It’s difficult not to be wildly excited about the swag of new restaurant openings across the country in the coming year. While diners will be looking for more bang for their buck, the real value will be in the experience – bigger, louder, and more fun. Experiential dining is the key trend, as big hospitality names cross borders, launch multi-storey concepts and create ever-more theatrical, transportative stages on which to play.

On top of the 10 hand-picked newbies that follow, watch out for Sydney’s Josh and Julie Niland moving their fine diner Saint Peter into the Grand National Hotel in Paddington in late May, adding boutique accommodation to the upscale fish restaurant. It’s ambitious, driven, and focused on a compelling narrative (how fish can save the world). So very 2024.