Source: http://online.isentialink.com/heraldsun.com.au/2018/12/05/25330a40-2c14-4fc2-a417-bc9cf2bfbd73.html
Victoria has won the interstate dining war with New South Wales with more eateries making OpenTable’s Top 50 restaurants list this year.
The Top 50 list is decided from more than 126,000 verified restaurant reviews from OpenTable diners who’ve chosen to eat at more than 1600 restaurants across Australia.
OpenTable is a real-time online reservation network and today’s Top 50 is alphabetically listed and comes from the an overall score they get once diners submit their reviews.
Diners’ reviews come from all over Australia and from visitors from as far as New York, London and Iceland.
And Modern Australian cuisine was also voted the top cuisine after it made up 34 per cent of the restaurants listed, followed by European (32 per cent) cuisine featuring French, Italian, Spanish, Tapas and Mediterranean foods.
A further 16 per cent of the list comprised of Asian cuisine. The remaining 18 per cent of restaurants served farm to table, seafood, steak and Lebanese dishes.
Overall, Victoria claimed 38 per cent of the list with 19 restaurants listed, closely followed by NSW which had 16. Queensland and the Gold Coast secured 12 spots. Adelaide had two restaurants make the list.
Regional areas including the Mornington Peninsula, Bendigo, Anglesea, Phillip Island and Tinamba in Victoria, Townsville in Queensland, and Timbumburi and Wollongong in NSW also had eateries that made the list.
In Victoria, restaurants like Ricky and Pinky, Hell of the North, Rumi Restaurant, Trattoria Emilia, Gingerboy and The European dropped off this year’s list.
Victorian restaurants that made the list for a second time include Chocolate Buddha, French Saloon, Lucy Liu, the Tinamba Hotel and The Woodhouse.
Victorian newcomers were the Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard, Captain Moonlite, Cecconi’s Flinders Lane, David’s, Donovans, Eau De Vie, Mjolner, Park Street Pasta and Wine, Pt Leo Restaurant, Puerto, Smith & Daughters, Sunda, The Cape Kitchen and The Peacock Den.
In NSW, restaurants like ARIA Sydney, Bistro Guillaume, Sake, Rockpool Bar & Grill and Sokyo dropped out of the list this year.
NSW restaurants that secured a spot for the second year in a row include Cafe Sydney, Dead Ringer, CHISWICK, Glasshouse, Kepos & Co., Osteria di Russo & Russo, Mercardo, Momofuku Seibo — The Star, Nour and Restaurant Hubert.
Newcomers in NSW include Bistro Rex, LP’s Quality Meats, Mjolner, Continental Deli and Rookie Eatery.
In Queensland, Bistro C, Les Bubbles Bar and Bistro, Madame Wu and Vaquero also dropped off the list.
Queensland restaurants that made the list again include Elio’s Osteria, Stokehouse Q, Rick Shores, Sails Noosa and Rogue Bistro.
Newcomers from Queensland were Sum Yung Guys, Moo Moo The Wine Bar + Grill, Pause Samford, Ricky’s River Bar and Restaurant, Season Restaurant and Walter’s Steakhouse.
In Townsville, A Touch of Salt made the list.
In South Australia, Shobosho and Osteria Oggi both made the list this year.
OpenTable’s Senior Business Development Manager Tim Domelow told News Corp Australia that the focus on modern Australian cuisine reflects what restaurants in the list are serving.
“Restaurants like to stay current and on-trend with consumers and it doesn’t mean that Asian or any other cuisine is out the door,” he said.
“But this list has more focus on restaurants with Australia’s regional cuisine, and restaurants like to showcase their local produce.”
Mr Domelow said the Top 50 was a reflection of what their diners are voting for, and some of the “big name restaurants” aren’t always on the list.
“Just because a restaurant is a big name or expensive, it doesn’t mean it will make the Top 50, but it doesn’t mean that restaurant isn’t great or not well-loved,” he said.
“Our list comes from genuine diner reviews and many of them are coming from regional areas and smaller cities where people are dining out, enjoying and reviewing the experience they have.”
Alphabetical list of Australia’s Top 50 OpenTable restaurants 2018:
1. A Touch of Salt, Townsville, QLD
2. Bistro Rex, Potts Point, Sydney, NSW
3. Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard, Milawa, Victoria
4. Cafe Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales
5. Captain Moonlite, Anglesea, Victoria
6. Cecconi’s Flinders Lane, Melbourne, Victoria
7. CHISWICK — Woollahra, Sydney, NSW
8. Chocolate Buddha, Melbourne, Victoria
9. Continental Deli Newtown, Sydney, NSW
10. David’s, Prahan, Melbourne, Victoria
11. Dead Ringer, Surry Hills, Sydney, NSW
12. Donovans, St Kilda, Melbourne, Victoria
13. Eau De Vie, Melbourne, Victoria
14. Elio’s Osteria, Carina Heights, QLD
15. French Saloon, Melbourne, Victoria
16. Glasshouse, Timbumburi, NSW
17. Kepos & Co, Waterloo, Sydney, NSW
18. Kneading Ruby, Wollongong, NSW
19. LP’s Quality Meats, Chippendale, Sydney, NSW
20. Lucy Liu Restaurant, Melbourne, Victoria
21. Mamasan Kitchen and Bar, Broadbeach, Gold Coast, QLD
22. Mercado, Sydney, NSW
23. Mjolner, Melbourne, Victoria
24. Mjølner, Redfern, Sydney, NSW
25. Momofuku Seiōbo, The Star, Sydney, NSW
26. Moo Moo The Wine Bar + Grill, Brisbane, QLD
27. Nour, Surry Hills, Sydney, NSW
28. Osteria di Russo & Russo, Enmore, Sydney, NSW
28. Osteria Oggi, Adelaide, SA
30. Park Street Pasta & Wine, South Melbourne, Victoria
31. Pause Samford, Samford Village, QLD
32. Pt Leo Restaurant, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
33. Puerto, Patterson Lakes, Victoria
34. Restaurant Hubert, Sydney, NSW
35. Rick Shores, Burleigh Heads, Gold Coast, QLD
36. Rickys River Bar and Restaurant, Noosa, QLD
37. Rogue Bistro, Newstead, Brisbane, QLD
38. Rookie Eatery, Wollongong, Sydney, NSW
39. Sails Noosa, Noosa, QLD
40. Season Restaurant, Noosa, QLD
41. Shobosho, Adelaide, SA
42. Smith & Daughters, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Victoria
43: Stokehouse Q, Brisbane, QLD
44. Sum Yung Guys, Sunshine Beach, QLD
45. Sunda, Melbourne, Victoria
46. The Cape Kitchen, Philip Island, Victoria
47. The Peacock Den, The Basin, Victoria
48. The Woodhouse Restaurant, Bendigo, Victoria
49. Tinamba Hotel, Tinamba, Victoria
50. Walter’s Steakhouse, Brisbane, QLD
