The Hunter Valley’s dining offering has continued to impress with five of the region’s restaurants maintaining coveted hat-status.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Pokolbin stood out in the 2019 Good Food Guide rankings. Muse Restaurant received two hats, while Muse Kitchen and Restaurant Botanica achieved one hat respectively.
Mount View’s Bistro Molines and Broke’s Margan Restaurant also kept their one hat each.
While the status is nothing new for the five establishments, it is an impressive achievement nonetheless.
To achieve a hat is a pinnacle of a chef’s career and a restaurant’s history, and the term ‘hatted’ has become embedded in the Australian lexicon.
The guide of independent, anonymous reviews is written by a panel of trusted restaurant critics and recognises the best Australian restaurants nationally with ‘hats’, symbolised by a chef’s toque.
More than 500 restaurants from across the country were reviewed for this year’s guide, with 264 of these receiving hat status, ranging from one to three.
To secure a highly sought after spot in the guide, restaurants in NSW and Victoria must score at least 14 out of 20, while all other states must score a minimum of 15.
Two hats are achieved with 16 or 17 points, while restaurants had to score 18 points or more to receive the top accolade of three hats, which only seven venues around the country achieved this year.
The Good Food Guide is a reflection of the thousands of voices that make Australia one of the most diverse and delicious places to eat in the world.
- 2019 Good Food Guide editor Myffy Rigby
The catalogue of guide editors has charted the growth of the restaurant industry in Australia and helped to shape it.
“The second annual national Good Food Guide is a reflection of the thousands of voices that make Australia one of the most diverse and delicious places to eat in the world,” 2019 Good Food Guide editor Myffy Rigby said.
“The guide is a celebration of the industry as a whole.
“Every one of the restaurants featured is a summation of all those moving parts.
“We recognise the hard work of all those Australian restaurants and everything they do to enrich the scene.”
The national Good Food Guide 2019 is available now in newsagents and online at: www.thestore.com.au/goodfood