Some travellers plan trips around landmarks and beaches, others go for the food. If you fall into the latter camp, behold your roadmap to Australia’s most exciting restaurants and bars right now, with plenty of ideas on where to stay on your next epicurean weekender. The Age Good Food Guide has recently revealed its list of award-winners and hatted restaurants in Australia for 2027, top critics from Gourmet Traveller and Time Out have crowned their top picks, and South Australia is now home to 11 Michelin-starred restaurants. All that’s left to do is plan your most delicious escape yet.
Melbourne
Roma
The Age Good Food Guide named Roma its 2027 New Restaurant of the Year. Matt Wilkinson’s Roman trattoria leans into cucina povera and the “fifth quarter”, with dishes such as coratella (pan-fried lamb offal) and pajata-style rigatoni alongside more familiar Roman pastas like carbonara. With old-school customer service, a bespoke gelati machine and oodles of cocktail bar energy until late, this spot is the perfect blend of Italian tradition with Melbourne cool.
Vue de Monde
Vue de Monde retained its three hats in The Age Good Food Guide 2027, the Guide’s top rating. Hugh Allen’s high-altitude tasting menu puts native Australian ingredients and artisan producers in focus, with a theatrical, contemporary approach above the city on Level 55 of the Rialto. Rocket up to the top and splash out on one of the most respected long-standing fine diners in Melbourne.
Yiaga
Yet another beauty from the mind of Hugh Allen, Fitzroy Gardens’ newcomer Yiaga kept three hats and was named Restaurant of the Year in The Age Good Food Guide 2027; Gourmet Traveller also crowned it Best New Restaurant in 2026. The contemporary Australian tasting menu draws on local ingredients and craftsmanship, with small details such as gumnut-shaped petit fours and macadamia oil-enriched caviar with silky coconut tofu.
Zareh
Zareh won Good Food Guide’s 2026 New Restaurant of the Year, Time Out Melbourne’s 2026 Best Restaurant and Gourmet Traveller’s 2026 Restaurant of the Year. Chef Tom Sarafian’s lively, wood-fired cooking draws on Armenian, Lebanese and Egyptian roots: order the prawn-and-crab hummus, chicken skewers with toum or bastourma on grilled toast. If you’re snacking only, sit at the bar and go through the arak-based cocktail list.
Where to stay in Melbourne
Make the city your temporary postcode and savour luxe comforts at Pullman Melbourne City Centre or Rendezvous Hotel, or enjoy a boutique stay at The Standard X in the inner-north (only a 10-minute walk from Zareh).
Regional Victoria
Brae
Legendary Brae kept its three hats in The Age Good Food Guide 2027. Dan Hunter’s destination restaurant, organic farm and six-suite stay shape an ever-changing menu built around daily harvests, ethical local produce and the Otways landscape. This regional Victoria jewel is one to book for special occasions or an unforgettable long lunch.
Barragunda Dining
Barragunda was named Regional Restaurant of the Year in The Age Good Food Guide 2027 and Time Out Melbourne’s 2026 Best Destination Venue. At Cape Schanck, its dining experience – ensconced in a heritage limestone homestead amidst rolling bushland – works with produce from the surrounding farm and peninsula, with a seasonal menu that changes with the land.
Where to stay in regional Victoria
Near Barragunda, stay at the ultra-luxe RACV Cape Schanck Resort or make Peppers Moonah your Mornington Peninsula base – a resort with golf, hot springs, wineries and local award-winning restaurants all within easy reach. If a Brae lunch is on the cards, boutique winery lodge Mount Duneed Estate is less than an hour away by car and offers peaceful olive grove and vineyard pods as accommodation.
Sydney
Saint Peter
At Paddington’s Grand National Hotel, Saint Peter reimagines seafood through chef Josh Niland’s thoughtful, whole-fish approach. Its changing menus make the most of each catch, with a focus on seasonality and using every part of the fish. Saint Peter holds three Good Food Guide hats and was named one of Sydney’s 2027 three-hatted restaurants.
Cibaria Manly
Cibaria Manly was a People’s Choice favourite for NSW Favourite Restaurant in the 2026 Time Out Food & Drink Awards. This beachfront all-day restaurant is a haven for lovers of casual Italian food – from wood-fired pizzetta and handmade pasta to glorious gelato. This sunny dining room and aperitivo bar brings a Mediterranean feel to the Northern Beaches.
South End
South End was named Best Restaurant in Time Out Sydney’s 2026 Food & Drink Awards. The Newtown neighbourhood bistro serves a seasonal European-inspired menu in a polished dining room, with a generous drinks list that covers the gamut from freezer-cold martinis to small European winemakers.
Where to stay in Sydney
For big-city Sydney elegance near Circular Quay, Paradox is grand, central and popular for a reason. It’s only eight minutes by car to Newtown and 30 minutes by car to Manly. Historic Potts Point also offers a prime base for Sydney dining, with Hotel Indigo right on the doorstep of multi-cuisine dining hub Macleay Street.
Regional NSW
Sixpenny
In Stanmore, Sixpenny pairs an intimate heritage setting with an inventive, ever-evolving tasting menu from chefs Dan Puskas and Tony Schifilliti. Contemporary Australian cuisine takes its cues from the seasons, with produce sourced from local farmers, fishers and growers. Sixpenny holds three Good Food Guide hats and was named 2027 Restaurant of the Year.
Arno Deli
Regional New South Wales is abundant in swanky wineries and fine diners, but it was a small Italy-inspired deli that won Time Out Sydney’s 2026 Best Destination Venue award. Worth stopping for on your next drive through Newcastle, Arno pays homage to Florence with generously filled panini, cannoli and robust wines. If you’re craving an Italian summer but need a spot closer to home, add Arno to your hot list.
Muse Restaurant
Set within Hungerford Hill Estate, Muse celebrates contemporary Australian cuisine shaped by the seasons and the Hunter Valley’s local produce. Chef-owner Troy Rhoades-Brown draws inspiration from the restaurant’s own garden, where freshly picked vegetables, herbs and flowers can find their way onto the plate within hours. Muse holds two Good Food Guide hats and was named 2027 Regional Restaurant of the Year.
Bistro Livi
Bistro Livi was Gourmet Traveller’s 2026 New South Wales Restaurant of the Year. In Murwillumbah, Danni Wilson and Ewen Crawford celebrate Northern Rivers growers through fermentation, pickling and preserving. Indulge in deceptively simple yet elevated degustation plates: Moreton Bay bug with curry leaf butter, spatchcock stuffed with mushrooms, or whatever else the talented kitchen happens to have prepared on the day you visit.
Where to stay in regional NSW
Less than an hour away from Bistro Livi, Byron Bay villas and resorts like Cape Vue and beachfront Elements invite you to make the most of the Northern Rivers region. Closer to Sydney, consider Newcastle’s Crystalbrook Kingsley, which sits on the same street as Arno Deli.
South Australia
Tread Lightly
Willunga’s Tread Lightly won Gourmet Traveller’s 2026 Bar of the Year. This intimate, sustainability-minded bar champions South Australian wine and producers, pairing drinks with snacks such as hibachi-kissed mussel skewers, camel ragù and wild rabbit. For those too tired to drive home, you’re in luck: Tread Lightly offers cosy cabin-style accommodation (note, bookings must be made in advance).
Esmay
One of Australia’s very first-ever Michelin-starred restaurants*, Esmay was also named Gourmet Traveller’s 2026 South Australia Restaurant of the Year. Chef Alanna Sapwell’s comfort-meets-creativity cooking makes local ingredients the star, with the emu pastrami doughnut and crab-claw-topped tomato and red pepper terrine among the dishes to look for.
*Discover the full list of 11 South Australian restaurants currently awarded with Michelin stars here.
Latteria
Latteria was voted South Australia’s Favourite Bar in Time Out’s 2026 Food & Drink Awards People’s Choice category. Inspired by Milanese milk bars, this Adelaide aperitivo spot pairs seasonal cocktails and Italian wines with pizzette, porchetta buns and hand-rolled pasta.
Where to stay in South Australia
Most of these dining jewels can be found just a short drive inland from the sparkling South Australian coast. For a central Adelaide base, consider a stay at glamorous Hotel Alba or the Intercontinental Adelaide by IHG (which accommodates its own award-winning Japanese teppanyaki restaurant).
Queensland
The Woodshed
The Woodshed won Gourmet Traveller’s 2026 Queensland Restaurant of the Year and Best Destination Dining. Set inside the historic Kin Kin Hotel, chef Oscar Holgado serves an open-fire set menu from a working market garden. Dishes span red-claw yabby with Jaffna curry to coral trout crudo.
Bar Miette
Brisbane locals voted Bar Miette Queensland’s Favourite Bar in Time Out’s 2026 Food & Drink Awards. Come for a glass from its considered wine list or stay for lunch and share plates such as native oysters, charcuterie, tuna with red pepper vinaigrette and grilled scallops.
Where to stay in Queensland
A stay in Brisbane will give you easy access to the city’s dining culture, but it may be tempting to inch closer to Queensland’s white sands in one of the surrounding towns. Mantra Towers of Chevron gives you all the glitz and buzz of Surfers Paradise, less than a 1.5-hour drive from the heart of Brisbane. If you’d like to stay near The Woodshed, Misty View Cottages offers an adults-only Sunshine Coast escape.
Tasmania
Scholé
Scholé was named Gourmet Traveller’s 2026 Tasmania Restaurant of the Year. Chef Luke Burgess serves Japanese- and European-influenced dishes built around hyper-local Tasmanian ingredients in an intimate ten-seat room inside a former confectionery shop.
Where to stay in Tasmania
Unless you’re trekking all over Tasmania’s wild country landscape with a camping set-up or rental car, you’re likely looking to base yourself in Hobart. Spend a weekend visiting MONA, the markets and Hobart foodie gems, including Scholé. This centrally positioned luxury lodge offers a romantic escape for couples.
Northern Territory & Australian Capital Territory
The Boat House
The Boat House won Best Wine List ACT at the 2026 Australian Wine List of the Year Awards. Its modern Australian dining room sits on Lake Burley Griffin, while the wine program pairs Canberra District favourites with thoughtful bottles from Australia and beyond. If good wine is your favourite part of fine dining, this is one to splurge on.
AK’s Diner
At AK’s Diner in NewActon, chef Anand “AK” Ramakrishna serves Malaysian comfort food with heart from an unassuming hole-in-the-wall eatery. Inspired by his mum’s home cooking, the menu is full of bold, soulful flavours, with house-brewed masala chai and good tunes keeping the vibes high. It was named Good Food Guide’s Critics’ Pick of the Year for 2027, so if you’re passing through Canberra, you know where to have lunch.
Where to stay in the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory
Ovolo Canberra is around a seven-minute drive from The Boat House if you’d like to pair your wine adventure with a five-star stay. Heading north to Darwin instead? H on Mitchell Hotel is a six-minute drive from the city’s waterfront dining precinct and popular seafood joints.
Western Australia
de’escendent
Margaret River’s de’sendent was named Gourmet Traveller’s 2026 Western Australia Restaurant of the Year. Ann Spencer and Evan Hayter build polished, restrained menus around Western Australian produce, with dishes such as kangaroo tartare tartlets, truffle-spiked Cambray Gouda tortellini and seasonal pumpkin.
Gibney
Gibney was Gourmet Traveller’s Western Australia state winner in 2025 and remains a standout in the magazine’s 2026 Perth restaurant guide. The Cottesloe brasserie pairs Indian Ocean views with premium local seafood and grill dishes, including western rock lobster spaghetti, Fremantle swordfish and O’Connor sirloin.
Where to stay in Western Australia
Soak up the cellar doors and sights of Margaret River from a luxury villa at Pullman Bunker Bay, or stay along Perth’s beautiful Indian Ocean coastline at a heritage Fremantle hotel. If you’re feeling ultra-luxe, book a five-star stay at The Como Treasury in the CBD.
