Attica named Australias Hottest restaurant

The Weekend Australian Magazine’s 50 Hot Restaurants in Australia guide has been released for another year, naming some of the country’s most exciting and innovative foodservice businesses.

The national awards program launched in 2012 and is judged by a panel comprising restaurant critic John Lethlean and food writer Necia Wilden.

Ben Shewry’s Attica claimed the Hottest Restaurant Award, just a couple of months after retaining its position as number 32 in the S.Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurant list.

The big winners for 2015 are:

The Bridge Room, NSW, Sydney – Hottest NSW
Paper Daisy – Cabarita Beach, NSW, Hottest Regional
Monster Kitchen and Bar – Canberra, ACT, Hottest ACT
Attica – Melbourne, VIC, Hottest Restaurant, Hottest VIC
Billy Kwong – Sydney, NSW, Hottest Wine Program
Peel St – Adelaide, SA, Hottest Value
Franklin – Hobart, TAS, Hottest TAS
Lumi – Sydney, NSW, Hottest Dish (Ravioli, gruyre, porcini butter)
Fino Seppeltsfield – Barossa Valley, SA, Hottest SA and Hottest Service
Print Hall – Perth, WA, Hottest WA
Bentley Restaurant and Bar – Sydney, NSW, Hottest Chef (Brent Savage)
Pilu at Freshwater – Sydney, NSW, Hottest Classic
Wasabi – Noosa, QLD, Hottest QLD

The list ranks Australia’s hottest restaurants in no particular order. “We don’t presume to name the 50 “best” restaurants in Australia; the quicksands of illogical comparisons hold little appeal. Neither do we rank, for the same reason. The restaurants in this list are there not only because they consistently excel in that holy trinity of food, wine, service, but also because they know how to tap into the Zeitgeist,” said Lethlean and Wilden.

The duo visited over 1,000 restaurants over the course of the past 12 months, and noted a few key trends taking place in the industry, including the rise of South Australia’s food scene (as noted in Dimmi’s recently released annual Dining Index), the rising cost of meat, branded seafood, the proliferation of dietary requirements and the rise of native ingredients.

The full list of 50 Hot Restaurants:

Africola – Adelaide, SA
Attica – Melbourne, VIC, Hottest Restaurant, Hottest VIC
Aubergine – Canberra, ACT
Bennelong – Sydney, NSW
Bentley Restaurant & Bar – Sydney, NSW, Hottest Chef
Billy Kwong – Sydney, NSW, Hottest Wine Program
Biota Dining – Bowral, NSW
Botanic Gardens – Adelaide, SA
Brae – Birregurra, VIC
Cafe Di Stasio – Melbourne, VIC
Chin Chin – Melbourne, VIC
Esquire – Brisbane, QLD
Estelle by Scott Pickett (ESP) – Melbourne, VIC
Ester – Sydney, NSW
Etica – Adelaide, SA
Fino Seppeltsfield – Barossa Valley, SA, Hottest Service, Hottest SA
Firedoor – Sydney, NSW
Fleet – Brunswick Heads, NSW
Franklin – Hobart, TAS, Hottest TAS
Gauge – Brisbane, QLD
Guillaume – Sydney, NSW
Lee Ho Fook – Melbourne, VIC
Lume – Melbourne, VIC
LuMi – Sydney, NSW Hottest Dish
Luxembourg – Melbourne, VIC
Magill Estate – Adelaide, SA
Monster Kitchen & Bar – Canberra, ACT, Hottest ACT
Mr Wong – Sydney, NSW
Muse Dining – Hunter Valley, NSW
Nu Nu – Palm Cove, QLD
Orana – Adelaide, SA
Oscillate Wildly – Sydney, NSW
Paper Daisy – Cabarita Beach, NSW, Hottest Regional
Peel St – Adelaide, SA, Hottest Value
Pilu at Freshwater – Pilu at Freshwater, Sydney, NSW, Hottest Classic
Porteno – Sydney, NSW
Print Hall – Perth, WA, Hottest WA
Quay – Sydney, NSW
Restaurant Amuse – Perth, WA
Rockpool – Sydney, NSW
Sepia – Sydney, NSW
Sixpenny – Sydney, NSW
Stokehouse Q – Brisbane,QLD
The Bridge Room – Sydney, NSW, Hottest NSW
The Glass House – Hobart, TAS
Tipo 00 – Melbourne, VIC
Urbane – Brisbane, QLD
Vasse Felix – Margaret River, WA
Wasabi – Noosa, QLD, Hottest QLD
Wills Domain – Yallingup, WA

The restaurant awards season is in full swing, with the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards held last week, presenting the coveted Restaurant of the Year award to Neil Perry's Rockpool. Time Out Melbourne's Food Awards were also held earlier this month, with the Sydney awards to be presented on 24 August.