Overview
Sydney’s Sepia has won prime position on the Australian Financial Review’s inaugural Australia’s Top 100 Restaurants list, announced at Crown Melbourne on Monday, May 18. Melbourne’s Attica came in at number 2 and Sydney’s Quay at number 3.
Presented by Qantas and Vittoria Coffee and launched in February this year, the award is the only one in the country that is determined by peer vote. The process begins with a list of top 500 restaurants, compiled by critics and industry experts, but it is the restaurateurs and chefs who work at these restaurants who decide which make the top 100 and in what order.
Overall, the top 10 saw an even split between Victoria and New South Wales. Victorian stand-outs include Brae at Birregurra at number 4, which was the highest ranked regional restaurant; Cutler & Co at 5; Vue de Monde at 6; and Cumulus Inc at 7. In New South Wales, Sixpenny reached number 8, Mr Wong number 9 and Tetsuya’s number 10.
In addition to Sepia topping the pile, Martin Benn, head chef and co-owner, took home the Australia’s Top Chef Award. Meanwhile, the public vote also had a look in, with Rose Bay’s Catalina scoring the People’s Choice Award.
“The chefs and restaurateurs have chosen the Top 100 restaurants because they are the very best at what they do, and because they really deliver in terms of great produce, flavour, skill, seasonality and creativity,” Terry Durack, who directed the awards with Jill Dupleix, said in a media statement. “And I love that Belle’s Hot Chicken made it into the list, so it’s not just about brilliantly sophisticated dining, but about small but serious places doing one thing well.”
Image: Attica.