Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Sydney and Melbourne Great Dining???

Headed to AU in April on our UA miles and looking for great dining that may not be on the main pages of a tourist rag - any suggestions? We're splitting a week between these two cities and then a cruise in Tahiti.

Not fussy about fine wines, but love good food and rich desserts.

Hi RussBarnes, you're asking about Australian dining, so you need to ask/look in the Australia/NZ/Pacific Forum (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=461). I would bet this thread is about to board (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=577802)a UA flight itself, there. ;)

Once this thread hits the Australia forum, you could specify in a bit more detail what you're looking for. Overall, you can't really go wrong - and remember that Aussies get paid full wages and do not rely on tips, so read the Aussie tip etiquette thread there, too. :)

You will find the usual suspects, dining wise in Sydney (for Sydney dining) in a few threads.
Here in DiningBuzz there are some discussions about restaurant awards, so you can find some raves about Tetsuya (Kent St, Sydney) and others. [e.g. Quay, Berowra Waters Inn (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=10365060&postcount=1)]

This month the SMH Good Food Guide was released so you can google stories and reviews. I've put in a couple of mentions of places in (more general) threads here and Sydney-specific threads in the Oz forum.

If you use FT Search in this forum (and 'advanced search' for posts by BiziBB and use keywords like Sydney) you will find some review links, too.
If you look in the Australia, Trip Reports and DiningBuzz threads you'll find enough to get a cross section of places.

Aside from restaurant awards, stories, trip reports and news, have a look at local user review sites like eatability.com.au for recent reviews (similar to tripadvisor reviews).

PM me if you have any questions and I hope this helps. :)

Bump, any suggestions?

I went to Quay earlier this week based on SMH's recommendation.

It was dinner time and a table by the window had a great view of the harbour and the Opera House over sunset.

Service was excellent, and the waiter was able to explain the dishes in details and even recommend wines that can accompany the courses.

Dishes and even cocktails have a heavy Asian influence, but I wouldn't classify it as Asian food.

The 4 course (including dessert) meal was beautifully presented and not heavy at all. It's still a reasonably filling meal, but you won't feel bloated. The 8-texture chocolate dessert is a must for chocolate fans. The Ice Green Apple dessert is refreshing especially on a hot day.

Apparently, the lunch menu is a bargain, although I haven't tried that.

One of the great things about Australian food is superb seafood and this is available in both SYD and MEL. Some things are really special (Tasmanian scallops in MEL, John Dory in SYD, and lots of other specialities). Try Chinatown in SYD for great fresh fish, and I like the homey Greek restaurants in MEL (better than the Italian ones, though those are great too). But for high-end, expensive, dining the best in both cities is Italian (Otto's in Syd and in the Crown hotel/casino in MEL). But you need a recommendation to get a good meal at Otto's (maybe your hotel concierge can set you up).

Otto's is over-rated IMNSHO - you "Otto" go someplace else!

My current MEL favourite is Comme, in Alfred Place. Very short walk from the Sofitel, uber wine list, great food that isn't of miniscule Perry-esque proportions.

Other recent Melbourne experiences that get the thumbs-up:

Vin Cellar (Prahran), The Deanery (a lane off the arse-end of Collins St), old favourite Il Solito Posto opposite the awful Jamie Oliver experiment (be sure to book a table in the restaurant - don't rely on the bar menu or you will run screaming in the opposite direction from the 30 foot Tsunami of disappointment that will have you fleeing through the streets on foot), Scusami @ Southbank - too expensive, but damn good, and for a good slab of cow the city Squire's Loft.

I guess it all depends on what your idea of "great" is....

I'm rather unpretentious and everytime I'm in Sydney, right after check-in and a shower, I head to The Fortune of War on George St right across from Circular Quay to have a schooner of New and a pie.

Lovely

I was only in Melb once so I can't comment on pub grub there much.

I have a few suggestions of Melbourne restaurants. Great could have an implication of pretentious and silver service, and these restaurants are not that. However they have good food and wine, and generally good service, combined with atmosphere. I think they typify good Melbourne restaurants.

Brasserie by Philippe Mouchel Modern French
Church Street Enoteca Modern Italian
Cicciolina Mediterranean (Can only book at lunch)
Il Bacaro Italian
Longrain Modern Thai
Maha Middle Eastern
The Press Club Modern Greek (Need to book in advance)
Stokehouse Mediterranean (Need to book in advance)

It could be the Italian restaurant that Number_6 refers to at Crown is Cecconí's. This has now moved to the city.

Hope you enjoy your eating in both Sydney and Melbourne.

Thanks everyone, exactly what I was looking for.

And I apologize for not defining "great". We usually mix up everything from "fine dining" to "local backroom fare" when we travel. "Great" to us is more the experience, the people, the wait staff, the views all coupled with food that makes you want more and something that two years later we can smile about and tease each other about what was ordered.

We have been in restaurants that are owned and operated by Mom and Pop that remind us of home.....and in some that charge more per person than I made a week when I started working, but no matter the service and food blew us away. All are good. We don't like chains that are the same all over the country (whatever country) and we don't go for experimenters that each plate is a new creation. We can go to places around the world that taste the same, but when the taste is new, is remarkable and the wait staff was humorous and clever - that is "GREAT".

If anyone has more, fine, but to all that have helped and those that might - we thank you so much.

Russ

We tried Jamie Oliver's Fifteen restaurant in Melbourne a yr ago, and it was excellent:

http://www.fifteen.net/restaurants/fifteenmelbourne/Pages/default.aspx

Also went to the new Nobu restaurant in MEL.

There is also no shortage of fine dining in SYD, the GPO building alone has many good restaurants in the basement!

Still have yet to try Tetsuya's...:(

Try Ezard's on Flinders Lane, near the corner of Swanston St. It's opposite the Westin, in the basement of the Adelphi Hotel.

Cuisine is quintessential modern Australian cooking, ie with an Asian/fusion accent.

Sensational food and service. :)

old favourite Il Solito Posto opposite the awful Jamie Oliver experiment (be sure to book a table in the restaurant - don't rely on the bar menu or you will run screaming in the opposite direction from the 30 foot Tsunami of disappointment that will have you fleeing through the streets on foot), S

We used to like this place until the attitude was to much to handle.

Personally I liked James Squire down on the King St Wharf/Darling Harbour.
The food was great, and the beer was excellent.

They brew some of their beer on-site, and also carry their other beers straight from their main brewery.
When I go back to Australia, I'm definitely heading over to James Squire again.

I have a few suggestions of Melbourne restaurants.I just saw an interesting Melbourne restaurant on a travel special -- PURE SOUTH. Are you familiar with it? Would you recommend it? It has very mixed reviews on TripAdvisor... Thanks :)

Eatability is a comprehensive source for restaurants :)

http://www.eatability.com.au/au/melbourne/pure_south/

I just saw an interesting Melbourne restaurant on a travel special -- PURE SOUTH. Are you familiar with it? Would you recommend it? It has very mixed reviews on TripAdvisor... Thanks :)I haven't been to Pure South, so can't comment. It's located in Southgate (http://www.southgate-melbourne.com.au/), along with a bunch of other restaurants.

The local "Good Food Guides" are published by the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age (Melbourne), both of which are owned by Fairfax. Locals usually have a copy of their local guide. It appears that they are also on line .... sort of. The interface looks like it was designed by someone who just finished a 'web design 101' class this afternoon but you can find them here Sydney Good Food Guide (http://m.gfg.smh.com.au/HomePage.aspx) and Melbourne Good Food Guide (http://m.gfg.theage.com.au/HomePage.aspx)

It's not like flicking through the printed version and reading the reviews but you can at least search. Their ratings (out of 20) are probably fairly reliable but like anything else in life, YMMV.

There's no shortage of restaurants in both cities. Some good ones have already been mentioned - Scusami (pricey but good), Il Bacaro (ditto), Squire's Loft for a slab of cow... The current 'hot tickets' (whatever they may be - don't ask me!) often need reservations way in advance, particularly places like Movida (http://www.movida.com.au/), Vue de Monde, Press Club etc. If you get out to St. Kilda, Cicciolina (http://www.theage.com.au/news/restaurant-reviews/cicciolina/2005/10/10/1128796454764.html) on Acland Street is usually very good. We've only ever been for lunch but it's always been good.

The local "Good Food Guides" are published by the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age (Melbourne), both of which are owned by Fairfax. Locals usually have a copy of their local guide. It appears that they are also on line .... sort of. The interface looks like it was designed by someone who just finished a 'web design 101' class this afternoon but you can find them here Sydney Good Food Guide (http://m.gfg.smh.com.au/HomePage.aspx) and Melbourne Good Food Guide (http://m.gfg.theage.com.au/HomePage.aspx)

The site is designed for the mobile devices, so they're a bit 'basic'. It's actually very handy for using over the phone.

I just saw an interesting Melbourne restaurant on a travel special -- PURE SOUTH. Are you familiar with it? Would you recommend it? It has very mixed reviews on TripAdvisor... Thanks :)

I have dined at Pure South a few times and it has always been very good..though I recall it was at relatively quiet times. The service at many places can suffer when they are busy.

Thanks one and all. Time escaped us and we never had what I would call a great meal in Sydney.

However in Melbourne we went to the Bistro Guillaume for a treat. It is in the Crown and the service and food were excellent.

We also went to the Brasserie in the Crown, but the service and food selection wasn't up to what we desired.

Loved AU and would go back again if it wasn't so far away.

Thanks one and all. Time escaped us and we never had what I would call a great meal in Sydney.

However in Melbourne we went to the Bistro Guillaume for a treat. It is in the Crown and the service and food were excellent.

We also went to the Brasserie in the Crown, but the service and food selection wasn't up to what we desired.

Loved AU and would go back again if it wasn't so far away.Glad to hear you enjoyed your trip, even if the food was a bit mixed - there are a lot more restaurants so come back again ... it's no that far .... :)