The country's leading food critic reviews his year of eating at Restaurant reviews: who cooked and who burned in 2014 published on 27 December.
You take the rough with the smooth, right? Kiss a few frogs on the eternal prince-hunt.Bad meals are infrequent but you do come across them occasionally while looking for the ideas, the energy and the execution that mark the best of Australia’s restaurants. For all sorts of reasons, disappointment was in plentiful supply this year. As it should be. We restaurant critics are supposed to set the bar high.Fortunately, it was a year of inspiring restaurants too. At home and abroad, we were lucky enough to experience meals that turned grass into lawn. Dinners — or lunches — that reminded us of the excitement possible when that magical synthesis of ideas, produce, cooking, wine and environment come together to amp up the pleasure power of a great meal out.
2016
9 July 2016 Mercado - "Mercado - which makes a song and dance about its in-house production of things such as salamis and house-milled flour, whole animal butchery and cheese-making - overcharges and under-delivers." Our summary HERE
8 July 2016 POW Kitchen - "Vibrant, well-crafted food at excellent prices. A real Asian canteen." Our summary HERE
4 July 2016 - Top places to eat and then sleep. Our summary HERE
2 July 2016 Oter - "Food that occasionally misses, occasionally hits hard, but mostly sits somewhere around 'Well, that's kind of what you'd expect from professional young chefs, isn't it?' I don't particularly warm to Ôter, the much-hyped newcomer to Flinders Lane..." Our summary HERE
25 June 2016 Automata - "...this place has the poise of a veteran and some of the most utterly delicious new food Sydney - Australia, even - has seen." Our summary HERE
24 June 2016 Napoli - "Unpretentious, quality Italian food at fair prices, and quite exceptional, real, Neapolitan pizza." Our summary HERE
17 June 2016 Oakridge - "The service is city-slick, the hospitality and landscape country-fresh. Pretentiousness factor zero. And the food puts Oakridge among Australia’s great winery restaurants." Our summary HERE
10 June 2016 Stanbuli - "... a wonderful balance of style and substance. A take on Turkish food that is accessible and delicious. It’s another welcome chapter in the continuing story of Australian chefs who have gone back to their roots to express true food passion." Our summary HERE
3 June 2016 Wildflower - "Delicious, contemporary food that cleverly distils the West" Our summary HERE
20 May 2016 Tulum - "Tulum is about Turkish flavours and memories put through a contemporary dining filter, refined, light and feminine. The menu is tight, but lo and behold, this is not one for sharing. Wow. These dishes are pretty, constructed and balanced — like any modern food by a talented chef — with a very modern approach to contrasting textures, the raw and the cooked, and with multiple sauces or dressings." Our summary HERE
14 May 2016 Rick Shores - "The food at Rick Shores is just plain delicious. It is less a riff on Longtime’s greatest Thai hits, more a refined pan-Asian style. Don’t let that suggest formality; RS manages a dance combining service, handsome plating and enough originality, with its twists on favourite big Asian flavours, to be very impressive without demanding we fawn over “chef’s” creations. A good thing." Our summary HERE
30 April 2016 The Apo -"Throw into the mix a hassled waitress who starts talking at us before she even gets to the table, and prices that are rather high given the modesty of the amenity (paper napkins, for example), and music that I for one never want to hear again… and you have a restaurant that, despite some enjoyable dishes, I wouldn’t bother with ever again. If you like dining out, you probably shouldn’t either." Our summary HERE
23 April 2016 Catfish - "... it’s home to some of the best Thai food you’ll find in Australia." Our summary HERE
9 April 2016 Igni - "Beyond the food, which is almost uniformly excellent and lacks the arrogance so often seen in this kind of place, Turner has created a really hospitable new restaurant. Visit. They’ll be pleased to see you." Our summary HERE
26 March 2016 Indu - "Indu is just so far off the hospitality pace. ... Which is not to say some of the food isn’t good." Our summary HERE
19 March 2016 Aloft - "... an inventive menu pushing Asian flavours into new territory with interesting produce; the warmth, verve and professionalism of staff; a manifest Taswegian pride." Our summary HERE
12 March 2016 Pastuso - "The food is well-crafted, nuanced and built with fine produce. ... Pastuso is exactly what it promises to be ... It’s a pleasant change." Our summary HERE
27 February 2016 The French Saloon - "The food, a relaxed Euro hybrid that is by no means slavishly “French”, is down to earth and full of fresh flavours; lightened-up classics pitched squarely at the mid-market." Our summary HERE
20 February 2016 Hill of Grace - "This is an expensive joint, in the same $ bracket as, say, Melbourne’s Dinner by Heston or Sydney’s Bennelong, and you are not even farewelled at the door. I’m not sure the world is ready for this particular fusion just yet. HoG occupies some kind of sad, ill-informed contemporary fine dining void; it’s like the rest of the restaurant world doesn’t exist. I’m trying hard to think of someone I’d recommended it to. I just can’t." Our summary HERE
5 February 2016 Kensington Street Social - "The food swerves; it’s a user-friendly collection from which you can build the meal of your needs. ... KSS is pleasant but unremarkable. Moreover, it’s solid and predictable. I’m not surprised to see it pumping." Our summary HERE
6 February 2016 Anchovy - "... food is light, vibrant and refreshing, reminiscent of South-East Asian authenticity yet at the same time new, with a subtle hybridisation of techniques, ingredients and flavours; velvet-glove punch yet rare balance and refinement to dressings and sauces." Our summary HERE
30 January 2016 Osteria Oggi - "Oggi is now. It’s an important new restaurant, and not just for Adelaide. And they serve very, very good tripe." Our summary HERE
23 January 2016 Petition Kitchen - "PK is your quintessential mid-market, informal, shared plate modern bistro. ... quirky food that’s easy to get your head around and – hallelujah – reasonably priced wine." Our summary HERE
18 January 2016 Pink Moon Saloon - "The simplicity of the menu structure is impressive: small snacks, sandwiches, ploughman’s, salads and “The Daily Chops”, which means whatever protein is happening that day in the smoky oven. It’s a restrained approach limiting choice to two or three dishes in each category. But it works." Our summary HERE
16 January 2016 Lucio's - "There’s just the right measure of every element that makes dining out such a pleasure, when it’s right." Our summary HERE
9 January 2016 Risorante Tartufo - "Everything we tried at lunch at Tartufo was seriously excellent. ... Trying hard and kicking goals. I’ll be back." Our summary HERE
2015
3 January 2015 Piari and Co - "Exception to a tourist curse. ... it's all about locals ... You could do a lot worse." Our summary HERE
17 January 2015 Bread in Common - "The bottom line is the food is plain delicious ... a big hearted restaurant Perth is lucky to have". Our summary HERE
24 January 2015 Leonards Mill - "refined, lots of promise" Our summary HERE
27 and 31 January 2015 - "Kappo is all about calm, creative morsels from an almost meat-free menu, matched to interesting wine and sake choices." Our summary HERE
7 February 2015 10 William Street - "The quintessential 2015 Australian eating and drinking experience." Our summary HERE
14 February 2015 Vasse Felix - "... one of Australia's best vineyard restaurants. ... creativity, delicateness, harmony and beautiful produce." Our summary HERE
21 February 2015 Acme - "... pasta, lending Asian accents to what are ostensibly Italian offerings" Our summary HERE
28 February 2015 Longtime - "The menu is a nice balance of tradition and innovation." Our summary HERE
7 March 2015 Magic Mountain Saloon - "... this is quirky stuff, packaged in a Western manner, but by no means dumbed down or stripped of its edges." Our summary HERE.
7 March 2015 Mayflower - "... more of a hotel dining room than restaurant “scene” player." Our summary HERE
14 March 2015 Africola - "For me it was almost a meal in two speeds:light, modern dishes with a new palate of flavours and techniques; and a feasting component that felt for all the world that I was at a Cape Town dinner party, learning, learning." Our summary HERE
21 March 2015 Sourced Grocer - "... intriguing little menu ... Is it a restaurant? Not in the conventional sense. Is it an important new food business setting the bar very high? You bet." Our summary HERE
28 March 2015 Maha - "... in the main, inventively rustic stuff - nuts, pulses, yoghurts, honey, herbs and lots of fragrant spices. ... the execution consistent from goa to whoa". Our summary HERE
4 April 2015 Botanic Gardens Restaurant - "... ambitious modern food with soul." Our summary HERE
11 April 2015 Subcontinental - "When [Indian food] is good it's intoxicating. Suncontinental's is not bad. And if that sounds like faint praise, please don't see it as damning: this is a restaurant I'd readily go back to. ... relaxed, informal and pleasing." Our summary HERE
18 April 2015 Franklin - "You wouldn' call it a polished restaurant but the service is appropriate (the tone delightfully unpretentious in a small town wgere shoulder chips flourish) to the fresh/local non-commercial ethos. And it's Moyle's oeuvre, not something found in a book; a kind of spare luxury, Nordic tundra cuisine that show-cases small-batch supplies of whatever he can get." Our summary HERE
11 May 2015 Asado - "They call themselves a small bar with serious food intentions, but by day at least, Asado is a thriving cafe to the affluent local set, nearly all of it female." Our summary HERE
16 May 2015 Mure's Upper Deck - "From the indifferent food - a kind of expensive form of fry and shred pub grub - to the less than indifferent wait staff who hover in clusters at the front of this barn-like pine-lined space, hoping not to catch anyone's eye ... it's quite difficult to see where Mure's Upper Deck fits into the modern hospitality matrix. Other than servicing tourists ... By the standards of its industry, Mure's Upper Deck is a restaurant dinosaur. Bring on tyhe ice age. Or the meteor. Whatever it was that changed things forever." Our summary HERE
23 May 2015 Itsara - "... a refined Thai experience with great produce and authentic flavours." Our summary HERE
30 May 2015 Firedoor - "...Oh, and some beef. The beef. The steak that may spoil you forever." Our summary HERE
6 June 2015 Tipo 00 - "The food in this modest, very pleasant dining room is simply some of the most delicious, flavour filled, unpretentious yet carefully constructed Italian-accented food I've eaten for years - including in Italy." Our summary HERE
13 June 2015 Gauge - "... original food that's neither scary nor aggressively hip. It's fresh, clean, healthy and delicious." Our summary HERE
20 June 2015 Guillaume - "French based, produce-inspired, with the odd flourish of contemporary thinking to keep things lighter." Our summary HERE
27 June 2015 Olea -"The service at Olea is uninspired and faulty ... food that's had the joy suckied out of it but sold at ambitious prices." Our summary HERE
27 June 2015 Gowings Bar and Grill - "Classics, reborn. ... Clubby, but for a new breed of chief executive who wants a bit of fun, not foie gras." Our summary HERE
4 July 2015 Cutler and Co - "A fine restaurant still but capable of more." Our summary HERE
11 July 2015 Fine Seppeltsfield - "If you get off on wine culture, food, history, it's an amusement park for hungry adults." Our summary HERE
18 July 2015 Lucky Chan's Laundry - "... a grab-bag of ideas and flavours that work together well enough to sell booze and give folks a good time." Our summary HERE
25 July 2015 Minamishima - "With an amazing knife, a blow torch and bare hands Koichi Minamishima turns fish, a variety of seasonings and lightly clumped rice into outstanding examples of the genre." Our summary HERE
1 August 2015 - Paper Daisy - "Paper Daisy is a triumph. Sweet, in fact. But in a considered fashion." Our summary HERE
8 August 2015 Bennelong - "Bennelong is exactly what it set out to be: a lovely relaxed Australian restaurat in a unique setting." Our summary HERE
15 August 2015 Fleet - "it nourishes the body and soul. It flatters with hospitable ways, unusual wines and the kind of truly original food only a tiny place with one chef could pull off." Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Etica - "This one of the most delightful, honest, bare-bones restaurants Adelaide has produced in years. The focus is real Neapolitan pizza; trust us, it's real. Delicious. Spare. Unembellished." Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Mr Wong - "Stylish, fun, trustworthy ... It's flexible. very busy and very good" - 22 August 2015 Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Stokehouse Q - "Eating here is a joy ... A balanced restaurant in every respect." Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Cafe Di Stasio - "We've been loving it for more than 25 years." Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Urbane - [Chef Alejandro] Cancino is a vegan (and tailors his menus as omnivore or herbivore) but shows a deft touch with protein" Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Nu Nu - "Nu Nu may be positioned on a beachy tourist strip, but it could hold its own in any capital city." Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Lee Ho Fook - "... a real talent for reinvesting Asian food - Chinese in particular" - 23 Aug 2014; "... now ex Lee Ho Fook Collingwood ... it's still finding its groom, in service as in food. We can still feel the beat." 22 Aug 2015 Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Sixpenny - "... food that exemplifies the ethos of sophistication in simplicity" - 23 Aug 2014; "Casual yet serious." 22 Aug 2015. Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Chin Chin - "A restaurant that doesn't let its groove get in the way of thorough professionalism at every level - food, service, bang for buck" Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Print Hall - "print Hall has always looked after what you might call the creative conservatives; ... It still fills the niche." Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Lume - "the outrageously adventurous Lûmé will polarise, and that is almost certainly the rather perverse intention of the archly contemporary chefs behind it. ... Lûmé eschews the casual and flexible for a return to occasion dining with grand pretensions. So strap yourself in for a 16-course ride of flavours and textures, built on techniques and ingredients you have probably never experienced before." Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Pilu at Freshwater - "... the thing about this proudly Sardinian restaurant with its picture-book location, shipshape dining rooms and decade-long record of high accomplishment: the food, service and hospitality are way better than they need to be at a place so naturally well-endowed." Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Tippo00 - "Tipo is the Italian restaurant you’ve always wanted: neither cliché-stacked nor too-cool-for-school. It’s affordable, yet presents dishes with an uncompromised approach to produce." Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Oscillate Wildly - "The degustation only menu takes you through seasonal best-in-class produce all paired with rare, affordable wines" - 23 Aug 2014; "... chef Karl Firla delivers one of the best degustations in the land. Deft, artistic touches and superb technique shine a light on flavours that switch from subtle nuances in one dish to bold, rich and breathtaking the next." 22/8/15 Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Wills Domain - "... food that breaks the winery mould to create destination dining" - 23 Aug 2014; "Chef Seth James keeps a very keen eye on those on-trend elements of modern Aussie gastronomy; fermented this, puffed that; buttermilk this; indigenous that. You’d have a gentle dig if his food wasn’t so very pretty, delicious and satisfying." 22/8/15 Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Muse Restaurant - "... the sleek space embraces the Valley’s hills through floor to ceiling views that provide a creative canvas for chef Troy Rhoades-Brown – and the produce of the region is truly his muse. ... Rhoades-Brown’s use of on-trend ingredients always feels natural, not contrived" Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Estelle by Scott Pickett - "We’re talking classic flavour combinations and ingredients spun fresh. Confrontation is not on the menu. Beautiful produce and classic technique – particularly in the saucing – will strike you time and again" Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 The Bridge Room - "... unique light and modern food, mature food and refined relaxation" - 23 Aug 2014; "Ross Lusted ... may have his heart in Australia and mind in Asia like many chefs, but his selective sourcing and individual touch delivers food with bursts of sunlight – its own energy, if you will." 22/8/15 Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Restaurant Amuse - "As a chef in Western Australia, Hadleigh Troy is spoilt for choice. ... The landscape may have changed, but the Troys’ vantage point is still high above the chasers of fashion and favour." Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Porteno - "Of course, it wouldn’t be a night out without one of the eight-hour slow-cooked asador meats – suckling pig or lamb. Why choose? Order both; just back the Russian beetroot and tahini salad to get you through it." Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Luxembourg - "... excellent buzzing bistro" - 23 Aug 2014; "Hospitable, friendly and flexible, Luxembourg ... does accessible, interesting food with Euro roots really well." 22/8/15 Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 The Glass House - "The very new Glass House reflects the indulgent tastes and standards of local hoteliers (The Islington) and their consultant chef Ikuei Arakane (ex-Taxi, Melbourne), who has sensibly embraced Tassie’s ace card of seafood to create a snacky menu that works to the Glass House mixed-business formula of bar/lounge and some more traditional dining space. ... The Glass House is one of the year’s lovely surprises." Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Wasabi - "... an uncompromised hybrid of creativity and authenticity" - 23 Aug 2014; "Wasabi, under the watchful eye of owner and qualified sake sommelier Danielle Gjestland, takes classic Japanese cuisine and spins it – gently, intelligently – into something quite new and exciting, as intricately composed as a hand-sewn kimono." 22/8/15 Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Ester - "The super-casual, drop-in wine bar feel. The professional, yet affable swagger of service. The wood-fired oven at its beating heart. Ester is the home of clever, stripped-back cooking embracing contemporary dining trends with a nod to Asia."
29 August 2015 Etica - "This one of the most delightful, honest, bare-bones restaurants Adelaide has produced in years. The focus is real Neapolitan pizza; trust us, it's real. Delicious. Spare. Unembellished." Our summary HERE
1 September 2015 Etica - "The pizza guy is a craftsman. ... Brilliant." Our summary HERE
5 September 2015 Lume - "Lûmé is like nothing else." Our summary HERE
12 September 2015 Sauma - "Sauma has dumbed down the complexities of Indian cuisine ... The same type of bland, gluey korma sauce ... Sauma is the flavour of diappointment." Our summary HERE
19 September 2015 Estelle by Scott Pickett - " Adventurous but grounded food relying on classic flavour combinations, tried-and-true ingredients and lovely old-fashioned sauces and broths." Our summary HERE
26 September 2015 Lady of Ro - "A decent kick from Subi oval is a contemporary little restaurant that embraces all sorts of attributes and virtues those of us of a certain age (and younger) can remember. Fondly. Dammit, we had a good night at Lady of Ro, and I still have n po idea what the name means." Our summary HERE
3 October 2015 Kepos & Co - "Kepos is hospitable, honest, fresh ans (almost without exception) delicious." Our summary HERE
10 October 2015 Lee Ho Fook - "... the food is not consistently brilliant, and not always great value. ... But there's potential here that hasn't yet been tapped. It's a long way to the top" Our summary HERE
17 October 2015 Bellevue - "Light, classical and approachable ... classic technique yet with a frresh eye." Our summary HERE
24 October 2015 London Fields - "Some things are fairly priced; some silly. And the cooking? Uneven." Our summary HERE
31 October 2015 Yak Italian Kitchen - "... real food, done well , without pretence, in welcoming circumstances." Our summary HERE
7 November 2015 The Glass House- "... the signs of fatigue are showing. Let's call it Consultant Chef Syndrome." Our summary HERE
14 November 2015 Anise - "Anise is a little wine-centric gem ... food is contemporary but with obvious classical roots. Most of it is very good ..." Our summary HERE
21 November 21 Dinner by Heston Blumenthal - "I like the Blumenthal palate. I like the professionalism of it all, too. I like the concept. But what I really love is that benchmark service. Dinner has been served." Our summary HERE
28 November 2015 Silvereye - "For while I enjoy everything here – the lightness, the rawness, the emphasis on vegetables/herbs, the astringency of many elements, the “natural” aesthetic of the dining room that showcases it all – the food doesn’t rise often enough to levels of extraordinary pleasure." Our summary HERE
5 December 2015 Templo - "... a petite nugget of humble talent shining quietly in the Hobart backstreets." Our summary HERE
12 December 2015 The Shorehouse - "Oliver Gould’s food, with its relaxed Mediterranean feel, that sits so very comfortably with the beach shack brief ... The score might seem a little conservative; dessert lets things down and I suspect service is more a matter of who you draw in Waiter Lotto than strong across the board. But I’d be back for dinner or lunch at Shorehouse in a flash. It reminds me of somewhere I miss." Our summary HERE
2014
23 August 2014 Attica, Ripponlea - "... there's just no arguing with brilliance". Our summary HERE
23 August 2014 Brae, Birregurra - "... destined for iconic status". Our summary HERE
23 Augusr 2014 Quay, Sydney - "Truly, one of the most complete dining experiences in Australia, if not the world" Our summary HERE
23 August 2014 Rockpool - "... it catches the Italian spirit in an entirely unexpected way" Our summary HERE
23 August 2014 Momofuku Seiōbo - "Take away the hype and this is still a place to eat and drink very, very well. Unique." Our summary HERE
23 August 2014 Magill - "... Magill's is a highly contemporary food style that would be just as home in the food temples of Europe as the suburbs of Adelaide" Our summary HERE
23 August 2014 Biota - "... embraces the locavore ethos" Our summary HERE
23 August 2014 Esquire - "... in its genre it's one of Australia's greats... Degustation only, you will make your way through all kinds of texturally intriguing morsels". Our summary HERE
23 August 2014 Alpha - "... brilliant craftmanship, and good old Greek family hospitality, are what Alpha's all about" Our summary HERE
23 August 2014 Bentley Restaurant and Bar - "... sparkling menu, a cool pared-back list in which luxe ingredients are afforded the sensitive, imaginative treatment of a chef with sharp and unpretentious creative vision" Our summary HERE
25 October 2014 Tulip, Geelong - "The ultimate emotion is neutral; I'd go back but in no hurry." Our summary HERE
1 November 2014 Greenhouse, Perth - "Unfortunately, Greenhouse is now a quite expensive restaurant with bar staff". Our summary HERE
1 November 2014 Cott & Co, Cottesloe - "Brilliant location. Quality produce. Simple, honest flavours. Unpretentious food with a smile. ... a very releaxing, satisfying and well-pricerd Sunday lunch." Our summary HERE
8 November 2014 LuMi, Pyrmont - "It's a remarkably informal dining experience for such beautifully coonceived and realised food. It has something that so much modern fod lacks: soul" Our summary HERE
15 November 2014 Bellota - "Bistro food at its most simple, unshackled best." Our summary HERE
22 November 2014 Pei Modern - "The food ideas ar refreshing, with short shrift given to pretension or fuss." Our summary HERE
29 November 2014 Balthazar - "Summary: Hard to recommend." Our summary HERE
6 December 2014 Frank - "As for the food .. it doesn't always look that pretty, but it's jolly tasty." Our summary HERE
13 December 2014 Sean's Kitchen - "... just another Food & Beverage Department restaurant, masquerading as something else. ... it's the uniformly lacklustre standard of what's on the plate that really let's Sean's down." Our summary HERE
9 July 2016 Mercado - "Mercado - which makes a song and dance about its in-house production of things such as salamis and house-milled flour, whole animal butchery and cheese-making - overcharges and under-delivers." Our summary HERE
8 July 2016 POW Kitchen - "Vibrant, well-crafted food at excellent prices. A real Asian canteen." Our summary HERE
4 July 2016 - Top places to eat and then sleep. Our summary HERE
2 July 2016 Oter - "Food that occasionally misses, occasionally hits hard, but mostly sits somewhere around 'Well, that's kind of what you'd expect from professional young chefs, isn't it?' I don't particularly warm to Ôter, the much-hyped newcomer to Flinders Lane..." Our summary HERE
25 June 2016 Automata - "...this place has the poise of a veteran and some of the most utterly delicious new food Sydney - Australia, even - has seen." Our summary HERE
24 June 2016 Napoli - "Unpretentious, quality Italian food at fair prices, and quite exceptional, real, Neapolitan pizza." Our summary HERE
17 June 2016 Oakridge - "The service is city-slick, the hospitality and landscape country-fresh. Pretentiousness factor zero. And the food puts Oakridge among Australia’s great winery restaurants." Our summary HERE
10 June 2016 Stanbuli - "... a wonderful balance of style and substance. A take on Turkish food that is accessible and delicious. It’s another welcome chapter in the continuing story of Australian chefs who have gone back to their roots to express true food passion." Our summary HERE
3 June 2016 Wildflower - "Delicious, contemporary food that cleverly distils the West" Our summary HERE
20 May 2016 Tulum - "Tulum is about Turkish flavours and memories put through a contemporary dining filter, refined, light and feminine. The menu is tight, but lo and behold, this is not one for sharing. Wow. These dishes are pretty, constructed and balanced — like any modern food by a talented chef — with a very modern approach to contrasting textures, the raw and the cooked, and with multiple sauces or dressings." Our summary HERE
14 May 2016 Rick Shores - "The food at Rick Shores is just plain delicious. It is less a riff on Longtime’s greatest Thai hits, more a refined pan-Asian style. Don’t let that suggest formality; RS manages a dance combining service, handsome plating and enough originality, with its twists on favourite big Asian flavours, to be very impressive without demanding we fawn over “chef’s” creations. A good thing." Our summary HERE
30 April 2016 The Apo -"Throw into the mix a hassled waitress who starts talking at us before she even gets to the table, and prices that are rather high given the modesty of the amenity (paper napkins, for example), and music that I for one never want to hear again… and you have a restaurant that, despite some enjoyable dishes, I wouldn’t bother with ever again. If you like dining out, you probably shouldn’t either." Our summary HERE
23 April 2016 Catfish - "... it’s home to some of the best Thai food you’ll find in Australia." Our summary HERE
9 April 2016 Igni - "Beyond the food, which is almost uniformly excellent and lacks the arrogance so often seen in this kind of place, Turner has created a really hospitable new restaurant. Visit. They’ll be pleased to see you." Our summary HERE
26 March 2016 Indu - "Indu is just so far off the hospitality pace. ... Which is not to say some of the food isn’t good." Our summary HERE
19 March 2016 Aloft - "... an inventive menu pushing Asian flavours into new territory with interesting produce; the warmth, verve and professionalism of staff; a manifest Taswegian pride." Our summary HERE
12 March 2016 Pastuso - "The food is well-crafted, nuanced and built with fine produce. ... Pastuso is exactly what it promises to be ... It’s a pleasant change." Our summary HERE
27 February 2016 The French Saloon - "The food, a relaxed Euro hybrid that is by no means slavishly “French”, is down to earth and full of fresh flavours; lightened-up classics pitched squarely at the mid-market." Our summary HERE
20 February 2016 Hill of Grace - "This is an expensive joint, in the same $ bracket as, say, Melbourne’s Dinner by Heston or Sydney’s Bennelong, and you are not even farewelled at the door. I’m not sure the world is ready for this particular fusion just yet. HoG occupies some kind of sad, ill-informed contemporary fine dining void; it’s like the rest of the restaurant world doesn’t exist. I’m trying hard to think of someone I’d recommended it to. I just can’t." Our summary HERE
5 February 2016 Kensington Street Social - "The food swerves; it’s a user-friendly collection from which you can build the meal of your needs. ... KSS is pleasant but unremarkable. Moreover, it’s solid and predictable. I’m not surprised to see it pumping." Our summary HERE
6 February 2016 Anchovy - "... food is light, vibrant and refreshing, reminiscent of South-East Asian authenticity yet at the same time new, with a subtle hybridisation of techniques, ingredients and flavours; velvet-glove punch yet rare balance and refinement to dressings and sauces." Our summary HERE
30 January 2016 Osteria Oggi - "Oggi is now. It’s an important new restaurant, and not just for Adelaide. And they serve very, very good tripe." Our summary HERE
23 January 2016 Petition Kitchen - "PK is your quintessential mid-market, informal, shared plate modern bistro. ... quirky food that’s easy to get your head around and – hallelujah – reasonably priced wine." Our summary HERE
18 January 2016 Pink Moon Saloon - "The simplicity of the menu structure is impressive: small snacks, sandwiches, ploughman’s, salads and “The Daily Chops”, which means whatever protein is happening that day in the smoky oven. It’s a restrained approach limiting choice to two or three dishes in each category. But it works." Our summary HERE
16 January 2016 Lucio's - "There’s just the right measure of every element that makes dining out such a pleasure, when it’s right." Our summary HERE
9 January 2016 Risorante Tartufo - "Everything we tried at lunch at Tartufo was seriously excellent. ... Trying hard and kicking goals. I’ll be back." Our summary HERE
2015
3 January 2015 Piari and Co - "Exception to a tourist curse. ... it's all about locals ... You could do a lot worse." Our summary HERE
17 January 2015 Bread in Common - "The bottom line is the food is plain delicious ... a big hearted restaurant Perth is lucky to have". Our summary HERE
24 January 2015 Leonards Mill - "refined, lots of promise" Our summary HERE
27 and 31 January 2015 - "Kappo is all about calm, creative morsels from an almost meat-free menu, matched to interesting wine and sake choices." Our summary HERE
7 February 2015 10 William Street - "The quintessential 2015 Australian eating and drinking experience." Our summary HERE
14 February 2015 Vasse Felix - "... one of Australia's best vineyard restaurants. ... creativity, delicateness, harmony and beautiful produce." Our summary HERE
21 February 2015 Acme - "... pasta, lending Asian accents to what are ostensibly Italian offerings" Our summary HERE
28 February 2015 Longtime - "The menu is a nice balance of tradition and innovation." Our summary HERE
7 March 2015 Magic Mountain Saloon - "... this is quirky stuff, packaged in a Western manner, but by no means dumbed down or stripped of its edges." Our summary HERE.
7 March 2015 Mayflower - "... more of a hotel dining room than restaurant “scene” player." Our summary HERE
14 March 2015 Africola - "For me it was almost a meal in two speeds:light, modern dishes with a new palate of flavours and techniques; and a feasting component that felt for all the world that I was at a Cape Town dinner party, learning, learning." Our summary HERE
21 March 2015 Sourced Grocer - "... intriguing little menu ... Is it a restaurant? Not in the conventional sense. Is it an important new food business setting the bar very high? You bet." Our summary HERE
28 March 2015 Maha - "... in the main, inventively rustic stuff - nuts, pulses, yoghurts, honey, herbs and lots of fragrant spices. ... the execution consistent from goa to whoa". Our summary HERE
4 April 2015 Botanic Gardens Restaurant - "... ambitious modern food with soul." Our summary HERE
11 April 2015 Subcontinental - "When [Indian food] is good it's intoxicating. Suncontinental's is not bad. And if that sounds like faint praise, please don't see it as damning: this is a restaurant I'd readily go back to. ... relaxed, informal and pleasing." Our summary HERE
18 April 2015 Franklin - "You wouldn' call it a polished restaurant but the service is appropriate (the tone delightfully unpretentious in a small town wgere shoulder chips flourish) to the fresh/local non-commercial ethos. And it's Moyle's oeuvre, not something found in a book; a kind of spare luxury, Nordic tundra cuisine that show-cases small-batch supplies of whatever he can get." Our summary HERE
11 May 2015 Asado - "They call themselves a small bar with serious food intentions, but by day at least, Asado is a thriving cafe to the affluent local set, nearly all of it female." Our summary HERE
16 May 2015 Mure's Upper Deck - "From the indifferent food - a kind of expensive form of fry and shred pub grub - to the less than indifferent wait staff who hover in clusters at the front of this barn-like pine-lined space, hoping not to catch anyone's eye ... it's quite difficult to see where Mure's Upper Deck fits into the modern hospitality matrix. Other than servicing tourists ... By the standards of its industry, Mure's Upper Deck is a restaurant dinosaur. Bring on tyhe ice age. Or the meteor. Whatever it was that changed things forever." Our summary HERE
23 May 2015 Itsara - "... a refined Thai experience with great produce and authentic flavours." Our summary HERE
30 May 2015 Firedoor - "...Oh, and some beef. The beef. The steak that may spoil you forever." Our summary HERE
6 June 2015 Tipo 00 - "The food in this modest, very pleasant dining room is simply some of the most delicious, flavour filled, unpretentious yet carefully constructed Italian-accented food I've eaten for years - including in Italy." Our summary HERE
13 June 2015 Gauge - "... original food that's neither scary nor aggressively hip. It's fresh, clean, healthy and delicious." Our summary HERE
20 June 2015 Guillaume - "French based, produce-inspired, with the odd flourish of contemporary thinking to keep things lighter." Our summary HERE
27 June 2015 Olea -"The service at Olea is uninspired and faulty ... food that's had the joy suckied out of it but sold at ambitious prices." Our summary HERE
27 June 2015 Gowings Bar and Grill - "Classics, reborn. ... Clubby, but for a new breed of chief executive who wants a bit of fun, not foie gras." Our summary HERE
4 July 2015 Cutler and Co - "A fine restaurant still but capable of more." Our summary HERE
11 July 2015 Fine Seppeltsfield - "If you get off on wine culture, food, history, it's an amusement park for hungry adults." Our summary HERE
18 July 2015 Lucky Chan's Laundry - "... a grab-bag of ideas and flavours that work together well enough to sell booze and give folks a good time." Our summary HERE
25 July 2015 Minamishima - "With an amazing knife, a blow torch and bare hands Koichi Minamishima turns fish, a variety of seasonings and lightly clumped rice into outstanding examples of the genre." Our summary HERE
1 August 2015 - Paper Daisy - "Paper Daisy is a triumph. Sweet, in fact. But in a considered fashion." Our summary HERE
8 August 2015 Bennelong - "Bennelong is exactly what it set out to be: a lovely relaxed Australian restaurat in a unique setting." Our summary HERE
15 August 2015 Fleet - "it nourishes the body and soul. It flatters with hospitable ways, unusual wines and the kind of truly original food only a tiny place with one chef could pull off." Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Etica - "This one of the most delightful, honest, bare-bones restaurants Adelaide has produced in years. The focus is real Neapolitan pizza; trust us, it's real. Delicious. Spare. Unembellished." Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Mr Wong - "Stylish, fun, trustworthy ... It's flexible. very busy and very good" - 22 August 2015 Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Stokehouse Q - "Eating here is a joy ... A balanced restaurant in every respect." Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Cafe Di Stasio - "We've been loving it for more than 25 years." Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Urbane - [Chef Alejandro] Cancino is a vegan (and tailors his menus as omnivore or herbivore) but shows a deft touch with protein" Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Nu Nu - "Nu Nu may be positioned on a beachy tourist strip, but it could hold its own in any capital city." Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Lee Ho Fook - "... a real talent for reinvesting Asian food - Chinese in particular" - 23 Aug 2014; "... now ex Lee Ho Fook Collingwood ... it's still finding its groom, in service as in food. We can still feel the beat." 22 Aug 2015 Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Sixpenny - "... food that exemplifies the ethos of sophistication in simplicity" - 23 Aug 2014; "Casual yet serious." 22 Aug 2015. Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Chin Chin - "A restaurant that doesn't let its groove get in the way of thorough professionalism at every level - food, service, bang for buck" Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Print Hall - "print Hall has always looked after what you might call the creative conservatives; ... It still fills the niche." Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Lume - "the outrageously adventurous Lûmé will polarise, and that is almost certainly the rather perverse intention of the archly contemporary chefs behind it. ... Lûmé eschews the casual and flexible for a return to occasion dining with grand pretensions. So strap yourself in for a 16-course ride of flavours and textures, built on techniques and ingredients you have probably never experienced before." Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Pilu at Freshwater - "... the thing about this proudly Sardinian restaurant with its picture-book location, shipshape dining rooms and decade-long record of high accomplishment: the food, service and hospitality are way better than they need to be at a place so naturally well-endowed." Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Tippo00 - "Tipo is the Italian restaurant you’ve always wanted: neither cliché-stacked nor too-cool-for-school. It’s affordable, yet presents dishes with an uncompromised approach to produce." Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Oscillate Wildly - "The degustation only menu takes you through seasonal best-in-class produce all paired with rare, affordable wines" - 23 Aug 2014; "... chef Karl Firla delivers one of the best degustations in the land. Deft, artistic touches and superb technique shine a light on flavours that switch from subtle nuances in one dish to bold, rich and breathtaking the next." 22/8/15 Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Wills Domain - "... food that breaks the winery mould to create destination dining" - 23 Aug 2014; "Chef Seth James keeps a very keen eye on those on-trend elements of modern Aussie gastronomy; fermented this, puffed that; buttermilk this; indigenous that. You’d have a gentle dig if his food wasn’t so very pretty, delicious and satisfying." 22/8/15 Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Muse Restaurant - "... the sleek space embraces the Valley’s hills through floor to ceiling views that provide a creative canvas for chef Troy Rhoades-Brown – and the produce of the region is truly his muse. ... Rhoades-Brown’s use of on-trend ingredients always feels natural, not contrived" Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Estelle by Scott Pickett - "We’re talking classic flavour combinations and ingredients spun fresh. Confrontation is not on the menu. Beautiful produce and classic technique – particularly in the saucing – will strike you time and again" Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 The Bridge Room - "... unique light and modern food, mature food and refined relaxation" - 23 Aug 2014; "Ross Lusted ... may have his heart in Australia and mind in Asia like many chefs, but his selective sourcing and individual touch delivers food with bursts of sunlight – its own energy, if you will." 22/8/15 Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Restaurant Amuse - "As a chef in Western Australia, Hadleigh Troy is spoilt for choice. ... The landscape may have changed, but the Troys’ vantage point is still high above the chasers of fashion and favour." Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Porteno - "Of course, it wouldn’t be a night out without one of the eight-hour slow-cooked asador meats – suckling pig or lamb. Why choose? Order both; just back the Russian beetroot and tahini salad to get you through it." Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Luxembourg - "... excellent buzzing bistro" - 23 Aug 2014; "Hospitable, friendly and flexible, Luxembourg ... does accessible, interesting food with Euro roots really well." 22/8/15 Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 The Glass House - "The very new Glass House reflects the indulgent tastes and standards of local hoteliers (The Islington) and their consultant chef Ikuei Arakane (ex-Taxi, Melbourne), who has sensibly embraced Tassie’s ace card of seafood to create a snacky menu that works to the Glass House mixed-business formula of bar/lounge and some more traditional dining space. ... The Glass House is one of the year’s lovely surprises." Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Wasabi - "... an uncompromised hybrid of creativity and authenticity" - 23 Aug 2014; "Wasabi, under the watchful eye of owner and qualified sake sommelier Danielle Gjestland, takes classic Japanese cuisine and spins it – gently, intelligently – into something quite new and exciting, as intricately composed as a hand-sewn kimono." 22/8/15 Our summary HERE
22 August 2015 Ester - "The super-casual, drop-in wine bar feel. The professional, yet affable swagger of service. The wood-fired oven at its beating heart. Ester is the home of clever, stripped-back cooking embracing contemporary dining trends with a nod to Asia."
29 August 2015 Etica - "This one of the most delightful, honest, bare-bones restaurants Adelaide has produced in years. The focus is real Neapolitan pizza; trust us, it's real. Delicious. Spare. Unembellished." Our summary HERE
1 September 2015 Etica - "The pizza guy is a craftsman. ... Brilliant." Our summary HERE
5 September 2015 Lume - "Lûmé is like nothing else." Our summary HERE
12 September 2015 Sauma - "Sauma has dumbed down the complexities of Indian cuisine ... The same type of bland, gluey korma sauce ... Sauma is the flavour of diappointment." Our summary HERE
19 September 2015 Estelle by Scott Pickett - " Adventurous but grounded food relying on classic flavour combinations, tried-and-true ingredients and lovely old-fashioned sauces and broths." Our summary HERE
26 September 2015 Lady of Ro - "A decent kick from Subi oval is a contemporary little restaurant that embraces all sorts of attributes and virtues those of us of a certain age (and younger) can remember. Fondly. Dammit, we had a good night at Lady of Ro, and I still have n po idea what the name means." Our summary HERE
3 October 2015 Kepos & Co - "Kepos is hospitable, honest, fresh ans (almost without exception) delicious." Our summary HERE
10 October 2015 Lee Ho Fook - "... the food is not consistently brilliant, and not always great value. ... But there's potential here that hasn't yet been tapped. It's a long way to the top" Our summary HERE
17 October 2015 Bellevue - "Light, classical and approachable ... classic technique yet with a frresh eye." Our summary HERE
24 October 2015 London Fields - "Some things are fairly priced; some silly. And the cooking? Uneven." Our summary HERE
31 October 2015 Yak Italian Kitchen - "... real food, done well , without pretence, in welcoming circumstances." Our summary HERE
7 November 2015 The Glass House- "... the signs of fatigue are showing. Let's call it Consultant Chef Syndrome." Our summary HERE
14 November 2015 Anise - "Anise is a little wine-centric gem ... food is contemporary but with obvious classical roots. Most of it is very good ..." Our summary HERE
21 November 21 Dinner by Heston Blumenthal - "I like the Blumenthal palate. I like the professionalism of it all, too. I like the concept. But what I really love is that benchmark service. Dinner has been served." Our summary HERE
28 November 2015 Silvereye - "For while I enjoy everything here – the lightness, the rawness, the emphasis on vegetables/herbs, the astringency of many elements, the “natural” aesthetic of the dining room that showcases it all – the food doesn’t rise often enough to levels of extraordinary pleasure." Our summary HERE
5 December 2015 Templo - "... a petite nugget of humble talent shining quietly in the Hobart backstreets." Our summary HERE
12 December 2015 The Shorehouse - "Oliver Gould’s food, with its relaxed Mediterranean feel, that sits so very comfortably with the beach shack brief ... The score might seem a little conservative; dessert lets things down and I suspect service is more a matter of who you draw in Waiter Lotto than strong across the board. But I’d be back for dinner or lunch at Shorehouse in a flash. It reminds me of somewhere I miss." Our summary HERE
2014
23 August 2014 Attica, Ripponlea - "... there's just no arguing with brilliance". Our summary HERE
23 August 2014 Brae, Birregurra - "... destined for iconic status". Our summary HERE
23 Augusr 2014 Quay, Sydney - "Truly, one of the most complete dining experiences in Australia, if not the world" Our summary HERE
23 August 2014 Rockpool - "... it catches the Italian spirit in an entirely unexpected way" Our summary HERE
23 August 2014 Momofuku Seiōbo - "Take away the hype and this is still a place to eat and drink very, very well. Unique." Our summary HERE
23 August 2014 Magill - "... Magill's is a highly contemporary food style that would be just as home in the food temples of Europe as the suburbs of Adelaide" Our summary HERE
23 August 2014 Biota - "... embraces the locavore ethos" Our summary HERE
23 August 2014 Esquire - "... in its genre it's one of Australia's greats... Degustation only, you will make your way through all kinds of texturally intriguing morsels". Our summary HERE
23 August 2014 Alpha - "... brilliant craftmanship, and good old Greek family hospitality, are what Alpha's all about" Our summary HERE
23 August 2014 Bentley Restaurant and Bar - "... sparkling menu, a cool pared-back list in which luxe ingredients are afforded the sensitive, imaginative treatment of a chef with sharp and unpretentious creative vision" Our summary HERE
25 October 2014 Tulip, Geelong - "The ultimate emotion is neutral; I'd go back but in no hurry." Our summary HERE
1 November 2014 Greenhouse, Perth - "Unfortunately, Greenhouse is now a quite expensive restaurant with bar staff". Our summary HERE
1 November 2014 Cott & Co, Cottesloe - "Brilliant location. Quality produce. Simple, honest flavours. Unpretentious food with a smile. ... a very releaxing, satisfying and well-pricerd Sunday lunch." Our summary HERE
8 November 2014 LuMi, Pyrmont - "It's a remarkably informal dining experience for such beautifully coonceived and realised food. It has something that so much modern fod lacks: soul" Our summary HERE
15 November 2014 Bellota - "Bistro food at its most simple, unshackled best." Our summary HERE
22 November 2014 Pei Modern - "The food ideas ar refreshing, with short shrift given to pretension or fuss." Our summary HERE
29 November 2014 Balthazar - "Summary: Hard to recommend." Our summary HERE
6 December 2014 Frank - "As for the food .. it doesn't always look that pretty, but it's jolly tasty." Our summary HERE
13 December 2014 Sean's Kitchen - "... just another Food & Beverage Department restaurant, masquerading as something else. ... it's the uniformly lacklustre standard of what's on the plate that really let's Sean's down." Our summary HERE
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