Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2016

The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Awards took place last month at the Ivy ballroom, with eight newcomers to the list. It’s exciting to see so many new one hat restaurants this year – a testament to the fact that Sydney’s restaurant scene is expanding in both creativity and quality.

  The big winner this year was The Bridge Room. It wasn’t just awarded Vittoria Restaurant of the Year but also gained a prestigious third hat. It now joins Quay, Rockpool est. 1989 and Sepia as Sydney’s top restaurants.  This comes after chef/owner Ross Lusted was awarded Citi Chef of the Year by the SMH Good Food Guide and Hottest Chef in Australia by The Australian in 2014. Ross is proving himself to be one of the best chefs in Sydney right now.   This years Citi Chef of the Year is Pasi Petanen, head chef of Café Paci, the pop up restaurant that popped up in 2013 and has remained open ever since. It’s due to close its door in December this year, but we can only hope they stay popped open for just a bit longer!   The big news this year was Peter Gilmore taking over Bennelong at the Opera House. A multi-million-dollar revamp of both the kitchen and dinning room has paid off as Bennelong was awarded two hats and Best New Restaurant. Santa Vittoria Regional Restaurant of the Year went to Fleet in Brunswick Heads. A 20 seat wine bar in an old shop front, tightly run by a small team of only four, presents beautiful food with a cracking wine list.   The Josephine Pignolet Award, recognising the brightest young stars on the NSW dining scene, went to Lauren Eldridge, pastry chef at Marque. Champagne Pol Roger Sommelier of the Year went to Sebastian Crowther MS, Head Sommelier at Rockpool. Rockpool Bar & Grill also took home the award for Best Bar Food Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrandt had two wins, with Monopole winning Best Bar and Bentley Restaurant & Bar claiming Best Wine List. Regional Wine List of Year went to Canberra’s Monster Kitchen and Bar.