Flotilla and Humbug have made this year’s ‘delicious. 100’ list of best restaurants to dine at in NSW

In a major coup for Hunter dining, two Newcastle restaurants have been featured in the delicious. 100 guide for 2022.

In a major coup for Hunter dining, two Newcastle restaurants have been featured in the delicious. 100 guide for 2022.

It’s the first time Newcastle restaurants have made the prestigious foodie list, with a team of dedicated reviewers spending the last 12 months dining out across the state to reveal the most delicious restaurants on a plate.

This week the 51-100 list has been revealed, with Wickham’s Flotilla featuring at number 79, while Humbug on Hunter street also made the cut at 96.

Next week, NSW’s top restaurant and complete 100 will be announced.

FLOTILLA - 79

Opened in the industrial estate in the back of Wickham in June 2019, the humble but extraordinary 40-seater restaurant quickly became a loved and popular foodie dining experience.

“We get labelled in the fine dining category but I don’t think we are, we’re just a super casual fine diner, and it’s like you’re coming to Eduardo and mines for dinner,” Head Chef Shayne Mansfield said.

“About 80-90 percent of the menu gets cooked over charcoal, we’ve got an open kitchen, we’ve got a sit top where people sit at the bar and are literally four feet away from the chefs so they get to see everything.”

The experimental set menu on weekends is a chance for Mansfield and his team to audition recipes for potential additions to the a la carte dinner line up.

Also look out for the snacks! A chicken-skin terrine with kombu or how about a Cowra lamb belly with a carrot tahini sauce made from fermented trimmings.

“Sunday lunches are fantastic here, we’ve got a bit of a cult following behind that, we do a set menu five courses on a Sunday, big long lunch, a boozy affair, the way Eduardo and I want to eat, shared,” Mansfield said.

“Chris and Zack were the original guys who opened it and they had a philosophy and a goal and employed myself and Eduardo to envisage that goal and we’ve taken it by the horns and ran with it.

“It’s amazing to be recognised for all the hard work we do and also for Newcastle, it’s great for Newcastle as a foodie hub which is up on the rise.”

HUMBUG - 96

Just a newcomer to the dining scene, Humbug opened its door - very casually - in January this year, as co-owners Michael Portley and partner Stephanie Wells took the restaurant to the next level.

“Opened the doors in a hurry, business has been pretty good but all through word of mouth,” Portley said.

As the head chef he’s been in the game for 15 years, an apprentice at Black Star Pastry in Sydney and has run Bodegas Tapas bar in Sydney and Africola in Adelaide before moving to the Hunter.

Here he has done a short stint at fine dining hub ‘Subo’ and at the tasty Edwards restaurant for 18 months before branching out into his own eatery.

He said it’s not just about the food on their menu, but the wine that goes with it.

“We’ve built our food off our wine list,” Portley added.

“Steph curates the wines list, it is all small producers, all sustainable producers and everyone that we sell here is either organic, biodynamic or practising some form of sustainability or in conversion.

“We’re trying to promote wine makers who are growing in appropriate conditions to their environment and growing responsibly and also producing amazing wines.

“All small production, the wine is changed constantly because availability changes constantly and our food menu fits in with that changes all the time.

“Main focus of the food is we make pasta, not super traditional, modern Australian in our way, take influence from all over the world.

“Pasta, wine and snacks is the main offerings.”

Labelling it a “massive compliment” to be alongside Flotilla in the 100 list, Portley said they just wanted to open up a little neighbourhood bar and restaurant to service the local area.

“Getting engaged with people and have that special offering, so to get recognised is awesome, we just want to offer what we love to the people that live in the area.”

Read here for the 51-100 list of delicious. 100 guide for 2022.