Hot 50 restaurants: What’s hot in 2018
The big end of town got fancier, the small end got creative, icons were reinvented — but not all arrows hit the bullseye.
The big end of town got fancier. The small end of town remained the true home of innovation. Openings of significance were down. Restaurant groups gathered momentum, with existing players growing and the biggies tightening their grip. Not all of their arrows hit the bullseye. Perhaps sensing a boat sailing, some restaurants came back with new fire in their bellies. But the most noticeable development in restaurant land over the past 12 months was that great restaurants consolidated, doubled down and maintained the rage.
Our annual survey of Hot 50 restaurants this year includes many familiar faces: chefs and restaurateurs who offer a combination of food, service, ideas and sheer energy that thoroughly eclipses a lot of newcomers. Look at Firedoor in Sydney, the progressive little cafe-cum-contemporary diner Gauge in Brisbane or the ever-evolving and ever-fascinating Igni in Geelong. All established, yet all fresh.
The biggest headline belongs to the Reinvention of Icons story, and mostly in Sydney. Key among them is Quay: the harbourside icon relaunched less than a month ago after a $4 million refit as an almost entirely new restaurant under chef Peter Gilmore. Bentley Bar did its own, subtler rejig — chef Brent Savage’s main gig remains home to some outstanding food. Perennial Hot 50 favourite The Bridge Room will announce something soon; the little CBD dining room is just too small for the massive talent of chef Ross Lusted. And no, we haven’t mentioned Sepia this year because 2019 will definitely be the year the restaurant’s owners open something new in Melbourne. Last drinks in Sydney at the truly unique Sepia are in December. Meanwhile, in Melbourne, an elegant refit of Australia’s most internationally recognised restaurant, Attica, has given context and focus to its unique offer. It’s our Hottest Restaurant of 2018.
Nimble newcomers light a fire under us each year and this one is no different. Sunda in Melbourne’s CBD is wowing food tragics with its boundary-crossing Asian-inspired modern food. Carlton Wine Room blends modern bistro food, an acute wine enthusiasm and relaxed, classic interiors to come up with something extremely welcoming and hospitable. In Sydney, the simplicity and cleverness of chef Clayton Wells’ new venture, A1 Canteen, is instantly transparent, and a small Potts Point place like Paper Bird gives chefs the opportunity to riff moderne on a particular cuisine, in this case Korean.
With three restaurants (one in Singapore, closing next month), Wells may not be a “group” yet; Merivale, on the other hand, continues to make a profound impression on the Sydney hospitality landscape, with two of its many, many ventures in this year’s Hot 50: Bert’s and Fred’s. It could easily be more. Sydney’s Fink family, too, is partnering with serious talent and this year four of its restaurants — Bennelong, Quay, The Bridge Room and Firedoor — are included. From Melbourne, entrepreneur Chris Lucas continues his march at polar ends of the spectrum — the riotous Chin Chin Sydney and the super-refined Kisumé in Melbourne.
Welcome returns, or new entries from established places, include Fico, Hobart’s progressive and atypical Italian; Peel Street in Adelaide, where chef-owner Jordan Theodorus epitomises the small-footprint, everything-or-nothing genre with a generosity of spirit and flavour; and, most notably, Icebergs Dining Room, a Sydney icon that is doing everything right. Again.
Then there’s the continuing professionalism and intrigue of great restaurants outside the cities. They may be newcomers — such as Tasmania’s Agrarian Kitchen Eatery, or Mornington Peninsula’s Laura at Point Leo Estate — or internationally recognised citadels of gastronomy such as Brae. Again, we find ourselves singing the praises of not only the chefs behind vineyard restaurants such as Oakridge, Hentley Farm and Wills Domain, but the businessmen behind them who commit to winery food and a restaurant style that goes beyond the predictable and merely serviceable. They prove the splendour of a chef and winemaker working together on food.
Our Hot 50 isn’t a survey of chefs from restaurants both important and dubious
There is no numerical ranking. It’s not done by a committee trying to juggle the disparate opinions — and experience — of a vast team of reviewers, either. It is the distillation of a year with ears to the ground, cutlery in hand, for a very small group of journalists across Australia who know what they’re talking about when it comes to food and restaurants.
If there is a noticeable geographic bias in our 2018 list, it’s not for lack of trying. For restaurants to hit our Hot 50 benchmark, they need to stitch together excellent food, service, wine approach and hospitality; sadly, we find that package rare in Queensland and the ACT. Equally, there are more players on the field, nationally, every year. Being Hot is hard. Staying Hot is harder.
ON TREND
One year it’s black garlic. The next kale. Or saltbush. Or stracciatella. One thing you can count on, courtesy of the internet and social media, is that trends are being fast-tracked with never-before-seen haste. Or perhaps that should be unseemly haste. So what was happening this year as thoughts, ideas, aberrations and nuggets of genius went viral? In no particular order:
On the menu: Tartare of all kinds. Roast chicken, duck, eel, octopus, tarte tatin. Cauliflower, celeriac, mushrooms, Aussie truffles. Stracciatella and burrata. Jerk spices in all sorts of meats. Miso, dashi and bonito in everything.
Rump cap: The go-to cut for chefs too scared to charge what a big rib of beef owed them. The shared $100-plus steak became a thing. Rarely was it worth it.
Too much info: Name-checking produce brands continued, usually to the utter confusion of customers. But drilling down on provenance has waned.
Snack attack: Small bites went next-level as part of set menus.
Dego-fatigue: Degustation took a back seat — except at the super-high end (think Quay or Attica).
On course: Entree/main/dessert structures made a noticeable return.
Hands on: DIY assembly of dishes was a thing (Matilda, Blackwood).
Pain, gain: Paying for bread, usually value-added with rillettes or special butter, is a thing (again) but restaurant-made bread has never been better.
If it ain’t broke: Deconstructed desserts have gone the way of the Dodo. Mostly.
Big hitters: Established restaurant groups extended their reach.
Smartini move: Cocktails in restaurants got serious.
Be still: We distilled products from gin to bitters; whisky was everywhere.
Fine romance: Wine lists got less dogmatic about non-interventionist styles.
Sip up: Wines by the glass neared $20.
2018 HOT 50 RESTAURANTS: THE WINNERS
HOTTEST RESTAURANT
Attica, Melbourne: Occupying a unique twilight zone between relaxed and glamorous, Attica’s latest incarnation is proof of this restaurant’s almost constant evolution in terms of food, interior design, service, wine … and backyard souvlaki. This is experience-rich dining with a uniquely Australian narrative; little wonder Attica is one of the very few to actually be rising on the World’s 50 Best list rather than retreating through the back door.
HOTTEST NEW RESTAURANT
A1 Canteen, Sydney: Approachable, affordable, innovative, A1 Canteen embraces simplicity and clever cooking with one big, warm, hospitable bear hug. It demonstrates the smarts of chef-restaurateur Clayton Wells, a guy we’re going to hear a lot about.
HOTTEST SERVICE
Cafe di Stasio, Melbourne: Elegant, cheeky, professional and unashamedly Italian in approach, Di Stasio’s formula is classic European with an Australian sensibility. Yes, this restaurant can be something of a club; good clubs usually have superb service.
HOTTEST VALUE
Lulu La Delizia, Perth: This is one of Australia’s best Italian restaurants. The quality of everything that comes out of the kitchen is unparalleled; the prices are astoundingly fair. It’s one of the reasons we’ve been back many times.
HOTTEST CHEFS
Matt Stone & Jo Barrett, Oakridge, Yarra Valley, Vic: A great partnership, a committed team, this couple has redefined winery restaurant food. Delicious, adventurous and so often made entirely from scratch with local ingredients. Their commitment to recycling, growing on site and local supplier relationships is complete. They don’t just walk the sustainability walk, they sprint it like Usain Bolt.
HOTTEST REGIONAL
Laura, Point Leo Estate, Vic: The most impressive, elegant yet approachable regional restaurant in Australia today. Fabulous resources, imagination and a hand-picked team led by sea-changed Sydney chef Phil Wood set the bar to a new high. Plus, it’s fun.
HOTTEST WINE PROGRAM
Momofuku Seiobo, Sydney: Excellent wine/beverage staff suggest off-piste but fascinating choices for food from the Caribbean, a place that doesn’t really have a strong wine culture. Sake, Australian and European wine. Vermouth. Beer. Never a dull moment.
HOTTEST CLASSIC
Quay, Sydney: An incubator for so much talent; a jewel in the crown of a family business. And Peter Gilmore is still only 50. The reinvented Quay reasserts the strengths of its two great assets: a brilliant location and a world-class chef. Better than ever.
HOTTEST DISH
Tasmanian uni, winter broth, Quay, Sydney: It may be Australia’s most Instagrammed dish this year. Doesn’t matter. The three-parter that is chef Peter Gilmore’s mysterious dark seafood broth, uni (sea urchin) custard with fresh (cracked to order) sea urchin, and a “crackling” of fried fish maw and smoked salmon roe is one of the great DIY dishes.
HOTTEST BY STATE
SA: Bistro Blackwood
Qld: Labart
Tas: Agrarian Kitchen Eatery
WA: Lulu La Delizia
Vic: Attica
NSW: Firedoor
Hot 50 editor & chief reviewer: John Lethlean.
Contributors: Dan Stock (Vic); Elizabeth Meryment (NSW); Simon Wilkinson (SA); Alison Walsh (Qld).
Hot photography: Chris Crerar, Jeff Camden, Jesse Marlow, Julian Kingma, Matthew Newton, Melinda Hird, Sam Roberts, Tess Godkin, Danika Zuchs, David Griffen, Dylan Campbell, Kristoffer Paulsen, Lachie Millard, Luke Bowden, Luke Burgess, Nikki To, Matt Turner, Richard Dobson.