Brae voted Australia’s top restaurant

Dan Hunter’s rural Victorian fine diner Brae has been voted Australia’s top restaurant for 2018.

The Australian Financial Review’s Top 100 Restaurants awards have seen Brae take out the top honours for the second year running.

Brae was also awarded the Best Service Team, a nod for Simon Freeman who served his last Brae lunch on Monday. Freeman had been with Hunter and his wife and business partner Julianne Bagnato since they opened the restaurant in 2013.

But 29 year old Josh Niland of Sydney’s St. Peter took out Australia’s Top Chef award. It was a distinctive moment as Hunter had won that award last year.

The other restaurants in the top 10 list were Ester, Saint Peter, Attica, Africola, Momofuku Seiobo, Embla, Sepia and Fleet.

But what was distinctive about these awards, held at Sydney’s Art Gallery of NSW, was the recognition of the regional restaurants.

One example was the Agrarian Kitchen in New Norfolk, just a half hour drive north of Hobart. It took out the Top Newcomer Award, recognising the work of young female chef Ali Curren-Voumard.

Restaurant critic and awards co-ordinator Terry Durack said Brae deserved the top award. 

“Brae is Australia’s ultimate farm to table restaurant,” Durack told the Australian Financial Review. “I love that the top restaurant in Australia has more chooks than it has guests, the 15 course tasting menu experience us three to four hours long and dessert us a parsnip.” 

The Australian Financial Review’s Top 100 Restaurants voting system allows chefs and restaurateurs to vote for their peers.

Awards co-director Jill Dupleix told the Australian Financial Review that this year’s awards saw a trend of chefs "doing one thing well. If regional, then sticking to their own patch in terms of local and seasonal, and if in urban areas, concentrating on one protein, such as fish, or technique, such as fire. It's a maturing of the industry."

Leon Getler 3rd July 2018.

Image credit - Otway Escapes