It takes grit, perseverance and really great food to stay afloat in the restaurant biz today. An appetite for calculated risk-taking doesn't hurt, either.

"Four weeks out from the launch, bookings were not strong and I was really worried," says James Viles of the "pure business decision" to open a month-long, city pop-up of his acclaimed Bowral fine diner Biota, one of the restaurants in line for inclusion in the Financial Review Australia's Top 100 Restaurants Awards, to be announced on Monday.