partnership finds common ground in ritual, refinement and transformation. From the aperitivo tray to the savoury broth at the centre of the menu, the experience leans heavily into texture, atmosphere and thoughtful detail. 

Inside The Menu  

The menu, inspired by La Mer, “is all about the wonderful ingredients that create the fantastic cream and how all those incredible flavours work so well in food,” explains Perry. 

It leans into savoury marine flavours lifted by citrus, sesame and delicate spice. Perry elaborated that the star of the meal, the Miracle Broth, draws inspiration from both Italian and Japanese cuisines.   

When dining, Perry wants you to understand that all the “beautiful marine accents are not just because of the partnership; La Mer has this incredible marine kind of feel and sense to it,” but the marine notes lend a savoury umami depth of flavour synonymous with his cooking. 

If you can’t make it to one of the seated dining experiences, that only cost $50 to attend, there are 200, $25 Miracle Meal boxes available to purchase to take away daily, which offer the Miracle Broth and prawn roll, plus the La Mer products, packaged in a custom box.

As Inspiration  

For Perry, quality and patience are two pivotal parts of cooking, resonating with La Mer’s ethos. He finds it important to give food “time to develop flavour,” and as you let the food evolve, the dish develops “such structural integrity and taste, [which is] something that you really cannot rush or replace.” Similarly, La Mer’s own elixir is sustainably sourced from self-regenerating giant sea kelp found only on Vancouver Island, then fermented over four months.

For Perry, the connection between marine ingredients, patience and refinement felt instinctive. He found it a very natural process to create a food experience reflective of the iconic Crème de la Mer, with ingredients such as “kelp and citrus being so important in food, that it was a wonderful transition to the recipe for the broth.” 

La Mer itself has a rich history. Developed by aerospace physicist Dr Max Huber after a lab accident, he spent 12 years and performed more than 6000 tests to perfect the four-month-long fermentation process that led to the healing power of the sea being harnessed for skin rejuvenation purposes.   

The pristine giant sea kelp is the hero ingredient in the cell-renewing elixir, which is the basis of all La Mer skincare products as the kelp’s microbiome supercharges the Miracle Broth through its self-generating bioactives.  

Guests at Gran Torino during our collaboration will sample the restorative properties in the form of La Mer’s Crème de la Mer and The Rejuvenating Night Cream.  

Enjoy The ‘Miracle Meal’ For Yourself  

Gourmet Traveller and La Mer’s Miracle Meal is available for two days only: Thursday 25 June and Friday 26 June, 12pm-4pm at Gran Torino in Double Bay, Sydney. You’ll be able to enjoy the dine in meal for just $50, while the takeaway box is $25. Be sure to book online to secure your seat. 

The post Our La Mer collaboration in Sydney is plating up Miracle Meals and martinis appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

Florentino has had just six owners since opening on Melbourne’s Bourke Street nearly 100 years ago. It’s so intrinsic to the local dining scene that any change attracts both scrutiny and trepidation. It comes as a relief, then, that the most recent baton change, from the Grossi family to Rebecca Yazbek’s Edition Group (Nomad Sydney and Melbourne, Reine & La Rue), has been a masterclass in both reading the room and enacting subtle change.

The grissini are served in Florentino Dining Room, the grand heritage-listed upstairs flagship with its storied Mural and Wynn Rooms that bring the occasion to even an early week dinner. Changes to the space have been minimal to the point of subliminal – a lick of paint, a darker, moodier approach to the lighting – with the signature inky timber panelling, plush carpet, wrought iron light fittings, storied Italianate murals and well-versed, black-clad floor staff intact and emphasising the seamlessness of the handover.

The menu remains recognisably high-end Italian with chef Brendan Katich also including some classic French elements in the mix by way of bisque-like sauces, classic stocks and parfait to great effect.

A brilliant dish of squid-ink stained fregola topped with admirably tender shaved arrow squid is worth the price of admission alone, topped with preserved lemon, smoked paprika and pink peppercorn seasoning and fresh sorrel leaves. Similarly swoon-worthy is duck-filled cappelletti, the dough shaded slightly with beetroot and with a glossy duck reduction adding depth and punch.

The only wobble comes with the coral trout. Accompanied by crab meat, zucchini and a superb brandy-forward bisque, the fish arrives slightly dry, disappointing for a dish priced at $75.

Still, with an excellent, broad-ranging and, for the setting, surprisingly well-priced wine list and a delightfully complex caramelised banana semifreddo teamed with wood-roasted hazelnuts and fennel-accented butterscotch, the scale emphatically tips in favour of return visits.

The relief of a landmark being in a safe pair of hands is real. Even better, is the well-deserved feeling of excitement about where Florentino might go. Indications suggest a rosy new era for Melbourne’s oldest restaurant.

The post Florentino Dining Room appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

And while there’s something to be said for arriving in style, how you get there can be half the fun, and the fluid transition a Lexus NX Plug-in Hybrid gives the journey means you’re off to a smooth start, whether the journey is near, or far.

Melbourne restaurant favourites

Ho Jiak

Junda Khoo likes to make it clear he is not a chef. This proud Malaysian-born cook draws from the recipes of his family and culture, spiked with something completely extra that sets what he does apart from restaurants of a similar ilk. Lotus root chips are lacquered in rich, salted duck yolk and festooned with crispy-fried curry leaves make an addictive opening gambit perfect with a hard-earned cold beer. Then, it takes a certain kind of brain to imagine laksa as a dumpling. Condensing the cacophony of spices that make laksa so famously intense into one super concentrated flavour bomb is a madman’s endeavour, but satisfyingly explosive for the diner. There’s delicacy too, in the form of kingfish crudo, crowned with assam laksa granita, its bombastic layers of flavour offset by the brightness of pineapple salsa.

But it’s Junda’s take on Penang char kway teow that has my heart for life. Anchored in tradition, imbued with the breath of the wok, this Malaysian street food icon is adorned with generous lobes of sweet Northern Territory mud crab and punctuated with salty pops of salmon roe, elevating it from the streets to the penthouse. 

Harriot

Up the street, Harriot is the French bistro sister of owners Luke Skidmore and Andreas Papadakis, of Tipo 00, Osteria Ilaria and Figlia fame. Yes Mel, they’re all over Italian, but how’s their French? The answer is ‘c’est génial’. Here, the humble heroes of true French bistro cooking are given their flowers; a simple plate of lamb sweetbreads arrive unadorned and, in my opinion, glorious. Bouncy bites, bound in aromatic sage, brown butter and spiked with just the right amount of preserved lemony acidity. The wine list is impeccable, thanks to Skidmore’s passion for vinous delights, making this cosy corner of Melbourne the perfect place for a long lunch with people you like a lot.

Destination Daylesford

Lake House

If you want to know the secret to longevity, just ask Alla Wolf-Tasker. The Lake House brought Daylesford to life 42 years ago and remains in my estimation as one of Australia’s proudest moments in cuisine. Salads sing with life, rife with contrast and interest, from nutty seed tuilles and soft clouds of goat’s curd. Local duck blushes pink and tender, glossy with rich jus and whatever’s come out of the ground that day to seal the deal.

The premise hasn’t changed; hyper-local, hyper-seasonal produce, approached with unapologetic intelligence and integrity. Sourcing much produce from her own Dairy Flat Farm, it’s a dining experience shaped by the romance and the hardship of agriculture under Alla’s watchful eye.

Bar Merenda

If you dream of travelling around Europe searching for bistros with walls covered in the patina of decades and framed art, you just might be looking too far afield. Complete with spiral wrought iron staircase, bentwood chairs and walls clad in frames and tiny tables to hold hands at, Merenda is a slice of old-world charm you want to take a bite out of. 

Restaurateur Andy Ainsworth’s big city know-how at venues like 10 William Street in Sydney translates to country living in style, with a neat menu of compelling wine bar-friendly bites, many of which are infused with woodfire and handled with a deft touch. Today it’s herb-stuffed zucchini flowers, tomorrow it’ll be whatever local producers bring in, treated just as simply and respectfully. The only real constant here is a cracking wine list, a golden-hued atmosphere, and something delicious wafting out of the kitchen.

Whether you’re city-bound or feel like a purpose-led drive, this common thread that weaves these venues together is quiet confidence, artistry and a sense of generosity that you just feel. Effortlessness that speaks softly, but clearly in a loud and increasingly homogenised world.

The post 4 Victorian restaurants Melissa Leong thinks are worth a repeat visit appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

The fourth course of Rockpool Bar & Grill’s five-course beef tasting menu is, to me, the winner. It’s a heart-shaped wedge of full-blood David Blackmore MB9+ wagyu rump cap, seared to blushing perfection and served with a selection of South American-style accompaniments – a fried arepa, beans, piquant aji and hogao sauces – that reflect executive chef Santiago Aristizabal’s Colombian heritage. It’s actually the sixth way I’ve been served cow during this meal – the first course began with two different snacks made of Blackmore’s famous Mishima beef, and course four included a duo of scotch fillet and spinalis from Tasmania’s Cape Grim. Yet somehow I’m not all meated out. These days I, along with what feels like most of the country, can’t get enough of good, old-fashioned meat.

Meat truly is having a moment. According to Meat & Livestock Australia’s 2025 Community Sentiment Research report, 24 per cent of Australians report eating more red meat than 12 months ago. Twenty-two per cent also say they are eating less, but this marks the first time in the survey’s 15-year history that the “increasers” have outnumbered the “reducers”. The Australian Bureau of statistics data backs this up: its newest data says that Australians increased their meat consumption in 2023-2024 by 2.3 per cent over the previous year. We remain the world’s leaders – by a long shot – of both sheep and cow meat consumption.

Restaurants are noticing the trend as well. Neil Perry famously said in a recent interview that at his flagship restaurant Margaret, which sits at number two on the increasingly influential World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants list, “We can’t make a steak expensive enough for people to stop buying it.” Aristizabal says Rockpool customers are excited to try lesser-known cuts and styles of beef such as Denver and skirt, and its parent group, Hunter St. Hospitality, is so meat-invested that they’ve opened venues plating up nothing else: 24 York in Sydney and 7 Alfred in Melbourne. “We serve just one main dish: steak frites. No chicken, no fish, no vegetarian option. And we’re averaging 3000 steaks a week,” he says. “I think that says a lot about how willing people are to lean into meat when it’s done well.”

Perhaps surprisingly, health seems to be a big factor. MLA’s research says a whopping 87 per cent of those increasing their red meat intake cited an interest in upping their iron and protein levels, as well as improving their health overall, as their primary motivators. “Protein” has undoubtedly become one of the most popular words in the health and fitness world: TikTok groans with content creators devising high-protein dupes for their favourite meals, and experts and influencers all highlight the macronutrient as playing a crucial role for women looking to maintain health and wellbeing during menopause.

On the flipside, it’s not a great time to be a vegetarian. In February 2025, plant-based Newtown restaurant Flora opened to great fanfare, with a menu that “celebrates inventive vegetarian cuisine”. Barely five months later, it announced it would “evolve” to serve meat as well, but just two months after that it shut up shop altogether. In New York, the menu at Eleven Madison Park famously went entirely vegan in 2021. Last year, chef Daniel Humm declared the restaurant would once again “embrace choice” and put duck, fish and red meat back onto plates.

What hasn’t changed, however, are the very real negative environmental and animal welfare challenges of mass meat farming. Australian startup Vow made a plucky effort to address the issue with the launch of a “cultured quail” they call “Forged”. A rather startling pale pink substance that can be fashioned into something that looks like foie gras, it’s made from real quail cells, ostensibly removing the need to farm whole animals. Several restaurants including Sydney’s Maiz, Lana and The Waratah have served Forged, though it’s not clear whether anyone is truly clamouring for a manufactured alternative to fresh quail meat. Perhaps tellingly, many of the restaurants serving it are using it in dishes that also include “real” meat like beef or duck. Elsewhere, “fake meat” companies like Beyond Burger and Impossible Foods have recorded slumps in sales.

Recently though, there’s been a big win for small-scale livestock farmers, as well as the consumers who want to eat the commonly ethically grown meat they produce. In late 2025, Victoria was the first state in Australia to pass groundbreaking reform that allows small- and medium-sized farmers – who tend to have high standards of animal welfare and landcare practices – to erect micro-abattoirs on their own properties without a planning permit. It’s a massive win over multinationals and exporters, who have been increasingly monopolising the large abattoirs and effectively shutting them off to smaller livestock producers. “If we hadn’t won this reform we wouldn’t have small-scale farmers left in Victoria,” says Dr Tammi Jonas, a farmer and agrarian activist. “I’m confident that within the next year or two the other states will follow suit.”

However we farm, serve and eat it, meat is making an epic comeback on plates all over Australia. “We have access to some of the best beef in the world, and people genuinely value it,” says Rockpool’s Aristizabal. “With the quality we’ve got here it’s hard to see that changing.”

The post Why beef is making a comeback on Australian plates   appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

Known for their work across leading hospitality and lifestyle venues, Brisbane interiors agency Collectivus has devised a contemporary aesthetic tailored to Darwin’s tropical climate. They’re working across The Leea Poolside, Garden and Common as well as the property’s 168 hotel rooms, with the ongoing transformation of The Leea will continue over the coming 18 months.

“This is the beginning of a new chapter for The Leea and, we believe, a new chapter for hospitality in Darwin,” said Prendiville Group Regional CEO Garrett Prendiville. “Darwin already has an electric sense of energy and personality. Our vision is to create a vibrant social hub that complements that spirit while bringing a level of design detail and food and beverage experience that feels fresh for the city.”

Prendiville Group operates popular destination restaurants and accommodation in Western Australia including The Cottesloe Beach Hotel, recently reviewed restaurant Tigerfish and Samphire Rottnest on Rottnest Island, as well as properties in Broome and Townsville.

The post This boutique hotel’s poolside precinct will bring a new era of hospitality to Darwin appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

Happening across Brisbane’s most celebrated lifestyle precinct, James St, 26 leading venues will spill out across 36 stalls, transforming the streets into an open-air dining room for one Sunday only. Free to attend and bursting out over 13,752 square metres, the 2026 program boasts the largest footprint in the event’s history. The only question worth asking is: where do you start?

For the Gourmet Traveller editors, the answer begins with the people behind the food. 

James St culinary community

The best way to see the trail is through the chefs who know it best, and this year, the Gourmet Traveller Live Chef Stage puts four of them front and center. Situated at the heart of the event and hosted by our editor, David Meagher, it’s the ideal way to start the day. The stage opens from 10am with light refreshments and a complimentary copy of the latest issue of Gourmet Traveller for attendees who get in early. Register is necessary as spots are limited.

From 11am, master fishmonger and sashimi specialist Mitsu Sakurai and Head Chef Shimpei Raikuni of Sushi Room will take the centre stage with a whole bluefin tuna carving. Anyday (Agnes, Bianca, sAme sAme) co-owner and culinary director Ben Williamson, ESSA owner and executive chef Phil Marchant and Hellenika head chef Bryan Kelly will each take their turn throughout the afternoon with Sushi Room closing out the day with a second whole tuna carving.

James St Food + Wine Trail, Sunday 26 July 2026, 10am–4pm. Free entry. Book ticketed experiences online.

James St x Gourmet Traveller edit:

With more than 160 food and drink options on offer, it’s worth starting where the longest lines are – and for good reason. Begin at Hellenika where Bryan Kelly’s char-grilled octopus and lamb on the spit with tzatziki and mint sells out every year. For a Brisbane-coded taster, head to The Calile’s Lobby Bar for a Moreton Bay bug roll finished with rooftop-grown chives and finger lime mayonnaise.

Cult favourites such as ESSA’s — Gourmet Traveller‘s 2025 Queensland Restaurant of the Year — returns with the Jerusalem artichoke skewer with peanut miso, while James St icon Gerard’s is back on the grill, serving pulled eggplant man’oushe with garlic yoghurt and mint.

For dessert, plan ahead. Gelato Messina’s limited “S’more Please” — milk chocolate gelato with brownie cheesecake swirl, graham cracker crumb base, dark chocolate fudge and toasted vanilla marshmallow will not last the afternoon. LOS (Land of Smiles) makes an equally compelling case for starting sweet early, with their legendary churros with Thai tea dulce de leche. The most sought-after new addition? SK Steak & Oyster’s famous strawberry cake.

Something to refresh the palate? Penelope’s Grey Goose, soda and cucumber cooler is what you’ll want in hand most of the day. Or perhaps an afternoon pick-me-up with LOS Bar’s Jalapeño Business”: mango, Anyday vodka, mint, lime and jalapeño soda. Sushi Room’s yuzu slushies, served alongside their famous spicy tuna crispy rice, round out the drinks worth tracking down.

James St neighbourhood experiences

For those who want more than the trail or a place to sit, selected venues are offering a series of Gourmet Traveller-approved express lunches and ticketed experiences worth securing in advance. 

At ESSA, Phil Marchant’s wood-fired Moreton Bay bug with chilli XO butter arrives with a glass of Blood Moon orange wine for $58pp — one of the day’s most considered pairings. Hellenika’s seven-dish staggered express lunch covers all the classics, with a choice of Thymiopoulos Young Vines xinomavro or Gaia 4-6hr Agiorgitiko rosé for $90pp. Mosconi brings pappardelle with chicken and pork ragù, aged Reggiano and a glass of 2019 Lunaria ‘Coste di Moro’ Montepulciano for $55pp. For the long lunch, Harveys Bar and Bistro is hosting a French-inspired alfresco degustation for 60 guests at $150pp with matched wines — book here.

Beyond the table, The Calile Hotel is offering free rooftop garden tours (register online) with with Future Wild, Cru Cellar will host Shaw + Smith tastings from 1pm to 3pm ( no registration required), and Mud Australia is running fused-glass workshops with local glassware artist and founder of Lawn Bowls at $120pp – book here.

James St Food + Wine Trail, Sunday 26 July 2026, 10am–4pm. Free entry. Book ticketed experiences online.

The post What to eat at the James St Food + Wine Trail: The complete Gourmet Traveller guide appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

This new Fortitude Valley venue isn’t simply chasing trends, though. Husband-and-wife duo Trad Nathan and Tyla Dombroski, who also own live-music venue Crowbar across the road, have built a spot that feels calibrated to how people want to eat and drink right now: a strong soundtrack, interesting drinks, plenty of snacks and a late-night atmosphere bordering on house-party territory, with DJs on Friday and Saturday nights.

The talented kitchen duo of Trent Lymn (formerly head chef at The 203) and his wife, Cecilia Teigeiro, are behind the pans. It’s clear Lymn is particularly passionate about meat, with a rotating special pulled from the dry-aged cabinet each day. There’s also a terrific 21-day dry-aged cheeseburger layered with tarragon mustard and champagne onions, which I’ll be coming back for alone.

Naturally, there’s ʼnduja – everyone’s favourite spicy, spreadable sausage. It appears twice on the menu: first, simply drizzled with truffle honey and served with toasted ciabatta; secondly, stuffed inside mashed potato, crumbed and fried into a Spanish bomba. Both are excellent uses of the fiery Calabrian salumi and feel emblematic of Never Enough as a whole – the sort of food that pairs with whatever you’re drinking. Take the Gildas, levelled up with LP’s smoked mortadella and giardiniera (if there’s a better Gilda in town, I haven’t found it). Or the crisp chicken tenders, served with crème fraîche and White Sturgeon caviar. Meanwhile, flatbread comes in the form of fainá, a popular Argentine pancake made with chickpea flour.

Deciding what to drink might be the hardest part. Luckily, sommelier Loren Mitchell-Moore (ex-Joy) is on hand to expertly guide diners through a wine list that ranges from splurge-worthy drops by cult producers like François Raveneau, Moreau-Naudet and Prieuré Roch to domestic favourites including BK Wines and Gentle Folk.

While the dark interior – all exposed brick, polished concrete and timber – feels better suited to an evening sitting than a Sunday lunch, a seat by the window or in the courtyard makes for a relaxing place to linger during the day.

Never Enough might trade in familiar tropes, but it executes them with enough confidence and knowhow that it never feels pre-conceived. Consider it a collection of everyone’s favourite things, assembled into one very fun package. 

The post Never Enough appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

Tickets are $180pp, or $300 for two when you use code GTREADER when booking.

The menu

Whole wheat sourdough with signature butter and raw Abrolhos Island scallop with white radish, wild garlic and cultured cream.
2022 Stonier KBS Vineyard Chardonnay, Mornington Peninsula, Vic

Slow-cooked Margra lamb breast with celeriac, truffle and black cabbage served with creamed potato and roasted heirloom carrots.
2022 Henschke Keyneton Euphonium Shiraz | Cabernet Sauvignon | Cabernet Franc | Merlot, Barossa, SA

Paris-brest, chocolate, chestnut and Pedro Ximénez.
2023 Kracher Cuvée Auslese, Welschriesling / Chardonnay, Neusiedlersee, Austria

The post Save $60 on tickets to our next Reader Dinner in Sydney appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

The competition encourages young chefs to consider food beyond what’s on the plate. Each applicant is asked to submit a recipe for a signature dish that captures their technical skill, ethos and personal identity.

“There are so many talented chefs out there who can cook, but to win this type of award you need more than that,” says esteemed chef, and one of this year’s Pacific Region judges, Dan Hong (Mr. Wong, MuMu, Good Luck Restaurant Lounge). “You need to create a story around why you put these flavours together.”

First, dishes go to ALMA – the International School of Italian Culinary Arts – to select the chefs who will go through to the regional finals around the world. 15 finalists will move on to compete at the 2027 Grand Finale in Milan – a sacred opportunity for emerging chefs to showcase who they are to the world. 

“Because it’s an international competition, it puts you on the world stage,” explains Hong. “It’s one of the big advantages of this competition…maybe you’ll get the chance to work with these Michelin-starred chefs around the world.”

Hong joins a rollcall of culinary heavyweights that will judge the Pacific Region this year, including sustainable cooking pioneer Analiese Gregory (Lumachelle); winner of Gourmet Traveller’s 2019 Best New Talent award Alanna Sapwell (Esmay); head chef of Gibney James Cole Bowen; internationally acclaimed chef Clinton McIver (Amaru); restaurateur Karen Martini (Bar Carolina) and leading chef Ross Lusted (Marmelo).

For Hong, who attended the Grand Finale in Milan last year, the opportunity to learn from and connect with established chefs is one of the most valuable parts of the competition – not only for the contestants but for the health of the hospitality industry.

 “I think we have a responsibility to pass on our knowledge and our advice on what we’ve learnt,” he says. “We shouldn’t have any secrets that stick with us to the grave – it’s our responsibility to give back to the industry.”    

As he prepares for his first year as a judge, Hong insists that flavour will remain paramount. “At the end of the day, your food has to be delicious. If it looks amazing, if you’re using really unique techniques and you’ve got a story to back it up, then you’ve got the whole package.”

Applications for the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2026-27 are open until 9 June 2026. Applicants must be aged between 18 and30 and submit their signature dish for a chance to compete. Apply now via sanpellegrinoyoungchefacademy.com.

The post Dan Hong on how the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy supports the next generation of chefs appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

We’re giving one lucky reader the chance to enjoy a gourmet getaway at Lancemore Lindenderry in Red Hill, on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. Think sweeping countryside views paired with delicious local wines and premium local dining — the perfect luxury escape for two. To enter, vote below for the Readers’ Choice Enduring Excellence winner in the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards, tell us why your pick deserves to win, and make sure you’re signed up to the Gourmet Traveller newsletter.

The Readers’ Choice Enduring Excellence award (formerly called the Readers’ Choice Icon Award, and awarded to the Hawkesbury River’s Berowra Waters Inn in 2025) acknowledges venues with a long-running reputation for outstanding food, service and impact on Australia’s dining landscape. As the only award in the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards program decided by popular vote, it’s your chance to champion local heroes and deserving institutions.

All winners for the 2026 Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards will be revealed in our September issue.

The finalists

Balthazar

Perth, WA 

In an era when diners are easily dazzled by shiny new things, Balthazar has remained at the top of its game, enduring as a CBD go-to since opening in 1998. Their easy, assured service continues to draw a crowd, as does the seafood spaghetti, glistening with an egg-emulsified sauce and topped with prawn oil.

Beccofino

Teneriffe, QLD

Famous for its wood-fired pizzas, Beccofino’s thin bases and topping restraint are key. For more than 20 years, they’ve been serving a crowd-pleasing menu of Italian classics with easy elegance. Revered by locals (and attracting a waitlist most nights of the week), Beccofino is a Brisbane stalwart.

Beppi’s

Darlinghurst, NSW

Since opening in 1956, Beppi’s has charmed every tier of society, making it the longest-running family-owned Italian restaurant in Sydney – now operated by Beppi’s son, Marc. In a city obsessed with the next big thing, this restaurant hums with old-school romance, remaining defiantly timeless.

Chianti

Adelaide, SA

Having turned 40 last year with the next generation of Favaros at the helm, Chianti seems to have always been part of the city. Expect Italian tradition served with a twist – the beef carpaccio comes with an ‘everything bagel’ crumb. Lunch on the verandah is more quintessentially Adelaide than a ride on the Popeye.

Marios

Fitzroy, Vic

This year marks the Melbourne institution’s 40th anniversary. Originally opened as a place for the burgeoning hub of local artists, musicians, uni students and shift workers to drop in for an all-day breakfast or a simple bowl of spaghetti, not much has changed since then, beyond Marios‘ evolution to icon status.

Mures Upper Deck

Hobart, Tas

Their ‘hook-to-plate’ philosophy has been in practice since the Mure family established Mures Fish House in 1973 and today much of the menu at Mures Upper Deck still comes straight off the family fishing boats. Enjoying a Tassie southern rock lobster on the waterfront at Victoria Dock is a Hobart bucket list experience.

Vote now

*Conditions apply, see aremedia.com.au/competitions. Commences 01/06/26. Ends 11:59pm AEDST on 30/06/26. To be eligible for entry the participant must be signed up to the Gourmet Traveller email database. AU residents 18+. This is a game of skill, not a game of chance. Only one entry per person. Drawn at 54 Park St, Sydney, NSW, 2000 at 9:30am AEST/AEDST on 02/17/26. The Promoter is Are Media Pty Limited (ABN 18 053 273 546) of 54 Park Street, Sydney, NSW 2000.

The post Vote in our Readers’ Choice Enduring Excellence Award for your chance to win appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

“Red-sauce Italian” is the pitch at Vitelli’s Upstairs, which has taken the place of the now defunct Baptist Street Rec Club in the endlessly upbeat Wunderlich Lane precinct in Sydney’s Redfern. And it’s excellent. The slightly cheesy retro pub décor has made way for rich red velour, heavy curtains and candlesticks. The food is saucy and crunchy and gooey and generous. It’s very clear why it seems to have been full from the moment it opened. Start with a round of the porchetta-crusted ribs. That’s right, they’re pork ribs, but why not coat them in more pork; specifically deep-fried pork and fennel mince. They’re as addictive as a bowl of Twisties. “I need to stop eating these or I won’t have room for anything else,” says my dining companion before devouring two more. Stracciatella, too, makes no effort to be dainty; it’s basically a slurp of creamy cheese, sitting in a puddle of perfectly seasoned red sauce. Smoosh it onto a wedge of garlic bread; get a few steps closer to God.

Most of the rest of the menu is about playful excess. There are three types of crumbed Milanese – chicken, veal and pork – a meat menu, if you will, and you can upgrade any of them with a bubbling vodka sauce. The helpings are so huge that the entire table will probably have another crack at the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. After dessert, summon the “amaro basket”, and pick out a flirty little digestivo that’s juicy, medicinal or even aphrodisiacal, depending on your mood.

The walk-in bar is also a party: spaghetti and meatballs, fried lasagne bites and waffle fries, and it hosts a generous aperitivo hour from 4pm to 6pm, Tuesday to Friday. The vegetables aren’t shy here, either. There’s a spicy Caesar salad but the pick of the bunch is the zucchini side dish. Chunky hunks of roasted zucchini on a garlicky almond sauce; its robust flavour more than holds its own against the blockbuster meats and pastas.

Vitelli’s is cosy and clubby and it makes you want to eat as lavishly and lustfully as Tony Soprano at a wake. Block out the chaos of the outside world and feast for the sake of feasting. After all, in turbulent times, don’t we all yearn for the toasty embrace of a molten chicken parm?

The post Vitelli’s Upstairs appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

Roma

From Melbourne hospitality trio Con Christopoulos (The European, Kafeneion, City Wine Shop), executive chef Matt Wilkinson (Pope Joan) and Giovanni Patane, Roma is Collins Street’s new Italian restaurant where almost every element takes inspiration from the Eternal City.

Wilkinson’s menu covers the requisite pasta program, a page of offal dishes in the spirit of “quinto quarto” Roman butchery (including the paccheri alla baronessa, with chicken livers and mushrooms), and exclusive use of extra virgin olive oil for everything from deep-frying to drizzling, while the wine list focuses on the Lazio region, among a broader selection of European and Australian producers. Offering a polished experience where the lively and comfortable trattoria spirit is encouraged, the dining room features century-old Italian details and a mammoth 1930s marble table dressed with the day’s best produce, while a separate breakfast menu can be enjoyed on the terrace. From the same team, Sergio’s will open adjacent to the restaurant in June.

Spaghetti Club

A homely trattoria inspired by a dog-eared family recipe book has landed on Swan Street in Richmond, though Spaghetti Club isn’t entirely what its name suggests. The eighth venue from Mama’s Dining Group (Disuko, Hochi Mama), this Southern Italian restaurant draws on the childhood of co-founder Lucas Gugliandolo, whose late Nonno spent decades cooking in kitchens across Sicily and Australia, documenting recipes in a faded orange notebook along the way.

“The orange book was never meant to become a restaurant,” says Gugliandolo. “It was simply Nonno writing down what he cooked throughout his life, from pastry kitchens in Sicily through to the dinners we all grew up around.”

Head chef Michael Fleming (ex-Totti’s Bondi and Press Food & Wine Adelaide) has reworked those family dishes into a menu that extends beyond pasta, spanning pork chop cotoletta with fried capers and parmesan; Nonno’s bubbling lasagne layered with bolognese and béchamel; and involtini stuffed with provolone and herb crumb. Pasta still features, naturally, with house-made spaghetti vongole finished with lemon and bottarga, alongside cacio e pepe arancini with black garlic aioli. Meanwhile, the drinks list leans into aperitivo culture with Negronis, spritzes, Italian lagers and local wines at the fore.

The venue itself exudes all the warmth of Nonna and Nonno’s house, with a few upgrades —including marble tables and plush, sunflower-yellow booths — that place it loosely in the neighbourhood trattoria category.

Julietta

Pasta and Negronis lead the charge at Julietta, South Yarra’s intimate new Italian restaurant from the Mamasita team.

Located on the corner of Toorak Road and Chambers Street, it channels a cosy, neighbourhood trattoria. Think burgundy banquettes, vintage brass lights and European awnings, joined by shelves of house pickles and imported flour and tomatoes for the pasta program. The menu follows a familiar format, moving from antipasti to larger plates, with handmade pasta at its core.

“It’s about doing things really well – pasta at the centre, with dishes that feel familiar,” says executive chef Jimmy Garside (Mamasita, The Apollo). Expect burrata with pine nuts and sweet-sour golden raisin agrodolce or crisp potato fritti with saffron aioli, followed by pastas that riff on the classics: green peppercorn cacio e pepe, short rib ragu and an nduja-vodka bake with stracciatella.

Desserts lean similarly classic, with favourites like coffee semifreddo with amaretto caramel and chocolate cake drizzled with olive oil. Drinks skew Italian, anchored by a tight Negroni selection, from a shiraz-gin twist to a tequila-led Rosita with strawberry Campari and white cacao.

Florentino

While the Florentino name is most definitely not new — it’s approaching its centenary in 2028 — the Bourke Street institution has relaunched under the ownership of the Edition Group (NOMAD Sydney and Melbourne, Reine & La Rue) following its acquisition from Guy Grossi’s Grossi Group after a 27-year tenure. Its distinct offerings now include flagship restaurant space Florentino Dining Room, where three-, five- and seven-course menus offer house-made pastas, seasonal interpretations of Italian traditions, and long-standing favourite desserts like chocolate soufflé and tiramisu using Melbourne-based Cuvée Chocolate.

Next door, Café Florentino (formerly Grossi Grill) has returned to its original name, serving a Tuscan-inspired a la carte menu delivered from a wood-fired grill and Josper oven; naturally, there’s a bistecca alla Fiorentina and one of the country’s most substantial selections of Tuscan wines. The charming Cellar Bar continues trade until late Monday–Saturday as a wine and pasta bar, with 15-20 wines available by the glass and a new aperitivo hour from 3pm tempting early visits with a $9 piccolo Martini, $10 Garibaldi, wine from $12 and $12 antipasti including calamari fritti with basil aioli.

Geralds Bar

After more than 20 years operating from a beloved but tiny shopfront, Geralds Bar has reopened a few blocks away in a significantly larger Carlton North space.  Now on Lygon Street, the expanded venue offers far more room to linger, dine and gather, while remaining deeply anchored to the spirit that made the original so enduring. Much of the bar’s character has been rebuilt by hand: original shelving has been carefully restored, a sculptural curving bar and 300-year-old brushbox timber bar top.  With the addition of chef Matt Podbury alongside long-time Geralds chef Pete Savage, the menu sees elevated dishes such as raw nannygai from WA with a cucumber chutney, horseradish yoghurt and Aleppo pepper, as well as baked cheesecake and crème caramel from the separate pastry kitchen. 

For a slower, multi-course experience, Geralds’s separate 35-seat dining room, The Parlour, offers a refined menu of seasonal dishes and desserts including line-caught Blue Eye with courgette and basil, petit fours, goose fat fudge and a selection of cheese served from a roaming trolley.

Disuko

The Melbourne rooftop formerly home to Madame Brussels has become modern Japanese joint Disuko. The 1980s Tokyo-inspired venue from Mamas Dining Group (Hochi Mama, Windsor Wine Room) comprises a dining room and bar, terrace, eight-seat omakase counter for 12-course sushi seatings and a private dining room. The izakaya-inspired menu lists dishes like a Japanese McDonald’s-esque Fillet-O-Ebi sando; wagyu tataki with yuzu kosho cream, ponzu and a crisp potato; and hibachi-grilled pork belly with tare and bottarga. Signature cocktails using ingredients such as yuzu syrup, red shiso-infused vodka and toasted sesame bitters are joined by Highballs, Spritzes and a specialty saké selection, while Japanese design elements like red timber, black lacquer and kumiko joinery are contrasted with glass blocks, leather and disco balls.

For more of the latest restaurant news, pick up the latest Gourmet Traveller magazine or subscribe here.

Bar Sophia

A strong wine program is on show at Bar Sophia, the new Glen Iris venue from Michael Badr (Marameo) and Marco Tenuta (Il Bacaro, Marameo) that takes inspiration from the growing wine bar scene in the Greek capital. “Athens has changed so much in the past decade,” says Badr. “We’re hoping to bring back a little of that energy and flavour.”

The menu changes seasonally, along the lines of kefalotyri flatbread with florina peppers and honey; charred Corner Inlet squid with smoked almond; and Cretan-style braised lamb. A mostly Greek wine program draws on Steve Kimonides’s (The Rocket Society, Il Bacaro) insights from annual visits for vineyard hopping, and spotlights native varieties like xinomavro, assyrtiko and saviatano. Naturally, ouzo and tsipouro are also deployed in cocktails.

Daphne

Steps away from her adored restaurant Etta, Hannah Green has introduced Daphne to the Lygon Street dining scene. “It’s a restaurateur’s answer to a pub,” she says. “The mood is fun and easygoing, and the food is highly delicious but not too fancy.” In the kitchen, chef Diana Desensi (Saint George, Pt Leo Estate) is doing big, European-leaning flavours centred on seasonality, like Bloody Mary heirloom tomatoes with pickles and olives; grilled potato flatbread with mussels, celery hearts and whipped cod; and a half chicken roasted over the custom hearth.

Small serves for children, weekly steak and pasta nights, and a late-night supper menu from 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays cover most bases. The wine list, curated by sommelier Ashley Boburka (Etta, Rockpool), offers shared access to the 450-bottle selection at Etta, plus wines on tap made for the venue by the Yarra Valley’s Valentine Wines and a house draught by Hop Nation Brewing Co. Complementing the menu and blending classics with creativity, cocktails include a rhubarb Spritz and olive oil Sour, with a Monday night $15 Martini Club serving spins on the cocktail of the moment. Retaining the welcoming feel (and terrazzo flooring) of Bar Romantica, the casual front bar and rear dining room have been updated with a welcoming palette of walnut timber, glass brick, antique mirrors, coffee-coloured upholstery, Australian marble and crimson textiles.

Yiaga

In the beautiful Fitzroy Gardens in East Melbourne, Yiaga is Hugh Allen’s first restaurant. The former Noma and Rockpool chef (who remains executive chef at Vue de Monde) and head chef Michael McAulay (also Noma, Vue de Monde) serve a $295 set menu expressing seasonality, intention, and a deep commitment to the best ingredients sourced from farmers, fishers, growers and makers across Australia, like deeply flavoured beef from retired Blackmore Wagyu breeding cows; Queensland coral trout; and wakame seaweed foraged from the Victorian coast.

The venue, designed by noted architect John Wardle, comprises an open-plan layout breaking any barriers between the kitchen and 44-seat dining room, with Allen and Wardle’s shared appreciation for detail, craftsmanship and sense of place on display inside and out.

Death & Co

New York City’s globally acclaimed cocktail group Death & Co has landed Down Under, opening its first local outpost in Melbourne. Known for expertly crafted, richly layered cocktails and an intimate speakeasy ambience, the bar brings a selection of its signature classics alongside new blends. Standouts include the Telegraph, a refined gin martini riff layered with eucalyptus, pear and pine, and Sound & Fury, a smoky margarita twist blending ancho chilli, raspberry and red capsicum. Food highlights range from gin-cured kingfish with rhubarb to a dry-aged cheeseburger stacked with smoke cheddar, house pickles and Martin’s potato buns.

A Brisbane venue is set to follow this summer, promising to spread even more world-class mixology.

Saadi

Heritage flavours star at Saadi in the CBD, the new restaurant by chef couple Saavni Krishnan and Sriram Aditya Suresh. Their reimagined family recipes and takes on lesser-known dishes from the Indian subcontinent are delivered with confidence accrued through almost 12 years in Australian kitchens, plus a dozen pop-ups and residencies in Melbourne in recent years.

Krishnan, who was raised in Mumbai to Punjabi and Tamilian parents, has worked at Fred’s in Sydney, and Etta and Manzé in Melbourne, and Suresh (most recently head chef at Coburg’s Gemini) was exposed to diverse regions and their food cultures, thanks to his Tamilian father’s postings with the Indian navy. Saadi’s menu highlights prime, in-season vegetables; idli (rice cakes) are topped with spiced Dutch carrots, and fritters of veggies in a precariously delicate batter are served on a yoghurt sauce. Select proteins include pulikachal (simmered tamarind) flathead from Corner Inlet with curry leaf chutney, and Loddon Valley lamb brisket complemented by fermented citrus dressing. Saadi has taken over Halim Group’s split-level Punch Lane site, which was formerly home to Sunda.

Harriot

A cracking team has assembled to lead a new opening in Melbourne’s CBD, by Conferre Group, the folks also behind Tipo 00, Osteria Ilaria, Figlia and Grana. Harriot will see Andreas Papadakis (partner and group executive chef) and Luke Skidmore (partner and director) joined by executive chef James Kelly (previously at Lyle’s London and Embla) and head sommelier Justin Howe (ex-Osteria Ilaria and Embla). The modern European restaurant is a slight departure for the group, which has focused mostly on Italian fare, though it won’t stray too far from the formula of excellent food and outstanding wine. “I’m excited because it’s my first head chef role,” Kelly tells GT. “There’s so much interesting Australian produce to explore and we’ve got a beautiful brand new kitchen.” Tucked within the recently opened 555 Collins Street, the restaurant is designed to seat around 60 diners, including a 14-person private dining room. Clocking in with a Melbourne sensibility and a tempting range of Victorian produce, expect white tablecloths to showcase starters such as oysters with preserved quince and horseradish; chicken liver parfait and chestnut; and bluefin tuna with rye. Mains-wise, they’re considering rainbow trout served with baby leeks and roe; and Sher wagyu rump with parsley root and pink radicchio. Meanwhile, in territory that might feel more familiar to Conferre Group diners, an elegant spanner crab ravioli with butternut pumpkin and bergamot will also be making an appearance.

Da Bao, Ho Jiak and Ho Liao

Sydney chef Junda Khoo has brought his clever take on Malaysian flavours to Melbourne. Landing a three-level site at 235 Bourke Street with an entrance on Royal Lane, each floor features a separate menu and vibe. “So, it’s like having three different Ho Jiak concepts under one roof,” says Khoo. The ground floor is home to Da Bao, with a street-food focus. Expect “stuff like nasi lemak, Hainan chicken rice and a bain-marie with different dishes – similar to the “chap fan” stores on the street in Malaysia”. The first floor – named Ho Jiak after the original in Sydney’s Strathfield – is more formal, exploring the cultural intersections of the cuisine with a levelled-up playfulness. “That’s where we will be doing our elevated Malaysian dishes, so the laksa bombs, oysters, steak and a good wine list,” says Khoo. Finally, the crowning second floor is a rooftop beer hall with home-style family favourites, called Ho Liao, which means “good stuff” in Hokkien.

Pizzateca Lupa

On the corner of Cecil and Coventry Streets at South Melbourne Market, Pizzateca Lupa is a new Roman-style cafè and pizzeria. Brothers Lino and Gabriele Torre (both of D.O.C Gastronomia Italiana) are once again tracing their Italian roots, dishing out antipasti, pasta and square tray-baked pizza – both whole and by-the-slice. On the design front, they’ve enlisted Jackson Clements Burrows (the team behind Her and Arbory Bar & Eatery) to direct the 34-seat space, with walnut timber finishes and deep red hues. Spilling out onto the street to match the energy of South Melbourne Market, the alimentari-style menu highlights include a ‘30 clove’ garlic red sauce spaghetti, a baked cacio e pepe and classic Italian puddings such caramel budino.

Kolkata Cricket Club

After building his fandom with debut restaurant Toddy Shop by Marthanden Hotel, Mischa Tropp – GT’s Best New Talent title holder– has undertaken a sprawling new venue. Kolkata Cricket Club is dishing out nostalgia, butter chicken and brews at the Crown precinct. Inspired by charming Bengali members’ bars and cricket clubs, the 150-seat pan-Indian restaurant has Bengalese threads throughout its menu. The well-armed kitchen has a woodfire hearth and tandoor-style ovens. From here expect tandoori lamb chops marinated with green papaya; butter garlic mud crab; king prawns with turmeric and coconut curry; and saffron braised duck, best enjoyed with a side of freshly cooked soft warm naans.

Punters can also keep it casual watching the cricket over beer battered fries with curry sauce; a thali plate; or a Bombay sandwich with mixed fried veggies, chutney and aged cheddar. With interiors by Min Chun Tseng – who also dreamed up the Toddy Shop’s façade, plus SilkSpoon and Cinque Terre – think warm colours and inviting textures.

Marmelo and Mr Mills

Melbourne has scored not one but two new venues from Ross and Sunny Lusted, with a restaurant and a basement bar, Marmelo and Mr Mills, now open in Melbourne’s CBD. With 90 seats, Marmelo is decked out in elegance. Think sweeping windows for light-filled lunches and opulent banquettes covered in tapestry-like fabrics. The menu skews toward an Iberian-coastal focus, with snacks like savoury pastel de nata (handpicked crab meat on a rich custard) or wood-grilled southern calamari with goat’s milk butter.

Mr Mills, accessible through Marmelo or via Melbourne Place Laneway, is a little more intimate with tight, secretive booths and a sleek bar. Furnished with an extensive cocktail list, snacks are also available downstairs, with everything from lighter snacks like grilled padron peppers to larger plates like baked cod with roasted onions and potatoes.

The post The best new restaurants in Melbourne for exciting dining in 2026 appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

Long considered Japan’s national drink, sake in Tokyo is more than tradition — it’s a living, evolving craft that threads its way through the city’s past and present, offering travellers a deeper understanding of the culture. Sake has been made in and around Tokyo for centuries, stretching back to the Edo period between 1603 and1868 when the city was rapidly becoming Japan’s political and cultural heart. As the population grew, so did the demand for sake and breweries emerged in areas where the conditions were ideal: clean water, nearby rice fields and the kind of patience that is only appreciated outside the city.

Today, tucked between forested river valleys in Tokyo’s west and in compact city streets, lies a remarkable collection of breweries who have kept this speciality alive. Visiting them is one of the great undiscovered pleasures of a Tokyo trip.

The west Tokyo way

The most atmospheric sake experiences in Tokyo require a train ride, and the reward is well worth it. Head west along the Tama River and the city gradually gives way to greenery and clear, cold, fast-flowing water — the ideal brewing conditions. Sitting at the edge of the Okutama Mountains, is one of the oldest surviving sake producer, Ozawa Brewery, which has produced sake for more than 300 years.

With a technique passed down through generations where the sake is preserved within earthen-walled storehouses, visitors at Ozawa Shuzo can expect to have a truly unique experience. With an advance reservation, visitors can walk through working spaces that have hardly changed over centuries or settle in for a tasting in their riverside garden where soba is also served — a pairing as timeless as the brewery itself.

Back towards the Tama area, the story of sake continues, this time layered with architecture, hospitality and innovation. At Ishikawa Brewery, traditional kura buildings sit beneath towering keyaki trees, while onsite dining and accommodation invite a longer stay, blurring the line between tasting and immersion.  

Nearby, Tamura Shuzojo continues a 200-year brewing legacy under the stewardship of its 16th-generation brewer. Further north in Higashi murayama City sits Toshimaya Brewery, the oldest sake shop in Tokyo. Private tours here feel less like a scheduled activity and more like a private lesson with history.

Sake in the city

Back in the hum of Tokyo, there is a different conversation around sake happening — one that’s forward-thinking without forgetting what came before.

One of the most compelling examples is Konohanano Brewery in Asakusa, founded with the mission of training the next generation of craft-sake makers. Its focus is the unrefined style of sake, doburoku, which is rarely produced in the city. Its koji room — the space where rice is cultivated with mould to begin fermentation — enables a wide range of flavour profiles, proving traditional techniques are not simply being preserved, but evolving for a new generation.

Tokyo Port Brewing’s history isn’t to be missed. Originally founded as Wakamatsuya in the late Edo period and once frequented by some of Japan’s most celebrated historical figures, the brewery closed before reopening in 2011. Now, it’s curating a bold, modern approach to sake-making as well as liqueurs, doburoku and plum wine, in a compact four-storey building in central Tokyo. A reminder that even in one of the world’s most modern cities, some things are worth saving.

What sake reveals about Tokyo

Tokyo has always done so well in holding the past and the present in the same hand. In a city so often defined by its future-facing energy, sake offers a way to understand what came before. Its deep roots in Japanese ritual, seasonality and craft, make it a near-perfect lens for understanding a city that never stops evolving.

Guided tours and behind-the-scenes tastings are available for most breweries, with most requiring reservations. For travellers looking to experience Tokyo beyond the expected, sake offers a slower, richer way into the city.

For more information, visit gotokyo.org

The post Tokyo, poured differently: A sake-lover’s guide to the city’s hidden breweries appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

 The story is best discussed over a prawn cocktail; a simple starter done remarkably well here. Five plump prawns perched proud (like Otto Hajek’s colourful 1970s sculptures which formerly called the redeveloped Festival Centre Plaza home) on a nest of crisp shredded baby cos. The finger-licking dollop of tangy yuzu Marie Rose is a highlight of the meal to come.

In an aesthetic nod to the past, Sidney Nolan’s painting of Ern Malley greets (and farewells) diners to the long, narrow space. The 1970s colour scheme continues with plush golden booth seating, a wall of amber curtains, and artwork throughout. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer natural light and a towering Adelaide Oval view, while red geometric carpet whirls underfoot.

By night, the urban landscape shimmers with light, while the interior glows with fossilised tree resin hues. Nostalgia also permeates the menu. Classic mains including duck two ways (confit and seared) are bookended by Coffin Bay oysters with Champagne mignonette, and banana banoffee flashbacks. Less is more. Nothing feels unnecessary. Spatchcock coq au vin is a warm autumnal embrace; pearl onion, cubes of speck, and wild mushrooms in a rich earthy broth.

Pre-theatre dining is difficult to get right – it often feels rushed – but Angry Penguin’s swift, two-course option, sans dessert, hits all the right notes. You could skip the show altogether and settle in for a more relaxed long lunch. Either way, make time for a Red Carpet sundowner; the mix of Campari, fernet branca, orange liqueur and lime is a zesty, herbaceous cocktail head-snapper.

The wine list, meanwhile, isn’t going to evoke a boundary-pushing standing ovation, but it is South Australian (other than Pommery and Pol Roger cameos) and that should be applauded.

Much like the Festival Centre setting and its nearby stages, the dining space provides a backdrop for creative patrons, thespians and conversation to shine. Just the way, one could imagine, the late Max Harris and his creative rebels would have liked it.

The post Angry Penguin appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

Across the city, there are beautifully restored heritage dining rooms, softly lit spaces made for lingering over Martinis and steak frites, and contemporary neighbourhood gems where thoughtful design and generous shared menus set the tone for a more relaxed affair. Some lean towards old-world glamour, with crisp tablecloths, impeccable service and cellar-worthy wine lists, while others embrace a quieter kind of luxury.

Whether you’re planning a Christmas party, engagement dinner, post-wedding feast or simply a lavish dinner party with friends, these are the Melbourne restaurants with the best private dining rooms worth booking now.

Harriot

Melbourne CBD

Lead by a culinary dream team with an impressive resume that includes the likes of Tipo 00, this swish modern European restaurant tucked within 555 Collins Street boasts a 14-person private dining room. Carrying the same cosy bistro feel as the main dining room outside, Harriot’s private dining space features rich timber accents, soft lighting and an inviting display of some of its cellared wine selection. A range of seasonal menus starting from $120 per person are available for group dining, tailored by head chef James Kelly, and wine can be pre- selected from a list or paired by the team to suit your meal. With full AV capabilities and the ability to isolate restaurant music, it’s perfectly primed for all manners of celebrations or corporate events. Book via SevenRooms.

Julie

Abbotsford

Housed in a former convent building on peaceful, leafy farmland next to the Yarra River, this dreamy garden restaurant in Abbotsford exudes a certain kind of timelessness that makes you want to stay forever. High ceilings, cream tiles, linen-dressed tables and pink terrazzo give the light-filled space instant Euro appeal, as does chef Julieanne Blum (of whom the restaurant gets its name)’s seasonally driven menu. The private dining experience saves room for between 24 to 52 seated guests to be treated to said menus in a dinner party-like setting –  always with bubbles or French-accented wine flowing. Enjoy a luscious 3-course long lunch with your party at approximately $270 per person (food and drinks) before walking it off around the grounds or perusing the neighbouring gallery. Find out more information and book direct via their website.

Entrecôte

Prahran

If you’re location-scouting for your next soirée, the ever-chic Entrecôte in Prahran has no doubt sprung to mind. This dear bistro – inspired by the original Le Relais De L’Entrecôte that opened in 1959 in Porte-Maillot – never fails to transport us straight to Paris with its striped awnings, suited waitstaff and exquisitely French dining room. Regardless of your reason to gather (be it work-related or an occasion worth celebrating), Entrecôte‘s two private dining spaces, Le Salon Privé or the open Le Conservatoire, will surely dazzle. With room for 30 seated guests (50 standing) or 56 seated (80 standing) respectively, guests will be treated to curated prix-fixe menus inspired by French châteaux, Chantilly ($125 per person), Chambord ($155 per person), and Versailles ($187 per person). Each menu showcases the best of French cuisine and might feature Entrecôte’s signature steak frites, ‘boulettes’ (spiced beef croquettes) and crème brûlée. Book via their website.

Kisumé

MELBOURNE CBD

Chris Lucas’ three-level Japanese-inspired restaurant on Flinders Lane is guaranteed to bring the theatre to any occasion. The dark-hued palette, dramatic lighting and mixture of leather, velvet and brass detailing give the place a high-end club feel. And if the venue is a club, the top level, Kuro Kisumé, is its VIP section. Seating 44 for a larger-scale dining experience (or accommodating 50 guests standing for a cocktail-style event), Kuro is the moody space between the golden-clad Chablis Bar and the Chef’s Table, lined with provocative photos from world-renowned Japanese photographer, Nobuyoshi Araki. Guests dine on Kisumé’s signature set menus showcasing seasonal Japanese fare, with options starting from $95 per person and the ability to have Kisumé’s sommelier tailor a drinks list to your group’s needs. AV hire, DIY theming and a private bathroom round out the experience. Enquiries and bookings can be made via their website.       

Stokehouse Restaurant

St Kilda

If your party non-negotiables include a room with a view, St Kilda’s sun-bathed Stokehouse Restaurant’s private dining options will do the trick. Palm room, secluded from the main dining area and softened with sheer curtains and pastel tones, offers a sense of privacy and exclusivity while still delivering stunning seaside views over the palm-lined promenade and Port Phillip Bay. Seating up to 40, guests can enjoy drinks, canapés and an elegant menu with dedicated wait staff. After something more intimate? Stokehouse’s Cellar Room is nestled between the main dining room and Stokebar. Filled with copper and timber finishes, it seats up to 14 and is more of a semi-private dining experience, including a dedicated staff member to attend to your party. Enquiries and bookings can be made with their website.

Florentino Dining Room

Melbourne CBD

Old-world grandeur greets you at every turn at Florentino Dining Room, and its semi-private dining space off the main dining room is no exception. An intimate room set within the wine cellar seats up to eight of your nearest and dearest, with set menus starting from $160 per person. A minimum spend of $1500 is required to be met across food and beverages while a 10% service charge applies. Bookings can be made via their website.

Vue de Monde 

Melbourne CBD

A meal at this institution atop Melbourne’s Rialto building is one of the most singular experiences in Australian dining. But if you’d like to kick it up to the next level, the private dining room at Vue de Monde, which seats 12, is the way to do it. Enjoy Hugh Allen’s high-end dégustation amongst the recently renovated room. There’s an exciting high-low rhythm in the 16-ish courses, which will be sure to make for a memorable event. Book via their website.

Gimlet

Melbourne CBD

The lovely thing about the Palm Room, Gimlet’s private dining option for eight to 12 people, is that it watches over Andrew McConnell’s beautiful, buzzing restaurant. So somehow, you get to have your private cake – or in this case, a chocolate torte with rum caramel and cultured cream – and eat it too. The menu, like the space, suits any occasion – spanning oysters and snack plates to shared mains of premium meats and seafood. Perhaps a caviar service or steak tartare prepared table-side will tickle your fancy? With antique Murano glass chandeliers and artwork by Tony Clark setting the scene, it’s hard to resist. Book via their website.

The post Melbourne’s best private dining rooms for celebrations, parties and work lunches in 2026 appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

Bar Bruno

Joining basement daiquiri bar and discotheque, Razz Room, Bar Bruno is Odd Culture Group’s rustic, all-day Italian osteria. Sitting above Razz Room at ground level, the warehouse-style space pairs exposed brick walls and high ceilings with a mixture of booth, bar and table seating.

Mornings begin with coffee from Genovese and house-made pastries, before executive chef Tony Gibson’s à la carte menu takes centre stage. Expect familiar Italian flavours with less emphasis on pasta and more on seafood, crudo and meat. This looks like mussels with fagioli giganti (jumbo butter beans) and ’nduja butter, crisp cotoletta with black garlic aioli, and Murray cod in parmesan-rind brodo, among the standouts.

Drinks, overseen by group beverage manager Jordan Blackman, skew spritzy, bitter and amaro-heavy, alongside pours from Red Mill Rum. The Grasshopper — made with Mapo’s fior di latte gelato — is the must-try cocktail, while the tight 100-bottle wine list leans Italian, balancing cult producers with emerging makers. Bar Bruno is open from 10am until late on weekdays and from noon until late on Saturday.

Ananas

Anyone with fond memories of buzzy French brasserie Ananas will be pleased to hear it has reopened its doors after a decade. Next door to its original Argyle Street address in The Rocks, the new space has the same 1881 sandstone bones as the original, in a smaller format that better suits the experience.  “It was ambitious and had a clear point of view, but the original space was simply too large to operate comfortably,” says Frank Tucker, CEO of Hunter St. Hospitality (Rockpool Bar & Grill, Spice Temple). “We’ve been looking for the right environment to bring it back for years.” 

With executive chef Mike Flood (Felix) at the helm, the menu leans into French brasserie staples such as escargots, soupe à l’oignon and steak au poivre with frites. Entrées are mostly under $30 and mains under $50, with a mix of returning favourites and moments of tableside theatre, including a Baba d’Ananas brought to the table and finished with a pour of house-infused pineapple rum.

“This isn’t about recreating a Paris corner exactly as it is,” says Flood. “The menu draws from across France and shifts with the seasons. As we move towards spring, it lightens and leans south, with olive oil stepping in and dishes becoming brighter. The idea is familiarity and comfort, with moments of decadence when you want to dial it up.”  Naturally, the wine list also steers French, with approximately 800 to 1000 wines available and a justifiably strong emphasis on Champagne. 

Grappa The Rocks

A second location for the beloved neighbourhood restaurant that opened in Leichhardt in 1999, Grappa has launched at the original Rockpool site on George Street. Owners Charlie and Virginie Colosi have brought their pillars of Italian food, wine and hospitality to the historic 1860s bakehouse building, sticking to their approach of all pasta, pizza, bread and desserts made in house.

Head chef Adam Nicholls’s menu blends favourites from the Inner West’s menu with new dishes that speak to the harbourside location, with highlights like house-made Calabrese sausages, pappardelle with White Rocks Veal ragù and the signature salt-baked snapper. Chef Alessandro Penna mans a wood-fired oven fuelled by red gum, yellow box and ironbark, turning out scampi, Limestone Ridge full-blood wagyu tomahawks and pizzas. Per the name, the drinks offering includes over 150 varieties of grappa, plus an Italian- and French-focused wine list. Grappa The Rocks spans a ground-floor dining room and, upstairs, an aperitivo bar (with a dedicated bar menu) and event spaces, with an outdoor terrace to open on George Street later this year.

Pasta Shop

This new Sydney restaurant from Paola Toppi was designed to be wallet-friendly and welcoming: nothing on the menu is more than $30. At Pasta Shop, she’s serving 11 pasta dishes including the famed spaghetti Machiavelli (with prawns and mushroom in a silky sauce) from the now-closed institution opened by her mother in 1988. There’s also spicy rigatoni alla vodka, gnocchi gorgonzola and a classic lasagne, with Italian crowd-pleasers like polpette con sugo, house-made focaccia and tiramisu rounding out the menu.

“It’s decades of pasta knowledge, made accessible,” says Toppi. “We’re still using the premium ingredients we’ve always been known for, but by creating a more relaxed dining experience, people are able to enjoy them for less.” Pre-made Maybe Sammy cocktails are joined by Italian classics and wines and Sardinian beer on the drinks list and BYO is available too. Pasta Shop, at 37 Bayswater Road in Potts Point, serves dinner Wednesday–Sunday and lunch Thursday–Sunday.

Sushi Oe

Your odds of securing a spot at one of the nation’s most coveted counters are now slightly better. Last month, Toshihiko Oe relocated his six-seat Cammeray omakase restaurant Sushi Oe to the Sydney Fish Market. The elegant, charcoal-hued space, decked out with ceramic details from his home in Fukui prefecture, ups his audience to eight diners per seating. “Ten years ago, there were Japanese restaurants [in Australia], but nobody knew about omakase,” says Oe. Today, customers wait up to two years to enjoy his offering of around 30 impeccable dishes (now at a cost of $350pp).

While guests previously had to text Oe direct in the hope of nabbing a seat, the system has now moved online, though you can still expect a wait. “I feel like I’ve touched my dream,” he says of the opening.

The James

Interpreting classic English dishes with French technique and international influences, British restaurant The James is now open in The Langham, Sydney — complete with ruffled curtains, kitsch colourways and timber joinery. Operated by the Drakopoulos family-owned SRG Hospitality (Akti, Sails Lavender Bay, The Nielsen), The James is led by head chef Sam Tuchband, who brings experience from highly regarded London restaurant Trinity, as well as Aria Sydney.

Menu highlights look like Welsh rarebit pain perdu, seasonal game (maybe Fallow deer with brassicas and berries) and an Eton Mess vacherin with Shropshire Blue, while tableside serves include a blushing beef Wellington presented on antique silverware, and a Knickerbocker Glory sundae service. Australian and English wines (especially standouts of its emerging sparkling wine scene) are joined by British beers and ciders and spins on classic cocktails, like the Sir James reimagining the gimlet with The Botanist gin, Linden Leaf 8 gin, Noilly Prat, grapefruit and iceplant tincture.

Watermans

The Bentley Restaurant Group opened Mediterranean-inspired restaurant Watermans in Barangaroo late last year, marking a return to the waterfront precinct just over a year since the closure of Cirrus. Led by Darryl Martin (Barzaari) as executive chef, the menu takes inspiration from the Levant, with a custom-made, wood-fired grill and oven influencing most of the menu. Key dishes include pickled watermelon and raw tuna salad with sumac; sweet and sour Abrolhos scallop with sesame praline; and pomegranate-glazed, slow-cooked lamb shoulder with pickled radishes and black lime.

Located in the One Sydney Harbour development, the restaurant sees long-term collaborator of the group Pascale Gomes-McNabb, alongside Chris Grinham from H&E Architects, deliver a 120-seat space, including a large outdoor dining area with lush greenery-covered pergolas perfect for summer dining.

Rick Stein at Coogee Beach

Rick Stein’s first Sydney restaurant builds on the popularity of his restaurants at Bannisters properties in Mollymook and Port Stephens, on the New South Wales South Coast. “The connection between my restaurants and the sea is very important to me,” Stein told Gourmet Traveller. “The ethos of my restaurants almost requires that they be by the sea.”

Stein’s unmistakable voice and love for seafood shines through on the Rick Stein at Coogee Beach menu: XO pipis are described as “one of my favourite seafood dishes — particularly when made with Australian pipis,” while oysters Charentaise invites diners to “eat an oyster, take a bite of sausage, then a good gulp of cold white wine.” As well as the quality, Stein says he’s inspired by the variety of fish on offer in Australia. “Fish like snapper and blue-eye… flathead is a favourite — there’s so much flavour in so many of the species,” he says. Rick’s fish and chips, in the style of his sell-out Padstow chippie, are fried in beef dripping and come with mushy peas and tartare sauce, and dishes with Asian roots — a favourite of the chef himself — include his famous Singapore chilli crab.

The restaurant has a relaxed coastal aesthetic across a main dining room, outdoor dining terrace, two semi-private dining rooms and a bar.

Aambra

Tthe Rose Bay Uniting Church has been transformed into a light-filled, 140-seat Levantine restaurant. Owner Cristian Gorgees has spent the last three years working closely with interior designer Paul Papadopoulos from DS17 to bring his vision for Aambra to life.  “This property is such an important part of Rose Bay and indeed Sydney’s history,” said Gorgees, “so we wanted to make sure there was something special about every inch of it.” Outside, a multi-level wraparound deck is furnished with lounge chairs and olive trees. Inside, original stained-glass windows, Italian marble floors, custom pendant lights and an open kitchen aren’t the only attractions.

With executive chef Gianluca Lonati – ex-Nour – leading the charge, the share-style menu showcases a breadth of flavours from Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Cyprus and Egypt. Snacks and smaller plates might look like samke harra (Lebanese-style spicy fish) whiting sando with whipped tahini, or a seafood version of kibbeh nayeh made with tuna instead of lamb. Mains feature an on-the-bone 800-gram wagyu rib-eye that’s cooked over an open-flame grill, or dry-aged carob duck crown. On the drinks front, sommelier Sasa Savic has curated a wine list more than 130 strong, as well as fruity cocktails like a watermelon Martini or arak elderflower Spritz. 

For more of the latest restaurant news, pick up the latest Gourmet Traveller magazine or subscribe here.

South End

The first project from a trio of respected names in Sydney hospitality, South End is a neighbourhood bistro on Newtown’s King Street. In the kitchen, former Fred’s head chef Hussein Sarhan is joined by Alex Tong (Ester and Hong Kong’s Belon and Ho Lee Fook), serving a highly seasonal menu that puts flavour first. “We want to be the local everyone wants as their local,” said Tong in a statement. “There for an easy meal at the bar, but just as ready to roll for a splash-out good time for a celebration, and with enough movement in the menu to keep it fresh week to week.”

Snacks and smaller plates might look like potato rösti with curls of Tête de Moine cheese and chestnut honey, or buttermilk-fried rabbit with green garlic aioli. Mains follow the same broadly European lean — described by Sarhan as “potato Europe in the winter and tomato Europe in the summer” — which could look like whole flounder with sauce vierge, or roast chicken with nettle butter. Leading service and drinks is Paul Guiney, who cites Embla, A.P Bread and Wine and The Bentley Group in his former stable and claimed GT’s joint Maître d’ of the Year title in 2008. Expect an “always fun, always delicious” wine program that favours emerging and interesting producers from Australia and Europe over established labels, and a few batched cocktails.

Young’s Palace

Potts Point has scored a take on the old-school Chinese restaurant by “Big” Sam Young and partner Grace Chen. Young’s Palace sticks to interpretations of favourites seen in Chinatowns around the world — the likes of prawn toast, sweet and sour pork, and fried rice — where Young’s first restaurant, S’more in Castlecrag, is luxe, over the top, and indulgent.

“The brief is local neighbourhood Chinese, and I want to stick to the truth of it,” says Young. “I want to make this restaurant approachable to everyone.” For those looking to splash out, a “secret menu” of premium lobster, beef, truffle and caviar provides the high-end fixings that made S’more a destination. Similarly, the wine list offers affordable options with a “baller” selection of coveted producers (of the ilk of Selosse or Pierre-Yves Colin Morey) and vintages. The styling of the corner site on Kellett Street plays with the familiar aesthetic, with fringed lamps and curtains, red velvet banquettes, and artworks of roosters and dragons.

Vin-Cenzo’s

Bar Copains, Bessie’s and Alma’s owners Morgan McGlone and Sali and Nathan Sasi are putting their spin on Italian at the former Bar Vincent site in Darlinghurst. Vin-Cenzo’s offers a commitment to produce over authenticity, with inspiration from France, Spain, and even America’s take on Italian cuisine. Menu standouts look like grilled scampi with chilli, garlic and Sicilian oregano; a veal T-bone with Marsala and shimeji mushrooms; and pastas including pumpkin and pecorino quadrati (like a thick, square spaghetti), or rigatoni with tripe and sweetbread ragu.

The significant dessert menu tempts with an Italian biscuit selection (served in a vintage tin) inspired by Nathan’s Sicilian godmother, plus coffee granita with whipped mascarpone, a pig fat cannolo with Sicilian almonds, and a line-up of sorbet and gelati. Wines mostly cover Italian, French and Australian makers (including some rare vintages from McGlone’s personal cellar), and cocktails cover Italian classics. The space, while it’s kept its signature archways, has a fresh palette of glowing yellow, blues and deep burgundy, with hand-painted murals, walnut timber and tiled details, and capacity has almost doubled thanks to the addition of an outdoor dining space. Vin-Cenzo’s is now open at 174 Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst for lunch and dinner Tuesday–Saturday, with a late-night supper club menu until 2am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

Grandfather’s

The new Sydney CBD Chinese restaurant and cocktail bar from Andy Tyson, Dan Pepperell and Michael Clift is now open for dinner seven days. Grandfather’s leans towards the flavours of Guangdong and Sichuan, with Clift crediting his own Chinese grandfather for his career as a chef: “I think China has the most diverse and historic cuisine in the world. We consider it to be the mother of all cuisines,” he said.

On the menu, oysters are dressed with Chinese celery vinegar; a Sichuan “husband and wife salad” combines veal tongue and crispy tripe; and a daily assortment of steamed dumplings sits alongside prawn toast and scallop spring rolls. Proteins include classic crispy-skinned birds (chicken, pigeon or duck), wok-fried pork jowl in doubanjiang, and red emperor poached in a fragrant broth with green Sichuan peppercorn.

Tyson’s wine selection stars riesling, with a by-the-glass listing of huge global names (along the lines of Raveneau and Keller), plus on-theme reimaginings of classic cocktails like a sesame Sazerac, yuzu Colada, and Martini made dirty with MSG and Shaoxing wine. The restaurant — the fifth opening from the group behind Pellegrino 2000, Clam Bar and Neptune’s Grotto in as many years — is in the former Long Chim site in Angel Place, with a refreshed interior to suit the new concept.

Vineria Luisa

Alessandro and Anna Pavoni (Ormeggio, A’Mare, Postino Osteria) have taken over one of the inner west’s most recognisable shopfronts to open Vineria Luisa in Enmore. Located within the mauve and pink heritage-listed Marie-Louise Salon, the 70-seat dual-level wine bar is dishing out pre-theatre pastas, gin-based cocktails and a Euro-focused wine list.

Expect a menu featuring Pavoni’s clever blend of old-school Italian standards along with some new-wave takes, including a sizeable snack section to suit its aperitivo approach. Perhaps crostini with chicken liver pâté and bright orange marmalade with Piedmont hazelnuts; or cacio e pepe, transformed into croquettes. There’s also tuna crudo with pickled onion, cannellini beans and green elk; culaccia prosciutto with pickled dwarf green peaches; and buffalo mozzarella with fennel, orange and Taggiasca olives. Pastas include a bright gnocchi with spanner crab, ocean trout roe, herbs and lemon crumble; and lasagne alla Bolognese with slow-cooked pork, beef and veal ragù. There’s also a lamb porchetta, rolled with pork sausages and served with chicory and celeriac purée; a warming wild greens savoury pie with Tuscan cabbage, herbs and whipped goat’s cheese that hails from the Reggio-Emilia region; and salted and fried ling cooked in a rich tomato sugo with sultanas and pine nuts, for something more hearty.

Loulou Martin Place

Above the Martin Place Metro station, Loulou has finally welcomed diners into its 175-seat Frenchy-chic bistro. Following in the tradition of the Milsons Point flagship, the bistro, bar, boulangerie and traiteur is lined with Parisian-style streetfront tables. Menu-wise, expect favourites from across the bridge, like the tower of peppery steak frites; John Dory with Champagne sauce; and créme caramel — alongside new dishes like the charred wagyu frites baguette. From 4-7pm, city slickers can also enjoy $2 escargots and oysters, together with $13 mini Martinis as part of Loulou’s signature happy hour, L’Apéro.

Next door Petit Loulou is a more of a grab-and-go affair serving as a café and patisserie, with counters stacked with Paris-Brests, coconut palmiers, croissants and tarts, alongside rotisserie chicken baguettes, Niçoise salads and golden sausage rolls.

Rovollo

Martin Place has welcomed intimate Italian diner, Rovollo, into its fold, located on the groundfloor of Harry Seidler’s famed MLC Centre. Led by family-run Esper Group – the team behind Surry Hills’ Mille Vini and Rosie Campbell’s – the new 75-seater is a sophisticated affair with ample outdoor seating.

In the kitchen, Zane Buchanan of former Clam Bar and Fish Butchery fame and Matteo Downtown’s Cami Feliciano are bringing simple Italian fare to the city. Think light and bright tuna crudo with a slight kick; pici carbonara set alight in a hollowed-out cheese wheel; and just-pink wagyu rump cap from the grill. As for dessert, an order of the fudgy 24-layer chocolate cake with rosemary-spiked compote is a must.

Caness

Paddington’s main thoroughfare has welcomed Caness, a Middle Eastern meets Mediterranean restaurant and snack bar in a former grocery store. Drawing on tapas-style dining, the 60-seater serves up denizens of the deep blue like saganaki prawns in a tomato and feta sauce; grilled octopus with a caper-studded dressing; and a soft brandade, which sees salted cod and potatoes become a creamy dip. There’s also a take on a sabich with fried eggplant, hard-boiled eggs and tahini atop pita; a beef tartare charged with pimentón and harissa; and a vegetarian shawarma crafted with delicious layers of mushrooms and celeriac. The 80-strong wine list is approachable and a great fit for weeknight sips or a long Saturday lunch, while the cocktail menu features a Figroni – a figgy take on the popular aperitif – and a tomato water-spiked tipple that riffs on gazpacho.

Osteria Mucca

In Newtown, Osteria Mucca is the the penultimate puzzle piece of Paisano and Daughters’ delicious Australia Street precinct. Named to honour the building’s butcher-shop past (mucca meaning “cow” in Italian), the 50-seater offers old-school trattoria charm. With Janina Allende (Pellegrino 2000 and Alberto’s Lounge alum) in charge, Osteria Mucca’s menu brings an “in with the old” philosophy to the plate, with old-world Italian techniques, nose-to-tail cooking and plenty of pasta at the fore. Think pigs’ head sausage across the board, lemony prawn spaghetti lifted with bottarga; pappardelle paired with chicken liver and mushrooms; and spinach and ricotta ravioli swimming in short-rib ragù. Desserts are courtesy of Paisano’s official sweet tooth, Lauren Eldridge, and are likely to feature dolce delights including fluffy ricotta sponge or sweet-wine custards.

Corner 75

In Sydney’s inner east, Jean-Paul El Tom of Baba’s Place and Sixpenny’s Daniel Puskas have joined forces to explore Hungarian food, taking over Corner 75 in Randwick. The old-school Hungarian restaurant has a new lease on life thanks to the new custodians, which keeps the soul of the long-standing Hungarian restaurant alive while putting a clever post-modern, slight Australian spin on it. It has the heart of Baba’s Place and the exacting finesse of Sixpenny, and has brought a welcomed new standard to the neighbourhood’s dining scene.

The atmosphere is jovial and warm, with a memorabilia-laden dining room delivering nostalgic charm; and the wine list is a delightful education on Eastern European drops. Menu-wise you’ll find a classic golden schnitzel; a complex and hearty gulyásleves (beef and potato soup); and a chicken broth with semolina dumplings, which could cure all ills with its comfort. Sides are also a must, particularly the nokedli, a buttery, spiced pasta-like side.

The post The best new restaurants in Sydney appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

Whether you’re looking for the latest restaurant opening for your next date night, on the hunt for that special-occasion booking, or simply enjoy being the first in your group to be in-the-know, these are the best new Perth restaurants worth crossing off your list in 2026.

Il Santo, Claremont

From the team behind Perth venues Il Lido and Canteen Pizza, new neighbourhood osteria Il Santo pairs relaxed Italian dining with warm, travertine-lined interiors. Executive chef Nicola Lunardi leads a menu centred on seasonal plates and daily-made pasta. Rotating pasta dishes are joined by share-style offerings such as Shark Bay prawn sandwiches with house-made tartare, mortadella skewers with quince, and local octopus finished with gremolata. 

Wine, however, sits firmly at the heart of the experience. Overseen by group wine director Michael Mori, the list draws on the depth of the Il Lido cellar — recently awarded Australia’s Best Italian Wine List 2025 — and features more than 100 predominantly Italian labels, with over 30 available by the glass. The drinks list extends beyond wine, with local and imported beers, premium spirits and cocktails including a Lemon Drop Martini and a Milano Torino made with Campari and Punt e Mes. 

To finish, guests are encouraged to embrace a Tuscan ritual: cantucci e vin santo. The classic pairing of almond biscotti dipped into sweet dessert wine is, according to the team, “the best way to end a meal”. 

Brighton Wine Bar, Scarborough 

Fremantle octopus, Shark Bay prawns and Abrolhos Island scallops star on the menu at new beachfront venue Brighton Wine Bar, where the entirely Australian wine list focuses on WA producers. Steps off the Scarborough sand, the sunny European restaurant and bar has small plates along the lines of market fish crudo with bottarga, avocado, capsicum and cucumber; larger dishes like house-made seafood ravioli with vongole, saffron foam and burnt caper butter sauce; and a knafeh dessert with pomegranate rose syrup, buffalo mozzarella and pistachio. A recycled brick bar curves through the space which features bespoke, hand-sculpted light fixtures, while streetside seats catch the Indian Ocean breeze.

Pearla & Co., North Fremantle

Chef-owner Scott Bridger’s new Leighton Beach restaurant may have opened on the same day that the demersal fishing ban was announced, but that hasn’t stopped the former Bib & Tucker ex-chef from expertly curating a menu for Pearla & Co that makes local seafood shine.  Together with head chef Pablo Gosteli, the pair have pulled together a tight menu that puts the Western Australian coastline front and centre. That might look like fish that’s been dry-ageing in twin fridges in the dark-hued dining room grilled over charcoal and dressed in sauce; sustainably sourced shellfish finished in an earthy fermented chilli butter, or freshly shucked oysters. Whatever your order, Bridger and Gosteli make good on the saying, “there’s plenty more fish in the sea”.

The coastal restaurant and bar takes over the former Al Lupo site and sources everything from local growers and fishers — forming the “co” part of the restaurant’s name. Inside, the space nods to its surroundings, with upholstery the colour of the ocean and branches of foliage hanging on the walls.

Tigerfish, Cottesloe 

Part of The Cottesloe Beach Hotel, Tigerfish is the design-forward waterfront bar and restaurant bringing Southeast Asian verve to the neighbourhood. Designed by the team behind Chin Chin’s flagship in Melbourne, it buzzes with the bright energy Asia evokes. Bold striped banquettes, coastal furnishings and terrazzo floors add to the ambience without distracting from the dining experience.

The cocktails list offers sweet, sour and salty combos, while the share-style food menu features smaller bites as well as more substantial classics. Standouts include crispy prawn toast in spring roll form; laksa prawn shumai reminiscent of Ho Jiak’s laksa bombs; and wonton tarts with a zingy kalas spiced tuna and West Coast fish crudo served on betel leaves. For bigger feeds, opt for the more traditional char kway teow and rendang elevated with wagyu brisket.

Avalon, Claremont 

This modern Mediterranean restaurant inside The Grove Residences in Claremont is the latest offering from the Cup & Co team in Floreat. Avalon delivers moodiness in spades, from the dark timbered furnishings and dim lighting to the sultry jazz nights you can expect three times a week.

The food itself draws on Greek and Italian influences, with the menu swinging from more traditional Mediterranean dishes to experimental ones. Spanakopita and charcoal eggplant hummus might feature, for example, alongside Wagin duck breast served with a smattering of green pea purée, roast carrots and a pool of veal jus. The wine list is led by local drops, while cocktails range from fresh and fruity to smoky and savoury.

Light Years Perth, CBD

The nationally loved Asian diner hailing from Byron Bay has crossed the border, bringing its punchy twist on Asian cuisine to the heritage-listed Mitchell’s Buildings in Perth. The West Coast outpost of Light Years sees its signature casual-coastal aesthetic updated with terracotta tones, sleek archways, modern fixtures and chic banquettes – courtesy of the team’s collaboration with Studio Plenty and furniture designer, Sarah Ellison.

The menu is designed to be shared, with fan favourites – including corn ribs brushed with miso butter and sticky pork belly baos – making its way onto the Perth menu. Exclusive to the 140 William Street location are smaller bites like steak tartare fired up with a red dragon sauce and balanced with pickled pear or barbecued scallops gently swimming in Kombu butter. Cocktails lean tropical like the Netflix & Chill which sees zingy passionfruit and lemon meet a popcorn-spiced Bacardi topped with a cloud of foam.   

Anglesea, Fremantle 

Set within the Garde Hotel in Fremantle, Anglesea is a modern Australian restaurant with strong Japanese-Korean influences. Crafted by hospitality stalwart Stuart Laws of Brown Street Grill, the menu is shaped entirely around a teishoku –  a Japanese “set meal” served on a single tray typically comprising of a main dish, rice and sides.

In Laws’ version, diners choose one item from the main or raw section of the menu, to be complemented by sides such as a spicy ssamjang-glazed eggplant, tofu bites with gochujang aioli and puffed sesame crackers. The drinks program has been curated by another heavy-hitter, sommelier Foni Pollitt, and features a mix of inventive cocktails and leading drops. The Banana-Umami is a must-try, mixing Bourbon, miso caramel, banana and chocolate.

Roma Robby, CBD

Known for its 50-layer lasagna smattered with wagyu ragu, this casual Italian restaurant dishing up Roman-style woodfired pizzas, saucy pastas and vino is the answer to Northbridge’s call for a good time.   

From the team behind Margot’s Wine and Oyster bar (and conveniently located next door), Roma Robby is all about relaxed dining. Snack on fried mozzarella sticks with a silky alla vodka dip before diving into thick-crusted, charred-edged pizzas kissed by the wood-fired oven, or comforting baked pastas.

Bert’s, City Beach

City Beach locals will know that the iconic Bert’s kiosk  in the old Odyssea diner has had a glow-up. While it’s kept its signature laid-back spirit, Bert’s 2.0 has more of a contemporary slickness to it, courtesy of the team’s collaboration with architectural studio, Woods Bagot. The menu carries on this easygoing coastal feel, with executive chef Matthew Rogers and head chef Patrick Curran building an offering around European flavours and local produce. It starts with breakfast staples – breakfast burgers and acai bowls galore – before veering into happy hour territory. Expect prawn and lobster rolls, oysters and gochujang prawns, as well as your pub classics like schnitzels, pizzas and burgers. Drinks star local wines, as well as coastal Martinis made with Papa Salt Gin.  

The post The best new restaurants in Perth appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

Owner Jagdev Singh comes from a hospo background (Marios, MoVida) and has used his past experience to create a bricks-and-mortar version of The Local Drop, his excellent service-forward wine delivery business. Recruiting French-born sommelier Pierrick Gorrichon (Gimlet) and chef Damon McIvor (Vex) to the team, Singh has created a neighbourhood wine bar that nails the covetable sweet spot of relaxed and unpretentious sophistication.

Sitting at the base of a backstreet Collingwood high-rise, Bar Local Drop taps into the suburb’s industrial chic aesthetic in the high-ceilinged, concrete-forward space. Metal-framed windows at the front and a greened-up outdoor atrium at the back flood the bar with light, making it an ideal pitstop for morning coffee. The plethora of hard surfaces are cleverly softened by the soft silhouette of the wide pink marble bar, semi-matte finishes, timber joinery and the flowers on the tables and the bar. Minimal and clean-lined, it’s equally comfortable and welcoming.

It’s hardly a surprise that the wine list here is a major draw. A nimble, well-priced collection with a generous by-the-glass list and expert, plain-speaking knowledge from Gorrichon, it favours small Victorian and European producers but spreads its interests beyond those too. Also, if you’re smitten with that Beechworth chardonnay or Sicilian nerello mascarelle, the retail side of the business means you can take the party with you post-dinner.

Damon McIvor’s food perfectly syncs with the approach. His short, sharp ever-changing menus lean towards crowd-pleasers lifted with smart, creative tweaks, as with the housemade hot sauce that accompanies the oysters, a scintillating blend of fermented peaches, tomatillos and jalapeños that makes its presence felt without overshadowing the main event.

There’s juicy lamb arrosticini, the grilled, honey and agave-glazed meat teamed with a thyme salsa blended with bone marrow and a brilliant version of chous farci with rainbow chard stuffed with vegetables and a potato and leek purée and finished with a powerfully delicious vegetable jus.

Stuffed pasta is a must here, perhaps an agnolotti filled with pecorino and mushrooms that’s finished with a savoury-sweet lovage oil. Also for your consideration, rosy pink duck breast finished with a sticky, sweet and sour agrodolce and a textbook chocolate crémeux, teamed with seasonal fruit.

Getting the balance right is the name of the game for any fantasy team. By that metric, Bar Local Drop is a sure-fire winner.

The post Bar Local Drop appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

Best lunch specials and set menus in Melbourne

Marmelo

Victoria’s 2025 Restaurant of The Year, this Portuguese-inspired hotel restaurant’s flame continues to burn bright with its new weekday lunch offering. Its riff on a classic bife à Portuguesa — an indulgent Portuguese steak dish — sees wood-grilled eye fillet finished with a whipped anchovy butter in place of a garlic, white wine and butter concoction, and crowned with fried hen’s egg. Fried potatoes are swapped for crisps for a lighter, lunch-friendly option. Smoky, deeply savoury and incredibly moreish, this simple but flavourful dish is available for $45 in-venue Tuesday to Friday.

When: Tues – Fri: 12 – 2:30pm

Bookings: Recommended via their website. Walk-ins welcome.

Pastarami

Run by two former chefs of the popular now-closed Richmond haunt, Noir, Pastarami on Swan Street is the stylish neighbourhood wine bar putting handmade pasta and natural wines front and centre. Its new express lunch lineup includes packed paninis from $17 — with fillings ranging from beef ragu to mortadella — or chicken cotoletta and salad for $32. For something more substantial, diners can opt for the lunch special, comprising of three plates (including focaccia, a snack and pasta or salad) for just $32 per person.

When: Tues-Sat: 12-2:30pm

Bookings: Recommended via OpenTable. Walk-ins welcome.

PAST/PORT at The Waterside Hotel

Perched above the city, PAST/PORT is The Waterside Hotel’s South-East Asian dining destination. Its recently launched express lunch menu offers a choice of entrée and main for $42 per person. Start with favourites like Tom Yum prawn dumplings before moving onto grilled chicken curry ‘Kapitan’. For those after a one-and-done meal, the Sarawak laksa ($32) is a highlight, drawing from executive chef Sarah Chan’s roots. Silky rice vermicelli noodles swim in a fragrant coconut broth infused with lemongrass, galangal, turmeric and chilli, that’s then topped with poached chicken, king prawns and crisp bean sprouts. 

When: Mon-Fri: 12-3pm

Bookings: Recommended via their website. Walk-ins welcome.

Stokehouse Pasta and Bar

Set just metres from the sand in St Kilda, Stokehouse Pasta & Bar brings a breezy, coastal ease to weekday dining with its $45 Express Lunch. The two-course offering pairs a small entrée with a pasta from a rotating selection and a glass of wine, distilling the venue’s Mediterranean-leaning, pasta-first menu into a quick, polished midday stop.

When: Mon-Fri: 12-3pm

Bookings: Recommended via SevenRooms. Walk-ins welcome.

Disuko

Melbourne’s red-hued1980s Tokyo-inspired venue from the team behind Mamas Dining Group (Hochi Mama, Windsor Wine Room) comprises a dining room and bar, terrace, intimate omakase counter and a private dining room. It’s set menu gives you and a guest the choice of five dishes to share, spanning izakaya classics and Disuko signatures. Choose two small plates, two large plates and a side  for $55 per person, with smaller options like spicy tuna bites with crisp rice; plump scallop tacos; and agedashi tofu, as well as spicy crab udon, tonkatsu curry with marque pork neck and glazed cod with whipped tofu as mains. Round out the meal with fries or steamed rice, or go the lighter route with spicy edamame or pickles.

When: Mon-Sun: 12-3pm; 5-10pm

Booking: Recommended via OpenTable.

Albert’s Wine Bar

Tucked behind the heritage listed Kings Arcade in Armadale, Albert’s Wine Bar is a quietly polished neighbourhood spot with a European bent. Set within a 19th-century building once painted by Albert Tucker (from whom the bar gets its name), it pairs an intimate interior with a relaxed courtyard. While its menu is ever changing, a $75 set offers a chef-selected, share-style progression — moving from baguette and cured meats to kingfish crudo and beetroot, and finishing with casarecce vodka and slow-roasted lamb shoulder.

When: Tues-Thurs: 3pm – late; Fri-Sat: 12pm – late; Sun: 12-9pm
Bookings: Recommended via OpenTable. Walk-ins welcome.

Clover vin de cav

Richmond’s casual-cool, minimalist wine bar-bistro hybrid celebrates natural wines with food cooked solely over fire. Take a seat in the leafy courtyard for the ever-changing menu du jour (“menu of the day”) which might look like honey bread served with fresh cheese and cured meat, followed by chicken from the wood-fired oven for $89 per person.

When: Mon – Sun: 12pm- late

Bookings: Recommended via OpenTable.

Yakimono

Chris Lucas’s high-octane Japanese-inspired eatery on Collins Street dishes up a bold lineup of weekday lunch specials for hungry office workers. Available from noon until 3pm Monday to Friday, you can tuck into Donburi with the likes of karaage chicken or a range of sashimi from $24.5, or order cult-favourite Bento Boxes with options like sake salmon from $25.5.

When: Mon – Fri: 12-3pm

Bookings: Recommended via their website. Walk-ins welcome.

Marameo

This laid-back Italian diner from the team behind Il Bàcaro and Bar Carolina takes its pasta very seriously. Made in-house daily, you can get crowd-favourites – like the jet-black squid ink linguine with blue swimmer crab –  as part of the express lunch menu, together with starters such as fried calamari and a garden salad, for $49 a head.

When: Mon – Fri: 12-3pm

Bookings: Recommended via SevenRooms. Walk-ins welcome.

Cleo

Hyde Melbourne Place has scored a chic new rooftop restaurant and bar, and it’s built around an Eastern Mediterranean concept. From Monday to Thursday, you can feast on a selection of mezze from $59, including nigella seed pide with your choice of five dips and small plates, including the likes of golden prawns with a fresh green zhoug or halloumi served with quince chutney, oregano and a squeeze of lemon.

When: Mon – Thurs: 12-5pm

Bookings: Recommended via SevenRooms. Walk-ins welcome.

Common Cuts

When it comes to one-dish restaurants championing steak frites, Melbourne is putting its best foot forward. This moody grill and listening room opposite Old Melbourne Gaol specialises in just-pink steak frites seared on the habachi from $28.50. Choose from one of six sauces – from classic mushroom and peppercorn to Ndjua or spring onion butter – and soak up the atmosphere. In the mood to indulge? Enjoy a three-course meal for just $48.50 per person, including grilled scallops, Common Cuts’ signature steak frites and a rich chocolate and date cake.

When: Thurs – Fri: 12-5pm

Bookings: Recommended via their website. Walk-ins welcome.

BKK

HER’s party-forward Thai BBQ canteen on level three offers more than just fun energy. From 11:30am to 3pm Monday to Friday, you can enjoy $15 noodles. Slurp up thick ribbons of drunken mama noodles laced with minced pork, a fiery hit of wild ginger and green peppercorn, or dig into smoky pork and prawn noodles – all at sub-$20.

When: Mon – Fri: 11:30am-3pm

Bookings: Recommended via SevenRooms. Walk-ins welcome.

Omnia

South Yarra’s Euro-leaning bistro, Omnia, ticks all the right boxes: an award-winning chef, voluminous wine list and slick interiors. And now, from Thursday to Saturday, you can dine in the light-filled conservatory room and enjoy a two-course lunch set for $49. Choose from a starter starring mussels or a corn tart, and finish with the likes of Yellowfin tuna with mushroom and peppercorn sauce or bavette.

When: Thurs-Sat: 12pm-2:30pm

Bookings: Recommended via OpenTable. Walk-ins welcome.

Greta

Located in Flinders Lane, this sophisticated Euro-centric wine and sandwich joint has been satisfying all our carby cravings for half a decade. And now, it tickles our fancy with a  $35 set menu. Split a serve of French fries with special sauce and snack on the pickle of the day before tucking into a baked eggplant parmigiana or a cheesy beef cheek baguette with pesto and Napoli sauce, among plenty of other mouth-watering options. Bellissimo!

When: Mon – Fri: 12pm-3pm

Bookings: Recommended via their website. Walk-ins welcome.

Beverly

The stunning rooftop oasis above the hustle and bustle of Melbourne’s CBD offers a one ($35), two ($50) or three-course lunch option ($65), featuring dishes like handmade pastas or vibrant salads. The menu is available Tuesday to Friday, noon until 3pm, and the mains change fortnightly.

When: Tues – Fri: 12pm-3pm

Bookings: Recommended via SevenRooms. Walk-ins welcome.

Nomad Melbourne

Nomad’s daily lunch special features a share-style menu with Mediterranean/Middle Eastern influences, available Wednesday to Sunday from noon until 3pm. Dip into hummus, toum, Gundagi lamb skewers and more for $66 — and be in and out within the hour.

When: Mon – Sun: 12pm-3pm

Bookings: Recommended via SevenRooms. Walk-ins welcome.

Society

A democratic peek into one of Melbourne’s most glamorous — and expensive — fine-dining restaurants, the Society Social‘s lavish lunchtime set-price menu (available Friday to Sunday from noon until 2:30pm) offers the choice of two or three courses from $55, with the option of adding on something decadent from the dessert trolley to finish. Sample Society’s beef tartare and chicken cotoletta with a herby salad, or perhaps John Dory with a zingy lemon-scented beurre blanc.

When: Fri – Sun: 12pm-2:30pm

Bookings: Recommended via SevenRooms. Walk-ins welcome.

Entrecôte

If your heart belongs in Paris (and whose doesn’t?), book a ticket for south-of-the-river darling Entrecôte’s two- or three-course prix fixe menu. Featuring dishes like pork rillette and the Entrecôte Cheeseburger with frites, it’s a flurry of Gallic charm enjoyed amid a fit-out that conjures up fin de siècle France.

When: Mon – Fri: 12pm-2:30pm

Bookings: Recommended via SevenRooms. Walk-ins welcome.

Check out our favourite Sydney happy hours and lunch menus.

Looking for more luxe for less?

The post Melbourne’s best lunch specials for when you want a bit of luxe for less appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

Sodewa Sake Bar, CBD

On Pirie Street in Adelaide’s CBD, a new sake bar is bringing an intimate, husband-and-wife approach to Japanese hospitality to the city. Sodewa Sake Bar is the work of Hiro Sodeyama and Ri Ogawa, who have traded Queensland for South Australia after years of running restaurants interstate. Originally from Japan, the pair have opened the venue as a koryori-ya — a style of Japanese eatery centred on small, carefully prepared dishes — with no additional staff, just Hiro in the kitchen and Ri leading service and curating the drinks offering.

Anchoring the menu is made-to-order sushi and sashimi alongside refined plates including wagyu beef tataki, agedashi tofu, braised Adelaide Plains pork belly and beef short rib simmered in sukiyaki master stock. On the drinks side, the sake list spotlights Shichiken — sourced from Hiro’s hometown and currently unavailable elsewhere in Adelaide — alongside premium labels such as Yuki no Bosha. The offering extends to Suntory Premium on tap, imported Kirin Lager and a tightly edited selection of Japanese whisky and shochu. 

Esmay

Esmay has spent years cultivating a following with keenly attended pop-ups across Australia. A wine bar in Canberra, a pub in Brisbane, a hotel in Perth — Esmay has cut its teeth with a revolving door of diners and venues. Now, it’s finally found a permanent home in Adelaide’s historic Hackney Hotel. Inside the 40-seat venue, Esmay’s chef Alanna Sapwell-Stone is serving up carefully crafted dishes with hyperlocal ingredients. Think: emu pastrami donut. Although creative and elegant, the menu remains highly accessible and enjoyable, with a seven-course tasting experience totalling only $95pp (plus drinks).

“Every [Esmay pop-up] gave me something. From the Hearth restaurant in Perth to the bustle of Canberra’s wine bars, I learned how the setting shapes the experience — and how important it is to create a sense of belonging, no matter where you are.”

Esmay Chef Alanna Sapwell-Stone.

Omada

Omada opened its doors in late 2025 to a community ready to embrace this friendly and stylish new eatery. Located in the heart of Adelaide CBD, Omada is a celebration of contemporary Greek cuisine from local hospitality royalty Simon Kardachi (Fugazzi, Shōbōsho, Osteria Oggi). Expect a menu of Greek classics — including spanakopita, taramasalata, and gyros — with a contemporary twist and locally-sourced produce. The drinks menu is as impressive as the food, showcasing fresh concoctions like a filthy feta martini and clarified baklava cocktail. This loving ode to Greece is destined to attract return customers and become a favourite in the South Australian capital.

“There’s no ignoring this new Greek bar and bistro in a towering heritage city building on the corner of Leigh and Currie Streets. You smell it before you see it, especially when Spit Roast Sunday brings Greek traditions streetside with lamb and octopus cooked kerbside over coals.”

South Australia state editor Katie Spain in her Omada review for Gourmet Traveller

Yakisan

Ritzy newcomer Yakisan launched in late 2025 in North Adelaide’s flashy new 88 O’Connell development. The sprawling 180-seat space is serving Japanese fusion dishes with Korean and French influences thanks to executive chef Adam Liston. On top of a range of delicate raw bites (Pacific oysters, sashimi and luxury sushi rolls), Yakisan’s hero is its wood-fired grill, producing succulent Wagyu and charred hispi cabbage. The glamorous seven-day venue does not prioritise flash over substance, providing both a vibrant and delicious dining experience. 

Icardis

Another addition to North Adelaide’s revamped O’Connell St, Icardis is a new hearty Italian diner serving pastas alongside woodfired meats and seafood. Billed as a Mediterranean bar and dining room, “inspired by the charm of coastal Europe”, you’ll find an Hellenic-leaning lamb and octopus, alongside swordfish Milanese and vodka rigatoni. Opening in October 2025, Icardis has already proved to be a scrumptious, unpretentious eatery with a legion of well-fed fans.

Orleana Restaurant

Boutique accommodation Kingsford The Barossa has announced chef Jake Kellie (Arkhé) is stepping in as culinary director of Orleana Restaurant. Within the heritage sandstone building, Kellie has reimagined the menu to centre around slow-aged meats and delicately garnished vegetables interacting with fire. Beef intercostal skewers with a burnt chilli glaze are made from thinly sliced local meat marinated in chilli, ginger, garlic, coriander seed, sweet soy and turmeric, then grilled over redgum timber to develop a deep char and smokiness.

Handmade brioche buns, split and filled with slow-caramelised Barossa Dairyman bacon and onion, are made even more decadent with a wodge of wagyu fat-spiked butter. Mains may include Southern Rock Lobster from Ferguson Australia, steamed then grilled, with a silky beurre blanc made from house-fermented koji butter, confit roast garlic and a bright splash of kombu vinegar; or Birdwood venison loin crusted in crushed peppercorns then gently grilled with a house-made quince mustard and bitter leaves.

Restaurant Aptos

Chef and owner Justin James (formerly of Restaurant Botanic) has been busy renovating a historic 157-year-old church in Stirling, turning it into a haunting — and hotly anticipated — multi-venue precinct. Restaurant Aptos and its sister venues, Bar Mary and Bar Cruz, are yet to open (coming autumn 2026), but we’ve listed it here so you can mark your calendars and keep an eye on the Adelaide Hills’ buzziest opening of the year.

The post The best new restaurants in Adelaide appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

Delivered over (around) 16 courses to no more than 14 guests per seating —and currently priced at $495pp — the Restaurant Aptos menu is served progressively in three distinct spaces over three storeys. Guests are welcomed before their seating into a dedicated arrival lounge (“To me, luxury is having a space for people to hang out before and after their meal,” says James), before being escorted upstairs to the first dining room for the first six courses, which might include chilled starters, or abalone done over a small charcoal grill.

“The next space we call the kitchen,” James continues. “It had plaster all over the walls covering the original stone wall of the church, which the stone masons have reappointed. Now you’re in the back of the building, and it’s designed like you’re sitting in the kitchen with us. You do five courses there of more substantial, hotter food.” The final step, upstairs again, is Up Top, where around six small dessert courses are presented.

Beyond diners’ physical movement through the venue, each room is distinct with six different playlists in the building, different napery in each setting, and even different kinds of water. “It’s almost like going to a new restaurant every time,” explains the chef.

Prior to launching Restaurant Botanic in Adelaide in 2021 (and claiming Gourmet Traveller’s Restaurant of the Year in 2022), the Michigan native was executive chef at Melbourne’s Vue de Monde following time at esteemed international restaurants including Noma, Blue Hill at Stone Barns and Eleven Madison Park. “Eleven Madison Park was like getting my doctor’s degree in culinary. What I learned there is still the foundation of everything I do,” he reflects.

Known for a concerted commitment to native ingredients at Botanic, James installed around 600 individual plants in the Aptos landscaping, including mountain pepper, native thyme, river mint, lilly pillys, muntries, native ginger, native lemongrass, myrtle, Geraldton wax, ruby saltbush, bush tomatoes, warrigal greens, quandong and wattle. “When I first came here, I remember tasting all these ingredients and thinking, ‘That’s what Australia is to me.’ It’s acidic, it’s bitter, it’s astringent and salty —  it’s all these different berries and citrus and leaves.”

The first dish (for now, at least) sees five native Australian fruits presented in various forms: “some are turned into puree, like smoked quandong, or lightly pickled. We stuff a quandong with a little bit of horseradish and grilled parsley, and the last part is like a little leather made from those fruits. It just sets the tone for the whole Aptos experience,” says James.

“I think the most logical way [to develop a menu] is to have structure and pillars, so I say: This is an Australian restaurant. Our proteins include kangaroo, emu, wallaby, marron and Murray Cod,” he continues. “We also have camel and water buffalo — things that were brought here and are telling this Australian story.”

Five beverage pairings, including a lineup called Just the Hills, feature wine and more from local producers including Deviation Road (“They’re like, six or seven minutes from the restaurant.”), Vinteloper and Tapanappa Wines.

Set to join Restaurant Aptos on the site later in 2026, Bar Cruz will comprise a further three spaces and offer an a la carte menu geared towards local and return visitors, and Bar Mary will be a dedicated whisky bar.

“I think if you can’t explain something in one sentence, you have to go back to the drawing board — my one sentence for Restaurant Aptos was to bring people here. I’m bringing people here as part of the team — from Lima, my head chef from Kyoto, a few inter-staters, a chef from Sweden, two chefs from Korea that moved over — but also bringing people to Adelaide, South Australia and Australia.”

Restaurant Aptos is open for dinner Thursday–Saturday (with 5.30pm and 8.30pm seatings) and Sunday lunches (12pm or 3pm) at 147 Mount Barker Road, Stirling, South Australia. Bookings are available online.

The post Justin James’s Restaurant Aptos has finally opened in the Adelaide Hills appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

Melbourne’s café and bakery scene is in a particularly energetic moment, with established names expanding and a new wave of operators refining what the everyday stop can be. Across the city, the appetite for well-made coffee, brunch bites and a reliable baked good shows no sign of easing. 

From early-morning espresso rituals to late-afternoon shelves of still-warm pastries, here are the best new cafés and bakeries in Melbourne to visit right now. 

Upper Middle, South Melbourne

Front-of-house veteran Franck Sammut, who spent eighteen years at France-Soir, has opened Upper Middle, a casual all-day spit in South Melbourne. 

“The menu and the space both draw on the food and places I love: simple things done well, European touches, and a room with personality. My hope is that it becomes part of people’s daily routine, a spot they return to without thinking,” says Sammut.

Led in the kitchen by head chef Lakshay Kapoor (Le Cordon Bleu, formerly Bistro Thierry), the offering spans brunch staples and St Ali coffee, alongside a baguette and pizza bar serving everything from margherita to nduja with pickled chilli and jalapeño honey. Our pick: the baguette with DOP prosciutto, stracciatella, tomato, basil pesto and rocket. 

Loading the player…

Bloomwood, CBD

A second CBD outpost on Bourke Street cements Bloomwood as a go-to for pastries that sit between French technique and Asian-influenced flavours, drawing a steady city crowd since its debut on Exhibition Street in 2024.

Moving between the familiar and the unexpected, the pastry case is anchored by viennoiserie like buttery pain au chocolat and crisp croissants, alongside playful reinventions: miso banoffee Danish, Dubai chocolate cookies, shio salt bread and a Hong Kong custard shio. Past creations such as the black sesame mochi flower offered a more intricate bite — layered with black sesame custard, mochi, blackberries, ginger sesame cream and black sesame jelly.

Drinks complete the picture, from matcha clouds to well-executed coffee, reinforcing Bloomwood’s appeal to both pastry purists and those seeking something a little more exploratory.

Hector’s Deli, CBD and Carlton

Cult Melbourne sandwich shop Hector’s Deli has opened its eighth location in Carlton, arriving on Lygon Street shortly after launching its second CBD site on Little Collins Street. The expansion continues a steady rollout, which has become a go-to for fast, well-made sandwiches across Melbourne. Known for its signature toasted tuna melts on rye, generously filled salad sandwiches and chicken schnitzels tucked into steamed milk buns, Hector’s Deli also serves a tight line-up of drinks and doughnuts. The Carlton store adds a location-only item to the menu with a doughnut maritozzo, filled with whipped cream, condensed milk and vanilla.

Hector’s Deli has been running since 2017, when chef Dom Wilton first opened in a former milk bar tucked into Richmond’s backstreets. Quality ingredients and a commitment to consistency paid off. Key elements such as bread, pickles and sauces are made on-site at Hector’s Bakery in Richmond, and while the menu remains the same, each fit-out is designed to suit the location.

Butter Days Bakery, Malvern

Melbourne has a new sweet stop worth queuing for at Butter Days Bakery. Owned by John Demetrios (Vue de Monde, Omnia, Yugen)—winner of season two of MasterChef: Dessert Masters—and his wife Martina Cissig Demetrios (Embla, Trader House), the bakery blends classical pastry technique with Scandinavian influence. The signature is the Sunshine Bun: a savoury-sweet malted dough filled with lemon and cinnamon-scented custard. Sweet offerings continue, from Swedish kanelbulle and chocolate-dipped profiteroles to brown butter sablés Bretons filled with fruit custard and macadamia swirls. Those who prefer savoury can go for Danishes with everything bagel seasoning, cream cheese, dill, capers, shallots and lemon topped with smoked salmon, or cheesy pinwheels.

Nico’s Sandwich Deli pop-up, Fitzroy

A freshly made crisp chicken sandwich bathed in a glowing blue light sounds more like a mirage than a genuine snack option for late-night revellers, but it’s real! In March, Nico’s Sandwich Deli opened an after-hours sandwich automat in Fitzroy, modelled on examples they’d come across in Amsterdam. Staff on hand keep the vending machine freshly stocked, and for the six-month stint it’s operating, there is a rotating menu of limited-edition sandwiches.

The post The best new cafes and bakeries in Melbourne in 2026 appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

The Gourmet Traveller Annual Restaurant Guide was refreshed once again by our team of expert critics, and Melbourne is once again showing why it holds firm as Australia’s culinary capital.

Last year’s top honours in our Restaurant Awards went to Marmelo, named Victoria’s State Winner for its confident, produce-driven cooking. Maison Bâtard took the title of Best New Restaurant, cementing its place as a must-visit for diners seeking something fresh yet deeply rooted in French technique. Celebrated restaurateur Angie Giannakodakis from Taverna was recognised as Restaurant Personality of the Year.

Our expert critics have scoured the city for the best places to eat, drink and celebrate Melbourne’s rich restaurant culture, from fine-dining institutions that set global benchmarks to intimate neighbourhood spots that capture Melbourne’s trademark energy. This guide is not limited to a single style of dining; every restaurant featured should be considered gold standard. See how the guide works.

Melbourne’s best restaurants in 2026

To earn a place in this guide, each venue must excel with service, design, originality, consistency and atmosphere each carefully considered. But the most crucial area of excellence is always the food. From fine-diners to city wine bars, bistros, trattorias, izakayas and many more, every restaurant featured in this guide should be considered gold standard. It’s an exciting snapshot of how we like to eat out in 2026 and beyond.

All of the restaurants were visited between March and July 2025, with reviewers visiting anonymously and paying for their bills in full.

PRICE GUIDE

Average cost for two diners, not including drinks.

$ = under $100
$$ = $100 to $175
$$$ = 175 to $250
$$$$ = $250 to $325
$$$$$ = $325+

How the guide works

Marmelo

2025 Victoria State Winner

Channelling Portugal from its striking design – warm earthy tones via brick, timber, tile and fabric details – to the menu and wine list, Marmelo by Ross & Sunny Lusted also spruiks excellent local produce. Flavours are bright across the menu, from the paella-like arroz de Marisco, piled with seafood and served in a cedar-lidded cast-iron pot, to a zest-perfumed olive oil cheesecake delivered straight from the wood-fired oven.

$$$

portuguese

130 Russell St, Melbourne

read full review

Loading the player…

Embla

Ten years in, Embla remains one of Melbourne’s most essential dining rooms. Dave Verheul’s trailblazing wine bar pairs clever, deceptively simple dishes with a stellar drinks list in a space that buzzes night after night. If you only have one night in town, come here.

$$$

AUSTRALIAN

122 Russell St, Melbourne

read full review

Gimlet

From chilled Martinis and briny oysters to a show-stopping 900-gram T-bone, Gimlet delivers classic indulgence with a touch of theatre. The era-spanning dining room is as glamorous as the menu, where Comté tart, table-side crêpes Suzette and caviar with all the trimmings are matched by sharp service and a stellar wine and cocktail list. It’s a polished performance from lunch through to late-night supper.

$$$$

european

33 Russell St, Melbourne

read full review

Flower Drum

Melbourne’s Cantonese institution Flower Drum celebrates 50 years this year, and its opulence remains undimmed. From impeccably executed dim sum to show-stopping Peking duck, the menu dazzles with both elegance and playful flair. With polished service and a dining room that’s a nostalgic ’80s Hong Kong dream, Flower Drum delivers a world-class experience that is unmistakably Melbourne.

$$$$

CANTONESE

17 Market Ln, Melbourne

read full review

Vue de monde

At Vue, chef Hugh Allen balances the familiar and the thrilling, from chocolate soufflé with billy tea ice-cream to salt-cured kangaroo with green ants, oyster under wasabi-and-avocado “snow,” and marron with savoury custard and finger lime. Every dish is executed with meticulous detail, complemented by impeccable service, a stunning view, and a drinks list ranging from benchmark Burgundy to rare Chinese teas.

GT tip: Reserve a spot by the window to enjoy the sweeping view while savouring Vue’s exquisite multi-course menu

$$$$$

australian

Level 55 Rialto South Tower, 525 Collins St, Melbourne

read full review

Bistra

At Carlton’s Bistra, it’s not about chasing the next big thing but rediscovering the pleasures of the familiar. Chef Alex Nishizawa gives bistro classics a clever twist – from buzzworthy cheeseburgers to nanna-core cream puffs – while modern touches and a savvy wine list ensure this neighbourhood spot feels both comforting and current.

$$$

AUSTRALIAN

157 Elgin St, Carlton

read full review

Lee Ho Fook

Victor Liong’s playful snacks – like a choux “bao” with mushroom char siu or prawn toast crowned with sea urchin and salted egg yolk butter – set the tone at Lee Ho Fook. Save room, though, for the maltose-glazed Peking duck and sweet and sour pork with pineapple and strawberry sauce. Backed by sharp service and a savvy wine list, it’s a smart, modern spin on Australian-Chinese dining.

$$$

chinese

11-15 Duckboard Pl, Melbourne

read full review

Etta

At Etta, owner Hannah Green’s instinctive hospitality sets the tone for a neighbourhood bistro that feels effortlessly welcoming. Chef Lorcán Kan’s menu balances inventive flavours with approachable dishes, from tea quail egg skewers to crisp-roasted duck leg and ethereal desserts. A carefully curated drinks list, featuring standout cocktails and wines from Old and New World producers, rounds out a stylish dining experience.

$$$

AUSTRALIAN

60 Lygon St, Brunswick East

read full review

Kafeneion

Con Christopoulos and Stavros Konis lead the charge with this Athenian-style diner, where crisp fried sweetbreads, slow-cooked olive oil-forward dishes and vibrant horiatiki showcase Greek cuisine well beyond the expected. Add a glass of assyrtiko, a slice of orange fillo cake and the easy warmth of Hellenic hospitality, and it’s clear why Kafeneion has become a city favourite.

$$

greek

Level 1, 161 Spring St, Melbourne

read full review

Maison Bâtard

2025 Best New Restaurant

Chris Lucas’s four-level Maison Bâtard is a lavish ode to French indulgence, where oysters and chartreuse-spiked Martinis on the rooftop set the stage for lobster croquettes, caviar-brushed brioche and chive-crowned steak tartare downstairs. From Josper-grilled John Dory with chardonnay-caper sauce to a retro Tournedos Rossini steak, the cooking is matched by a cellar steeped in Old World charm. Crowned Best New Restaurant, it’s Melbourne’s glittering new clubhouse – equal parts theatre, pleasure and extravagance.

$$$$

french

23 Bourke St, Melbourne

read full review

Manzé

The Mauritian-inspired cooking at Manzé thrills with bold South Asian and East African flavours, from crisp-battered oyster mushroom with house hot sauce to garlicky lamb cubes brightened with sorrel, and on to grilled fish in watercress broth, smoked chilli potatoes or crème caramel with cardamom sorbet. Warm service, a natural-leaning wine list and the cosy, cork-floored room complete the experience.

GT tip: Missed out on a booking? You can find a condensed snacking menu of the same flavours at the team’s new wine bar Boire, right across the road.

$$

mauritian

Shop 2, 1-5 Errol St,
North Melbourne

read full review

Di Stasio Carlton

At Di Stasio Carlton, art and atmosphere are as integral as the food. Between gallery-like interiors and a courtyard straight from Italy, the stage is set for a menu that delivers classic dishes with flair and indulgence.

$$$

italian

224 Faraday St, Carlton

read full review

Carnation Canteen

At Euro-leaning restaurant Carnation Canteen, chef-owner Audrey Shaw proves that simplicity can be the ultimate sophistication. With a nimble, seasonal menu, warm minimalist design and a focus on flavour at every course, this neighbourhood spot makes pared-back dining feel effortless.

$$$

MEDITERRANEAN

165 Gore St, Fitzroy

read full review

Minamishima

Minamishima’s mood-lit sushi counter offers an 18-course parade that stakes its claim as Australia’s finest omakase. From miso-cured John Dory and vinegared mackerel under battera kombu jelly to tempura abalone in an abalone liver sauce and a smoky chrysanthemum-and-duck soup, every bite is a revelation. With impeccable service and a carefully curated sake list, it’s the perfect spot for a special-occasion feast.

$$$$$

japanese

4 Lord St, Richmond

read full review

Lagoon Dining

Lygon Street might be best known for Italian dining, but Lagoon Dining broadens the scope with flavour-packed dishes that draw on China, Malaysia and Japan. Think hot-and-sour shredded potato batons, juicy char siu pork, or beef tartare flavoured with laksa leaf and sambal vinaigrette. With sharp cocktails, a thoughtful wine list and warm service, it’s a welcome alternative to the street’s historical hegemony.

$$$

asian

263 Lygon St, Carlton

read full review

Serai

The McScallop – a fried Abrolhos scallop in crab-fat sauce on a pandesal – sets the tone at Serai, where Ross Magnaye’s Filipino heritage and wood-grill mastery deliver bold, inventive dishes like smoked pineapple with caviar, smoky pigs-head tacos and grill-scorched calamari with ’nduja. The industrial laneway space, on-theme cocktails and great tunes add to the party vibe, but every dish is underpinned by serious technique and thoughtful spicing, from sticky adobo lamb ribs to punchy, layered flavours throughout.

$$$

filipino

7 Racing Club La, Melbourne

read full review

Stokehouse

Stokehouse’s prime waterside setting is matched by Jason Staudt’s deft, playful cooking, from spanner crab with doughnut to saltbush-and-vinegar potato cake, grilled marron with lime-spiked brown butter, and beef with potatoes Dauphinoise and bordelaise sauce. Light, elegant desserts like rhubarb and mandarin tart with coconut and lemon thyme complete the picture, all served by a polished, attentive team.

$$$$

AUSTRALIAN

30 Jacka Blvd, St Kilda

read full review

O.My

From the moment you see a wine that’s “not shit” or a cocktail that’s “nothing to f*** with,” you know this south-east Melbourne fine-diner is run with charm and cheek. Blayne and Chayse Bertoncello turn produce from their kitchen garden into dishes like tempura pickles, flathead mousse, lamb ragù and fall-apart pork neck, finishing with sourdough-offcut crème pâtissière. With house-made kombucha, hyper-local wines and playful technical brilliance at every turn, it’s a dining experience that consistently hits the mark.

$$$$$

AUSTRALIAN

70 Princes Hwy, Beaconsfield (cnr
of Souter St)

read full review

Previous

The best restaurants in Victoria right now

Top 100: Best restaurants in Australia

How the Gourmet Traveller Annual Restaurant Guide works

Next

This guide to Melbourne’s best restaurants in 2026 has been edited by Gourmet Traveller’s expert reviewer and Victoria state editor Michael Harden alongside national guide editor Michael Harry. Under Harden’s direction, our team of critics also includes seasoned restaurant reviewer and writer Larissa Dubecki. Our team visited – and revisited – dozens of restaurants, seeking out the most exceptional meals and memorable experiences in Melbourne.

Our expert critics

The post Our expert food reviewers’ guide to the best Melbourne restaurants appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

Whether you’re a local seeking your next booking for a special occasion, long lunch or date night, or a visitor exploring the dining scene of the Queensland capital, these are the best new restaurants and bars in Brisbane worth checking out in 2026.

Ruma Rooftop

Brisbane has added another rooftop bar and restaurant to its skyline with Ruma Rooftop: a sun-drenched, tropical oasis by the team behind Kangaroo Point’s Sunsets Rooftop. Set atop the Little Lane dining precinct in New Farm, Ruma is a lush island escape surrounded by palm trees and teeming with woven textures, stone and terracotta tones. Divided into an open-air courtyard filled with spacious booths, long tables hedged by rattan chairs and a chef’s counter where you can watch chef Felipe Oliveira work his magic, Ruma is primed for long lunches and sundowners.

“The name Ruma means ‘home,’ a word from my mum’s language,” co-owner Katrina Mead explains.  “She’s from a coastal village in Papua New Guinea, so we’re trying to weave in elements inspired by that.” The menu takes its cue from the tropics and incorporates native ingredients. Expect plates that surprise and delight, such as sourdough served with black-garlic butter and native pepperberry salt; whipped feta with toasted buckwheat and hummus sprinkled with wattleseed dust; or raw tuna bites layered with crème fraîche, strawberry and a hint of wasabi oil. Larger dishes might look like market fish layered with wilted spinach, butter and green onion oil or marbled rump cap joined by golden skin-on shoestring fries and green pepper sauce. A sunset-ready cocktail list leans similarly tropical, with 11 specialty cocktails built around citrus and fresh herbs and a steady stable of classics.

Venner

The combined effort of buddies Jack Stuart (of noted Scenic Rim restaurant Blume), George Curtis (Milquetoast, Before + After) and James Horsfall (also an owner of Milquetoast), Venner is a new-Nordic restaurant on buzzing West End’s Boundary Street. “James worked with Jack at Blume for a significant period of time,” says Curtis, “and James and myself met at Elska in New Farm, which was an award-winning Scandinavian degustation.” 

The neo-Nordic philosophy has sustainability at its core, he continues, “So, fermenting hyper-seasonal fruit and using it as a vinegar when that fruit is out of season, for example.” Dishes change seasonally, and might look like buckwheat tartlets with blue mackerel and cucumber; barbecued deer loin with cavolo nero and warrigal green sauce served with braised deer shoulder, rye waffle and pickled rosella; and buttermilk custard with fig leaf and ginger granita and honeycomb.

Venner serves an a la carte menu and set menu Wednesday–Saturday, and a set Sunday brunch with plates like smørrebrød topped with egg salad, ocean trout gravlax and optional caviar.

+81 Sushi Kappo

The team behind Gourmet Traveller’s 2025 Bar of the Year, Aizome Bar, has opened +81 Sushi Kappo right next door, in West End. The 12-seat omakase experience is delivered by Tokyo-trained chef Ikuo Kobayashi, who’s mastered the art at notorious destination restaurants including Sushi Saito, Kyubey and Sushi Iwa. +81 Sushi Kappo‘s seafood-focused omakase is served for just 12 guests at a time, and reflects the seasons with influences from Ginza’s glitzy culinary scene, combining Australia’s best produce with special ingredients imported from Japan.  

A beverage menu offers 100 sake options plus rare Japanese whisky, Champagne and Australian and international wines, with optional pairing options. Beginning at $450 per person, it’s one of the most expensive dining experiences in Australia — but cheaper than a flight to Tokyo.

The French Exit

Next to the CBD site of its months-old Middle Eastern restaurant, Golden Avenue, the ever-expanding Anyday group (Agnes, Same Same) has revealed its first foray into the food of France with The French Exit. The cosy ode to Paris is a modern take on the bistrot, with an opulent heritage-inspired interior by Sydney designer Tamsin Johnson fitted out with parquetry flooring, lacy cafe curtains, dark timber and a warm butter and brass palette.

Executive chef John-Paul Fiechtner (Le Châteaubriand in Paris,  Lûme in Melbourne) and head chef Ryan Carlson (Agnes, St John in London) developed a menu that covers comforting classics with the group’s expected level of reinvention; duck à l’orange, escargot and lobster Thermidor are joined by bite-sized panisse topped with whipped roe, chicken liver parfait éclairs with mulberry conserve, and a pretty pineapple sorbet. Naturally, the 500-bottle wine list leans heavily on the key regions of France (and rare, iconic labels) as well as a selection of emerging appellations.

For more of the latest restaurant news from Gourmet Traveller, sign up to receive our newsletter in your inbox.

Suum

Bringing experience from Disfrutar in Barcelona (The World’s Best Restaurant 2024) and Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck, chef Andy Choi is serving a boundary-pushing interpretation of Korean cuisine driven by its depth, diversity and identity at Suum in the Brisbane CBD. On the omakase-style menu, Choi integrates elements of molecular gastronomy, traditional Korean fermentation (swapping a hard-to-source Korean starter culture for Champagne yeast and shio koji) and ineffable cultural concepts of harmony and rhythm. The seasonally updated tasting menu might present tofu kimchi samhap wrapped in tomato jelly; Three Bites of Fermented Jangs (doenjang, ganjang, and gochujang); and a truffle chestnut soup inspired by a Korean dish enjoyed in his childhood.

House-made makgeolli and traditional Korean liquors are offered as a pairing in addition to a wine list, and BYO wine is also invited. Raw, blackened steel, warm timber and high-contrast lighting create an atmosphere of reverence and performance for just 16 guests at a time, with place settings around the open kitchen illuminated by a soft spotlight. At $180 per head, it sits at the approachable end of Australia’s omakase offering.

Marlowe

Weaving through a 1930s apartment block, Marlowe is the sixth venue from the trend-leading Fanda Group (Rick Shores, Southside, Central). Head chef and co-owner Ollie Hansford sought to upgrade classics from vintage Australian cookbooks with an elegant approach, subbing beef for coral trout in a Wellington that gets doused in caviar butter sauce; turning prawn cocktail into a pretty tartlet; and layering rhubarb jelly and macadamia sponge in a trifle. “I’m lucky to have locked in five kilos of jumbo yabbies a week from a farm just outside of Gympie, and 20 whole heritage-breed chickens from Joyce’s Gold [in the Scenic Rim],” says Hansford, who highlights noteworthy local producers on a dedicated page of the menu.

Where silver trays, paper doilies and pressed metal ceilings speak to Marlowe’s nostalgic core, the all-Australian wine list (with the exception of Champagne) by Peter Marchant and cocktail selection heavily featuring native ingredients reinforce a modern understanding of local flavours. Nodding to the site’s Art Deco origins with pared-back, modern design choices from J.AR Office, Marlowe’s various spaces (dining rooms and nooks, a bar, and terrace) feature walnut timber, polished metal details and a breezy palette of blue, buttercream and crimson.

Bar Monte

The Longland Street bubble in Newstead has welcomed a sequel to, Bar Monte, the Light Years team’s Italian restaurant on the Gold Coast. “Brisbane is such a dynamic city for dining,” says co-owner Kim Stephen. “We see [this] as the grown-up sibling of our Miami venue – warm, social, and fun, but with a little more edge and sophistication.” The modern trattoria serves jazzed-up dishes such as mortadella buns with pickled green chilli and limoncello aïoli; yellowfin tuna with pineapple, green chilli, lemon and koji mayo; and dry-aged bistecca with porcini rub, onion and marrow butter, along with crowd-pleasing pastas and risotto. Australian, Italian and French wine producers form the drinks list alongside savoury-leaning cocktails, including a Celery Margarita. The breezy split-level venue calls on various eras of Italian interior design with spotted gum and concrete, high-gloss ceramics and statement wool pendants.

Golden Avenue

Brisbane’s new Middle Eastern restaurant by the owners of Agnes and Biànca, Golden Avenue evokes a Levantine garden terrace at the Botanic Gardens end of Edward Street.

Wood ovens and charcoal grills make for a heady atmosphere in the spacious restaurant, with the broad culinary inspiration (described as spanning “from the Levant to the Maghreb”) applied by Anyday co-owner and culinary director Ben Williamson, group executive chef Adam Wolfers (Gerard’s Bistro, Etelek), and head chef Tim Yates. The menu offers kibbeh nayyeh with Urfa chilli and sheep curd; fried quail with chilli oil, carob molasses, verjuice and za’atar; Spring Bay mussels (cooked in a clay pot) served with fennel, roasted rice cream and lemon; and house-made breads (saj, pita and potato bread), cooked to order in the wood-fired oven. As well as the multi-level restaurant space (with textural concrete surfaces, mature trees and plants, soft green tiling, and pink granite surfaces), there’s a dedicated bar area with a menu of mezze snacks.

Golden Avenue is Anyday’s seventh venue, joining Agnes (Gourmet Traveller’s 2023 Restaurant of the Year), Same Same, Hôntô, Biànca, LOS bar and bakery/café Idle.

The interior of South Brisbane bistro Clarence.

Clarence

The popular bistro run by chefs Ben McShane and Matthew Kuhnemann has relocated to the lively Fish Lane precinct in South Brisbane. Swapping its origins in a historic Woolloongabba terrace for a bright new laneway location, Clarence 2.0 continues to offer a top-value approach to casual fine dining, creatively utilising produce from Brisbane’s surrounds.

Rare-breed pork and cream for butter come from Tommerup’s Dairy in the Scenic Rim, vegetables from Neighbourhood Farm in Brisbane’s inner south, and scallops from Hervey Bay, with a standout new seafood platter, the popular house-aged duck, and an apple tarte Tatin (a necessary pre-order) on the menu. The drinks list (with all-Australian wines by sommelier Zoe Mahoney) offers cocktails like a bergamot martini and rhubarb gin fizz. Reflecting its new always-on location, Clarence has a happy hour between 3pm and 5pm Friday–Sunday; a three-course, $75pp Sunday lunch; and a condensed late-night menu (with a cheeky new cheeseburger) from 9pm.

Evra

Over in Newstead, Evra is a new Brisbane restaurant and bar where provenance shines on the plate. Salad leaves and veg are plucked straight from the rooftop garden, while the breezy seasonal menu celebrates local farmers and fishmongers through stellar snacks of wild-caught smoked salmon crumpets and CopperTree Farms steak tartare right through to mains of grilled coral trout and lightly breaded Talgai lamb cutlets served with celeriac remoulade. The crowd-pleasing menu is complemented by the restaurant’s thoughtful interiors across the sleek dining room, the light-filled, lush indoor garden-like setting, and the more casual bar with high-top tables.

Winnifred’s

A chic new bar, shop and restaurant has opened on Arthur Street (or rue d’Arthur, as the owners call it) in Fortitude Valley. Staking a claim for one of the longest and most diverse Champagne lists in Asia Pacific, Winnifred’s stocks more than 360 cuvées from 63 growers and Grande Marque houses, showing a preference for smaller producers. The 18-seat Champagne Bar and 16-seat Champagne Garden are focal points, ably aided by a concierge and marchand de vins (wine merchant) where bottles can be purchased to take home. Beyond that, there are two event spaces and a 60-seat restaurant – The French Bistro – looked after by Antoine Potier (Restaurant Dan Arnold and E’cco Bistro), which focuses on seasonal French-friendly ingredients that match well with bubbles. Think pissaladière with white onion, olives and sardines; beef tartare with grain crisps; half a quail with sauce foie gras, and Moreton Bay bugs with Champagne veil. Chic interiors by Tim Stewart Architects revolve around a show-stopping green granite bar offset with layered copper skirting.

The Fifty Six

After opening to acclaim in 2024, Naldham House has welcomed the final puzzle piece to its multi-venue CBD hotspot. The Fifty Six brings dim sum, prawn toast and roast meat classics for a Cantonese extravaganza in stately quarters. Head chef Gerald Ong is gunning to evolve Brisbane’s perception of Cantonese cuisine, bringing his deft skills from working in restaurants across Hong Kong including The Chairman. Modern one-bite starters approach traditional flavour profiles with snacky finesse, like the drunken prawn tart; and Hervey Bay scallops with house-made XO. Dim sum chef Ka Wai Kwok is overseeing the handmade menu, which includes scallop siu mei layered with whole prawn and pork mince; alongside soupy xiao long bao and crisp pork spring rolls. Queensland seafood is naturally showcased, including baked blue swimmer crab with calamansi; and Bay bug pao fan – a nod to chef Ong’s Singaporean heritage – which is finished tableside with a rich broth. Bold interiors complement the elegant bones of the building, with arched windows, jewel tones, marble and brass finishes, booth seating and long tables.

The post The best new restaurants in Brisbane appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

So begins Gray’s reflections on decades spent feasting and fasting in Tuscany, Puglia, the Cyclades Islands and other Mediterranean destinations popular with the Eat Pray Love set. Like any high-functioning Italophile, reading Gray’s thoughts on zuppa di pesce and fagioli brought back plenty of happy travel memories. Conversely, her stories of village weddings in Naxos and Hellenic Easter traditions felt like the universe’s way of asking me, not for the first time, why haven’t you been to Greece yet?

One person who’s ahead of me on that front is Aaron Moore. Not only is the Belfast-born chef a long-time visitor to Greece, it was also the country where his kitchen career began, with Moore cutting his teeth at tavernas in Athens, Antiparos and – like Gray – the Cyclades. Since then, he’s added some notable Australian names to his CV with Bread in Common and Aria Brisbane chief among our man’s former ports of call. Early signs suggest that his latest gig will be similarly memorable.

Opened in March 2026, Farra Dining is a polished Greco-inspired eatery where linen, blond wood and muted colours dominate. And while it shares an address with the freshly minted Hyde Perth hotel, a cookie-cutter hotel restaurant it ain’t.

One look at the food offering and it’s clear that Farra is no “concept” designed by committee or focus group. When was the last time that you saw goat sheftalia (juicy caul-wrapped sausage grilled over charcoal) on a menu in Perth? Crunchy pastirmopita – a fillo pie cradling air-dried beef – was another new one to me, as was its accompanying tyrokafteri, a perky cheese sauce that’s cleverly doctored with fermented chilli and vinegar.

Beyond a fondness for exploring Grecian cuisine’s deeper cuts, Moore also enjoys using kitchen know-how to put new spins on the familiar. Smoked salmon roe is a wonderful addition to taramasalata, as is the baked to order flatbread. Sardines, while synonymous with Mediterranean dining and wining, don’t get quite as much love here. Perhaps if more people adopted Moore’s softly-softly approach – each fish gets deboned and butterflied before getting the briefest skin-side blowtorching – that might change. Add enthusiastic waitstaff and a thoughtful drinks list, and it’s the full package.

At a time when many hospitality operators are, perhaps understandably, playing it safe, it’s heartening to see places like Farra enter the fray. Best of all: it isn’t just notable for daring to be different, it’s also emerged fully formed and with a strong sense of identity and purpose. If this is how Farra looks – and tastes – just two months in, we have much to look forward to.

The post Farra Dining appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

The Gourmet Traveller Annual Restaurant Guide has just landed, bringing with it a fresh wave of reviewed Sydney restaurants that make up the very best in the city. Our carefully considered list of Sydney restaurants go from Josh Niland’s stellar Saint Peter, winner of our prestigious Restaurant of the Year Award in 2025, to hot-right-now wine bars and the casual-cool Ante in Newtown. Our expert critics have scoured the city for the best places to eat, drink and celebrate Sydney’s ever-evolving restaurant culture.

From reliable dining stalwarts to new trailblazers firing on all cylinders, here’s our guide to the best restaurants in Sydney.

Sydney’s best restaurants in 2026

To earn a place in this guide, each venue must excel with service, design, originality, consistency and atmosphere each carefully considered. But the most crucial area of excellence is always the food. From fine-diners to city wine bars, bistros, trattorias, izakayas and many more, every restaurant featured in this guide should be considered gold standard. It’s an exciting snapshot of how we like to eat out in 2026 and beyond.

All of the restaurants were visited between March and July 2025, with reviewers visiting anonymously and paying for their bills in full.

PRICE GUIDE

Average cost for two diners, not including drinks.

$ = under $100
$$ = $100 to $175
$$$ = 175 to $250
$$$$ = $250 to $325
$$$$$ = $325+

How the guide works

Saint Peter

2025 Restaurant of the Year and NSW State Winner

Start with an Oyster Shell Martini, stirred tableside. That’s the best way to begin Josh Niland’s journey beneath the waves at his endlessly innovative fish restaurant, now housed inside Paddington’s Grand National Hotel. Next, you’re likely to follow a fish through many guises – yellowfin tuna, say, served as tartare on a fermented rice cake, then wrapped in pastry as a Wellington, then as a petit four of bone marrow fudge – each showcasing the secondary cuts that are the backbone of Niland’s renowned scale-to-tail craft. Saint Peter is in peak form.

“At Saint Peter’s new home inside the Grand National Hotel, Josh Niland’s groundbreaking approach to seafood reaches dazzling new heights. Known for his whole fish approach to cooking, the results are both art and innovation… this is Niland’s vision fully realised — and easily one of the most unforgettable dining experiences in Australia and the world.”

GT tip: Drop into the Saint Peter Bar for a more casual dining experience of tuna and swordfish belly bacon cheeseburgers and curried cod pies. Or go the other end of the spectrum and book in for a night at the hotel upstairs.

$$$$$

Seafood

161 Underwood st, Paddington

Read full review

Bessie’s and Alma’s

To step inside this hot-right-now wine bar and restaurant (Bessie’s is the diner, Alma’s is the bar) from the team behind nearby hit Bar Copains, is to be struck by the inescapable need to eat whatever’s cooking, immediately. The plates are small and the tables aren’t much bigger, but the vibe is huge. It’s the quintessential Surry Hills (and possibly even Sydney in its entirety) restaurant of the moment.

$$

mediterranean

111-115 Albion St, Surry Hills

Read full review

Olympus Dining

Head chef Ozge Kalvo awarded 2025 Best New Talent

The huge, 50-year-old bougainvillea tree at the centre of this indoor-outdoor dining room has seen a lot of action in its time. Most recently, it’s witnessed the 200-seat modern Greek blockbuster in the Wunderlich Lane precinct packed for almost every service since opening in late 2024. Olympus feels very Sydney, very now, and it’s only getting harder to land a table.

“Anyone who has set foot in the 200-seat room that is Olympus Dining in Sydney will quickly recognise what a behemoth it is. Taking on a restaurant of that size would be challenging for any chef, let alone one stepping into their first Head Chef role. But Ozge Kalvo rose to the challenge immediately, serving elegant Greek cooking that has captivated Sydney diners.”

$$$

greek

Wunderlich Lane,
2 Baptist St, Redfern

Read full review

Porcine

Chef-owner Nik Hill awarded 2025 Chef of the Year

Porcine has always been about fun times with wine and swine. Chef Nik Hill’s masterful dishes mean having a memorable meal is easier than ever. Mainstays, such as the creton with lentils or an aged pork chop with choucroute and juniper, remain sublime. Porcine is enthusiastic about classic cooking, whole-carcass butchery and congenial service.

“Nik Hill brings precision, imagination and deep technique to every plate. At Porcine, his French-inspired bistro-pub in Sydney’s Paddington, Hill blends the richness of classic French cooking with a modern, playful edge… drawing on everything from Nouvelle Cuisine to Quebecois flavours.”

GT tip: Arrive early to have a drink at Porcine’s downstairs courtyard bar L’Avant Cave.

$$$

french

268 Oxford St, Paddington

Read full review

Pilu at Freshwater

A tiramisù prepared tableside surely needs time to develop its flavours? Not if that tiramisù is created by the expert hand of Giovanni Pilu, who knows exactly how to coax maximum impact from house-made savoiardi biscuits, mirto bianco liqueur and generous waves of mascarpone in front of diners’ eyes. It’s a masterful way to end a meal at this beachfront icon, which draws on the culinary traditions of Pilu’s birthplace, Sardinia, in every dish.

$$$

sardinian

Moore Rd, Freshwater

Read full review

Eleven Barrack

What a splendid room this is, complete with a baby grand piano and metallic magenta columns befitting any big celebration. The former site of the Barrack Street bank is backed by clever cooking and wine curation from dynamic duo Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrandt. The brief is upscale Manhattan grill meets smart Euro bistro, where drinks are no afterthought thanks to Hildebrandt’s 1000-bottle wine cellar.

GT tip: Kick things into gear with an order of the restaurant’s own-label rum, fragrant with gentian and sandalwood.

$$$

australian

11 Barrack St, SydneY

Read full review

Aalia

This Martin Place diner is Sydney’s north star when it comes to polished Middle Eastern and North African cuisine. From the mezze section, don’t miss ful medames – a classic Egyptian bean stew – intensified with bone marrow and black walnuts, best scooped up with golden Khorasan pita. Otherwise, go for the Moreton Bay bug chopped through rich chicken-fat orzo and dotted with trout roe.

GT tip: Don’t be shy on the ordering; happily there’s no judgment here when it comes to boxing up leftovers.

$$$$

middle eastern

Shop 7.07-7.08,
25 Martin Pl, Sydney

Read full review

Cafe Paci

Trust us… The moment you take a seat at Cafe Paci, order the wickedly fragrant XO trout potato dumplings. You won’t be disappointed. Where the adventure takes you next will depend on the day and what’s in season, but Finnish-born chef-owner Pasi Petänen’s quest for original ideas and bold flavours is a constant in this haven of cool escapism in a discreet position on loud, vibey King Street.

GT tip: Double down on carrots. Start savoury, via the fermented carrots with ‘nduja on rye, and don’t miss their dessert incarnation: carrot sorbet with yoghurt and licorice.

$$

european

131 King St, Newtown

Read full review

Ante

This cool, timber-lined rice wine and record bar on a busy Newtown strip has plenty of polish, but it’s the grittier edges that make things interesting. There’s soul on the turntables and funk in the food. The service is warm, the vibe is cool, and there’s no better place to match small producer sakes with big-flavoured dishes.

GT tip:  Ante is walk-in only, so put your name down on the list and go for a drink nearby. The wait is worth it.

$$

contemporary

146 King St, Newtown

Read full review

Baba’s Place

The warehouse restaurant – a cartwheel of cultures and flavours – captures the vibrancy of Western Sydney with heart, nostalgia and respect. It all evokes the image of a classic suburban home, yet the restaurant’s ambition is bold, never modest. No wonder the signature taramasalata with praline, pickles and shokupan toast has become one of the city’s iconic dishes.

$$

australian

20 Sloane St, Marrickville

Read full review

Bathers’ Pavilion

Bathers’ Pavilion ticks every box: breezy, blond-and-blue furnishings, service that’s professional but never stuffy, approachable dishes that make the most of the country’s best produce and, of course, a knockout beach view.

$$$

australian

4 The Esplanade, Balmoral

Read full review

Corner 75

Corner 75, a place of precious memories for Sydney’s Hungarian-Australians, has sat behind a frill of lace curtains for more than 40 years. In 2025, the paprika-red walls welcomed new owners: Alexander Kelly and Jean-Paul El Tom from Marrickville’s Baba’s Place, and Sixpenny’s Daniel Puskas, who realised a chance to explore his own Hungarian heritage. Together they brought new energy – and a light-as-a-cloud schnitzel – to this beloved neighbourhood gathering place. The legacy lives on.

GT tip: Order fried puffs of lángos bread with caraway seeds and house-made sour cream to start.

$$

hungarian

75 Frenchmans Rd, Randwick

Read full review

Firepop

Sit at the bar in this intriguing inner west diner and you might feel like you’re watching a private show between you and a flaming grill. The skewers – or “pops”, as they’re called here – keep coming, from savoury, smoky, chilli-cumin lamb to cubes of wagyu so marbled it’s like eating butter. Sit upstairs and the velvet carpets and candles make it more the sort of place you’d go on a date. Both ways of experiencing Firepop feel like riding a new wave of Australian dining.

GT tip: Don’t overlook the set menus; they’re generally half the price of some of the city’s big names.

$$

australian

137 Enmore Rd, Enmore

Read full review

A.P Bread and Wine

This latest spot in Darlinghurst behaves like a café/bakery during the day, then morphs into a low-lit, high-vibes restaurant at night. The evening menu makes heavy use of the day’s crumbs and crusts in the best possible way, especially in an anchovy and zucchini spaghetti – the textured strands literally made from leftover bread – which puts in a strong bid for being one of the most memorable pastas in the city.

GT tip: If you’re visiting during breakfast service, you can’t go past the drowned eggs in chicken broth served with crusty baguette.

$$

contemporary

32 Burton St, Darlinghurst

Read full review

Ho Jiak Town Hall

Junda Khoo’s Malaysian playground is dining dynamite. Who wouldn’t delight in silky “laksa bombs” – fat chicken and prawn dumplings infused and drenched with creamy soup? Or tender, sticky-sweet roast duck, dry-aged for 10 days and served with optional foie gras and delicate pancakes? The drinks list is equally eclectic, with more than 100 bottles of wine and by-the-glass drops, vibrant house cocktails and classic beers. Add an elevated open-plan hawker-style room and well-versed staff and you can see why this Town Hall haunt is still red hot after five years.

$$$

malaysian

125 York St, Sydney

Read full review

King Clarence

The much-photographed fish finger bao – an irresistible two-bite marvel with silky steamed bun, American cheese and salmon roe – is still in everyone’s Instagram feed, but the rest of the menu at King Clarence is equally captivating. A year on from winning GT’s Best New Restaurant award, the Bentley Group’s neon-tinged hotspot burns as brightly as ever. The spice-driven, share-friendly plates are complemented by inventive fruit- and tea-forward cocktails and a lively wine list.

GT tip: Save room for dessert. The gooey fried peanut butter ice-cream drizzled with salted hojicha green tea caramel is a must.

$$$

modern asian

171 Clarence St, Sydney

Read full review

Margaret

Chef and restaurateur Neil Perry’s electric A-list favourite is a temple of top-tier produce, where the steaks would steal the show if only everything else wasn’t equally on point. Sourced from the country’s most storied producers, the sprawling, seasonally driven menu celebrates exceptional local ingredients, prepared with pared-back confidence, precise grilling skills, and a little pan-Asian pixie dust that’s become synonymous with Mr Perry.

$$$$

australian

30-36 Bay St, Double Bay

Read full review

Porkfat

Chef Narin “Jack” Kulasai may have trained under Australian Thai food master David Thompson and Quay’s Peter Gilmore, but everything at Porkfat is completely his own. While the room can be loud, the flavours in every dish shout even louder. Spice underpins, but never overwhelms, the whole repertoire.

GT tip: BYO wine and you have a foolproof formula for an audaciously fun night out.

$

thai

33 Ultimo Rd, Haymarket

Read full review

Postino Osteria

Sometimes a restaurant simply feels right. Despite being barely a year old, Postino Osteria – part of Alessandro Pavoni’s Italian empire, which includes Ormeggio at The Spit and a’Mare – is one of those restaurants. It’s due to the warmth of the service. It’s also the sincerity of the dishes, many of which draw from the team’s childhood memories.

$$

italian

2 Moonbie St, Summer Hill

READ FULL REVIEW

R by Raita Noda

This latest venture from father-son omakase duo Raita and Momotaro Noda is designed to energise multiple senses at once. Just 12 guests are seated along a bar in a stormcloud-grey space to eat a 10-course meal prepared in exacting detail in front of your eyes. Sydney’s fascination with theatrical Japanese dining isn’t going anywhere, and this low-key, high-flavour concept is a top example of the genre.

$$$$$

japanese

Wunderlich Lane,
Ground Floor,
2 Baptist St, Redfern

Read full review

Sixpenny

Sixpenny is now a teenager – just as experimental but with none of the attitude. Chef-owner Daniel Puskas has spent 13 years shaping an innocuous terrace in sleepy Stanmore into one of Australia’s most serene fine-diners, with head chef Tony Schifilliti adding the funk and ferment. Ageing is everywhere, from rice pancakes to nashi pear scales that seal cured silver trevally. Many of the staff here count their tenure in years, not months, because they also know good things take time.

$$$$$

australian

83 Percival Rd, Stanmore

Read full review

Previous

The best restaurants in NSW right now

The best new restaurants in Sydney

Top 100: Best restaurants in Australia

How the Gourmet Traveller Annual Restaurant Guide works

Next

This guide to Sydney’s best restaurants has been edited by Gourmet Traveller’s expert reviewer and NSW state editor Alexandra Carlton alongside national guide editor Michael Harry. Under Carlton’s direction, our team of Sydney critics include Gourmet Traveller deputy editor Ceri David, news editor Jordan Kretchmer and food editor Maxwell Adey, along with seasoned restaurant reviewers and writers Nicholas Jordan, Tristan Lutze and Callum McDermott, among others. They have travelled far and wide to visit — and revisit — dozens of restaurants, seeking out the most exceptional meals and memorable dining experiences in Sydney.

Our expert critics

The post Our expert reviewers’ picks for the best Sydney restaurants right now appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

Little Rose will present a more relaxed, “undone version” of Kaul’s most recent pop-up, Bistro Marigold, which she describes as “a more prescriptive dining experience.” Her signature “Chinoiserie” philosophy will still anchor the menu, with whimsical, vibrant dishes that reinterpret Asian cuisine through a European lens.   

This might look like buttery puff pastry that’s intended to be layered with sautéed oysters and oyster mushrooms in a classic peppercorn sauce, chilled clams prepared Chaozhou-style with garlic and coriander and brightened with a fragrant vin jaune, and a rotation of sautéed plates — say, mussels in lemongrass butter mopped up with a crusty baguette.   

Renowned mixologist Joe Jones is similarly reworking the classics with a rotating cocktail menu featuring Gin and Tonic made with dandelion gin, green apple and celery tonic, alongside the Little Rose Martini with London Dry Gin, chrysanthemum vermouth, fino sherry and a coconut water dilution for added levity.

Melbourne’s Little Rose pop-up runs from 9 May to 5 July and is open Wednesday to Sunday for dinner and weekend lunches. Bookings are now via their website.

The post Rosheen Kaul’s French-Chinese pop-up, Little Rose, opens tomorrow in Fitzroy appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

“We’ve always positioned Mott 32 to show that Chinese cuisine belongs on the same stage as any cuisine in the world,” says Mott 32 founder Malcolm Wood. “Melbourne has been on our wish list for years thanks to its dynamic energy and global outlook.”

The modern Cantonese restaurant known best for its signature 42-day apple wood roasted Peking duck (carved tableside and considered some of the best in Hong Kong) will offer an array of dim sum, premium beef and seafood, and signature dishes like smoked black cod and Iberico pork char siu glazed with mountain honey, drawing on ingredients and styles from further regions including Shanghai and Beijing.

As part of Crown’s ongoing $200 million redevelopment of it Southbank precinct, waterside pub Bellevue Bar & Terrace will open later this year, with a grill by Victor Churchill and two venues by Las Vegas-based group Clique Hospitality — Amaya Modern Mexican and Barbershop Cuts & Cocktails — to launch in early 2028.

The post Hong Kong restaurant Mott 32 will open in Melbourne next year appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.

Best private dining rooms for up to 10 guests

La Lune Wine Co

SOUTH BRISBANE

Paul McGivern and Bailee Dewes’ provincial wine bar on Fish Lane provides the perfect setting for a group gathering or celebration. A raised area in the main dining space seats up to eight guests and doubles as a semi-private dining room for groups, wine tastings and the like — allowing parties to soak in the atmosphere of the wine bar while still enjoying some privacy. Guests have the flexibility to dine on the à la carte menu or a five-course tasting menu at $95 per person – with the option of matched beverages for an additional $90 per person. With a minimum spend of $800, this is one of Brisbane’s more accessible semi-private dining experiences. For more information or to book La Lune Wine Co’s semi-private dining room, head to their website.

Penelope

FORTITUDE VALLEY

James Street’s Euro-leaning bistro and supper club is the ultimate destination for a spot of dining, drinking and dancing. Whether you’re looking to indulge in an intimate dinner with a few friends or scouting out a space for your next private event, Penelope’s private dining room is perfectly suited. Adjacent to the buzz of the main restaurant, the room has capacity for up to eight seated guests and comes with its own private entrance, a wet bar for beverage preparation and its own dedicated sound system. Select dishes from the à la carte menu or let the kitchen do the heavy lifting with their banquet options. A $1,000 minimum spend applies for your four-hour booking which is fully redeemable on food and beverages during your reservation. Book Penelope’s private dining room via SevenRooms.

Best private dining rooms for up to 20 guests

Southside

SOUTH BRISBANE

Situated beneath the train bridge in the urban oasis of Fish Lane, Southside offers a leafy escape for lovers of East-Asian cuisine. While the restaurant and its sister venue, KiKi, boast several private dining spaces, it’s the private dining room on the top floor that you’ll want to nab a booking at. Seating 8-24 patrons, it features a wraparound table for easy conversation, hanging lights and softly draped curtains for a sense of exclusivity, with minimum spends of $1,000. Choose from the signature or celebration banquet menus, starting from $75 per person and $99 per person respectively, and expect favourites such as Kingish sashimi with green chilli and kombu; pork and chives wontons in aged vinegar and crisp chilli oil, and egg fried rice with roast pork. Big believer in ambience? With the freedom to connect to the surround sound system, you can take the lead on the background music. Did we mention personalised service for you and your guests? For more information or to book Southside’s private dining room on level two, head to SevenRooms.

Central

BRISBANE CITY

Garnering multiple accolades at the 2025 Australian Interior Design Awards, this underground Hong Kong-inspired dumpling bar and restaurant delivers dinner with a side of theatrics. In a hidden corner behind draped curtains, you’ll find a romantic dining room that seats 11 of your nearest and dearest, available to book for three time slots daily. With two banquet options dishing up the likes of lobster and prawn har gow served in a rich bisque; crispy eggplant with fermented chilli and Moreton Bay bug “pasta”, the private dining space is primed for significant birthdays, intimate gatherings or even corporate lunches. For more information about Central’s private dining room or to book it, visit their website.  

Pilloni

WEST END

Located in one of Brisbane’s more offbeat neighbourhoods, Pilloni brings a gregarious energy and laid-back charm to its beautiful corner spot. Showcasing Sardinian fare cooked over fire and wines weaving from Tuscany to Tasmania, it has all the charm of an Italian trattoria. Seating a maximum of 18 guests, The Cantina is Pilloni’s private dining space and wine cellar, tucked away from the bustle of the main dining area. Minimum spends start from $1,000 during the week and jump to $1,500 on Friday and Saturday evenings, and guests are treated to a family-style banquet menu from $99 per person. Expect a selection of antipasti followed by a smaller pasta dish, whole fish or lamb, and a Sardinian dessert. For that extra touch of luxury, diners can opt into add-on menu items, cooked on an open fire. Think Porceddu — a traditional Sardinian suckling pig or tropical blue lobster. For more information or to book The Cantina for you and your friends, visit their website.

Marlowe

SOUTH BRISBANE

You’ll feel right at home at Marlowe, Fish Lane’s Australian bistro housed in a refurbished Art Deco apartment block. Neutral walls lined with wine bottles, low lights and walnut furniture will have you feeling like you’ve walked into a friend’s dining room, while paper doilies and silver trays nod to the restaurant’s nostalgic core. Upstairs, the Common Room offers a private dining space, fit for 19 seated guests, while the Living Room across the hall seats a maximum of 17. For large groups, three set menu options are available, starting from $98 per person. To find out more about Marlowe’s private dining room options, or to book them, email the team at seatme@marlowebne.com.au

Best private dining rooms for up to 50 guests

Biànca

FORTITUDE VALLEY

Tucked away on a private balcony above the main restaurant, the private dining room at Biànca offers you and 35 guests seclusion without compromising on atmosphere. Set against a decidedly darker backdrop than the main dining room downstairs, two long tables hedged by Biànca’s signature blush chairs and décor fill the space. Pass around plates from the Italian-leaning set menus which start from $84 per person and include the likes of focaccia from Idle; smoked mortadella; calamari fritti; grilled King prawns and a series of pastas, before rounding out the celebrations with tiramisu. Want the whole restaurant to yourselves? The main dining rooms is available to reserve for up to 90 people. Read more about Biànca’s private dining room online, or make a booking via SevenRooms.

1889 Enoteca

WOOLLOONGABBA

Milestones deserve something special – say, a meal in the basement dining room at 1889 Enoteca. Set within Woolloongabba’s heritage-listed Moreton Rubber Works Building, 1889 Enoteca specialises in authentic Roman fare alongside organic and biodynamic Italian wines. Downstairs, The Cellar is an exclusive space hosting up to 39 guests around a long timber table framed by chandeliers, iron gates and floor-to-ceiling displays of vintage wine bottles. Parties of 8-24 guests can choose from alternate drops comprising of two entrees, two mains and two desserts. Alternatively, parties of 10–40 people can enjoy a traditional four-course family-style feast with optional sommelier-curated drink packages or pay-as-you-go options.

With AV, a floor to yourselves and a $1,500 minimum spend, it’s ideal for weddings, milestones or work events. Get more details about 1889 Enoteca’s private dining room online or book the private dining room via OpenTable.

Greca

BRISBANE CITY

Sitting beneath Brisbane’s Story Bridge at Howard Smith Wharves, this relaxed riverside taverna by Jonathan Barthelmess (Sydney’s The Apollo) champions simple Greek fare. Greca has several unique areas available to book, ranging from semi-private to private dining areas. “Riverside” offers exclusivity and panoramic views of the city skyline, with low-hanging pendant lights to set the mood and retractable awnings to ensure a good time whatever the weather. Seating 86, it treats guests to share-style set menus starting from $68 per person. Expect vibrant mezze, slow-roasted lamb and local seafood grilled over charcoal.

Upstairs, “The Mezz” is a private balcony strung with lantern lights that can be configured to suit any party. With space for 30 seated guests or 40 standing, it’s ideal for corporate events. For standing celebrations, Greca’s hero pantry flavours make their way through the room in bite-size portions, progressing to more substantial bowls. To find out more about Greca’s private dining rooms or to book, complete the form on their website.

The post The best private dining rooms in Brisbane for celebrations and work lunches in 2026 appeared first on Gourmet Traveller.