The around-Australia drinking and dining hot list 2018
As the editor of the Good Food Guide I get asked all the time for tips on the best places to eat in Sydney. And I've gotta tell you, apart from the list of places where I spend most of my pocket money in my downtime ("go to the Dolphin for pizza and wine in the bar! Have a long weekday lunch at Hubert! Sit at the bar and order things in tins, bread and butter and cheese and cocktails at Continental Deli!") I can't say Sydney's blowing my mind right now.
But you know where is? Everywhere else. South Australia and Tasmania easily boast some of the most interesting restaurants in the country right now. I'm talking hide-away-in-the-cargo-hold-of-the-Spirit-of-Tasmania excited. Risk-getting-eaten-by-a-Great-White-at-Port-Lincoln excited. Accidentally-drinking-too-many-things-in-the-Hills-and-getting-lost-permanently-in-the-Basket-Ranges excited.
That's not to say my love affair with Sydney isn't holding strong – she'll always be my main dame – but where's the new Ester? The next Sixpenny? Automata 2.0? I want more and it's everywhere else that's providing it. And so, I present the clutch of restaurants I'm most pumped to visit this year.
Africola, SA
It's African food, Duncan Welgemoed style. The taste chord, like the soundtrack, is spicy, sour, hot and loud. The attitude in the kitchen and on the floor match it with bombastic swagger. Sit at the bar for free-flowing natural wine times, or around the kitchen and watch as chefs fire up on the wood-fired grill. The tea sandwich of crisp chicken skin and iceberg lettuce on soft white bread is for all time.
4 East Terrace, Adelaide. africola.com.au
Agrarian Kitchen Eatery and Store, TAS
If anyone can run a restaurant fuelled on good vibes and great spaghetti, Rodney Dunn and Severine Demanet can. And do, with the help of head chef Ali Currey-Voumard, executing a menu that's all at once steeped in comfort while retaining lightness and flex. Star bartender Adi Ruiz (ex-Black Pearl and Bulletin Place) is on hand with some of the best cocktails you'll try out of city limits. And all within the confines of an old mental asylum.
11a The Avenue, New Norfolk. theagrariankitchen.com
Bar Rochford, ACT
It's new-style Canberra on show here where the brief is records, sharp spirits and good service. Come for the single-estate mescal, stay for the eggplant and whipped tofu.
65 London Circuit, Canberra. barrochford.com
Dier Makr, TAS
Hobart's officially on fire and it's young punks like this restaurant-bar hybrid by chef Kobi Ruzicka and Sarah Fitzsimmons fanning the flames. With little more than a hot plate behind the bar of this up-lit panelled room, Ruzicka is turning out bar snacks and six-course, $65 tasting menus with a complexity rating that defies the space.
123 Collins Street, Hobart. diermakr.com
Franklin, TAS
Analiese Gregory (last seen cooking at Darlinghurst's Bar Brose) has taken the reins at this Hobart hothouse set in a 1920s Ford showrooms, working the grills in her own style. Sit at the bar for snacks or book for dinner proper and order whatever smells best straight off the grill (pro tip: that's everything.)
30 Argyle Street, Hobart. franklinhobart.com.au
Gauge, QLD
A healthy number of Brisbane cafes transform into ripper little restaurants after the La Marzocco finishes its daily grind, but none of them kick goals like this white-on-blonde-wood, light-filled eatery. Soft, earthy black garlic bread with brown butter and burnt vanilla hogs the social media spotlight from breakfast to dinner, but for even bigger bready hit our money's on the brioche layered with pork bolognese, 'nduja, fermented chilli and a fried egg. Wowee.
77 Grey Street, South Brisbane. gaugebrisbane.com.au
Liberte, WA
Chef Amy Hamilton is dishing some of the most interesting bar food in the state. In a historic building. In an old whaling town. A triple threat that's garnering national attention for good reason. Or maybe it's that corn cooked in its husk with smoked chilli mayo and two types of local cheese.
162 Stirling Terrace, Albany. libertealbany.com.au
Osteria Oggi, SA
For maximum deliciousness, it really pays to do this Adelaide dazzler with a group. But if you're flying solo, never fear. They'll pull together snack-size versions of a lot of their menu for you, just so you can try a lot. And you'll want to. This is the home of the tiny flan, steamed, wobbly and gentle, amped with a little pork sausage ragu. Oh, and the wine list is a thing of delight. Pink champagne! Served in coupettes!
76 Pirie Street, Adelaide. osteriaoggi.com.au
Summertown Aristologist, SA
Basket Range winemakers Anton van Klopper (Lucy Margaux) and Jasper Button (Commune of Buttons) have partnered with former Orana restaurant manager Aaron Fenwick to create a crackerjack bar and eatery 20 minutes from Adelaide. Whether you're keen on bread, butter and chardonnay, or a longer lunch exploring the treasure-chest cellar, this feel-good hit of Summertown is a bona fide winner.
1097 Greenhill Road, Summertown. thesummertownaristologist.com
The Good Food Guide 2018, supported by Vittoria Coffee and Citi, is on sale in newsagencies, bookstores and via thestore.com.au/goodfood, RRP $29.99
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