The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2025, featuring the best restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs across NSW and ACT, has been launched in front of a sea of foodies at a ceremony held in the Sydney Opera House tonight.
Also launched was the subscription-based Good Food app – available as part of Nine’s premium digital packages for subscribers of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, or as a standalone subscription.
Featuring more than 900 reviews from the SMH and Age guides, the app will be an interactive digital home for food and drink lovers containing recipes, Critics’ Picks and lists of the best restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs.
See also: Nine Upfront 2025 – Good Food app launching in November for SMH and Age subscribers
The annual Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide has been recognising the best chefs and restaurants since 1984, and this year’s Guide is a compilation of 500 independent reviews visited by a team of critics over the past eight months.
The Sydney awards ceremony – supported by long-term co-presenting partner Vittoria Coffee and co-presenting partner Oceania Cruises – was held at the Sydney Opera House. Five hundred chefs, restaurateurs and industry legends from NSW and Canberra’s dining and drink scenes gathered as 15 awards, along with the coveted hat awards, were announced.
Paul Farag from Alalia took out the coveted Oceania Cruises Chef of the Year award for his innovative approach to Middle Eastern food.
Good Food: 152 restaurants awarded one or more hats
This year’s Guide includes 152 restaurants awarded one or more hats: four restaurants received three hats, 36 restaurants received two hats and 113 restaurants received one hat. The three hat winners were Oncore by Clare Smyth, Sixpenny, Quay and, for the first time, Saint Peter.
With the industry undergoing a cultural change, a new award was introduced this year for Cultural Change Champion. Awarded to Women and Revolution, the inaugural award recognises the movement for fostering a positive, safe and empowering work environment for women in hospitality.
Iconic Australian chef Bill Granger was posthumously awarded the Vittoria Coffee Legend Award. The globally-renowned chef passed away nearly 12 months ago but his legacy on the food industry will last forever.
Named in Granger’s honour is a new award recognising a person, team or business approaching things from their own perspective and pushing Australian food forward. The Bill Granger Trailblazer Award was handed to Baba’s Place in Marrickville.
“Baba’s Place is a celebration of the suburban Sydney experience, grounded in the stories of immigrant families and their shared experiences of food and cooking. Like Bill Granger’s cafes embodied a particular sense of Australia, Baba’s Place does the same, proudly drawing on the Lebanese, Macedonian and Greek heritages of its co-owners,” said Callan Boys, The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide editor. “Plus they do a great taramasalata on toast, which looks a bit like an Iced VoVo.”
The new Good Food app
Firepop in Enmore took out New Restaurant of the Year, presented by Aurum Poultry Co, while You Beauty in Bangalow was named Regional Restaurant of the Year.
The Critics’ Pick Of The Year was awarded to Blacktown restaurant Gursha Ethiopian. The restaurant is a regular meeting place for East African families with an atmosphere described by critics: ‘There is laughter, there is music, and the air is heavy with incense and potent coffee’.
Luke Bourke, who works as sous chef at Rockpool Bar & Grill, was awarded Young Chef of the Year, presented by Smeg.
The Oceania Cruises Service Excellence Award was given to Maureen Er from The White Horse, in Surry Hills, while Stonefruit restaurant and wine bar in Tenterfield, in the NSW New England region, was awarded Oceania Cruises Drinks List of the Year.
Cafe of the Year went to Ona Coffee in Marrickville; Double Deuce Lounge took out Best Bar; Sommelier of the Year was awarded to Caitlin Baker from Such and Such in Canberra; and the Food for Good award was handed to Rice Fund, Soul of Chinatown.
Edited by Callan Boys and David Matthews, The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2025 reviews have been undertaken by a team of esteemed critics including Boys, Terry Durack, Jill Dupleix and Sarah Norris, all of whom review independently and anonymously.
“While the Good Food Guide is the home of the hats, it continues to evolve across various price points, cuisines, styles and suburbs, offering an annual snapshot of the most exciting, outstanding venues you need to know about,” said Sarah Norris, Head of Food for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Brisbane Times and WAToday.
“With money tighter than ever for most diners, people want to know where they should spend their money, and be able to trust those recommendations. The guide, and the new Good Food app, takes the guesswork out of finding the perfect spot for you to eat, no matter what the occasion.”
The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2025 magazine is available from newsagents, supermarkets and thestore.com.au for $14.95 from Tuesday, November 12 and tonight via the Good Food app. The app is available as part of Nine’s premium digital packages for subscribers of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, or as a standalone subscription.
The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2025 award winners
Vittoria Coffee Restaurant of the Year: Saint Peter
Oceania Cruises Chef of the Year: Paul Farag (Alalia)
New Restaurant of the Year, presented by Aurum Poultry Co: Firepop
Vittoria Coffee Regional Restaurant of the Year: You Beauty, Bangalow
Oceania Cruises Service Excellence Award: Maureen Er (White Horse)
Young Chef of the Year, presented by Smeg: Luke Bourke (Rockpool Bar & Grill)
Sommelier of the Year: Caitlin Baker (Such and Such, Canberra)
Drinks List of the Year: Stonefruit in Tenterfield
Vittoria Coffee Legend Award: Bill Granger
Cafe of the Year: Ona Coffee, Marrickville
Bar of the Year: Double Deuce Lounge
Cultural Change Champion: Women and Revolution
Critic’s Pick Award: Gursha Ethiopian, Blacktown
Bill Granger Trailblazer Award: Baba’s Place
Food for Good, presented by Lightspeed: Rice Fund, Soul of Chinatown