Rigby - Australia good food guide 2019

Our thanks to Vittoria Coffee and Citi whose generous support ensures the Good Food Guide continues to be trusted and independent.

National Editor Myffy Rigby

Melbourne Editor Roslyn Grundy

Reviewers Steven Amsterdam, Arizona Atkinson, Lee Atkinson, Rachel Bartholomeusz, Joel Beerden, Ardyn Bernoth, Callan Boys, Max Brearley, Lucy Carter, Paul Chai, Gemima Cody, Sasha Cody, Kate Cox, Pete Cruttenden, Claire Davie, Mariam Digges, Larissa Dubecki, Jill Dupleix, Terry Durack, Rita Erlich, Marc Fennell, Daniel Findlay, Daniela Frangos, Jess Gardner, Cathy Gowdie, Kye Greenacre, Roslyn Grundy, Michael Harden, Neil Hargreaves, Michael Harry, Jil Hogan, Dugald Jellie, Megan Johnston, Jordan Kretchmer, Andrew Levins, Les Luxford, Caitlin Mahar, Andrea McGuinness, Lyndey Milan, Pilar Mitchell, Peter Munro, Kenneth Nguyen, Sarah Norris, Jane Ormond, Michelle Potts, Phillip Putnam, Myffy Rigby, Besha Rodell, Nina Rousseau, Lucinda Schmidt, Melissa Singer, Annabel Smith, Belinda So, Daniela Sunde-Brown, Andrew Taylor, Dani Valent, Anna Webster, John Weldon, Patrick Witton, Helen Yee

Reviewing Panel Ardyn Bernoth, Callan Boys, Lara Caraturo (wine awards), Gemima Cody, Jill Dupleix, Terry Durack, Roslyn Grundy, Myffy Rigby

Josephine Pignolet Award Panel Margie Agostini, Damien Pignolet, Myffy Rigby, Ben Russell, Alla Wolf-Tasker

Life Editor Monique Farmer

Publishing Director Trudi Jenkins

Publisher for Simon & Schuster Julie Gibbs

Designer Daniel New

Managing Editor Pru Engel

Typesetting Post Pre-press Group

Maps Hannah Schubert

Hat logo design David Band. Hat logo is the registered trademark of Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd

Photographs Courtesy of restaurants and the Fairfax Media photo library. Cover and section opener patterns: Shutterstock.com

Second edition of the national guide published by Simon & Schuster Australia, 2018. First edition published by Fairfax Media, 2017

37 editions of The Age Good Food Guide , 32 editions of The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide and five editions of The Brisbane Times Good Food Guide .

Fully revised and reset for this edition

Copyright @ Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited 2018

1 Darling Island Road, Pyrmont NSW 2009

The Age , Brisbane Times , WA Today and The Sydney Morning Herald are all trademarks, owned by the Fairfax Media Limited group of companies, and used under licence by Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited

The moral right of the authors has been asserted

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

Visit thestore.com.au to buy this book online. For more reviews, visit goodfood.com.au

Your feedback is welcome at

ISBN 9781925791457

ISBN 978-1-9257-9146-4 (ebook)

POLY

Introduction

Its said to have been the toughest year in hospitality since 2008s Global Financial Crisis. But then, they say through periods of challenge come great art. Restaurants are no exception. This year, the watchwords are focus and connection. For diners, that means full-circle cooking where ingredients are grown, cured and cultured on premises. Even the ceramics are often thrown by the chefs themselves sometimes from the very clay the restaurant is built on. Yes, the future is live and local with plenty of heart.

The second annual national Good Food Guide is a reflection of the thousands of voices that make Australia one of the most diverse and delicious places to eat in the world. Every one of the 500-plus restaurants featured within the pages of this book is a summation of all those moving parts, from kitchen hands to executive chefs, glassies to sommeliers, restaurant managers to directors of vibe.

Our aim is to create a restaurant guide that showcases what it means to dine out in Australia today. We review more than 700 venues before selecting the best 500 for the Guide. To receive a hat, a pinnacle moment in a chefs career and a restaurants history, that restaurant must score a minimum of 15 out of a possible 20. Reviewers visit unannounced. They book under an assumed name and pay for their own meals. Every score in the book is finalised by a senior review panel if a final score cant be settled on by the group, we revisit the restaurant.

The national Good Food Guide builds on a proud 39-year tradition across The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age . We remain independent, always.

Myffy Rigby, editor

BRAE

ABOUT THIS GUIDE

The Good Food Guide is a compilation of independent, anonymous reviews written by a panel of professional restaurant critics. Restaurants in NSW and Victoria must score at least 14 out of 20 to be included in the guide. All other states must score a minimum of 15 (a chefs hat). Restaurants are chosen at our discretion.

SCORE BREAKDOWN

Good
	Very good
	Great
	Excellent
	Outstanding
	Incredible
	Perfection

SYMBOLS

Good wine list

AE American Express

DC Diners Club

MC MasterCard

V Visa

$ mains under $20

$$ mains $20-$40

$$$ mains over $40

Please note, BYO means a restaurant has BYO on at least one day please check details and corkage fees with venue.

Citibank Dining Program partner restaurant citibankdining.com.au

THE HATS