Newcomers came out swinging. Established names surged (and dropped). And the list showed more suburbs and regions, dining styles and cuisines. The only common thread? Risk-taking meets unrivalled quality.
Quincy Malesovas
The Age’s annual Good Food Guide Awards came with plenty of movement in scores on Monday night, with 20 freshly hatted restaurants this year, alongside a few familiar names losing theirs.
“Overall, we were thrilled to see so many new names in the mix this year, especially in such a tough trading environment,” says Frank Sweet, co-editor of the Guide. “Restaurateurs worked really hard to give diners a reason to book a table and that’s shown in this uptick in the number of hats.”
The chefs’ hat rating system was created by the Good Food Guide more than 40 years ago to give readers a sense of what to expect in terms of food, service and experience, with value for money later added. Hats have been the cornerstone of Good Food’s rating system ever since.
Each restaurant reviewed in the Guide is scored out of 20: 10 points for food, five for hospitality, three for setting and experience, and two for value. Restaurants scoring 15 or above are awarded one hat, those scoring 16 or 17 receive two hats, and those between 18 and 20 receive three hats.
Among the new entrants to Victoria’s hats list, 11 are less than a year old and impressed critics straight out of the gate. Some of the freshest include Andrew McConnell’s ode to Spain, Cote Basque; Rosheen Kaul’s pop-up-turned-permanent concept Little Rose; and Con Christopoulos’ Roma, a grandiose tribute to the Eternal City.
Promising openings from last year also earned their hats, including Indian diner Saadi, which began as a pop-up before taking over the former Sunda site, and Chris Lucas’s French brasserie, Maison Batard. Then there were those more unassuming spots that wowed Guide reviewers, like minimal Korean eatery Sogumm in Cremorne and Chongqing-style BiZu Hotpot in Camberwell.
Reviewers are guided by what the venue sets out to achieve when determining scores. Not all restaurants that have the same score will necessarily look and feel the same.
“It’s more about whether the venue is succeeding in being the best version of itself,” says Emma Breheny, fellow editor of the Guide. “For example, 13/20 is a great score for a food court operation where there’s no table service, but not so good for a CBD grill that cost millions to build.”
‘Restaurateurs worked really hard to give diners a reason to book a table and that’s shown in this uptick in the number of hats.’
Frank Sweet, The Age Good Food Guide co-editor
But while many restaurants were awarded hats this year – a total of 147, up from 136 last year – 11 dropped in ranking.
Footscray’s high-end kaiseki counter Matsu went from two hats to one, while a string of familiar names left the hatted ranks altogether, Di Stasio Carlton and city restaurants Tonka, Atria, Kisume and Ministry of Crab among them. Some less formal spots, including cocktail luminary Bar Bellamy in Carlton and Rare Hare on the Mornington Peninsula, were also reclassified.
“We don’t take these decisions lightly but some restaurants simply didn’t meet diners’ expectations, whether it was losing points for service, the quality of the cooking or value for money,” says fellow Guide editor Emma Breheny.
Hugh Allen retained his distinction of being the first Australian chef to lead two three-hatted restaurants simultaneously, which he earned earlier this year with his second fine diner Yiaga in Fitzroy Gardens, a big winner at last night’s awards. It maintained its three hats in this year’s Guide, alongside Vue de Monde where Allen is also executive chef. Amaru, Brae and Minamishima also maintained their status as three-hatters, the highest ranking possible.
Ambitious degustation restaurant Gaea in Fitzroy ascended from one hat to two, while Italian stalwart Il Bacaro, Filipino-leaning eatery Askal and sushi bar Uminono returned to the hatted ranks with a single hat.
The growth wasn’t confined to Melbourne. Regional Victoria produced a particularly strong cohort of new hatted restaurants, with Bistro Merenda, Emerald City, House of Mi-Rin, Koji Bird, Terrae, Orson, The Raw, and Tommy Gunns all entering the Guide. From Yea and Bright to Rosebud, Geelong and Barwon Heads, geographic breadth was notable, including hatted restaurants emerging in places beyond the state’s traditional dining destinations.
Spanning sprawling European dining rooms, tiny neighbourhood restaurants and highly specific regional concepts, the 46th Guide’s list of hats suggests a strong point of view, rather than a particular style of restaurant, is what stands out today.
“The headline of the year was risk-taking,” says Breheny. “Often hats are earned when a restaurant knows exactly what it wants to achieve; when the diner can see the vision clearly. But consistency is just as important – just ask The Lake House, which appeared in the Guide for four decades.”
Sweet adds: “Our reviewers are instructed to score not based on their personal preferences, but on what a restaurant is trying to do and how successfully it does that. That’s where points are gained and lost.”
There were also some interesting second acts. Bar Carolina regained its hat after Karen Martini and Michael Sapountsis took over the South Yarra institution last year, Bottarga in Brighton returned to the ranks after relocating at the time of publication last year, and Florentino Dining Room returned to the Guide with two hats under new owners Edition Hospitality.
‘Often hats are earned when a restaurant knows exactly what it wants to achieve; when the diner can see the vision clearly.’
Emma Breheny, The Age Good Food Guide co-editor
There was also a string of restaurant closures this year that saw several venues disappear from the Guide. Peter Gunn’s two-hatted Ides served its final meal in March, with the chef subsequently using the site for a short-lived yakitori concept called Shogunn. Regional favourites Tulip and No. 7 Healesville also called last drinks, while Shusai Mijo in Fitzroy closed its omakase service and reopened as Udon Izakaya Tanukiya, which was reviewed by the Guide but did not score a hat. Matilda 159 Domain, meanwhile, was sold by chef Scott Pickett as he restructured his hospitality empire. Unrelated to the Guide’s review, Tonka announced last Friday that it will serve its last diners on December 31, choosing not to renew its lease in the CBD.
For all the movement, the results point to a Victorian dining scene that remains remarkably willing to take risks. The new crop of hatted restaurants is younger, more diverse and increasingly spread beyond the city – even as closures and demotions are a reminder of just how difficult it remains to run a restaurant at the highest level.
Home of the hats
Heard the expression, “It’s a hatted restaurant”? The chefs’ hat rating system was created by the Good Food Guide more than 40 years ago to give readers a sense of what to expect in terms of food, service and experience. It has been the cornerstone of Good Food’s rating system ever since.
The winners of the 46th Age Good Food Guide Awards, presented by Oceania Cruises and T2 Tea, were announced on Monday, October 12.
The home of the Good Food Guide, the app is free for premium subscribers of The Age and also available as a standalone subscription. You can download the Good Food app here.