Chef-hatted and awarded restaurants
Updated 26 Feb 2024
A foodie’s guide to a selection of hatted and awarded restaurants in the Capital.
Restaurant-goers are more than spoilt for choice when it comes to fine dining in the capital. Canberra is a culinary paradise of chef-hatted and award-winning restaurants.
To be awarded a chef hat is a high honour in a chef’s career and a notable achievement in a restaurant’s history. The prestigious ‘hats’ are presented by the Australian Good Food Guide, who use precise award criteria on ingredients, taste, presentation, technique, value and consistency, on food alone.
Here is a curated selection of culinary heroes leading the gastronomic pack. But don’t take our word for it, be the judge yourself to tip your hat to these highly coveted restaurants in Canberra.
Header image by Botantist Creative.
Experience precision and artfulness at Raku
For an award-winning dining experience worth remembering for decades – RAKU delivers in spades. Sit at the bench and watch the chefs as they slice sashimi and craft dumplings or hole up in one of the sculptural timber booths and ignore the rest of the world. Whichever option you choose, you’re assured of a memorable dining experience.
Be wowed at Pilot.
Pilot is fine dining, but not as you’re used to it. A restaurant built on pure hospitality and delicious Australian ingredients, Pilot’s chic fit-out and seven course degustation menu is sure to leave you satisfied, impressed, and deeply comfortable. They boast a smart, low-fuss experience and love hearing the phrase, “just treat us” from their patrons. And treat you, they will.
Enjoy relaxed luxury at Such and Such
Canberra’s dining scene is waiting to surprise you, and Such and Such is the perfect marvel to kick things off. This quirky eatery boasted the title of New Restaurant of the Year in the Good Food Awards – across Canberra and New South Wales – in 2023. And if that title alone isn’t enough for you to travel to Canberra for an impressive meal, then we’re not sure what is.
Dine at consecutively awarded Courgette
Awarded more hats that it could conceivably store in its cloakroom, Courgette is one of a clutch of Canberra restaurants that justly practices the art of fine dining. A la carte or degustation menus cover every option, and the wine list is comprehensive.
Leave it to the chef at Mu Omakase
Did you know Omakase translates to 'I’ll leave it up to you’?
Mu Omakase, a hidden nook in the city, is helmed by master sushi chef, Shinya Nakano. In this style of Japanese dining customers entrust their meal entirely to the chef, who will select and serve a customised menu based on the best-in-market that day. With the chef serving the dishes to you directly, you know you’re in for a treat. The menu options of either 12-14 or 16-18 courses are worth your time and tastebuds.
Experience Japanese Peruvian fusion at Inka
With a wealth of culinary experience, Chef Michael Muir serves a modern take on Japanese Nikkei style cuisine at Inka. Depending on the occasion, dine from their degustation or a la carte menus. Food aside, the multi-level, highly enchanting art deco inspired venue is a feast for the eyes of its own accord. It’s for good reason that Inka was named a finalist in the Master Builders Australia ACT Awards in 2021.
Meet Vincent
The National Triangle is home to some of Canberra’s most important cultural institutions, as well as the surprising concept restaurant, Vincent. They specialise in pairing exquisite food with unconventional, specifically sourced wines from around the world. This restaurant oozes a laid-back atmosphere but boasts a fine-dining experience, with a long communal bar to comfortably seat groups or couples looking for a place to relax over a glass of wine.
Share a plate at Onzieme
Captained by owner and hatted-chef Louis Couttoupes, you can find Onzieme quietly shining in the heart of old-world Kingston. This pared-back bistro was declared ACT Restaurant of the Year by Gourmet Traveller in 2023 and is best known for its small plates and cheerful, natural wines. With an altering menu based on supply and spontaneity, there’ll be something different to try each time you return.
Delight in Mod Oz at Lamsheds
There’s something about the refined yet playful wine bar that is Lamsheds, that keeps patrons coming back for more. Tucked away at the Yarralumla shops, Lamsheds is an upmarket neighbourhood eatery where the food is adventurous, and the service is warm. Mod Oz share plates are the name of the game here.
Try innovative dishes at Rebel Rebel
Eat in style at Rebel Rebel, where each dish that graces the table is an ingenious masterpiece. Offering all-day dining in the heart of the artistic New Acton precinct, this all-purpose dining experience offers not only a sophisticated meal, but an extensive wine list to enjoy alongside your meal or even an on-site bottle shop so you can take a bottle with you to enjoy later.
Pull up a chair at Table Canberra
Experience culinary mastery at its finest at Table Canberra, a distinguished 2-chef-hat restaurant helmed by Michelin-star-awarded Chef, Thomas Heinrich. Located in the picturesque south Canberra, you're invited to embark on a gastronomic journey that transcends expectations. The menu promises a dining experience that resonates with ambiance and humble charm.
Be surprised by Pomegranate
Tucked away in an unassuming part of the bustling Kingston precinct is Pomegranate. Delivering simple, tasty food that is Modern Australian with a Mediterranean influence, Pomegranate is open for lunch and dinner. Meals are served in a relaxed and friendly environment with beautiful surroundings where diners can enjoy a relaxing atmosphere, quality food, and wine with family and friends.
Uncover more dining options
Discover destination dining, cultural icons, family adventures and local secrets shared by Canberrans in the Canberra Visitor Guide 2024.
Find out what’s on (and what’s free!) to help plan your trip to the capital this year.
View the guide online (not suitable for mobile devices) or download the guide.
