By Leigh O’Connor.
With the announcement this week of the 2023 Chef Hats, there are more restaurants than ever to put on your dining radar.
Many remain old favourites that always deliver a memorable meal – while others are just emerging as contenders for your go-to restaurant to impress family and friends.
From those making their Chef Hat debut to steadfast dining choices that never disappoint, here are five venues we think you should try:
Modern farm-to-table Thai cuisine is what you’ll find on the plate at Jungle Fowl on Wharf Street in Port Douglas. This locally loved dining destination exudes a fun and funky vibe with stylised wall art of a tiger, birds and palm trees, while intimate table settings beckon for romantic rendezvous or catchups with family and friends.
Coming in straight at a Chef Hat of 12 and named after the tropical bird found across much of Southeast Asia - the ancestor of the domestic chicken - expect a menu based around produce sourced from the Oaks Kitchen & Garden; think dishes like duck red curry, snake beans and baby corn.
Influenced by the rugged coastal landscape of the Great Ocean Road, Fen restaurant on Bank Street in Port Fairy is also new to Chef Hat fame starting with a 14. A small, intimate dining room allows all guests to partake in the same dishes from the surprise menu at the same time, curated from locally farmed, caught and foraged ingredients.
Expect snacks such as duck, native nuts and quandong, or scallop, radish, dill and buttermilk; before mains of lamb, parsnip, thyme, broccolini and wattle seed, or abalone, smoked eel, shiitake mushroom and onion.
Experience fine Sicilian cuisine from an award-winning Chef at Olio Kensington in Chippendale. The brainchild of Executive Chef Lino Sauro, this restaurant nestles on the second floor of beautifully restored The Old Rum Store and features exposed brick and loft-style windows; along with a neutral colour palette with hints of blue and green and light oak timber.
First time on the Chef Hat list, Olio arrives at a 13 due to dishes such as starters of Hokkaido scallop confit, celeriac cream, pickled celery and liquorice; followed by mains of char-grilled lamb rump steak, marsala-glazed carrots and nero d’avola jus.
Long one of the great dining rooms in Western Australia, the lakeside Cape Lodge Restaurant on Caves Road in Yallingup offers classically prepared country fare showcasing the best Margaret River produce. Located on its own vineyard, Cape Lodge is like staying at a private country estate with all the trappings and facilities of a world-class boutique hotel.
Currently 13-hatted, expect to dine on starters such as Gippsland beef tartare and crispy artichoke; followed by pressed pork belly, zucchini, turnip and capers, finishing indulgently with mandarin curd, sable and coconut sorbet.
Harnessing the power of an open fire, billows of smoke and glowing embers, diners are treated to meaningful and innovative dishes at 16-hatted Hearth Restaurant on Barrack Street in Perth’s CBD. Perched on the water’s edge of Elizabeth Quay, this elegant dining destination delivers a midnight blue colour palette, marble-topped tables and circular booth seating, showcasing local WA produce in an innovative à la carte menu.
Start with entrées like Shark Bay slipper lobster, shellfish emulsion, slated kombu and radish; followed by a main of wild-caught WA fish, cavolo nero, fennel, green olives and fish bone Béarnaise sauce and dessert of Hearth-roasted pears, jasmine tea, mandarin and thyme crumb.
