Victoria’s best restaurant, as voted by you in the delicious.100
A world-famous farmhouse has firmly won the hearts of Victorians, who crowned it the state’s most delicious restaurant this year. Find out which eateries were named in the delicious.100 People’s Choice top 10 this year.
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A world-famous farmhouse in the Otway hinterland that’s firmly placed on the global gastro tourism map has won the hearts — and stomachs — of Victorians.
Brae in Birregurra has taken out the 2019 delicious.100 People’s Choice Award.
After the Sunday Herald Sun ranked Victoria’s top 100 restaurants in the delicious.100 released a fortnight ago, the list was opened up for readers to have their say. More than 54,000 votes were cast, with restaurants moving up and down the rankings.
Since opening in December 2013, Brae has cemented its status as a bucket-list destination, and readers who have dined on Hunter’s multi-course celebration of the produce grown on site or from the surrounding area, agree.
Last year’s delicious.100 No.1 restaurant, Pt Leo Estate, came in at No.2 this year once readers had their say.
Attica in Ripponlea was named the No.3 most popular restaurant, making it a high-end dining clean sweep of the podium and proving Victorians are increasingly seeking out and enjoying exceptional dining experiences across the state.
Last year’s People’s Choice winner, Bar Saracen in the CBD, was again hugely popular with diners, rocketing from 29 to No.5, while Igni in Geelong and Japanese sushi temple Minamishima also made big strides up into the readers’ top 10.
Brae owner/chef Dan Hunter said it was a great thrill to have the restaurant so well received by Victorian diners.
“It’s a real testament, in particular to our front of house team, and to the work we’ve done on the property over the last six years that makes Brae more than just a typical restaurant experience and hopefully a place that is welcoming and warm and relaxed and in tune with our place and perhaps this is what’s contributing to the fact that, in general, our guests just really like being at Brae,” he said.
Hunter said regional restaurants attracted a more diverse range of diners than a corporate or inner-city venue and often those less accustomed to dining in an occasion restaurant but who felt at ease at Brae.
“We’ve been fortunate to have had an international profile for some time so there are always guests from other parts of the world in our dining room. It’s diverse; farmers, locals, guests from interstate, restaurant nerds, internationals — everyone really,” he said.
Following publication of the delicious.100, many restaurants reported spikes in bookings and inquiries.
Tulum in Balaclava — which was crowned both the Victorian No.1 as well as the best restaurant in the country in the first national delicious.100 — reported a surge in bookings, and served a record-breaking 150 diners last Saturday night in the 50-seat restaurant.
Chef/owner Coskun Uysal described being named the No.1 restaurant in the country as an incredible honour and a career highlight.
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TOP 10 PEOPLE’S CHOICE RESTAURANTS
1. Brae, Birregurra (originally 6)
2. Pt Leo Estate, Merricks (5)
3. Attica, Ripponlea (9)
4. Lake House, Daylesford (14)
5. Bar Saracen, CBD (29)
6. Igni, Geelong (25)
7. Wickens at Royal Mail Hotel, Dunkeld (7)
8. Minamishima, Richmond (24)
9. Vue de Monde, CBD (12)
10. Oakridge, Coldstream (3)