Dreamy dining experiences are a great way to plan your next holiday – and if we’re honest, that’s exactly how most of the Good Food team decide where they’ll next drop their bags. But the menu is only part of the picture.

Sometimes a venue is so drop-dead stunning, it needs to go on a must-visit list just so you can marvel at the objects spotted by the owner at a flea market overseas. Or to experience the feeling of dining beneath an awe-inspiring ceiling. These restaurants, cafes, gelaterias, pubs and bars around the country, all shortlisted or awarded by this year’s jury at the Eat Drink Design Awards, are worthy of building a trip around in 2025, and beyond.

Regional

The Beach Hotel, NSW

This 1880s-built pub overlooking Merewether Beach has been given some spit and polish, but it hasn’t forgotten its roots as an institution for Newcastle’s surf community. The walls at the downstairs kiosk Larrie’s are covered in old photos of Newcastle’s surfing community; upstairs, a long board sits above the undulating main bar.

Architects EJE commissioned local metalworkers, signwriters and other craftspeople for the revamp. Spot their handiwork as you wait for milkshakes and hot chips at Larrie’s, or sit down to lunch in the upstairs restaurant. At the very least, a beer with sweeping sea views through floor-to-ceiling windows should be high on your list of new year’s resolutions.

99 Frederick Street, Merewether, thebeachhotel.com.au

LVN Restaurant, SA

Eating restaurant-quality food while feeling like you’re in your friend’s dining room goes from fantasy to reality at this Adelaide Hills winery. A serene space of creams and sandy tones, Bird in Hand’s revamped restaurant is unencumbered by dividing walls, allowing diners to truly relax into their surroundings.

Perch at the end of the kitchen pass and watch the chefs’ careful movements, or sink into a leather tub chair and admire the bold artworks by South Australian artists that dot the walls. Former Restaurant Botanic chef Jacob Davey picks up the local thread in his set menus, a combination of Australian, Japanese and French influences, starring ingredients such as wallaby, quandong, saltbush lamb and more.

150 Pfeiffer Road, Woodside, birdinhand.com.au

Blak Cede Gunyah, NSW

If beach holidays on the NSW South Coast are a ritual for you, add this cafe (and a few of these hatted restaurants) to your list of regular haunts. A women-led social enterprise, Blak Cede Gunyah was borne out of grassroots initiatives to provide employment and nutritious food for local First Nations communities. It’s now grown into a thriving meeting place.

Culture is front and centre. Over breakfast burritos made with pulled kangaroo, you may spot a large fish trap hung on one wall, kangaroo hide upholstery on banquettes and bushfire-charred timber that’s milled locally. Many of the bush foods used in dishes are grown in a nearby community garden. While you’re there, stock up on granola and other items from the shelves.

39A Kinghorne Street, Nowra, blakcede.com.au

City

Gerard’s, QLD

Past meets present at this standout Brisbane fine-diner, which marked its 11th year with a bold new look that’s earned it several awards. Celebrating both history and new beginnings, the updated Gerard’s nods to the owners’ Lebanese heritage and the more immediate past, which is captured through repurposing dirt from the demolition for the striking rammed earth walls.

A new central bar and a long bank of windows that open up to the laneway allow diners to experience the acclaimed restaurant in more flexible ways. But the Middle Eastern cooking is just as elevated under new chef Jimmy Richardson. Settle in under the soaring ceilings for wagyu kibbeh nayeh, Lebanon’s makanek sausages made with quail, and lamb collar with saltbush zhoug. Fortitude Valley’s many nearby bars beckon before or after dinner.

14-15 James Street, Brisbane, gerards.com.au

Chicho Gelateria & Production Lab, WA

This playful gelato shop will win over even the most reluctant dessert eaters. Chequerboard tiles and a palette of burnt orange, burgundy and aquamarine match the fun of flavours such as violet shot through with lemon meringue. But perforated steel panels, smooth stone and ridged ceilings pull Chicho back from the brink of feeling like a kids’ carnival. The result is a pleasing hangout for all ages (although you may be tempted to lean into your inner big kid with a spider).

556 Beaufort Street, Mount Lawley, chichogelato.com

Latteria, SA

Every corner of this softly lit restaurant is a photo waiting to happen, but the long low banquettes that look like sticks of butterscotch might be the most enticing seats in the house. Ready for day-to-night fun, Latteria’s menu is a little Milanese and a lot of Italian with a dash of Aussie nostalgia. Think tiramisu-meets-lamington desserts, savoury cannoli of ricotta and prosciutto, and bold pastas. Fun-loving cocktails are dispatched from a powder blue bar. Some restaurants make you feel like a million bucks just by setting foot inside – this is one of them.

185 Hutt Street, Adelaide, latteriabar.com.au

Bar Besuto, NSW

Minimalist architecture can leave you feeling cold, but this bunker of a whisky bar manages to be both sleek and inviting. Patchwork leather upholstery, dark timber, tapestries and sculpture add warmth to the steel surfaces and charcoal tones. Squeeze into a cosy corner with a nip of something rare from one of the many Japanese bottles that line the back bar, and snack on items made by the chef who helms the omakase next door, Besuto. We hear the prawn sando is a winner or you can take a punt on the mystery bento box, packed with seafood and other small bites.

3 Underwood Street, Sydney, besutosydney.com.au

Hopper Joint, VIC

Hoppers, the fermented rice pancakes that accompany curries in Sri Lanka, are traditionally eaten with your hands. It’s this practice that drives the layout and look of this Melbourne restaurant. A large stone hand-washing station commands the entrance, while the walls and menus feature illustrations that instruct diners on how to eat a hopper in the traditional way. Shaded by teak shutters and defined by blood-red floors offset by splashes of amber and green, the venue celebrates the tropical architecture of Sri Lanka in a sleek and modernist package. The food is a similarly personal snapshot of the owners’ rituals, from Sri Lankan snacks (“short eats”) to a vast array of curries and exciting cocktails that highlight South Asian ingredients.

157 Greville Street, Prahran, hopperjointmelbourne.com.au

Canteen Pizza, WA

Get the best of both worlds at this Perth pizzeria, one block away from the glittering Swan River. There’s the easy-breezy look of a mid-century diner – red leather bar stools and timber venetian blinds – but also the warmth of a coastal Italian restaurant, with sage green and terracotta splashed across tiles and furniture.

The offering is just as accommodating. Canteen is open from breakfast, serving pizzette (small pizzas) topped with smoked salmon, poached egg and asparagus. Later in the day, picking up a pizza is easy from the takeaway window right beside the kitchen. But why wouldn’t you want to nab a spot on the shaded terrace and kick off lunch with a spritz and some prawns from Shark Bay, slathered in smoked chilli butter?

32 Ardross Street, Applecross, canteen.pizza