Keep up to date with who’s winning what
Andy Allen’s all about pigeon, juicy chablis and weekend in the Hunter
MasterChef host Andy Allen, co-owner of the Guide’s New Restaurant of the Year, has had a big week. As well as Three Blue Ducks taking out the big prize, he got off a plane from Turkey this morning. Despite his jet lag, he managed to think back on a year of eating and name his favourite Sydney dish: Grandfathers’ salt and pepper pigeon. “It’s full old-school, it comes out with the head on,” he says. And, importantly, “the skin is crispy as”.
On his dining hit-list over summer is Lo Presti’s, a fellow finalist in the New Restaurant category, which sits opposite Redfern Park:“I want to sit on the verandah, and eat that tuna toast, with a glass of juicy chablis.”
And, out of town, he’s keen to go back to the Hunter Valley, where he grew up. “I feel we’re trying to fly the regional flag together,” he says of Troy Rhodes-Brown from Muse Restaurant, which is at the top of his list after winning Regional Restaurant of the Year.
Speaking of birds served with their heads on, Good Food Guide editor David Matthews noted a whopping six of them mentioned in the 124,600 words filed this year. So, is this a new food fad?
I’d say it’s a combination of reviewers enjoying themselves at proper Cantonese banquets, and a few next-gen nose-to-tail cooks taking that extra step to show that they really do source whole animals, notes Matthews. Up to you whether you want to crunch through the skull and suck the brains out.
New Restaurant of the Year: How you voted
Crowd plays favourites as they react to hat winners
From backstage: It was a raucous crowd from start to finish at Eveleigh’s Carriageworks, but it got even more rowdy when the list of hat winners was read out.
But some restaurants got more cheers than others. When it came to the one hat regional winners with the loudest applause, a clear victor was Bar Rochford, followed by Hey Rosey, Such and Such, Beltane Farm and Megalong.
Judged on the hollering of the crowd, the crowd’s favourite one hat restaurant in Sydney was, by a long shot, Abhi’s Indian Restaurant.
But Ante, Sean’s, Lo Presti’s and Firepop all had plenty of fans in the room too. And when Olympic Meats was called out, marking its first-ever hat, that got a resounding endorsement.
New: The 100 Essential Restaurants that define NSW and ACT
Our new signature list, the 100 Essential Restaurants, is the hero of the Good Food Guide liftout inserted in tomorrow’s Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, and will be available to browse in the Good Food app at 8pm tonight, before being published online on Thursday.
Ranging from food-court favourites to fine-dining restaurants, the 100 Essentials are the places that define dining out in NSW and the ACT right now.
The curated list champions food across all price points and cuisines, not just the fine-diners where a night out for one couple can cost more than a second-hand Corolla. – Callan Boys and David Matthews, Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide editors
Gallery: Winners are grinners as they grace the Good Food Guide awards stage
Watch: Saint Peter wins the night
From the podium: Josh and Julie Niland’s Paddington eatery Saint Peter may not have taken out the marquee awards tonight, but it is the only restaurant to walk away with three accolades: Drinks List of the Year, Oceania Cruises Service Excellence Award (Monique Guest), and three hats.
“At no point in time will it ever stop being exciting getting up here to receive three hats,” said Josh Niland when he took the stage for the restaurant’s final award of the night, the coveted three hats, which it was awarded for the first time in 2024.
It’s a true representation of the restaurant’s evolution over its 10 years since opening, now known for more than going deep on seafood.
The Nilands are now full-blown restaurateurs, overseeing an in-house drinks program, waiters who’ll nail the timing on co-ordinated drops, and a world-class wine list. The cooking has never been better. Where to from here?
Plus: You can cook like Josh Niland at home with these recipes for fish and chips and the signature tuna cheeseburger.
Watch: What the crowd saw when New Restaurant of the Year was crowned
It’s the first major Good Food Guide award the Three Blue Ducks team have won in their 16 years of operation, and thankfully, our videographer and multimedia editor Dion Georgopoulos had a package prepared to explain what made this venue the one that was finally victorious.
While the team made their way up to the stage, it played for the crowd. Watch it below.
Read more about all the major award winners
And that’s all 16 awards announced. Congratulations to the winners! Read more about them all here.
The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide winners
- T2 Tea Restaurant of the Year: Sixpenny
- Oceania Cruises Chefs of the Year: Hussein Sarhan and Alex Tong, South End
- New Restaurant of the Year, presented by Aurum Poultry Co: Three Blue Ducks Burradoo
- Oceania Cruises Service Excellence Award: Monique Guest, Saint Peter
- Bar of the Year: Vespertine
- Regional Restaurant of the Year: Muse Restaurant
- T2 Tea Cafe of the Year: Taguan
- Sommelier of the Year: Zoe Brunton
- Drinks List of the Year: Saint Peter
- Pub of the Year: The Carlisle Castle Hotel
- Critics’ Pick of the Year: AK’S Diner
- Good Food Guide Legend: Peter Gilmore
- Young Chef of the Year: Peter Fiander, Osteria Luna
- Bill Granger Trailblazer Award, presented by SevenRooms: Ahana Dutt, Kolkata Social
- Cultural Change Champion: Venus Vinifera
- Food for Good Award: Lettuce Eat by Omnia Inclusive
Watch: Sixpenny’s big year of reimagining
It has been a big year for the Sixpenny team, and we’re not just talking about the fact they’re one of two three-hat winners tonight, nor their T2 Tea Restaurant of the Year victory.
In late August, the Stanmore restaurant briefly shut down for development. When it opened back up in September, the space – and craft – had been completely reimagined, with a bold decision to reduce table numbers and open up the kitchen pass directly to diners.
We haven’t even touched on the pure artistry of its tasting menu, empowered by the kitchen’s ambitious fermentation odyssey.
No longer a suburban up-and-comer (that line is so 2012), Sixpenny is operating at the absolute peak of its powers, defining a whole generation of Australian dining in the process.
Watch: Speechless Chef(s) of the Year take the stage
From the podium: Chefs Hussein Sarhan and Alex Tong of South End in Newtown flashed nervous smiles as they accepted their joint award for Chef of the Year.
“Thanks for the recognition, and it’s very validating that you would all consider us,” Sarhan said.
Tong was just as speechless as in the video package that just played inside the room, managing to say a simple, “Uhhh, thank you.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
