The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2025, featuring the best restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs across NSW and ACT, launches tomorrow after Saint Peter was named Vittoria Coffee Restaurant of the Year at a chef-studded awards ceremony held in the Sydney Opera House tonight.

As the annual Good Food Guide marks its 40th edition, Australia’s most respected food and drinks title ushers in a new era with the launch of the Good Food app available from tomorrow. 

The premium subscription-based app – available as part of Nine’s premium digital packages for subscribers of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, or as a standalone subscription – will house the digital offering of the Good Food Guide.  

Featuring more than 900 reviews from the SMH and Age guides, the app will be an interactive digital home for food and drink lovers containing recipes, Critics’ Picks and lists of the best restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs.  

The annual Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide has been recognising the best chefs and restaurants since 1984, and this year’s Guide is a compilation of 500 independent reviews visited by our team of critics over the past eight months. Good Food is considered Australia’s most respected food and beverage title, and its coveted hats – from one to the pinnacle of three hats – are recognised as the industry gold standard.

The glamorous awards ceremony – supported by long-term co-presenting partner Vittoria Coffee and co-presenting partner Oceania Cruises – was held at the Sydney Opera House. Five hundred chefs, restaurateurs and industry legends from NSW and Canberra’s dining and drink scenes gathered as 15 awards, along with the hats, were announced. 

Paul Farag from Alalia took out the coveted Oceania Cruises Chef of the Year award for his innovative and next-level approach to Middle Eastern food. 

This year’s Guide includes 152 restaurants awarded one or more hats: four restaurants received three hats, 36 restaurants received two hats and 113 restaurants received one hat. The three hat winners were Oncore by Clare Smyth, Sixpenny, Quay and, for the first time, Saint Peter. 

With the industry undergoing a cultural change, a new award was introduced this year for Cultural Change Champion. Awarded to Women and Revolution, the inaugural award recognises the movement for fostering a positive, safe and empowering work environment for women in hospitality. 

Iconic Australian chef Bill Granger was posthumously awarded the Vittoria Coffee Legend Award. The globally-renowned chef passed away nearly 12 months ago but his legacy on the food industry will last forever. 

Named in Granger’s honour is a new award recognising a person, team or business approaching things from their own perspective and pushing Australian food forward. The Bill Granger Trailblazer Award was handed to Baba’s Place in Marrickville. 

“Baba’s Place is a celebration of the suburban Sydney experience, grounded in the stories of immigrant families and their shared experiences of food and cooking. Like Bill Granger’s cafes embodied a particular sense of Australia, Baba’s Place does the same, proudly drawing on the Lebanese, Macedonian and Greek heritages of its co-owners,” said Callan Boys, The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide editor. “Plus they do a great taramasalata on toast, which looks a bit like an Iced VoVo.”

Firepop in Enmore took out New Restaurant of the Year, presented by Aurum Poultry Co, while You Beauty in Bangalow was named Regional Restaurant of the Year. 

The Critics’ Pick Of The Year was awarded to Blacktown restaurant Gursha Ethiopian. The restaurant is a regular meeting place for East African families with an atmosphere described by critics: ‘There is laughter, there is music, and the air is heavy with incense and potent coffee’.     

Luke Bourke, who works as sous chef at Rockpool Bar & Grill, was awarded Young Chef of the Year, presented by Smeg.  

The Oceania Cruises Service Excellence Award was given to Maureen Er from The White Horse, in Surry Hills, while Stonefruit restaurant and wine bar in Tenterfield, in the NSW New England region, was awarded Oceania Cruises Drinks List of the Year.

Cafe of the Year went to Ona Coffee in Marrickville; Double Deuce Lounge took out Best Bar; Sommelier of the Year was awarded to Caitlin Baker from Such and Such in Canberra; and the Food for Good award was handed to Rice Fund, Soul of Chinatown.

Edited by Callan Boys and David Matthews, The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2025 reviews have been undertaken by a team of esteemed critics including Boys, Terry Durack, Jill Dupleix and Sarah Norris, all of whom review independently and anonymously. 

“While the Good Food Guide is the home of the hats, it continues to evolve across various price points, cuisines, styles and suburbs, offering an annual snapshot of the most exciting, outstanding venues you need to know about,” said Sarah Norris, Head of Food for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Brisbane Times and WAToday.

“With money tighter than ever for most diners, people want to know where they should spend their money, and be able to trust those recommendations. The guide, and the new Good Food app, takes the guesswork out of finding the perfect spot for you to eat, no matter what the occasion.”

The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2025 magazine is available from newsagents, supermarkets and thestore.com.au for $14.95 from Tuesday, November 12 and tonight via the Good Food app. The app is available as part of Nine’s premium digital packages for subscribers of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, or as a standalone subscription. 

The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2025 award winners: 

Vittoria Coffee Restaurant of the Year: Saint Peter
Oceania Cruises Chef of the Year: Paul Farag (Alalia) 
New Restaurant of the Year, presented by Aurum Poultry Co.: Firepop 
Vittoria Coffee Regional Restaurant of the Year: You Beauty, Bangalow 
Oceania Cruises Service Excellence Award: Maureen Er (White Horse) 
Young Chef of the Year, presented by Smeg: Luke Bourke (Rockpool Bar & Grill) 
Sommelier of the Year: Caitlin Baker (Such and Such, Canberra) 
Drinks List of the Year: Stonefruit in Tenterfield
Vittoria Coffee Legend Award: Bill Granger 
Cafe of the Year: Ona Coffee, Marrickville
Bar of the Year: Double Deuce Lounge 
Cultural Change Champion: Women and Revolution 
Critic’s Pick Award: Gursha Ethiopian, Blacktown
Bill Granger Trailblazer Award: Baba’s Place
Food for Good, presented by Lightspeed: Rice Fund, Soul of Chinatown

For further information, please contact:
Adrian Motte
Senior Communications Manager – Trade & Publishing
amotte@nine.com.au

Monday, November 11, 2024