Regional Victoria takes out top honours at 2018’s Australia’s Top 100 Restaurant Awards.
It’s that time of year again, where the country’s top chefs and restauranteurs jostle for top rank in the highly sought after top restaurant awards. Hosted at the Art Gallery of New South Wales on Monday July 2, this marks the forth consecutive year of the awards ceremony.
The question on everybody’s lips – who took out top rank? This year, Birregurra’s Brae took out top honours for the second year running, winning not only the Top Restaurant in VIC award but also Australia’s Number 1 Top Restaurant 2018 Winner. Guided by principles of sustainability, locality and seasonality, Brae is known for offering the ‘ultimate farm-to-table experience’. Head Chef Dan Hunter prides himself on the locality of his ingredients, sourcing much of his produce from Brae’s own vegetable plots, orchards, olive groves, bee hives and chicken.
Coming in close behind Brae was Sydney’s very own Ester, followed by Saint Peter, which took out the 2017 award for Best New Restaurant according to GoodFood.
What you might not have known about the awards is that Australia’s Top 100 Restaurants are chosen by none other than Australia’s top chefs and restaurateurs from an overall list of 500 restaurants. This prized collection of names is compiled by The Financial Review’s top critics and editors. It’s the ultimate chefs’ guide on where to eat from the country’s best fine dining restaurants and laneway bars to coastal getaways and hidden treasures.
“Because the restaurants on the list are voted by the chefs themselves, it makes for a really dynamic, creative group of restaurants; very diverse” says Jill Dupleix, Australia’s Top Restaurants Director. “That’s the fun of it – they don’t have one particular style they consider to be the best.”
“And the new top ten are a hoot,” says Terry Durack, Director. “Big nights out at Attica and Momofuku Seiobo mixing it with fun and fire at Africola in Adelaide, Ester in Chippendale and Embla in Melbourne.”
On this year’s list, one in five restaurants are new to the top 100 rank. In the last 12 months, the nation has witnessed a strong resurgence from Adelaide and South Australia’s wine-growing regions, alongside Tasmania in regards to strong restaurant contenders.
To find the full list of winners, simply click here