Food & Drink

Sometimes it pays to be a little over-the-top, which should explain the success of The Thirsty Wolf’s colourful “Unicorn Month” which recently ran throughout November. It’s pretty straight forward, for an entire month the popular Newtown bar replaced a typical Melbourne cup celebrate with a four-week homage to a different breed of horse, channeling the…

Canadian Club are getting in on that slice of summer celebration by introducing pop-up racquet clubs across Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane for December and January. In an effort to build anticipation for one of the country’s largest annual sporting events, the Australian Open, the pop ups will be using some of the country’s best known…

After three months of renovations, Crowne Plaza Surfers Paradise has unveiled some enhancement to their public spaces as well as two new dining venues, a wine bar named Balthazar and a specialty restaurant named SIFU, both located on the ground floor of the popular hotel. Having been named for a 12 litre wine bottle, Balthazar…

Melbourne go-to Dukes Coffee Roasters has officially expanded to Sydney with South by Dukes, a slick new venue in the lower of Tower One in the Streets of Barangaroo precinct. Long known as one of the most highly-regarded specialty coffee roasters in Melbourne, Dukes has built a sizable following for their signature beans which are…

Following the successful entry of Yayoi into the Australian dining scene, Japan-based company Plenus have begun what they hope will be a nationwide expansion for another one of the popular brand’s, Hotto Motto. The well known bento box chain, which boasts around 2,656 locations world wide, has chosen Sydney’s The Galeries as their first port…

One of Bondi’s best known venues, the beachside Hotel Ravesis, has pushed into the summer holidays with a complete refurbishment, revealing what is perhaps one of the area’s largest and most impressive changes in years. The two-storey space now has brand new interiors for the ground-floor, the balcony and the restaurant & bar spaces, as…

Rockpool Dining Group’s rapidly expanding Saké Jr has just seen a second venue open up for Melbourne, this time at St Collins Lane. The popular fast-casual spin off to Sake Restaurant & Bar debuted earlier this year as part of a larger expansion for Urban Purveyor Group (now Rockpool Dining Group following a merger with…

After being named fastest growing food chain last year, Guzman Y Gomez have designs on expanding their Mexican fast food beyond expectations come 2017, recently announcing at least 12 drive-through outlets to roll out across Australia over the next 12 months. As reported by The Australian, the popular Mexican chain [which honestly deserves the praise]…

For the past few years, locals and visitors have been watching Jupiters Gold Coast stand at the forefront of an enormous wave of change for the area. 2015 and 2016 especially have seen the tourist destination take on a dramatic evolution ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth Games, from artists taking over nearby hotels to a…

Concealed on Reservoir Street in Surry Hills, Bangbang Café remains a refuge for fresh salads, take-away coffee and gluttonous burgers, a menu which in the past year or so has placed the modest business in prime position on the front line of Sydney’s ongoing burger war. It oozes casual cool from its open, sun-lit shop…

A warm Summer’s day became cooler as the breeze off the Woolloomooloo water blew towards The Frisco Hotel that lies one block away from the water. Tightly-wound townhouses are stacked up the street, as the maritime blue poles of the nautical themed herald a new era for the long-standing pub. Under new management, the 13-week…

One of Queensland’s most awarded burger shacks, Betty’s Burgers & Concrete Co. (often referred to as just Betty’s Burgers), has long been a staple for burger fiends and visitors up north. Their three stores, the flagship in Noosa and the subsequent openings in Surfers Paradise and Robina, have remained in such high regard that it’s…

2016 has been a big step forward for Jameson, especially seeing as this year saw them unveil a whole new family of expressions celebrating the heritage and craft that swirls around the hugely popular Irish blend. Their whiskeys have always been greatly received around the world so watching them push their Whiskey Maker’s adventurous range…

The new Yeezy Boost 350 v2 “Core White” release is one of the sexiest pairs to come out of the now iconic, “queue for days” collaboration between adidas and Kanye West. The fever-pitch demand each time a different expression of these bad boys hits the worldwide market is kind of ridiculous, but easily justified if…

Now that we’re in December, Melburnians are no doubt scrambling to lock in those perfect NYE plans, and with so many options available around the most liveable city in the world, one is definitely going to need some help sorting through all that’s on offer. Pretty much every venue around Melbourne will be trying to…

Celebrated Japanese chef Chase Kojima, he who has brought us both Sokyo in Sydney and Kiyomi in Broadbeach, will see his third Australian restaurant and first permanent casual venue, Gojima, open at The Star Sydney this week. This 70-seat eatery is a bit different from the other two though, it’s fashioned as a premium rice…

Sydneysiders are well familiar with Bistro Moncur in Woollahra; the hatted french bistro occupying the upstairs area of The Woollahra Hotel has long been a dining go-to with food now overseen by renowned chef Guillaume Brahimi, who serves as the Group Culinary Ambassador for owners Public House Management Group. Recently, the brand extended to include…

A new weekend festival will be arriving to Melbourne in January as Velodrome Events, the teams behind the likes of Red Bennies and Beyond the Valley, presents their Velodrome Food Truck Festival, a four day celebration of food, music and…Mexican wrestling. It’ll be taking place over the Australia Day weekend from 26th to 29th January,…

Now that we’re in December, Sydneysiders are no doubt scrambling to lock in those perfect NYE plans, and with so many options available around the famed Harbour City, one is definitely going to need some help sorting through all that’s on offer. Pretty much every venue around Sydney will be trying to coax you through…

Merivale weren’t about to end 2016 quietly, playing one last card for Christmas just weeks after unveiling Paddington’s well-received double-venue Fred’s and Charlie Parker’s. It now feels like a long time ago when Merivale announced that they had purchased Enmore’s historic Queen Victoria Hotel, and for over a year we’ve been slowly drip-fed info about…

Hardys Wines, the official wine partner of Cricket Australia, is now edging into the Hardys Wines Summer of Cricket as Australians gear up for the season. To celebrate, we’ve teamed with them to give away a money can’t buy experience to one lucky AU Review reader, featuring quite a bit of wine, a date with…

Gelato Messina have gotten a bit cheeky with their latest Christmas creation, a cake which depicts the fate awaiting Santa if he’s planning to visit Sydney this year. “This year’s Christmas cake signifies the real life situation you could end up in this Christmas if Mike Baird gets his wicked way and keeps Sydney on…

The Star Sydney are certainly putting their dedicated pop-up restaurant space to good use. Within the past 12 months this space within the property’s food hub has seen temporary digs from the likes of Chase Kojima with Sokyo Ramen, followed by Singapore Hawker Style, and more recently Luke Nguyen’s Street Food. Now Teage Ezard of…

The team behind successful contemporary Chinese brand Chef’s Gallery have just added to Chippendale’s Kensington St precinct in a big way, launching their very own dedicated duck restaurant Holy Duck!. Duck and other meats take centre stage at the quirky street food inspired diner-slash-burger joint, all showcased on a fusion style menu that looks to…

Forget Port Melbourne, forget Brunswick… things are happening in the little suburb of Northcote that will challenge the most established of Melbourne food hubs. The area now boasts high end restaurants like Estelle by Scott Pickett, St Kilda sweethearts Radio Mexico’s second spot, Norte,  and now the brand new, totally chic, must-visit brunch spot, Tinker….

Welcome to Burger Watch, where we acknowledge the constant creativity bursting from all sides of the epic burger wave that sweeps Australia every week. The highest of high demand is reserved for this timeless food staple and just about every interpretation of it, whether it to be an over-the-top glutton-fest or a focus on simple…

With summer heating up the words “popsicle cocktails” are two of the sweetest things you can hear, and luckily for Sydneysiders the icy concoctions are currently being offered by a Belvedere Ice-Pop Bar which has been set up Hilton Sydney’s famed Zeta Bar. The well established rooftop bar will be pushing back against the relentless…

The GPO Grand have brought back their pop-up dessert bar ahead of the holidays, setting up right by Martin Place’s enormous Christmas tree to offer exclusive outdoor seating and a huge range of festive desserts. Under those Bulgari Christmas LED lights Sydneysiders will find the likes of Nutella donuts, loacker gelato, chocolate ricotta cannoli, salted…

In just a few weeks renowned dessert chef and new Christmas ambassador for Ferrero Rocher, Reynold Poernomo will be celebrating his Sydney based KOI Dessert Bar being open for a year. What has now become a Kensington Street staple opened late last year and has since become a platform for Poernomo’s inventive approach to desserts,…

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Sydney’s Shangri-La Hotel. Executive Pastry Chef, Anna Polyviou and her team of elves have outdone themselves this year with a life-sized gingerbread house full of lolly decorations on display, as well as a Christmas-themed carousel. The introduction of these annual decorations have transformed the atmosphere in…