In 1926 the brothers decided to employ a team of restaurant inspectors to help rank and review the restaurants anonymously. It wasn’t until 1936 that the hierarchy of stars was published with the inspectors ranking restaurants with zero, one, two and three stars.
Today the guide now ranks over 30,000 restaurants in 30 territories and has sold more than 30 million copies.
Now while we understand that it’s impossible to drive to Australia surely a guide for within our glorious country would be a great addition to the list. For now, here’s who we think should be on the list.
1\ Tetsuya
Location: Sydney CBD
Price: $240
Specialty: Australian/Japanese/French
Tetsuya uses only the freshest of local Australian ingredients with French culinary skills and a Japanese twist to create one of Sydney’s best degustation menus. The exquisite restaurant is owned and operated by Tetsuya Wakuda. Our pick is their signature dish, the Tasmanian Ocean Trout.
For bookings: https://tetsuyas.com/
2\ Attica
Location: Ripponlea, Vic
Price: $295
Specialty: Australian
Attica is an Australian favourite, boasting a robust menu with unique Australian ingredients that will help you discover a “new wider view or where we’ve been and where we might go.” One of our favourites is the Sticky Wattle and Pearl Dumpling.
For bookings: https://www.attica.com.au/booking
3\ Nobu
Location: Melbourne and Perth
Price: from $30
Specialty: Japanese
Nobu is arguably one of the world’s most recognized Japanese restaurants. With 22 locations worldwide, two of which are on Australian shores it had to be included on our list. The brainchild of Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, Nobu’s signature dish is the Black Cod Saikyo Miso.
For bookings: https://www.noburestaurants.com/melbourne/home/
4\ Sixpenny
Location: Stanmore
Price: 7 courses $160, with matched wines $265
Specialty: Modern Australian
Drawing inspiration from Sydney’s rich history, sixpenny is named after the sixpence restaurants that operated in the late 1800s. Making the most of fresh, ethically-sourced local ingredients, Head Chef Daniel Puskas has created an innovative seven-course tasting menu.
For bookings: https://www.sixpenny.com.au/
5\ Brae
Location: Birregurra, Victoria
Price: $280
Specialty: Australian
It’s no understatement to say that Brae uses only the freshest of ingredients, they pick their own organic fruit and vegetables on-site daily and sourced meat and fish from local Victorian farms.
For bookings: https://braerestaurant.com/reservations/
7\ Vue de monde
Location: Melbourne
Price: $275 - $310
Specialty: French
One of Australia’s most celebrated chefs, Shannon Bennet has been Head Chef at Vue de monde for almost 20 years. With a European twist, Vue de monde is not one to be missed boasting an unprecedented 19/20 from The Age Good Food Guide.
For bookings: http://www.vuedemonde.com.au
