2013 Restaurant Awards nominees

NEW RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

The Bridge Room, Sydney, NSW

It’s perhaps the most understated elements of The Bridge Room that account in large part for its appeal. The undersell/over-deliver feel of its quietly luxe, light-filled dining room and the way Ross Lusted’s cooking puts the true taste of the ingredients very much front-and-centre are suggestive of substantial experience, assurance and depth. Qualities all very welcome here in the business end of town.

NEW RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

Esquire, Brisbane, Qld

Elegant Esquire is not proof of Brisbane’s coming of age, but evidence the city cracked that particular milestone quite a few years ago. Chef and co-owner Ryan Squires and business partner Cameron Murchison’s riverside baby is an innovative dégustation-only destination that places taste before technique and true respect for produce above aesthetics, excelling at all levels.

NEW RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

Momofuku Seiobo, Sydney, NSW

Forget the hype: even without the Momofuku prefix, Seiobo delivers, punching out some of the most interesting eats and drinks (not to mention tunes) in the country, a humming creative engine powering a wild but deeply assured ride.

Wine List of the Year

Chiswick, Sydney, NSW

We noticed this year that more and more restaurants are successfully paring back their wine list. The short one at Chiswick, compiled by Matthew Dunne, is close to being a perfect example of this genre: despite having just 60 or so wines, almost every style and craving is catered for, from the funkiest natural wine to the most traditional mature claret, with almost a third of the list available by the glass or carafe as well as by the bottle.

Wine List of the Year

FermentAsian, Tanunda, SA

If you run a restaurant in a wine region, you need to cater to a discerning crowd: local winemakers as well as wine-savvy tourists are likely to be regulars, especially if the food’s as good as it is at FermentAsian. Co-owner Grant Dickson must be acutely aware of this because he’s put together an astonishingly comprehensive list of well-priced local and international wines, with almost every listing accompanied by detailed descriptive notes. And you can BYO.

Wine List of the Year

The Carlton Wine Room, Melbourne, Vic

This confident, comforting and seductive selection of good things to drink is imbued with co-owner and sommelier Jay Bessell’s infectious passion for wine. Deliciously eclectic by-the-glass temptations stretch over four pages, before the list launches into an extensive array of whites and reds, stickies and fortifieds, each section arranged not by grape or country, but by weight: “from the lighter and elegant to the bold and rich”. This makes so much sense it’s a wonder more restaurants don’t do it.

Sommelier of the Year

Banjo Harris Plane, Attica, Melbourne, Vic

Arriving from Sydney last year bearing an impressive CV (Est., Quay) and sterling qualifications, Banjo Harris Plane has brought a new energy to Attica, in both service style and wine list. His is the sort of charming, calming presence that wins diners’ trust, allowing them to be shepherded towards choices beyond their comfort zone and giving them a shot at the thrill of discovery.

Sommelier of the Year

Richard Hargreave, Momofuku Seiobo, Sydney, NSW

Surrey native Richard Hargreave cut a dash on the floor at Bilson’s during its 2011 zenith, deftly guiding diners towards perfect vinous partners for chef Diego Muñoz’s creations. At Momofuku Seiobo, the eats are, if anything, more challenging, and yet this talented 29-year-old, fresh from duxing this year’s Court of Master Sommeliers exams, turns each curve-ball from the kitchen into an opportunity for delight in the glass.

Sommelier of the Year

Greg Plowes, Tetsuya’s, Sydney

Greg Plowes isn’t your everyday cork-puller. After a decade’s service at Australia’s most famous restaurant, his duties include overseeing the blending of the For Tetsuya’s wines from the likes of Bass Phillip and Felton Road, as well as being the custodian of a list which includes a house-bottling of sake and exclusive releases from the likes of Dom Pérignon. And yet on the floor, Plowes remains a natural, a model of understated, self-effacing charm. One of our greats.

MAÎTRE D’ OF THE YEAR

Ainslie Lubbock, Pei Modern, Melbourne, Vic

There’s an effortlessness and grace to Ainslie Lubbock’s service style that explains the fan base that has followed her from the Royal Mail Hotel to Attica. At Pei Modern she may have found her best fit yet, with a room and a food style that chimes with her calm, hospitable and friendly energy. Coupled with her exceptional wine knowledge, and her ability to attract great staff, Lubbock’s presence is an integral part of the restaurant’s success.

MAÎTRE D’ OF THE YEAR

David Best, Rockpool Bar & Grill, Perth, WA

They said Perth wasn’t ready for a Rockpool. They said Neil Perry would struggle to find the right staff out here. They didn’t reckon on David Best. Does anyone run a better-drilled service unit in the West? We think not.

MAÎTRE D’ OF THE YEAR

Astrid Turner, Loam, Drysdale, Vic

Astrid Turner is the sort of professional who makes seamless service – the sort that can only be achieved through enormous amounts of hard work and attention to detail – look easy. Best of all, her warm and hospitable style reflects a sense of place, surely the most valuable quality a regional restaurant can have.

BEST NEW TALENT

Ben Greeno, Momofuku Seiobo, Sydney, NSW

Maybe it’s a northern English thing, but no one could accuse Ben Greeno (pictured standing, right) of being a glass-half-full kind of chap. And yet the food that this young Durham-raised chef produces with his crack team at Seiobo brims with vitality and promise, at times verging on – dare we say it – exuberance. Finally running a kitchen and getting a chance to flex his muscles a bit after many years working at the likes of Noma, The Paul and Restaurant Sat Bains, Greeno might just have some­thing to smile about.

BEST NEW TALENT

Alejandro Cancino, Urbane, Brisbane, Qld

Fresh to our shores, Argentina-born Alejandro Cancino, a former UK young chef of the year, is certainly new. And talented? The delicacy of his touch is remarkable, and his ability to coax flavour from ingredients impressive, speaking, perhaps, of his experience at the likes of Mugaritz in Spain and Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in the UK. One to watch.

BEST NEW TALENT

Shannon Debreceny, Mark LaBrooy and Darren Robertson, Three Blue Ducks, Sydney, NSW

Considered individually, the Blue Ducks are an impressive lot, with serious and interesting restaurant scalps to their names. But it’s since they got together to cook the sort of dinner in a Bronte café that would shame many a fine-diner that Shannon Debreceny, Mark LaBrooy and Darren Robertson have taken it to the next level.

REGIONAL RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

Provenance, Beechworth, Vic

Chef Michael Ryan and winemaker-sommelier Jeanette Henderson are not the sort of people interested in laurel-resting. Every year their Beechworth restaurant, located in an austere old bank building, is tweaked and polished and just gets better. Ryan’s Japanese-European cooking is nuanced, clever and often very beautiful but never neglects the sustenance and flavour parts of the equation.

REGIONAL RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

Loam, Drysdale, Vic

When Loam burst out of the box a couple of years ago and was instantly showered with accolades, some worried about the weight of expectation sinking the place. No worries there: Aaron Turner’s playful, interesting and often amazing food and Astrid Turner’s deft hand front-of-house have not only stayed the course but continue to evolve in the best kind of way.

REGIONAL RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

Royal Mail Hotel, Dunkeld, Vic

Dan Hunter’s brilliant country fine-diner has taken out the Gourmet Traveller Regional Restaurant of the Year award for the past four years and this fifth nomination is proof that the experience continues to impress. The 10-course dégustation menu represents one of Australia’s true food pilgrimages and rewards the effort of getting here as one intricate, meticulous, beautiful course after another brings the flavours of the surrounding region to the linen-clad tables.

Bar of the Year

The Baxter Inn, Sydney, NSW

In some ways, the Baxter Inn is Shady Pines II, obscure basement location, queues and all. And yet its differences from its parent bar run deeper than blues in place of country tunes and pretzels instead of peanuts. They both share a commitment to friendly service, finely tuned playlists and excellent hooch, but Baxter has carved its own niche, becoming a wonderfully dangerous place to lose yourself, Don Draper-style, in its own right. If whisky (and indeed whiskey) is your thing, you’re in for something of a treat.

Bar of the Year

The Everleigh, Melbourne, Vic

Yes, it channels speakeasy-cool right down to its antique glassware, intimate booths and table service. But what anchors The Everleigh beyond the period drag is a fanatical commitment to top-quality booze and the remarkable cocktail skills of co-owner Michael Madrusan, a barman so intuitive that you may suspect mind-reading is listed on his CV.

Bar of the Year

Bar Americano, Melbourne, Vic

This unfathomably tiny matchbox of a boozer is a loving homage to the American bars of inter-war Europe. Drink choices pretty much begin and end with Golden Age cocktails and a certain standard is expected of guests (“No photos. No credit cards. No bookings.”) but it’s a small concession for service this attentive and Hanky Pankys, Clover Clubs and – yes – Americanos this well made.