Anchovy has hit its stride and, writes Michael Harden, there’s promise of more exciting times ahead. Blood pudding ahoy.

REVIEW Nunam is a restaurant on the up. Renovations a year or two ago haven’t just brought a fresh décor and soft furnishings, but a new lease on life. Those that haven’t been back since the restaurant’s Nahm Thai days are in for a pleasant surprise, both in terms of aesthetics (Brighter! Sparser! More fun […]

REVIEW Malt offers a modern take on fine dining, with old-school charms like a piano player and soft lighting paired with timber tables and rustic décor. The three-storey building, once a 19th-century produce market, adds a sense of history to the dining experience. Begin with half a dozen oysters, served with a dash of apple […]

REVIEW There are half-bows to Korea – kimchi accompanies fried pork hock and stir-fried mushrooms are braised in a rich soy-based sauce – but Madame Wu mostly looks to China for inspiration. And, in the case of toasty, rice-crusted wagyu brisket, that’s no bad thing. The beef arrives scented with anise in parcels scattered with […]

REVIEW Longtime works its modern Thai brief with verve and vigour. The room is warehouse glam, nicely detailed, right down to the vintage tools strung along one brick wall, and the clusters of large globes hanging among vine tendrils from the ceiling. Among the bar snacks you’ll find a soft-shell crab bao and a fried […]

REVIEW Warning: visiting Julius may prove highly addictive. It’s not just the team’s crisp-based, wood-fired pizze, which always emerge from the wood-fired oven all puffy-edged and nicely charry. It’s also the flirty drinks list – the snappy yet smiling service – and the theatre of Italian dining in a space that skips clichés in favour […]

REVIEW The laneway location, roller-door entry, concrete floors and brick walls all scream hipster hangout – but there’s more than just cool kids at these tables. Service levels can be patchy, ranging from remote to attentive, but razor-sharp pricing and pitch-perfect provincial Chinese fare exert a powerful pull on tribes of all stripes. Note the […]

REVIEW A clean, slightly stark room and neat plywood furnishings are clues to the thinking at Three Japanese. Fussy and complicated? Not here. Instead, an assured kitchen serves food that speaks of clarity and simplicity. Start with the tsukemono plate, a varied collection of Japanese pickles that leads with stepping-stone certainty through a range of […]

REVIEW Source mixes sophistication with simplicity – that’s the impression that strikes you upon entering the restaurant’s stripped-back room. There’s a smart selection of art on the exposed-brick walls, a mix of modern Scandinavian furniture and, out the back, a garden filled with herbs and edible flowers. The staff are welcoming, as are the local […]

REVIEW Pull up to Port Phillip Estate and you’re met with a building worthy of a Bond villain. A stark rammed-earth wall with an automated door lures you in, revealing the most stunning coastal view that Red Hill has to offer: vineyard in the foreground, Phillip Island in the distance. The menu is well executed […]

REVIEW Thanks to its sun-drenched deck and chic dining room with views over grapevines, Polperro’s daytime charms are undeniable. But this Red Hill winery’s appeal as an evening destination shouldn’t be overlooked. Come nightfall, the open fire is stoked, tapered candles flicker on every table, and spotlights illuminate the ancient gums that shade the vineyard. […]

REVIEW Driving to Gembrook, you might expect home-spun country dining options until – like a mirage – The Independent appears. Suddenly, inspired Argentine food is a possibility. Hell, there’s even a small vegan menu. Housed in a refurbished garage with a kitchen garden, The Independent throws down share plates perfect for both a convivial family […]

REVIEW Candles and Edison bulbs provide an inviting glow throughout this former mill, softening its old stone and painted tin walls. Tall tables inside and out are taken by wine bar patrons, while the mismatched chairs at timber tables are reserved for diners in the rear area and mezzanine. Seed’s menu is listed from lightest […]

REVIEW Expect a warm welcome at the restored 170-year-old flour mill, where you can sit on the lawn, expansive deck or inside the three-level venue. Food is drawn from Kangaroo Island and the Fleurieu, supported by a considered South Australian wine list. Paper-thin kingfish sashimi works well with the bitter flavour and crunch of radish, […]

REVIEW Cossetted away from the Hastings Street crowds, just above the street-level bar in the Sheraton complex, Noosa Beach House has all the trappings of a superior resort hotel – cluey, courteous staff, soaring white interiors, pared-back timber furnishings and a wine list that holds its own. And then there’s the drawcard of chef Peter […]

REVIEW The contented diners vying for tempura-battered Moreton Bay bugs and juicy chicken thighs with yuzu honey and slivers of radish may have stumbled up from the casino below. But, truth be told, most are here expressly to dine at Kiyomi. The buzzy venture, sibling to Sydney’s Sokyo, is headed by Nobu alumnus Chase Kojima. […]

REVIEW “Ingredient – dash – ingredient.” For some reason, this style of menuwriting often goes hand-in-glove with a particular school of cooking where the natural tastes and textures of said ingredients are subjugated to whichever fiddly technique happens to fascinate the kitchen at a given moment. Maybe all that dehydrating, puréeing and cooking things for […]

REVIEW Behold, a hotel restaurant that cares. From the house-baked sourdough to the understated interior, the whole package at the Sydney branch of Pei is impressively polished. It’s a level of finesse you’d expect with the culinary genius of Mark Best at the helm. His ethos is clearly delineated: the produce shines, the flavours are […]

REVIEW Few Margaret River cellar doors feel as connected to the land as Cullen. It doesn’t hurt that the Cullen family was one of the region’s winemaking pioneers. Or that the building is a warm timber and granite site that sparks nostalgia. While matriarch Vanya Cullen oversees all things vinous (pro tip: arrive early for […]

REVIEW World-renowned wines. A 32-year-long (and counting) run of concerts. A grand two-storey cellar door deep in Margaret River karri country. Leeuwin Estate is every bit the regional showpiece that its international reputation suggests. What this also means, of course, is that it attracts everyone from tourists in tracksuits to minted bons vivants who come […]

REVIEW Why aren’t more people talking about Nel? In a glam basement off grimy Wentworth Avenue, this restaurant has flown largely under the radar. Chef Nelly Robinson’s eight-course set menu changes monthly and is as eclectic as it is inventive, including everything from Indian and South East Asian flavours to Eccles cakes. You might start […]

REVIEW Chickens and children are as much part of the experience as the food here: there’s a playground for kids, while cows, pigs and chooks are star attractions at The Farm, the restaurant’s grand agricultural, ecological and educational project. Embraced by locals and mobbed by visitors, things can get chaotic, but the floor staff keep […]

REVIEW Despite the name, no one comes away from Cobblestone Lane thinking “quaint”. The food here is masterful and mature – the work of the skilled Heath Smith. The historic emporium in which the restaurant resides has become a temple to both expansive vision and local pride. Bathurst’s high-lifers come here to be wowed, and […]

REVIEW If you can judge the quality of a chef by their terrine, then John Evans is worth knowing. His jamón-wrapped example, studded with Thirlmere chicken and quail, is Impressionist art – a still life with a small loaf of brioche, chutney and tarragon butter. So, too, a salad of beetroot and fig with Binnorie […]

REVIEW There’s a running gag in Agatha Christie novels with characters mistaking her most famous detective for a Frenchman. “Belgian,” says Hercule Poirot, correcting everyone. The same misconception could apply to chef David Coumont, a Belgian native who takes cues from both Australia and Europe for his seafood-rich menu. This elegant restaurant, named after his […]

REVIEW Pity the couples who come alone instead of with a posse. One glance at the wood-burning beast of a smoker and they’ll regret their decision. Pitboss Luke Powell applies exacting technique to deliver down-home barbecued fare meant for a clan. Beef short rib is cooked low (85C, then at 77C) and slow (15 hours). […]

REVIEW Kent Street Kitchen is all about dreamy styling – luscious soft furnishings, generous padded chairs with armrests and magnificent slabs of unclothed white marble tables. It has photo shoot written all over it. Service, too, is polished, and food presentation highly curated, with irregular shapes, petals, flowers, leaves, droplets and foams providing interesting surfaces […]

REVIEW While the front bar of this clifftop restaurant and retreat evokes the property’s history, the terrace is more northern-beaches bling, perfect for savouring the tang of the Pacific. Chef Logan Campbell’s time at Italian landmark Lucio’s shows in a rustic black linguine, rich with prawn oil and cherry tomatoes, and flecked with New Zealand […]

REVIEW With its big-box design – eatery meets funhouse, bar, florist, ice-creamery and café – and popularity with families, the Pavilion can sometimes seem a bit like a restaurant-Ikea by the beach. But the diversity of spaces and dining options, sprawled over three big floors, keeps interest high and appetites piqued. For casual bites, snag […]

REVIEW Set inside The Star, Black is very much a product of its casino environs, but it plays the hand it is dealt well, offering attentive service in an amusingly blingy room. The Sydney outpost for Melbourne chef Teage Ezard, Black has a focus on steak, and it’s the grill that offers the most satisfaction […]

REVIEW The namesake humble concrete brick favoured by Italian-Australians building their suburban dreams in the ’70s is a trigger for long lost memories at this friendly eatery: of backyard gatherings, family meals, the comfort of home. They’re good memories, and the sense of fun is evident in a floor painted lawn-green, the retro plastic chairs, […]

REVIEW Does your average Bangladeshi listen to R&B, dine with Laguiole cutlery, or take her lassi with a slug of rum? Perhaps not, but that’s what makes Bang such a joy. The space caters to a fun-loving crowd with a sleek tiled bar, communal tables and red neon. An all-Portuguese wine list (a reference to […]

Automata and Silvereye are spearheading a brave new era of inventive and accessible fine dining, writes Pat Nourse. Unleash the snacks.

The home of balsamic vinegar, lambrusco and the Ferrari is the focus of Emilia, where the Modenese cooking is the real deal, writes Michael Harden.

Surry Hills newcomer Master stands out in the field of modern Asian eateries with its often-inspired take on Chinese cooking, writes Pat Nourse.

Scott Pickett’s latest venture, the fine-diner ESP, writes Michael Harden, brings a tasty new definition to the idea of extra-sensory perception.