Over the past few months, The Sydney Morning Good Food Guide reviewing team has visited more restaurants, bars, cafes and pubs than ever before in search of NSW and the ACT’s best eating and drinking experiences. When it hits newsstands in late October, the Guide will feature more than 450 venues from three-hatted fine-diners, to suburban wine bars, regional chicken shops and food-court icons.

We’ve covered a broader set of price points than ever before, too, while still scoring each restaurant out of 10 for food, 5 for service, 3 for setting and 2 for value. With the cost of living continuing to rise, we find that last criterion is becoming more decisive year-on-year for where readers – and Good Food Guide reviewers – choose to eat.

Not to be confused with a low-cost feed, a good-value dish isn’t just about spend. So, while these aren’t the cheapest dishes in the new edition of the Guide, we reckon they provide real-deal bang for buck when it comes to quality, history, provenance and technique. They are more than the sum of their parts, leaving you thrilled and satisfied as you walk away, quietly hoping the restaurant doesn’t realise its mistake and jack up the price.

Tagliatelle alla ragu bolognese at Ormeggio at The Spit, Mosman, $35

There’s a rebellious streak to many of Ormeggio’s seafood-driven interpretations of Italian dishes, but particularly the sacrilege-sounding lasagne. With its disarmingly beefy ragu of swordfish, kingfish and bluefin tuna, it’s also a revelatory and filling bargain at $35. “Hard to conquer solo,” reported the Good Food Guide reviewer in their field notes.

Described by restaurant manager Jan-Broder Timm as a “very emotional” dish for the kitchen – who think of it as an extension of Italian home cooking and hospitality – the lasagne recently made the transition to tagliatelle, but the ragu’s base elements and price remain the same. Other dishes at the Middle Harbourside fine diner are considerably more expensive, but you’re also paying for slickly choreographed service that’s a show all of its own.

D’Albora Marina, Spit Road, Mosman, ormeggio.com.au

Har mee at Malay Chinese Noodle Bar, Circular Quay, $16

Some noodle soups are one-dimensional and become boring around the fifth slurp. Har mee is not that soup. Har mee is built on a foundation of prawn heads, stock-simmered for as long as it takes to unlock their powerful umami and magic. Malay Chinese starts its har mee process at 4am for a brick-red soup that pings taste receptors you never knew existed.

There’s also pork, whole prawns, water spinach, and hard-boiled egg to hold your interest, plus a textural two-step of fat Hokkien noodles and rice vermicelli. Because of the long cooking time, the $16 soup is only available every Tuesday and Friday. Har mee fans should note there’s an Ashfield outpost of Malay Chinese, where it’s a weekend special.

33 Pitt Street, Sydney, malaychinese.com.au

Three-course prix fixe at Noi, Petersham, $79

Speaking of seafood lasagnes, here’s another! Albeit with chubby bits of prawn and diced yellowfin tuna, and a good pinch of umami-intense tomato powder. You can select it for one of your dish options at ambitious-but-cosy Noi, where the three-course menu is $79 – top value indeed, considering that price includes a starting snack and petit fours, and the beef cheek on blue lentils thumps with far-reaching flavour.

The menu changes regularly, but there’s a good chance you might also encounter pan-fried whiting accented by basil-infused mayonnaise, and silky scallop carpaccio punctuated by jalapeno and morsels of smoked eel. Much kudos to owners Alessandro Intini and Federica Costa who also grow herbs, smoke seafood and steep vermouth onsite.

108 Audley Street, Petersham, noirestaurant.com.au

Spicy marinated beef-rib stew for two at Hansang, Haymarket and Strathfield, $69

There’s almost always a queue at Hansang’s locations in Strathfield and Haymarket, but at least you can watch the signature long-simmered ox bone soup bubbling like a cartoon witch’s cauldron while you wait.

This is also a fine time to start planning your dinner. Do you want that milky-white broth with hunks of gelatinous ox-tail, beef brisket or blood sausage soon-dae? Squidgy, fiery tteokbokki rice sticks to start, or raw crab pulsing with a spice-loaded marinade? With close to 150 home-style Korean dishes on the menu, these decisions aren’t easy.

Restaurant manager Henry Lee says he often gravitates to the $69 “spicy marinated beef-rib stew” (galbi-jjim) of braised slip-off-the-bone meat in a rust-red jungle of spring onion and bean sprouts underlined by fearless, slow-building heat. One couple might be able to finish the pot, but good luck getting to the bottom of a mountainous $39 serve of fried chicken too. Another Cass lager please, stat.

Shop 2, 8-14 Lyons Street, Strathfield and 39-41 Goulburn Street, Haymarket, hansangsydney.com.au

Sirloin with bagna cauda at The Schoolhouse Restaurant, Orange, $25

Eh, have you seen the price of steaks recently? If you’re not a pub trading in ten-buck rumps subsidised by pokie profits, you can usually expect to pay a minimum of $40 for anything of a decent size and quality. So, when a plush restaurant spruiks a 250-gram sirloin for $25, it’s the kind of thing we notice.

The same steak is also sold by the half-kilo for $50 at this ivy-clad Victorian hotel that has been a bank, school and gallery space at different points in history. Today, it’s the most delicious spot in Orange for a long lunch, and that sirloin also comes doused in a lip-sticking miso-enhanced bagna cauda sauce.

You’ll likely want something on the side too, and highlights include $3 chicken salt-seasoned scallops made with local spuds from “Farmer Doug”, and charred cabbage slicked with beef fat and toasted chilli salsa. “For the level of the food offered, plus its friendly atmosphere, the Schoolhouse is terrific value,” said the Good Food Guide reviewer. “I wouldn’t hesitate to go back.”

84 Byng Street, Orange, theunionbank.com.au

Any and all of the desserts at Beach Byron Bay, Byron Bay, $20

We know we say it a lot, but you really don’t want to skip dessert. Not when chef Katrina Kanetani is heading up the pastry section and sending out frou-frou strawberry gum lamingtons with Davidson plum jam, decadent millefeuille layered with rum-spiked chocolate and salted caramel, and a perfect raspberry and rosemary cream pavlova dolled up with dehydrated rhubarb.

Every sweet is $20 or less, and considering Kanetani’s career has spanned celebrated stints at Surry Hills three-hatted MG Garage and Rose Bay’s Pier, we reckon that’s very fine value indeed. You’ll also be sitting on a pristine deck overlooking Clarkes Beach, white tablecloths, late-harvest riesling and all.

2 Massinger Street, Byron Bay, beachbyronbay.com.au

Oysters with white pepper and finger lime mignonette at Thermidor Oyster Bar and Brasserie, Newcastle, $5

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen oysters sold for $5 a pop at a brasserie in the Sydney CBD. But that’s the standard rate at this Newcastle newcomer, which opened in early September at the Steel City’s harbourside Honeysuckle precinct. Expect top-notch little shuckers from Forster and Wapengo, sourced through Appellation Oysters and served with a nicely restrained dash of mignonette.

Owner-chef Josh Gregory’s determination to bring back the oyster Kilpatrick is welcome too, offered for 50¢ more per Sydney rock, and bolstered with triple-smoked bacon. Pro tips: bring sunglasses for the glasshouse-style dining area, and order big on the small plates – particularly tuna tartare punched up with gochujang, and an $8 spanner crab-filled doughnut that’s so hunky you’ll need to split it between two.

Shop 1, 7 Honeysuckle Drive, Newcastle, thermidor.com.au

Tsukemen and tonkotsu at Kosuke, Strathfield, $20

We all know how much Sydney loves a queue, and the ferociously creamy broth at Kosuke is worth exactly one hour (“but not two”) of lining-up time according to straight-talking owner-chef Kosuke Morita. This is a small husband-and-wife operation, with self-serve water and laminated rules regarding seating times, spending minimums and takeaway.

You’ll understand the appeal once the $20 tonkotsu ramen arrives, steaming hot and brimming with verdant spring onions, a jammy egg and lightly charred slices of tender braised pork belly. Morita is extremely dedicated to his craft, simmering pork bones for up to 15 hours to create the rich (but not too rich) soup. House-made noodles with a delicately chewy texture really come into their own when inhaled as part of the $22.50 tsukemen (dipping ramen) with a dried fish, pork and soy-based sauce on the side. Served cold, Kosuke’s tsukemen seems tailor-made for a Sydney summer.

159 Concord Road, North Strathfield, kosukeramen.square.site

Bulgogi hot pot for two at Pu Ji Mi, Eastwood, $45

As soon as you enter this eatery in the heart of Eastwood’s “Korean side”, you’ll likely be greeted by a mountain of jokbal – pork trotters braised to a deliciously dark hue. Served with fermented shrimp sauce and lettuce, the lusciously soft pork is dangerously addictive stuff. Most Korean classics are accounted for – mandu dumplings, seafood pancakes, kimchi jjigae stews – but the $45 bulgogi hot pot is worth the trip alone.

Arriving on a hot plate and portable gas burner, attentive waiters will cook the marinated, slightly sweet beef at the table, ready to be mixed with onions, enoki mushrooms and glass noodles. It’s a terrific meal for one couple to share, while larger groups are suitably served by the huge gamjatang, a vessel of spicy (but not too spicy) pork bone and potato stew. Staff are also happy to provide dish information and recommendations regarding portion sizes.

Shop 202, 62-80 Rowe Street, Eastwood

Everything at VN Street Foods, Marrickville, $15

Marrickville is nothing short of a pho-lover’s theme park, but on a stretch of Illawarra Road where you can’t throw a crusty roll without hitting an excellent noodle shop, VN Street Food stands out for its cracking northern Vietnamese cooking and obscenely well-priced meal sets, like the banh cuon rice flour roll set. “With dishes averaging about $15, and the famous five-in-one bento boxes just $16, there’s no doubt the food is excellent value,” reported the Guide reviewer.

That bento box is a customised five-in-one medley of stir-fried vegetables, salad, rice, soup and choice of fish or meat (for the latter, unctuous and caramel-sweet braised pork belly doesn’t miss). Decor strikes a charming blend of kitsch and old Vietnam, with Hanoi-style French shutters and faux exposed brick. Outside, find patrons on tiny stools hunching over steaming bowls of northern-style pho and slices of smoky bun cha pork meatballs doused in sweet, tangy broth. Homely dining that feels far from home.

294-296 Illawarra Road, Marrickville, vnstreetfoods.com.au

Indonesian grilled chicken at Ayam Bakar 7 Saudara, Penshurst, $8

Aromas of smoke, spice and caramelised sugar lead the way to an unassuming former fish-and-chip shop. Inside, you’ll find wife-and-husband team Lim and Ridwan Layantara working an improvised kitchen with a repurposed outdoor barbecue, serving up some of Sydney’s best ayam bakar (grilled chicken).

A small dining area is hidden in the rear of the space with a no-frills, family vibe. Naturally, the marinated chook is a must, and it lives up to the hype. Choose between $8 thigh (the right choice) or $9.50 breast (much less exciting) and make the most out of the fresh, fiery chilli sambal. Other menu items are far from an afterthought, including lusciously tender beef rendang or a superb wok-kissed nasi goreng sharpened with dried anchovy. The hospitality here is second to none, so stop for a chat on the way out and pick up a Penshurst parking tip for your next visit.

34 Penshurst Street, Penshurst

Welsh rarebit at Paranormal Wines, Canberra, $11

It’s only $15 corkage to open something off the retail shelves at this chic high-ceilinged bottle shop in a mixed-use precinct. That’s a beaut reason to visit in and of itself, but friendly owner Max Walker has also curated those shelves with one of the best selections of fizzy, orange and natural wines in the capital, from fresh drops made by local young guns, to rare steak reds and seafood whites.

A short menu from chef Aidan Kidson contains many tasty things to stand up to your skin-contact chenin too, but our favourite might be the $11 Welsh rarebit embellished with vintage cheddar, mustard and Guinness. The hot, sharp and gooey cheese toast is up there with the gold-standard of the form served at St. John in London, where – not coincidentally – Kidson used to work.

Shop G27, 6 Provan Street, Campbell, paranormalwines.com

The winners of The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2024 Awards will be announced on October 23, presented by Vittoria Coffee and Oceania Cruises. The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2024 will be on sale from October 24, featuring more than 450 NSW and ACT venues, from three-hatted fine-diners, to suburban wine bars, regional chicken shops and food-court icons.