Best Dining Bets

Rockpool (Sydney, NSW): with the chefs on view and designer chairs to sit on, Rockpool is a consistent favorite, not least for its fabulous, inventive food.

Mezzaluna (Sydney, NSW): Come here for exquisite food, flawless service, and a great view across the city's western skyline. The main dining room opens onto an all-weather terrace kept warm in winter by giant, overhead fan heaters. Don't miss it.

Quay (Sydney, NSW): Sydney's best seafood restaurant offers perhaps the loveliest view in town. Gaze through the large windows toward the Opera House, the city skyline, the North Shore suburbs, and the Harbour Bridge.

Tetsuya's (Sydney, NSW): Chef Tetsuya Wakuda is arguably Sydney's most famous chef, and his nouveau Japanese creations are imaginative enough to guarantee that this hip eatery is a constant number one in Australia.

e'cco bistro (Brisbane, QLD): Simple food, elegantly done, has won this small but elegant bistro a stack of awards, and you'll soon see why. Not least among its titles is Australia's top restaurant award, the Remy Martin Cognac/Gourmet Traveller Restaurant of the Year. Booking ahead is essential.

Fishlips Bar & Bistro (Cairns, QLD): Clever ways with fresh seafood and other Aussie ingredients -- think crocodile -- make this cheerful blue beach house a real winner, the pick of the bunch in Cairns.

Fraser's (Perth, WA): The city center and Swan River sparkling in the sunshine seem so close that you can almost reach out and touch them from the terrace of this parkland restaurant. Come here for sensationally good Modern Australian food turned out with flair and flavor; seafood is a specialty.

Newtown House (Vasse, near Margaret River, WA): Chef Stephen Reagan makes intelligent, flavorsome food that beautifully partners with premium Margaret River wines. Stay in his homestead B&B overnight and explore the wineries the next day.

Prairie Hotel (Flinders Ranges, SA): Chef Darren ("Bart") Brooks serves high-class cuisine in the middle of nowhere. His "feral" foods, such as kangaroo tail soup and a mixed grill of emu sausages, camel steak, and kangaroo, is remarkable.

Flower Drum (Melbourne, VIC): Praise pours in for this upscale eatery serving Cantonese food. The food is exquisite and the service impeccable.

The Tryst (Canberra, ACT): Canberra has far grander and more expensive restaurants, but this place has found a spot in our hearts for its constantly delicious food. It's also relaxed, feeling almost communal on busy nights.

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