GOOD FOOD GUIDE 2027: OUR BEST RESTAURANTS REVEALED AND A CHEF MAKES HISTORY
Photo: Unsplash
If you have a birthday, anniversary or simply a well-earned night out pencilled in for the summer, the people who eat for a living have just done the hard work for you.
The 2027 Good Food Guide awards have now been handed out in both Sydney and Melbourne, crowning the best restaurants, chefs, cafes and even pubs on the east coast, and making a little bit of history along the way.
Sydney's top table goes to Stanmore
The New South Wales and ACT results, published this week, named Sixpenny in Stanmore, in Sydney's inner west, Restaurant of the Year.
It is one of only two NSW restaurants to hold the guide's top rating of three hats, alongside Saint Peter in Paddington.
Saint Peter had a big night of its own, taking out the Drinks List of the Year, while its Monique Guest won the award for Service Excellence.
Chefs of the Year went to Hussein Sarhan and Alex Tong of South End, and Three Blue Ducks Burradoo, in the Southern Highlands, was named New Restaurant of the Year.
There is plenty for those who prefer something more relaxed.
Taguan was named Cafe of the Year, The Carlisle Castle Hotel took Pub of the Year, Vespertine was crowned Bar of the Year and Muse Restaurant won Regional Restaurant of the Year.
Zoe Brunton of Grand Saddles Lodge was named Sommelier of the Year.
Across NSW and the ACT, 163 restaurants earned at least one hat this year, and 20 of them are new to the list.
A Canberra gem gets its moment
One of the most heart-warming wins went to a restaurant that does not even have a hat.
AK's Diner, a small Malaysian-inspired kitchen tucked downstairs at the Ovolo Hotel in Canberra's New Acton, was named Critics' Pick of the Year, an award for a venue the guide's reviewers keep returning to.
Owner Anand Kumar Ramakrishna, known as AK, opened it two years ago.
He has described his food as a simple take on the way his mother cooked and his grandfather taught him, inspired by the street food of Kuala Lumpur: think a table of two or three curries and some pickle.
Proof, if we needed it, that the most memorable meals are not always the fanciest.
History made in Melbourne
Victoria's winners were announced earlier this month at The Timber Yard in Port Melbourne, and one name dominated.
According to the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, chef Hugh Allen's Yiaga, in a former pavilion in Fitzroy Gardens, was named Restaurant of the Year, and Allen himself was named Chef of the Year.
Allen also leads Vue de Monde, which kept its three hats, making him Australia's first six-hat chef.
The Staff Canteen reports it is the first time in 13 years that one chef has won both top awards, the last being Ben Shewry of Attica in 2013.
Yiaga only opened in October 2025, and the guide's co-editor Emma Breheny has called it a "once-in-a-generation restaurant opening".
Yiaga joins Brae, Amaru, Minamishima and Vue de Monde on Victoria's three-hat list.
Other Victorian winners include Roma for New Restaurant of the Year, Barragunda Dining on the Mornington Peninsula for Regional Restaurant of the Year, Cham for Cafe of the Year and the Alpine Hotel in Warburton for Pub of the Year.
How to make the most of the Good Food Guide list
Top-ranked restaurants tend to book out fast after awards season, so if one of the big winners is on your wish list, it is worth getting in early, particularly for weekends in the lead-up to Christmas.
Be flexible with your dates, and consider a weekday lunch, which can be easier to secure.
Do not overlook the cafe, pub and regional winners either.
They are often far easier on the wallet and make a lovely excuse for a day trip, while still carrying the guide's stamp of approval.
Whether it is a once-a-year splurge or a bowl of curry in a hotel basement, this year's list is a reminder that Australia's food scene is in very good shape.
Bon appetit.
