SMH Good Food Guide Awards

Plumm Wine Glasses Best New Restaurant
For the most exciting addition to Sydney dining in the past 12 months.

MOMOFUKU SEIOBO
Never has a restaurant opened in Sydney to so much anticipation and expectation. David Chang’s first venture outside New York lives up to the hype, with savvy, sexy, spotlit, kaiseki-style kitchen-counter dining that’s a genuine game-changer. There’s a freshness of thinking here that breathes new life into high-level dining.

Vittoria Coffee Restaurant of the Year
For a restaurant that has consistently set a benchmark for others to follow.

QUAY
A focused team, money-can’t-buy views, and an intriguing, revamped wine list with excellent sommelier delivery all combine in a show-off Sydney package that stands out from the crowd. With the ever-evolving brilliance of Peter Gilmore’s kitchen, Quay puts us up there with the best in the world.

Regional Restaurant of the Year
For the best dining experience beyond Sydney, in the bush or on the beach.

AUBERGINE, GRIFFITH
The elegant, modern, split-level dining room, the award-winning wine list, the grown-up service, and above all, the artful, flavour-first cooking from chef Ben Willis make Aubergine the classiest dining experience outside Sydney.

Citibank Chefs of the Year
To acknowledge those with the craft and ability to make a real difference to the way we dine now and in the future.

BEN MILGATE & ELVIS ABRAHANOWICZ, PORTENO
With a strong sense of personal style (and we’re not just talking tatts and rockabilly blues), Ben and Elvis exemplify the skill and commitment of our next-generation chefs. Spearheading the revolution in fire-to-table, share-plate dining, they’ve injected individuality, integrity, flames and fun into the way we eat in Sydney right now.

Professional Excellence Award
To acknowledge a major contribution to the restaurant industry.

JUSTIN HEMMES, MERIVALE
Eating, drinking and making merry in this town is all the livelier thanks to Justin Hemmes, whose drive to revitalise our city is unswerving. His is the vision behind many of Sydney’s most trailblazing eateries and bars, netting a total of 12 Good Food Guide listings this year, plus a swag of hats and awards.

Vittoria Legend Award
For an outstanding, long-term contribution to the industry, chosen by Les Schirato of Vittoria Coffee.

LEO SCHOFIELD
It’s hard to imagine our restaurant scene without the charm, energy and wisdom of its original ‘public stomach’. As the restaurant reviewer for The Sydney Morning Herald and the inaugural editor of its Good Food Guide, Leo nurtured and encouraged promising young talent, helping to establish the great food culture of Sydney.

Silver Service Award
For defining the ultimate level of service: relevant, personal, professional.

Piers Ursell, Guillaume at Bennelong
Piers brings warmth, know-how and his own quiet, intuitive brand of professionalism to the table, adding another dimension to dining in Sydney’s most iconic building.

Josephine Pignolet Best Young Chef presented by Thermomix
Chosen by a panel of leading chefs in memory of a great chef, it’s the ultimate accolade for a passionate, talented young cook.

NICK GARDNER, TETSUYA'S
Nick joins a long list of gifted young chefs honoured by this prestigious award, many of whom have gone on to make a major mark on Sydney dining.

Best Bar with Food
To honour that unbeatable combination of a great bar with great food.

121 BC, SURRY HILLS
Andrew Cibej of Berta and Vini joins forces with the wine-wise Giorgio De Maria to create a slim enoteca/cantina with irresistible Italian appeal, in the glass and on the plate.

Good Living Sustainability Award
For a restaurant that makes a genuine commitment to reducing its carbon footprint, sourcing food ethically and running itself sustainably.

BIOTA DINING, BOWRAL
Championing the local – through his menu and on-site farmers’ market – is just part of owner-chef James Viles’s eco-warrior campaign. Much of what’s cooked is grown at Biota too, in the spring-irrigated garden beds and greenhouse, or laid by a happy flock of ducks, geese and hens fed on kitchen scraps.

Champagne Louis Roederer Sommelier of The Year
Recognising an individual wine waiter and cellarmaster who brings knowledge, expertise and enthusiasm to the table.

RODNEY SETTER, SEPIA
Rodney combines subversive charm with a geeky depth of knowledge, an eclectic wine-matching brilliance and a perceptive diner radar, to make him a formidable dining ally.

Brown Brothers Wine List of the Year
For a wine list that not only fits with a restaurant’s food and style but offers an excellent adventure at any level, large or small.

ASH ST. CELLAR, SYDNEY
A beautifully structured list from Merivale head sommelier Franck Moreau, with a powerful selection of international wines that speaks the same language as the lively European small-plates menu.

Regional Wine List of the Year
For the most inviting and appropriate wine list, from any region of NSW.

AUBERGINE, GRIFFITH
Well-designed and a pleasure to read, Aubergine’s list shares loyalty to the wines of its own region with a deep and balanced selection from across the country and around the globe.

Citibank Best Short Wine List
For a list of less than 100, appropriate to both the style and content of the restaurant.

SPICE TEMPLE, SYDNEY
A smart, tightly edited and well laid-out range of interesting quality wines superbly suited to the complexities and challenges of spice-laden cooking.

Dan Murphy’s BYO Restaurant of the Year
For a restaurant that makes bringing your own wine a pleasure.

IL BARETTO, SURRY HILLS
A streetwise Italian that looks after its neighbourhood with a small wine list and a generous BYO offer of $3pp corkage.

The Sydney Morning Herald Award for Innovation
Acknowledging the forward-thinkers who bring a new dimension to dining.

THE CITY OF SYDNEY, FOR SYDNEY FOOD TRUCKS
This exciting new initiative has added life to our nightlife, putting good, casual food when and where it is needed. See sydneyfoodtrucks.com.au.

Samsung Diners’ Choice Award
As voted for by users of the Good Food Guide app and website.

TETSUYA'S
The long-standing landmark restaurant from one of our most treasured chefs continues to do our city proud.

Bread for Good
This was a unicef and Fairfax campaign held in September 2011 to raise money for the East Africa famine. Almond Bar in Darlinghurst raised the most money in New South Wales, a total of $2717.