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:

  1. Africola – Adelaide, SA
  2. Attica – Melbourne, VIC, Hottest Restaurant, Hottest VIC
  3. Aubergine – Canberra, ACT
  4. Bennelong – Sydney, NSW
  5. Bentley Restaurant & Bar – Sydney, NSW, Hottest Chef
  6. Billy Kwong – Sydney, NSW, Hottest Wine Program
  7. Biota Dining – Bowral, NSW
  8. Botanic Gardens – Adelaide, SA
  9. Brae – Birregurra, VIC
  10. Cafe Di Stasio – Melbourne, VIC
  11. Chin Chin – Melbourne, VIC
  12. Esquire – Brisbane, QLD
  13. Estelle by Scott Pickett (ESP) – Melbourne, VIC
  14. Ester – Sydney, NSW
  15. Etica – Adelaide, SA
  16. Fino Seppeltsfield – Barossa Valley, SA, Hottest Service, Hottest SA
  17. Firedoor – Sydney, NSW
  18. Fleet – Brunswick Heads, NSW
  19. Franklin – Hobart, TAS, Hottest TAS
  20. Gauge – Brisbane, QLD
  21. Guillaume – Sydney, NSW
  22. Lee Ho Fook – Melbourne, VIC
  23. Lume – Melbourne, VIC
  24. LuMi – Sydney, NSW Hottest Dish
  25. Luxembourg – Melbourne, VIC
  26. Magill Estate – Adelaide, SA
  27. Monster Kitchen & Bar – Canberra, ACT, Hottest ACT
  28. Mr Wong – Sydney, NSW
  29. Muse Dining – Hunter Valley, NSW
  30. Nu Nu – Palm Cove, QLD
  31. Orana – Adelaide, SA
  32. Oscillate Wildly – Sydney, NSW
  33. Paper Daisy – Cabarita Beach, NSW, Hottest Regional
  34. Peel St – Adelaide, SA, Hottest Value
  35. Pilu at Freshwater – Pilu at Freshwater, Sydney, NSW, Hottest Classic
  36. Porteno – Sydney, NSW
  37. Print Hall – Perth, WA, Hottest WA
  38. Quay – Sydney, NSW
  39. Restaurant Amuse – Perth, WA
  40. Rockpool – Sydney, NSW
  41. Sepia – Sydney, NSW
  42. Sixpenny – Sydney, NSW
  43. Stokehouse Q – Brisbane,QLD
  44. The Bridge Room – Sydney, NSW, Hottest NSW
  45. The Glass House – Hobart, TAS
  46. Tipo 00 – Melbourne, VIC
  47. Urbane – Brisbane, QLD
  48. Vasse Felix – Margaret River, WA
  49. Wasabi – Noosa, QLD, Hottest QLD
  50. 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.

 

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *