All About Food

Category: Canberra

  • 2018 Top 100 Restaurants in Australia by Financial Review

    2018 Top 100 Restaurants in Australia by Financial Review

    Last week, the Australian Financial Review published the 2018 Top 100 restaurants in Australia. Instead of being judged by food critics/food bloggers/some random people, the list was actually made by the top 500 chefs in Australia. Being at the top of the list means that your peers agreed that your restaurant is the best in Australia. I am pretty sure that’s the best recognition that you could possibly get.

    Brae is at the top of this list of 2018 Top 100 Restaurants in Australia. Australia’s Top Chef award is given to chef Josh Niland from Saint Peter in Paddington in New South Wales.

    From the 2018 top 100 restaurants in Australia list, All About Food have only been to 10 of them:
    Ester at number 2
    Sixpenny at number 7
    Mr Wong at number 17
    Quay at number 24
    The Bridge Room at number 27
    Tetsuya’s at number 29
    Golden Century at number 38
    est. at number 52
    Bentley (at the old venue) at number 59
    Sokyo at number 97

    The number of top 100 restaurants by state:

    NSW 41
    VIC 31
    SA 13
    TAS 5
    WA 4
    QLD 4
    ACT 2

    They also have the more extensive top 500 restaurants in Australia if you are interested to know.

    The full list of 2018 Top 100 Restaurants in Australia by Financial Review

    1 Brae, Birregurra – VIC Top Restaurant in VIC 2018, Top Service 2018
    2 Ester – NSW Top Restaurant in NSW 2018
    3 Saint Peter – NSW Top Chef 2018
    4 Attica – VIC
    5 Africola – SA Top Restaurant in SA 2018
    6 Momofuku Seiobo – NSW
    7 Sixpenny – NSW
    8 Embla – VIC
    9 Sepia – NSW
    10 Fleet, Brunswick Heads – NSW
    11 Firedoor – NSW Winner of The Rare Medium Award 2018
    12 Igni, Geelong – VIC
    13 LuMi Dining – NSW
    14 Franklin – TAS Top Restaurant in TAS 2018
    15 Fred’s – NSW
    16 Restaurant Hubert – NSW
    17 Mr Wong – NSW
    18 Flower Drum – VIC
    19 Tipo 00 – VIC
    20 Anchovy – VIC
    21 Bennelong – NSW
    22 Fratelli Paradiso – NSW
    23 Orana – SA
    24 Quay – NSW
    25 Automata – NSW
    26 Billy Kwong – NSW
    27 The Bridge Room – NSW
    28 10 William St – NSW
    29 Tetsuya’s – NSW
    30 The Apollo – NSW
    31 Cirrus Dining – NSW
    32 Agrarian Kitchen Eatery – TAS Top Newcomer 2018
    33 Supernormal – VIC
    34 LP’s Quality Meats – NSW
    35 Minamishima – VIC
    36 Sean’s Panaroma – NSW
    37 Cutler & Co – VIC
    38 Golden Century – NSW
    39 Cumulus Inc. – VIC
    40 Gerard’s Bistro – QLD Top Restaurant in QLD 2018
    41 Hentley Farm, Seppeltsfield – SA
    42 Lee Ho Fook – VIC
    43 Paper Bird – NSW
    44 Ramblr – VIC
    45 Templo – TAS
    46 Biota Dining, Bowral – NSW
    47 Gauge – QLD
    48 The Summertown Aristologist, Summertown – SA
    49 Amaru – VIC
    50 Bar Lourinhã – VIC
    51 Wasabi Restaurant and Bar, Noosa Heads – QLD
    52 est. – NSW
    53 Icebergs Dining Room and Bar – NSW
    54 Marion – VIC
    55 Oakridge Restaurant, Coldstream – VIC
    56 Oscillate Wildly – NSW
    57 Paper Daisy, Cabarita Beach – NSW
    58 Aubergine – ACT Top Restaurant in ACT 2018
    59 Bentley Restaurant & Bar – NSW
    60 Dinner by Heston Blumenthal – VIC
    61 France-Soir – VIC
    62 Kisumé – VIC
    63 Lulu La Delizia – WA Top Restaurant in WA 2018
    64 Magill Estate Restaurant – SA
    65 Ezard – VIC
    66 French Saloon – VIC
    67 Ides – VIC
    68 Osteria Oggi – SA
    69 Pt. Leo Estate, Merricks – VIC
    70 Rockpool Bar & Grill, Sydney – NSW
    71 Stanbuli – NSW
    72 Cafe Di Stasio – VIC
    73 Chin Chin, Sydney – NSW
    74 Cho Cho San – NSW
    75 Estelle by Scott Pickett – VIC
    76 Fico – TAS
    77 Fino at Seppeltsfield, Seppeltsfield – SA
    78 MoVida, Melbourne – VIC
    79 nel. – NSW
    80 Ormeggio at the Spit – NSW
    81 Porteño – NSW
    82 Botanic Gardens Restaurant – SA
    83 Millbrook Winery Restaurant, Jarrahdale – WA
    84 Monster – ACT
    85 Peel St – SA
    86 Pilu at Freshwater – NSW
    87 The Pot by Emma McCaskill – SA
    88 The Salopian Inn, McLaren Vale – SA
    89 Aloft – TAS
    90 Chin Chin, Melbourne – VIC
    91 Provenance, Beechworth – VIC
    92 Shōbōsho – SA
    93 Vue de Monde – VIC
    94 Yarri Restaurant + Bar, Dunsborough – WA
    95 Aria, Sydney – NSW
    96 Long Chim, Perth – WA
    97 Sokyo – NSW
    98 Rick Shores, Burleigh Heads – QLD
    99 Lûmé – VIC
    100 FermentAsian, Tanunda – SA

    2018 Top 100 Restaurants

  • Good Food Guide 2018

    Good Food Guide 2018

    Good Food Guide 2018 introduced a massive change where instead of statewide list, it is now a National list. Hence, the winner might not necessarily be from New South Wales.

    The winner of this inaugural format is Attica in Victoria.

    Other Awards in this year’s Good Food Guide 2018

    Best new restaurant of the year is Saint Peter in NSW by Josh Niland. They are coming in to the list as a two-hat restaurant.

    Daniel Puskas from Sixpenny in NSW has won the Chef of The Year award. Sixpenny is a two-hat restaurant.

    The Agrarian Kitchen Eatery & Store in Tasmania was awarded the Regional Restaurant of the Year in 2018. Its head chefs are Rodney Dunn and Severine Demanet.

    The late Jeremy Strode received the Legend Award.

    Young Chef of the year award was given to Kylie Millar from Attica in Victoria.

    Nikki Friedli (Africola, South Australia) won the Service Excellence Award.

    Food for Good award was given to Orana Foundation in South Australia. This award combined innovation, charity and sustainability.

    If you want a good wine, you should go to Aria Brisbane in Queensland as they won this year’s Wine List of the year.

    Sommelier of the year went to Raul Moreno Yague from Osteria Ilaria in Victoria.

    Best Bar Food can be found in Bar Brosé.

    Best Bar is Arlechin in Victoria.

    Regional Wine List of the Year went to The Summertown Aristologist in South Australia.

    List of NSW restaurants with hats in Good Food Guide 2018

    Three hats

    There are only two restaurants in NSW awarded with three hats as listed in the Good Food Guide 2018 website:

    • Quay – 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2013 and this year’s restaurant of the year. Quay has once again reclaimed the top spot!
    • Sepia – Winner of 2015, 2014 and 2012 Restaurant of the year award.

    Three restaurants (Attica, Brae, Minamishima) in Victoria and Urbane in Queensland also received three hat status.

    As listed from the website, the rest of the hats are as follows:

    Two hats

    Aria, Automata, Bennelong, Bentley Restaurant & BarBiota DiningThe Bridge RoomCirrus, Est., Ester, FiredoorFleet, Fred’s, Icebergs Dining Room & Bar, Lucio’s, LuMi Dining, Momofuku Seiobo, Monopole, Mr. Wong, Muse Restaurant, Ormeggio at The Spit, Oscillate Wildly, Pilu at Freshwater, Porteño, Restaurant Hubert, Rockpool Bar & Grill, Saint Peter, Sixpenny, Tetsuya’s

     

    One hat

    10 William St, 4Fourteen, Acme, Aki’s, The Antipodean, The Apollo, Bacco, Baccomatto Osteria, ​Banksii, The Bathers’ Pavilion, Beach Byron Bay, Bellevue, Billy Kwong, ​Bistro MolinesBistro Officina, ​Bistro Rex, Bodega, Buon Ricordo, Catalina, Caveau, ​China Doll, Cho Cho San, Clementine, Continental Deli Bar Bistro, Cottage Point Inn, Da Orazio Pizza & Porchetta, ​Darley’s, The Dolphin Hotel, Eschalot, Felix, Fratelli Paradiso, The Gantry, Glass Brasserie, Hartsyard, ​Harvest, Izakaya Fujiyama, Jade Temple, Jonah’s, Kepos Street Kitchen, Lolli Redini, ​Long Chim, ​LP’s Quality Meats, Margan Restaurant, Ms. G’s, Muse Kitchen, Nomad, Otto Ristorante, The Paddington, Paper BirdPaper DaisyPearls on the BeachQueen ChowRestaurant Mason, The Restaurant Pendolino, ​RockerRosetta, Sagra, ​Sake Restaurant & Bar (Double Bay), Sean’s Panaroma, Sokyo, ​Sotto Sopra, ​Spice TempleSt. Isidore, ​Stanbuli, The Stunned MulletSubo, ​Sushi e, Three Blue Ducks (Bronte & Rosebery), TonicTown Restaurant & Cafe, Uccello, ​Yellow, The Zin House

    The following restaurants lost their hat status

    Ajo, Berowra Waters Inn, The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay, Kepos & Co, Mercado, One Ford Street, Vini

    The following restaurants closed permanently

    Guillaume (2-hat), Bar Brose, Bistrode CBD, Gastro Park, Master

    Note: Green is a new entry to the list. Orange is the one who lost a hat

     

    Good Food Guide 2018

  • 2016 Top 100 Restaurants in Australia by Financial Review

    2016 Top 100 Restaurants in Australia by Financial Review

    This is the second year the Australian Financial Review published the Top 100 restaurants in Australia. Instead of being judged by food critics / food bloggers / some random people, the list was actually made by the top 500 chefs in Australia. Being at the top of the list means that your peers agreed that your restaurant is the best in Australia. I am pretty sure that’s the best recognition that you could possibly get.

    Attica is at the top of this list of 2016 Top 100 Restaurants in Australia. Australia’s Top Chef award is given to chef Dan Hunter from Brae in Birregurra region in Victoria. On this occasion, Australian Financial Review also asked the public to vote for their top Australian restaurant with an award called The People’s Choice. The People’s Choice winner for 2016 is Akiba in Canberra. We went to Akiba last year and we were pretty impressed with the dishes that they served. Sepia, last year’s winner, was awarded Top Service award for 2016.

    From the 2016 top 100 restaurants in Australia list, All About Food have only reviewed 10 of them:

    Quay at number 4, Ester at number 5, Rockpool at number 8, Mr Wong at number 11, Bentley (at the old venue) at number 12, The Bridge Room at number 13, Tetsuya’s at number 22, est. at number 39, Marque at number 40, and Golden Century at number 60.

    The number of top 100 restaurants by state:

    NSW 46 (45 in 2015)
    VIC 37
    SA 5
    WA 5
    QLD 4
    TAS 2 (3 in 2015)
    ACT 1

    They also have the more extensive top 500 restaurants in Australia if you are interested to know.

    The full list of 2016 Top 100 Restaurants in Australia by Financial Review

    1. Attica VIC
    2. Brae, Birregurra VIC
    3. Sepia NSW
    4. Quay NSW
    5. Ester NSW
    6. Sixpenny NSW
    7. Bennelong NSW
    8. Rockpool est. 1989 NSW
    9. Automata NSW
    10. Franklin TAS
    11. Mr Wong NSW
    12. Bentley Restaurant & Bar NSW
    13. The Bridge Room NSW
    14. The Town Mouse VIC
    15. Cumulus Inc. VIC
    16. 10 William St NSW
    17. Flower Drum VIC
    18. Cutler & Co VIC
    19. LuMi Bar & Dining NSW
    20. Supernormal VIC
    21. Tipo 00 VIC
    22. Tetsuya’s NSW
    23. Minamishima VIC
    24. MoVida, Melbourne VIC
    25. Fratelli Paradiso NSW
    26. Billy Kwong NSW
    27. Biota Dining, Bowral NSW
    28. Cafe Di Stasio VIC
    29. LP’s Quality Meats NSW
    30. Momofuku Seiobo NSW
    31. Porteno NSW
    32. Rockpool Bar & Grill, Sydney NSW
    33. ACME NSW
    34. Embla VIC
    35. Vue de Monde VIC
    36. Firedoor NSW
    37. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal VIC
    38. Chin Chin VIC
    39. est. NSW
    40. Marque NSW
    41. The Apollo NSW
    42. Lake House, Daylesford VIC
    43. Oscillate Wildly NSW
    44. Saint Crispin VIC
    45. Guillaume, Sydney NSW
    46. Fleet, Brunswick Heads NSW
    47. Africola SA
    48. Orana SA
    49. Restaurant Amuse WA
    50. Silvereye NSW
    51. Pilu at Freshwater NSW
    52. Moon Park NSW
    53. France-Soir VIC
    54. Lee Ho Fook VIC
    55. Bar Louinhã VIC
    56. Icebergs Dining Room & Bar NSW
    57. Ormeggio at the Spit NSW
    58. Estelle by Scott Pickett VIC
    59. Rockpool Bar & Grill, Melbourne VIC
    60. Golden Century NSW
    61. Spice Temple, Sydney NSW
    62. Sean’s Panaroma NSW
    63. Cottage Point Inn NSW
    64. Gerard’s Bistro QLD
    65. The European VIC
    66. Monopole NSW
    67. Long Chim Perth WA
    68. ARIA NSW
    69. Provenance, Beechworth VIC
    70. Coda VIC
    71. Lalla Rookh WA
    72. Yellow NSW
    73. Luxembourg VIC
    74. Wasabi Restaurant & Bar, Noosa Heads QLD
    75. Master NSW
    76. 4Fourteen NSW
    77. Clarke’s of North Beach WA
    78. Esquire QLD
    79. Muse Restaurant, Pokolbin NSW
    80. Monster Kitchen and Bar ACT
    81. Grossi Florentino Upstairs VIC
    82. Cho Cho San NSW
    83. The Long Apron, Montville QLD
    84. The Press Club VIC
    85. Lucio’s NSW
    86. Ethos Eat Drink TAS
    87. Anchovy VIC
    88. Vasse Felix Restaurant, Cowaramup WA
    89. Lume VIC
    90. Tonka VIC
    91. Mister Jennings VIC
    92. Union Dining VIC
    93. Igni, Geelong VIC
    94. Sokyo NSW
    95. Peel St SA
    96. Hentley Farm, Seppeltsfield SA
    97. Lau’s Family Kitchen VIC
    98. Fino, Seppeltsfield SA
    99. Epocha VIC
    100. Il Bacaro VIC

    2016 Top 100 Restaurants

  • Jamie’s Italian Canberra

    Jamie’s Italian Canberra

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    Unfortunately, Jamie’s Italian Canberra has closed its doors in 2018.

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    Review:

    We went to Jamie’s Italian in Sydney CBD just under 3 months ago and were pretty impressed with the quality of the dishes there. So, when we spotted Jamie’s Italian whilst in Canberra, we were eager to return.

    The restaurant is located right at the heart of Canberra – Canberra Civic Centre to be exact. That’s pretty much the place where everyone goes out on a weekend. We went there for lunch so there was practically no queue at that time.

    Italian Bread Selection – $1.50 – Homemade rosemary focaccia, sourdough, crispy music bread, ciabatta & tortano, all from our favourite artisan bakery. Served with extra virgin olive oil & aged balsamic.

    I am not sure why they are even bothered to charge $1.50 for this.

    Italian Bread Selection - $1.50

    Chicken Lollipops – $9.50 – Three free-range organic chicken fillets, chargrilled & served with a lemony yoghurt, crunchy mixed seeds & baked crinkle-cut wedges

    Jamie is a well-known ambassador for great-tasting healthy food for kids – he even had a tv show for it! It is not surprising that the kids menu in his restaurant is full of fun stuff!

    Chicken Lollipops - $9.50

    The menu can be seen in a stereoscope (or view-master) and the dishes had fun elements like the salad shaker that had the ‘shake me’ sign!

    Kid's menu at Jamie’s Italian Canberra

    Porcini Fettuccine – $14.50 – Wild mushrooms, mascarpone, garlic, white wine, lemony gremolata, Parmesan & herby breadcrumbs

    The fettuccine that we ordered was an entrée-sized pasta. The one thing that got me hooked was that crunchy crumbs. It added an extra dimension to an otherwise simple pasta.

    Porcini Fettuccine - $14.50

    Grilled Angus Rump Steak – $26.50 – Aussie Black Angus rump with garlic butter, rosemary skinny fries & rainbow slaw

    I wanted to order the steak but I knew it was too small for me. So, I had to ‘steal’ from one of my guests and swap it for my dish!

    The steak was cooked nicely but the rainbow slaw reminded me of shredded paper decoration for parties.

    Grilled Angus Rump Steak - $26.50

    Wild Ruffle Risotto – $25.00 – Finely minced black winter truffle with butter & Parmesan – a real treat

    The dish that I ordered for the lunch. With the big hype of truffle over the last couple of months, I just couldn’t help but try this dish. The dish looks like a classic Italian Risotto.

    Wild Ruffle Risotto - $25.00

    The final verdict for Jamie’s Italian Canberra

    Jamie’s Italian Canberra is cheaper than its brother in Sydney. However, I had the feeling that the dishes were a tad less spectacular than the Sydney one.

    Jamie’s Italian Canberra Menu

    Rating for Jamie’s Italian Canberra:


    7.5 / 10

    Taste: 8.5 / 10

    Price: $15 – $35 for main and pasta

    Place: 7.5 / 10

     

    Details:

    125 Bunda St, Canberra ACT 2601

    02 6268 0400

    Jamie’s Italian Canberra website

    Jamie's Italian Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

  • Akiba

    Akiba

    Review:

    This week’s review is our first ever review of a restaurant in Canberra. Our choice went to Akiba, a restaurant located just outside Canberra Centre. Despite the Japanese name, the restaurant is a mashup of Asian dishes. It also seemed to be one of the more popular destinations in Canberra.

    Our dishes for the night comprised of Thai, Korean and Japanese cuisines.

    Kingfish, coconut, nam jim, coriander – $14

    This is a carpaccio-style kingfish with Nam jim. Nam jim is a Thai-based dipping sauce that is a combination of spicy, salty, sweet and sour.

    Kingfish, coconut, nam jim, coriander - $14

    Smoky potato, dill, black garlic, mayo – $9

    This side dish was recommended by our table attendant. It was humongous for a side dish. In addition to the smoky flavour, the potatoes were pretty slimy (possibly because of the cooked mayo).

    In addition to the smoky potato, we also ordered steamed rice. I know $7 is quite steep but you actually got a large bowl of it and they were nice.

    Smoky potato, dill, black garlic, mayo - $9

    Charcoal roasted T-bone, garlic soy butter, gochutgaru (800gr) – $38

    800 gr worth of T-bone for $38 is actually a pretty good value for money. The T-bone was already sliced to a ‘bite size’ (although the middle bits were a bit bigger than what we could chew). Gochutgaru is a Korean red chilli pepper powder that was made into a dipping sauce for the steak. I am quite fussy about steak and I quite liked theirs!

    Akiba's Charcoal roasted T-bone, garlic soy butter, gochutgaru (800gr) - $38

    Japanese fried chicken, lemon braised onions, parmesan – $16

    This was the only Japanese cuisine on the night. They are usually known as chicken karaage. The fusion bit came from the lemon braised onions with parmesan sprinkled on the karaage. Each element was pretty good on their own, but I don’t think the fusion works on this occasion.

    Japanese fried chicken, lemon braised onions, parmesan - $16

    Supercharged – $2

    This is actually just an extension of the Japanese fried chicken. It is only a little bottle of Japanese ‘kewpie’ mayonnaise and Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce. The absence of mayonnaise in the original dish has made this a mandatory. However, if you don’t like mayo and chili sauce, you can skip this altogether!

    Supercharged - $2

    The final verdict for Akiba

    Having an Asian fusion restaurant is pretty risky, especially when there are a diverse range of cuisines in the region. Akiba generally served pretty good dishes.

     

    Did you know?

    Akiba has a ‘just feed me’, an 8-course banquet, for $45 pp.

     

    Rating for Akiba:


    7.5 / 10

    Taste: 7.5 / 10

    Price: $14 – $38 per main dish

    Place: 7.5 / 10

     

    Details:

    40 Bunda Street, Canberra ACT 2601

    02 6162 0602

    http://www.akiba.com.au/

    Akiba Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato