Australia's dining scene is vibrant, dynamic and, most importantly, filled with delicious new flavours to try. From farm-to-fork spots that make use of super-fresh produce to sleek city destinations with skyline views and the prettiest plates, there's an array of outstanding eateries to choose from. We've handpicked the very best restaurants the country has to offer.

Click or scroll through our gallery to discover Australia's finest restaurants and dining experiences, counting down to the best of all. 

We've based our ranking on genuine user reviews, awards and accolades, and the first-hand experience of our well-travelled (and well-fed) team. This list is unavoidably subjective. 

Since opening on the rooftop of COMO The Treasury hotel, Wildflower has bloomed into one of Perth's most loved restaurants. With sweeping city views, the restaurant offers farmer and forager-driven menus, serving dishes that revolve around an indigenous Noongar calendar – which features six seasons, rather than four. Guests can expect dishes such as dry-aged Wagin duck with rhubarb and redback ginger, and line-caught wild fish with young coconut.

In an idyllic dining space overlooking the Magill Estate vineyard, chef Scott Huggins presents dishes he says are a 'combination of refinement, magic and flavour'. A journey through incredible texture and flavour combinations, the restaurant's exquisite dishes are cooked over fire and coal – and the menu changes regularly, based on seasonal ingredients. If you'd really like to treat yourself, splash out on the sommelier's wine pairings.

The brainchild of Neil Parry, one of Australia's most influential chefs, Margaret was named 2023's Best New Restaurant by Gourmet Traveller – and it's easy to see why. Predominantly a seafood restaurant, Margaret benefits from the relationships Parry has built with suppliers over his decades-long career. Seafood is caught sustainably and dry filleted onsite, and there's an extensive menu, with dishes changing daily depending on the seasonal produce available. Highlights include New Zealand kingfish ceviche; lamb cutlets crusted with chermoula (a North African relish); and Eastern Rock lobster with lime and sambal dressing. 

Just a short drive away from Cairns, Nu Nu Restaurant is set on an idyllic beachfront in Palm Cove – an enclave of luxury hotels, fine dining restaurants and palm-fringed beach. Nu Nu’s menu focuses on food that complements the coastal surroundings; think coral trout and pork spring rolls, and spanner crab with avocado, lime and butter brioche.  

A restaurant specialising in modern Chinese cuisine, Lee Ho Fook – meaning ‘good fortune for your mouth’ – was set up by chef-owner Victor Liong in 2013, and it’s gone from strength to strength ever since. Here, diners can expect modern and creative takes on the cuisine of China and its surrounding regions, proudly made with premium local ingredients. Tempting dishes include pickled mussels with chilli oil, fennel and nasturtium vinegar; Hong Kong–style wagyu with salt and pepper chips; and 10-day dry aged Peking duck, served with pancakes and all the traditional accompaniments.

This small neighbourhood restaurant has won locals over with its friendly staff, excellent wine selection and weekly changing set menu. Set up by co-owners Matthew Breen and Chris Chapple, the space is cosy and rustic, with exposed brick walls and a giant chalkboard menu taking centre stage. Specialising in modern Australian cuisine, but with nods to Italian flavours and dishes, the team focuses on seasonal produce, rustling up all kinds of delights using locally sourced, sustainable seafood and meats.

Award-winning Melbourne restaurant Attica is a regular feature on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list, all thanks to chef Ben Shewry's masterful storytelling through food. He's known for embracing overlooked Australian ingredients, and for celebrating the many rich and varied culinary cultures the country has fostered throughout its history. The restaurant's tasting menu changes regularly, but always includes impeccably presented dishes bursting with flavour. 

Surrounded by Adelaide Botanic Garden, this beautiful restaurant is inspired by the micro-seasons that occur within the garden itself, taking each day’s weather as it comes. Here, the dining experience lasts for at least four hours, with over 26 different flavour combinations to excite your senses. The menu is constantly evolving, but could include the likes of emu egg chawanmushi (a savoury Japanese custard) with wallaby tea, caviar and lemongrass; sea urchin with Murray cod, emu liver and lime; and chocolate-covered sorrel stem with botanic seeds.  

In the small, picturesque town of Dunkeld, the Royal Mail Hotel boasts impressive views of the Grampian Ranges – the fertile land where most of the restaurant’s produce is sourced. Menu items are inspired by daily harvests from the orchards and vegetable patches, while the hotel's own farm provides the lamb and beef that features in the meat plate (which is considered by many to be the restaurant's star dish).

Liking this? Click on the Follow button above for more great stories from loveFOOD

GOMA Restaurant delivers as contemporary and creative an experience as its setting: Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art. With a focus on local ingredients, the eatery works with growers and suppliers to source produce at its peak. The innovative menu shines with items like Toowoomba pork loin roulade with celeriac remoulade, and Valrhona chocolate delice with blackberry and yuzu. 

Bursting with rustic charm, this farm-to-fork restaurant sits on a working farm that’s been in the same family for five generations. What once started as original bush has since transformed into land that’s blooming with possibilities, from rich vineyards to vegetable gardens – and the restaurant takes full advantage of the bounty of produce available. Full of nutritious seasonal ingredients, the tasting menus feature wood-fired dishes, as well as fermented, pickled and baked delights. Expect to be wowed by the simplicity and freshness of the restaurant's homely fare.

Though it's named after the Italian word for fig, Fico isn't just an Italian restaurant. While chef-owners Federica Andrisani and Oskar Rossi are heavily influenced by Italian cooking traditions, their dishes are inspired by cuisines from all over the world. Made using local, seasonal and sustainable produce, the menu changes weekly, but recent highlights include raviolone pasta stuffed with hare Bolognese, and lemon risotto with Tasmanian sea urchin.  

A contemporary restaurant nestled in a hillside organic farm in Birregurra, Brae attracts guests with an ever-changing seasonal menu – starring its own produce and locally sourced seafood. Due to its constantly evolving menu, the restaurant doesn't have a signature dish; however, you can expect plenty of farm-fresh produce, transformed into a selection of remarkable plates that regularly land Brae on 'best restaurants' lists.

Set among jarrah forests and rolling landscapes, Millbrook Winery has serious wow-factor – and that’s before you’ve even visited the award-winning on-site restaurant. Millbrook Restaurant has a garden-to-table approach, highlighting seasonal fare produced on site, as well as locally sourced meat and fish. The menu is always evolving, and with over 100 varieties of heirloom vegetables and an orchard at the restaurant's disposal, each dish is practically guaranteed to be bursting with the freshest of fresh flavours.

Working with local farmers and producers, Essa’s ethos centres around environmental practices. The kitchen is headed up by co-owner Phil Marchant, and its seasonally changing menu is packed with delights – expect dishes such as confit duck terrine; wood-fired John Dory; and watermelon sorbet. The restaurant also hosts a Sunday School, offering a chance for friends and family to come together, share food and get into the party spirit.

This intimate restaurant serves a seven-course tasting menu every evening, filled with all sorts of culinary delights. The chefs here like to surprise guests as much as possible, offering what they call ‘nostalgic flavours, complex dishes and flavours we are excited about’. Foodies can look forward to dishes such as squid pici – featuring barbecued squid and handmade bone marrow pici (thick, long pasta) in a black onion and mushroom sauce – and steak and zippy salad, which combines Rangers Valley wagyu, barbecued tomato butter, umami cream and garden greens.

Overseen by chef Andrew McConnell, Cutler & Co. serves pretty, clever plates filled with thoughtful flavour combinations and seasonal ingredients. Expect the likes of a giant fruits de mer seafood platter; pan-roasted scallops with apple and kombu beurre blanc; and rum savarin (a ring-shaped cake), served with candied kumquats and buffalo ricotta ice cream. Located inside a former metalworks factory, the space is filled with character, from its exposed brick walls and giant glass façade to its cosy leather-lined booths.  

Overlooking Darwin's waterfront lagoon is Wharf One Food & Wine, a fun, casual spot that focuses on wood grill cooking. It's best known for its delightful menu of tapas-style dishes; small plates include red wine-pickled scallops, and spiced duck breast with goats' cheese and mint dressing. The restaurant also offers a special treat to parties of 10 or more: order 24 hours in advance, and you could be feasting on a whole roast suckling pig, carved at the table and served with all the trimmings. 

A breathtaking restaurant that's been honoured with numerous Australian Good Food Guide Chef Hats, Vue de Monde offers guests an international food and wine experience, predominantly drawing on flavours from France. It has an ever-changing tasting menu thanks to executive chef Hugh Allen, who honed his trade at several Michelin-starred restaurants. Located on the Rialto building's 55th floor, the restaurant also boasts stunning views across Melbourne.

One of the finest places in Sydney to enjoy wine with fantastic food, Bentley Restaurant & Bar offers a choice of à la carte dishes, a seven-course tasting menu, and a bar menu that's filled with amazing nibbles and more serious eats. With chef Brent Savage at the helm and sommelier Nick Hildebrandt taking care of the wine list, the restaurant pays particular attention to its food and drinks pairings, which have bagged it countless awards. 

Crowned a Delicious 100 restaurant in 2022, and voted the top restaurant in South Australia in 2018 by Financial Review, Africola in Adelaide plays with North African and Middle Eastern flavours to create fun, exciting food. Menu highlights include Boston Bay pork loin with mustard leaf gremolata, and Coorong mullet with green tomato and capers. The restaurant is also renowned for its vegan offerings.

A stand-out restaurant from executive chef Peter Gilmore, Bennelong showcases the diversity of Australian cuisine, elevating classic Aussie dishes with the finest ingredients – not to mention an eclectic presentation style. Repeatedly ranked among Australia's best restaurants (along with its sister restaurant, Quay), Bennelong is also known for being housed within the iconic Sydney Opera House. Don't leave without trying one of the restaurant's most delicious desserts: the pavlova inspired by its location (pictured).

In 2012, a corner fish and chip shop in Stanmore was transformed into this beautifully designed modern Australian restaurant, which is now helmed by chef-owner Daniel Puskas and chef Tony Schifilliti. With mid-century Scandinavian swagger, Sixpenny serves an ever-changing tasting menu featuring produce sourced from its own vegetable plot. Expect imaginative dishes such as squid with koji butter, and dry-aged pork loin with purple carrots. 

With more awards than we could possibly list, Saint Peter is one of Australia's brightest and most exquisite restaurants. Led by chef Josh Neiland, this place is all about seafood, and the delicious dishes that can be created from a single fish. Focusing on the ethos of cooking sustainably sourced seafood (and using as much of every fish and shellfish as possible), the menu features dishes like wild kingfish with oyster cream, and tuna with roast artichokes. The restaurant is set to relocate to The Grand National Hotel in July 2024.

After several years working at a Michelin-starred restaurant in France, Dan Arnold returned to Brisbane to set up his own restaurant in 2018 – with the aim of showcasing Australian flavours and techniques. The restaurant has since gone on to garner quite a reputation, offering innovative tasting menus made with ingredients from small local producers. Expect dishes such as coral trout with pine mushroom and beurre noisette; lamb with cauliflower and pomegranate; and wagyu with foie gras.  

Overlooking Sydney Cove, Quay boasts breathtaking views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge – and is, perhaps, Australia's most famous restaurant. With just as aesthetically pleasing dishes served by executive chef Peter Gilmore, Quay uses unusual ingredients sourced from around Australia. A four-course tasting menu is available at weekends only, while six- and eight-course options are on offer the rest of the time. Graze on dishes such as confit pig jowl, or freshwater marron (Australian crayfish) with egg yolk mustard butter. 

This once-in-a-lifetime dining experience is located in the Outback, with an uninterrupted view of Uluru. One of Australia's most famous places to eat, Tali Wiru was awarded an Australian Good Food Guide Chef Hat in 2024. Its seasonal menu might include such delights as yellowtail kingfish with yuzu pearls, or a desert honey mousse served with Kakadu plum compote, matcha sponge and a honey tuile. 

Now discover 30 amazing foods you can only find in Australia

Liked this? Click on the Follow button above for more great stories from loveFOOD