SMH Good Food Guide 2015 Winners Announced

Sydney CBD restaurant The Bridge Room has joined the upper echelons of Australian dining, winning a third hat and taking out Restaurant of the Year at last night's prestigious Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2016 Awards.

Opened just four short years ago by husband and wife Sunny and Ross Lusted, The Bridge Room joins the likes of fellow three-hatters like Rockpool and Sepia as the top tier of Australian hospitality. The top gong was awarded last night at a fancy schmancy ceremony at the Ivy Ballroom, where the industry's best and brightest nabbed hard-earned assembly awards for their establishments.

One of the most hotly-anticipated openings of the year, Bennelong, took out Best New Restaurant, while Chef of the Year was awarded to Pasi Petanen of Cafe Paci. Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrandt won Best Bar for Monopole, Rockpool Bar & Grill took out Best Bar Food and a few brand new awards were introduced — Best Cheap Eat went to Japanese grill house Chaco Bar, and the People’s Choice to waterside stalwart Catalina. Lauren Eldridge, pastry chef at Marque, nabbed the 25th anniversary Josephine Pignolet Award recognising the brightest young whippersnappers on the NSW dining scene.

More Sydneysiders nursing a champagne head this morning will include Rob Caslick, who nabbed the Food for Good award for his Inside Out Organic Soup Kitchen, teaching young mothers and pregnant teenagers to eat well and how to cook, Two Good a social enterprise employing women affected by domestic violence, and the St Canice Rooftop Garden run by asylum seekers.

SMH GOOD FOOD GUIDE AWARDS 2015:

Vittoria Coffee Restaurant of the Year: The Bridge Room
Citi Chef of the Year: Pasi Petanen
Best New Restaurant: Bennelong
Santa Vittoria Regional Restaurant of the Year: Fleet (Brunswick Heads)
Vittoria Coffee Legend: Janni Kyritsis
Citi Service Excellence: Cam Fairbairn, ACME
Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year: Lauren Eldridge
Food for Good Awards: Rob Caslick
Best Bar Food: Rockpool Bar & Grill
Wine List of the Year: Bentley Restaurant & Bar
Best Bar: Monopole
Champagne Pol Roger Sommelier of the Year: Sebastian Crowther MS, Rockpool est. 1989
Regional Wine List of the Year: Monster Kitchen & Bar
Best Cheap Eat: Chaco Bar
People’s Choice: Catalina

Here's the full list of Sydney hats for 2015:

THREE HATS
The Bridge Room, Rockpool est. 1989, Quay, Sepia

TWO HATS
ARIA, Bennelong, Bentley Restaurant & Bar, Berowra Waters Inn, Cafe Paci, Cottage Point Inn, est., Ester, The Four in Hand Dining Room, Guillaume, Icebergs Dining Room & Bar, Lucio’s Italian Restaurant, LuMi Bar & Dining, Marque, Momofuku Seiobo, Mr. Wong, Ormeggio at The Spit, Oscillate Wildly, Pilu at Freshwater, Porteño, Rockpool Bar & Grill, sixpenny, Spice Temple, Tetsuya’s

ONE HAT
10 William St, ACME, Ajo Italian Restaurant, The Apollo, The Bathers’ Pavilion, Billy Kwong, Bistro Moncur, Bistrode CBD, The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay, Bodega, Buon Ricordo, Catalina, China Doll, Cho Cho San, Felix, Firedoor, Fratelli Paradiso, Gastro Park, glass brasserie, Izakaya Fujiyama, Jonah’s Restaurant, Kepos Street Kitchen, Longrain, LP’s Quality Meats, Monopole, Moon Park, MoVida, Ms.G’s, Nomad, Osteria Balla, Osteria di Russo & Russo, Otto Ristorante, The Restaurant Pendolino, Sagra, Sean’s, Sokyo, sushi e, Three Blue Ducks, Uccello, Ume Restaurant, Vini, Yellow