Australia’s dining scene has never been more exciting. From intimate Turkish supper clubs to sprawling heritage conversions, the past year delivered a wave of openings that redefined what it means to eat out in this country. Whether you’re chasing theatrical fine dining, soulful family recipes or simply the perfect kebab, these are the restaurants demanding your attention in 2026.
Sydney
Grandfathers, CBD
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Grandfathers, the latest from Dan Pepperell, Andy Tyson and Michael Clift, takes over the former Long Chim site on Angel Place with a high energy dining room full of bold red and black details, glowing fish tanks and slick service. Inspired by Clift’s Chinese grandfather, the kitchen pulls flavours from Guangdong and Sichuan across a big, choose-your-own-adventure menu of cold cuts, dumplings, barbecue, seafood and noodles. Highlights include excellent steamed dim sum, strange-flavour chilli oil chicken, punchy stir-fried vegetables and a textbook fried rice, with plenty of classics like prawn toast and Peking duck on offer. Cocktails lean playful and summery, and the Riesling-forward wine list is built to match the heat and spice, making it a buzzy pick for out-of-town mates and big group nights.
Bessie’s, Surry Hills
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The team behind Sydney’s beloved Bar Copains set expectations impossibly high for their first proper restaurant. Bessie’s in Surry Hills is the Bar Copains crew scaled up into a flame-powered Mediterranean diner, taking over a former chef’s warehouse on Albion Street with an open kitchen, hip hop soundtrack, stacks of wine bottles and a warehouse party buzz. Backed by chefs Morgan McGlone and Nathan and Sali Sasi, the menu swings between excellent snacks and fire-kissed mains, from garlic herb flatbread with cod roe dip and devilled eggs with mortadella, to a punchy Moreton Bay bug sandwich and beautifully cooked barbecued snapper with tomato and crab bisque. Cocktails keep it classic and cold, the wine list is built for fun with strong local and European picks, and the whole place feels like a confident, high-energy new heavyweight for nights out with mates.
Mister Grotto, Newtown
Mister Grotto in Newtown is a 30-seat, seafood-only party from the Paisano & Daughters crew, bringing big Australia Street energy in a space styled like an eclectic fisherman’s den, complete with fishing nets, marine curios, a rope edged bar and frosty Martinis poured as oysters are shucked. The regularly changing menu leans local and seasonal, spotlighting top NSW and Tassie seafood through playful, punchy dishes like Sapphire Coast oysters, a sweet corn and nannygai empanada, octopus tostadas, and charred Ulladulla mackerel with XO vinaigrette, with fun finishing touches like rhubarb soft serve. Drinks keep the buzz rolling with a sake and nori-laced Grotto Martini plus a tight cocktail list, Australian and French wines, and local beers and ciders, making it a loud, joyful pick for anyone who wants a big night out built around the ocean.
Homer, Cronulla
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In a year dominated by Greek openings, Homer stands apart. Run by two local brothers who clearly wouldn’t want a restaurant anywhere else, this Cronulla spot channels Hellenic brutalism while maintaining an unmistakably beachy energy. The crowd-pleasing, share-friendly dishes are designed for big groups at linked tables, with indoor-outdoor dining that feels quintessentially coastal. It’s proof that excellent dining doesn’t require an inner-city postcode.
South End, Newtown
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When a restaurant’s guiding principles are simplicity and laziness, you know you’re in for something special. This Euro diner from Hussein Sarhan , Alex Tong and Paul Guiney sits on the quiet end of King Street, so far from the fray it’s technically Erskineville. The cooking is low-touch but high-impact. Potato rosti dazzles with herby broad beans and Goldstreet curds, while mussels swim in silky herbed white wine sauce. A barely set chocolate tarte with a buttery shell seals the deal.
Lottie, Redfern
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Joe Valero’s punchy tacos won fans in a Potts Point laneway, but his rooftop Mexican at The Eve hotel is a knockout. Beetroot empanadas and house-made tostadas topped with tuna and orange-spiked salsa brava set the pace. The two-bite sope is unforgettable: fermented potatoes power a golden-fried masa disc carrying slow-cooked kangaroo hot with Mexican chillies. Pair with a Tajin-rimmed cocktail, then take a dip in the rooftop pool.
Young’s Palace, Potts Point
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Big Sam Young’s love for suburban Chinese restaurants runs deep. Young’s Palace, with partner-chef Grace Chen, pays tribute to the Chinatowns they’ve visited worldwide and the migrant hustle that built them. The menu dials back the opulence of their Castlecrag bistro S’more in favour of honey king prawns, chicken and sweet corn soup and XO fried rice. It’s the stuff Australian suburbs are made of, elevated with care and respect.
Corner 75, Randwick
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Reviving a 40-year-old Hungarian institution required delicacy. The teams from Baba’s Place and Sixpenny managed it brilliantly. Modern takes on menu favourites like langos and goulash respect the restaurant’s history while bringing contemporary technique. The schnitzel, a rippling masterpiece of craggy curves, remains magnificent. Vocal locals and longtime regulars initially resisted the change. They’ve been won over.
Melbourne
Yiaga, East Melbourne
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When chef Hugh Allen first spotted the heritage-listed Fitzroy Gardens site six years ago, he knew he’d found something special. Working with architect John Wardle, who had never designed a restaurant before, Allen created an ochre-tiled sanctuary where Australian ingredients become edible art. The tasting menu includes a mille-feuille constructed from dehydrated kale and herb emulsion, silky coconut cream topped with caviar and lime zest, and the now-famous Banksia Pop dessert. At 30 years old, Allen has delivered one of the most ambitious restaurant openings in recent memory.
Zareh, Collingwood
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Tom Sarafian spent years building a cult following through pop-ups across Melbourne. His permanent home in Collingwood was worth the wait. Drawing on his Armenian heritage, partner Jinane Bou-Assi’s Lebanese background and research trips to Glendale’s Armenian diaspora, Sarafian has created something deeply personal yet universally appealing. The toum-drenched chicken kebabs are essential, as is the hummus crowned with king prawns and spanner crab. Armenian and Lebanese vinyl spins through custom speakers while the room buzzes with energy.
Barragunda Dining, Mornington Peninsula
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True paddock-to-plate dining is rare. Barragunda Dining lives it. Former Coda chef Simone Watts spent four years cultivating the gardens on this 400-hectare farm before opening the 40-seat glasshouse restaurant. Every dish reflects a conversation with the land, from carrots sweetened through cold winter soil to Black Angus beef raised on the property. The sun-drenched dining room sits metres from where your dinner was grown.
Sogumm, Cremorne
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Husband-and-wife team Changhoon ‘Kimmy’ Kim and Suhyun Kim bring serious credentials to this restaurant, having worked at Aria, Gimlet, Plaza Athénée Paris and two-Michelin-starred Restaurant Andre. But it’s their time studying under Buddhist nun and fermentation expert Jeong Kwan that shaped Sogumm’s approach. Following temple traditions, vegetarian dishes contain no alliums. Each plate centres on one of four Korean seasonings: soy, gochujang, salt or doenjang.
Daphne, Brunswick East
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Daphne, Hannah Green’s follow up to Etta, has landed in Brunswick East with the easy confidence of a true neighbourhood local, pairing a smart If Architecture fit out of booths, deep red curtains and an open counter with a no bad choices menu that elevates familiar favourites. Chef Diana Desensi keeps things refined but approachable, moving from wood fired oysters Kilpatrick and cult ready mortadella skewers to clever classics like asparagus with tonnato, a properly satisfying wagyu brisket burger, and a beautifully brined half roast chicken finished with blistered grapes. Drinks hit the same generous sweet spot, led by excellent value house wines made with Victorian winemaker Dom Valentine, plus a tight cocktail offering, and you should save room for the citrusy olive oil cake with cream and berries.
Suze, Fitzroy North
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Top Melbourne wine bars deliver excellent drinks, considered food and knowledgeable service. Suze does it in a way that feels original. Chef and co-owner Steve Harry (formerly of Napier Quarter) has produced some of the year’s best dishes here. Chickpea agnolotti with comté and nutmeg has cross-border appeal. Silky tuna arrives in a pool of desert lime and Tasmanian wasabi. Even Sydney rock oysters are elevated with snake chilli salsa.
Ho Liao, CBD
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Ho Liao is Junda Khoo’s first Melbourne venue, a lively Malaysian beer hall crowning his three-level Tivoli Arcade takeover, alongside takeaway spot Da Bao and the playful Ho Jiak: Junda’s Playground. Inspired by Southeast Asian beer halls, it pairs big communal energy with a menu that celebrates Penang flavours while happily bending tradition for maximum impact, from must-order loh bak boosted with prawn and prawn mousse to classics like char kway teow, Hainan chicken rice and wagyu rendang, plus splash out seafood with a choice of sauces. Drinks keep pace with Southeast Asian beers, a strong Victorian and French wine lean, and cocktails laced with Malaysian notes like mandarin and chrysanthemum.
Saadi, CBD
Chef couple Saavni Krishnan and Sriram Aditya ran Saadi as a pop-up for three years before taking over the former Sunda space. They’re at their best refining family recipes through chef lenses. Standouts include pulikachal made from Aditya’s mother’s recipe served with barbecued flathead, and celeriac achar based on Krishnan’s grandmother’s pickle. The menu changes monthly, rewarding repeat visits.
Kolkata Cricket Club, Southbank
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Melbourne has been waiting for an Indian restaurant like Mischa Tropp’s glamorous newcomer. Service is crisp in smart white uniforms, cocktails arrive properly chilled in elegant glassware, and the high ceilinged dining room of chandeliers and roomy leather booths is made for lingering. From the tandoor come confident crowd pleasers, like whole barramundi in a white poppyseed curry and lamb tomahawks marinated with green papaya and kasuri methi.
Marmelo, CBD
This flame grilling spot channels Portugal, its former colonies and the wider Iberian Peninsula into one effortlessly versatile package. Pull up at the green marble bar for Murray cod croquettes and jamón paleta sandwiches, or go big with grilled octopus with Goan curry and a generous arroz de marisco. Finish by sharing the wood-fired olive oil cheesecake for two, a genuinely memorable closer.
Baix, Brighton
Ian Curley, the chef behind French Saloon and Kirk’s Wine Bar, ventured outside the CBD for the first time with this Brighton restaurant and adjoining wine bar 81 Bay. The food is refined but approachable: Wagyu porterhouse, caviar-topped blinis with sour cream and chives. It’s the slick neighbourhood restaurant Brighton has long craved.
Brisbane
The Fifty Six, Brisbane City
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This top-floor restaurant completed a major heritage hospitality development with considerable style. The name honours early Chinese immigrants to Brisbane, while the kitchen delivers refined Cantonese cooking in elegant surroundings. Premium Queensland seafood features prominently, and the approach balances tradition with contemporary sensibility. The room itself, designed by a celebrated local talent, matches the ambition of the food.
Golden Avenue, Brisbane City
The Anyday hospitality group behind Agnes and hôntô made their first inner-city move with this Middle Eastern gem. Designed by J.AR Office with skylights, palm trees and pink juparana granite, the space captures the cuisine’s warmth. A retractable roof means dining under Brisbane’s subtropical sky.
Bar Monte, Newstead
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A coastal hospitality group brought their retro Italian concept to Brisbane with this sizeable Newstead venue. The design evokes post-war nostalgia, while the menu balances familiar comfort with moments of invention. The wine program, overseen by an internationally recognised sommelier, runs deep, and the cocktail list shows similar ambition.
Marlowe, Brisbane
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This charming restaurant occupies a heritage residential building, with a fit-out that leans into mid-century aesthetics. The chef researched vintage cookbooks to develop a menu nodding to an earlier era of Australian dining, resulting in dishes that feel both nostalgic and refreshing. The wine list stays local, and the intimate rooms encourage extended evenings.
Perth
The Meat & Wine Co, South Perth
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The Meat & Wine Co is a premium steakhouse group known for its Afro-centric approach to dining, pairing top-graded steaks from hand-selected Australian farms with an equally headline-worthy wine program. The new South Perth Esplanade venue is a must-visit location, taking over the iconic former Coco’s riverfront site and bringing the brand’s signature high-energy, special-occasion feel to one of Perth’s best dining addresses.
Expect a menu built around steak and seasonal dishes, designed to be matched with boutique and award-focused wine lists—ideal for date nights, celebrations, and anyone who wants a big “night out” atmosphere with their grill.
Adelaide
Mensa, Kent Town
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Mensa is a contemporary Italian eatery in Kent Town (Adelaide), built for long lunches, late dinners, and dessert afters. It leans into classic Italian foundations with a modern, Australian edge, serving elevated takes on staples (think share plates and pasta-led mains), with a separate dolci (dessert) menu that’s very much part of the experience.
Set on The Parade West, it’s an easy pick for a “new and noteworthy” list thanks to its polished, warm fit-out and an offering that suits everything from casual catch-ups to a more celebratory night out.
Make 2026 Your Year of Culinary Discovery
With so many exceptional restaurants scattered across the country, the only challenge is getting to them all. Whether you’re planning a weekend escape to the Mornington Peninsula for Barragunda’s farm-to-table experience, a quick trip to Brisbane to explore the city’s booming dining scene, or a Saturday night pilgrimage to Adelaide’s Mensa, the logistics shouldn’t stand in the way of a great meal.
For time-poor food lovers looking to tick multiple destinations off the list, private jet charter offers a seamless way to turn a single weekend into a multi-city culinary tour. Imagine lunch at Yiaga in Melbourne, dinner at Grandfathers in Sydney and a leisurely Sunday brunch in Brisbane – all without the constraints of commercial flight schedules.
Adagold Aviation specialises in charter flight services across Australia, connecting every capital city and regional destination mentioned in this guide. From intimate turboprops perfect for couples escaping to the Mornington Peninsula, to larger aircraft suited for group charter flights when your entire dinner party wants to travel together, there’s an option for every culinary adventure.
Ready to plan your 2026 dining itinerary? Contact the Adagold team to discuss how private aviation can transform your restaurant wishlist into reality.
