“It may be pricey, but for a big night out, it’s unrivalled,” Apelgren said.
Meanwhile, Regional Restaurant of the Year went to Provenance in Beechworth. The restaurant’s chef, Michael Ryan, was also named Citibank Chef of the Year.
Brand new restaurants put in a strong showing. Plumm Wine Glasses Best New Restaurant Pei Modern was one of seven newly hatted venues opening in the past 12 months. Best New Regional Restaurant was Gladioli at Inverleigh. On the other side of the coin, though, six hatted restaurants from last year have closed.
Proving that the competition is fierce and Melbourne’s dining standards are high, fewer hats were awarded this year compared to last year – 75 compared to 81.
New trends in Victorian restaurant businesses
The Age Good Food Guide 2013 – highlights include -
- 120 new entries from 600 brand new reviews
- Gertrude Street Fitzroy near the CBD has emerged as the food epicentre of Melbourne with nine entries within a kilometer
- Rabbit, roo and wallaby are appearing on menus more and more
- Kitchen gardens are popping up everywhere
- On the rise are raw food menus, bar dining and placemat menus
“A key trend we saw was the ‘nip and tuck’ effect. Many venues got smaller or altered their offerings to suit the times,” said Apelgren.
The Age Good Food Guide 2013 has been re-formatted this year into an easier-to-carry size.
“Despite more challenging times for the industry overall, this guide proves that Melbourne and the state’s regions continue to set incredibly high standards for everything from food to service to wine,” added Apelgren.
The Age Good Food Guide Fast Facts: Every year, each restaurant is revisited and freshly reviewed. 66 reviewers were dispatched around the state to visit and review more than 600 restaurants — from the far west to the state’s far east of the State of Victoria The reviewing process takes seven months and involves as many as four visits to some restaurants to check menus, chefs, staff, style and changes The Age Good Food Guide 2013 is on sale from Tuesday August 28 and usually retails for $24.99 from bookstores but for the first time will be offered at the special price of $10 with purchase of The Saturday Age from newsagents on September 1.
