News

Sydney’s lavish, perfectly located Pier One Sydney Harbour has now started taking private bookings for one of the luxury hotel’s most coveted corners, for groups of up to 10. With hotels still finding their place in the ongoing pandemic, the “Harbour Bridge Balcony Party” is an attractive option for groups that feel like something special…

Following the announcement of their new vegan restaurant Safiya, the team behind Salt Meats Cheese are introducing a plant-based banquet menu for their Italian restaurants in NSW and QLD. The ‘Soul Meets Cheers Vegan Series’ will take place across all venues (except Southbank) on Tuesday 8th September at 6pm. A strictly vegan approach to classic…

Attica’s Ben Shewry has hooked up with the founding members of eternally acclaimed music wizards The Avalanches to throw “A Party for Melbourne”, a virtual house party taking place on Saturday 12th September. “The idea for A Party for Melbourne grew out of our friendship with Ben and Kylie Staddon from Attica,” said The Avalanches’…

Sydney’s wildly popular Donut Papi has teamed up with Fireball Whisky for a very limited edition, just-in-time-for-fathers-day “Fire in the Hole” doughnut. Breaking down the base profile of Fireball Whisky, the ever-creative team at the Redfern store has created what is easily one of Papi’s most exciting (and delicious – we tasted it as a…

National Burger Day is this Thursday and to celebrate all things delicately stacked and impossibly cheesy, The Greengate Hotel is offering $12 for all their burgers and $8 pints of craft beer. Not only are they serving up their classic burgers, they’ve also announced three new additions to the menu. This includes menu special, the…

To celebrate International Dog Day (which is today, you’re welcome), various IHG hotels across Australia are opening up various ways to pamper the many good boys and girls that have been mostly stuck inside right along with us. Your dog needs a staycation too, so take note of all the hotels introducing ways to pamper…

Seeing as just about every brand in Australia has Gelato Messina on their ‘must collaborate’ list, it was only a matter of time before Kellogg’s tapped the dessert lords to help celebrate the relatively new White Chocolate version of the company’s famed Coco Pops. From September 1st, Gelato Messina will be slinging a Coco Pops…

Australia’s whisky pioneers over at Tasmania’s Lark Distilling Co. have lifted the barrel on their first ever blended malt whisky, Symphony No.1. Released at the perfect time, with Father’s Day right around the corner, the release has been built with a harmony of exceptional Tasmanian single malt whiskies, collated to offer whisky lovers an approachable…

Dessert king Reynold Poernomo, who owns KOI in Chippendale (and more recently, Ryde) with his brothers Ronald and Arnold, has partnered up with famed liqueur Disaronno to curate a special dessert menu for Father’s Day 2020. A five-courser, the menu has been worked up in collaboration between the KOI team and Disaronno brand ambassador Danilo…

Not every dessert signals to the Australian Government an urgent message about climate change. Ben and Jerry’s latest one does just that. Dubbed “Unfudge Our Future”, the pint was created with PM Scott Morrison, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Energy Minister Angus Taylor in mind, sending a pointed message that the dessert-loving public want fossil fuels…

After the successful launch of restaurants in the Wynyard Precinct with Bopp & Tone and June’s Shoppe, the Applejack group is launching its third CBD venue, Hester’s Cafe and Bar. The cafe and bar will offer a dine-in and takeaway menu designed by Bopp & Tone Head Chef, Sa Va’afusuaga. Expect some classic breakfast dishes,…

The lingering taste of garlicky toum that has left an indelible mark on Sydney’s food scene in the past few years can typically be traced back to El Jannah. The charcoal chicken joint, born a stone’s throw from Granville Station, peddles the kind of dreamy never-forget-your-first-time that has since seen the business expand to include…

In doubling down on the ‘healthy’ part of its brand identity, Grill’d is accompanying the launch of a new and improved 100% Natural burger menu with a neat little initiative tasking customers to simply walk for a discount. Anyone who wants a dig at the new menu can simply get $10 off any burger or…

Pink is cool, but everyone knows that that black is just a better look for any spirit. Enter the world’s first naturally black gin, echoed from the pure waters of New Zealand’s Southern Alps and captured in a neat-looking bottle from the award-winning Christchurch-based Scapegrace distillery. Simply dubbed Scapegrace Black, the stylish and unique gin…

Award-winning and highly influential wine bar Monopole is packing up from its long-standing Potts Point address and making the convenient move to Hunter Street in the CBD. Owners Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrandt, who will maintain a Potts Point with Yellow along with a new concept, have secured a new venue overlooking Australia Square, and…

Dragon Cake, Japanese Forest Cake, or the iconic Strawberry Watermelon Cake. You’ll get to take your pick when Newtown-born phenomenon Black Star Pastry opens their new Sydney CBD store on the ground level of The Galeries. Just off the Pitt Street entrance to the central mall, Black Star Pastry will be conveniently positioned for city…

To celebrate their 50th anniversary in Australia, Pizza Hut is set to give away a whopping 50,000 free pizzas between Monday 3rd August and Friday 7th August. Each day, Pizza Hut will open up the online giveaway between 4pm and 6pm, with pizza-lovers simply required to just head to the website and follow the instructions…

Sydney’s Darling Square is fast-becoming the ‘it’ precinct for new and exciting eateries, adding to the already strong scene of casual eats which includes DOPA by Devon and Saga Lyte. Now, Darling Square has welcomed a host of new concepts, ranging from an 11-seater sushi and sashimi bar, to a inventive toastie joint. Kuon Omakase…

KitKat Chunky and KitKat Gold have been spliced together to create the chocolate brand’s latest offering, perfectly timed to jump on all the hype that’s been surrounding the historic wafer these past few weeks. First, Sydney got its very first KitKat chocolatory, which opened to massive fanfare with an endless array of KitKat flavours, its…

“This one looks like it’d fit right into the movie Pineapple Express”, write Sydney’s feverishly popular Burger Head on Facebook, referring to the restaurant’s weekly special. As with several of the city’s most popular burger spots, Penrith-born Burger Head does up a unique and inventive burger each week which is almost always lapped up in…

Seagrass Boutique Hospitality Group has officially confirmed an exclusive master franchise agreement with Five Guys. This will involve the iconic US burger chain opening stores across Australia and New Zealand, starting with multiple venues in Sydney CBD. “Our commitment is to open approx. 20 stores nationwide in the right locations and with the right staff,”…

Some of Sydney’s top restaurants have come together under the “Plates For Good” initiative, established to help industry staff who have been impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Eight of the city’s favourite eateries have committed to donating the purchase price of every Westholme Wagyu dish ordered to that venue’s staff who have lost income…

As truffle season is here, it’s no surprise that our favourite restaurants have begun showcasing the winter fungus on their menus. As New Shanghai returns with their new winter truffle menu, the AU Review caught up with New Shanghai’s Head Chef Sam Wu, who spoke about all things truffle and the inspiration behind the new…

Boba fans should be heading to their nearest Gelatissimo store this week to indulge in the chain’s latest limited edition flavour, “Brown Sugar Bubble Milk Tea”. Popping the flavour of natural brown sugar pearls into milk tea gelato, the new flavour gives a heady nod to the global bubble tea phenomenon. The profile is made…

Comfort food has never been more important during waves on (necessary) lockdown this year. And the gelato gods at Messina have been up to task over these past few months, with eye watering mash ups like Nutella Cookie Pie. Now, the cult ice creamery has doubled-down on the love of franken-food with a new ‘Fairy…

Penguin Biscuits have long been considered the United Kingdom’s competitor to Australia’s fiercely beloved Arnott’s Tim Tam. Whether or not they are better is the topic of hot debate amongst expats, but Penguins do at least have the claim of predating the dynamic Aussie treat by more than three decades. Now more Aussie locals will…

Fast food fans are going to have a field day today as McDonalds had added a genuine KitKat McFlurry to the dessert menu. And it’s really as simple as it sounds, taking crunched-up flecks of KitKat and imbibing it into the classic Maccas ice cream dessert, then capping it with a wave of hot chocolate…

When Merivale launched its at-home dining business “Merivale At Home” earlier this year, it gave locked-down Sydneysiders the opportunity to experience some of the city’s best venues without leaving their house. Now it seems the delivery platform has given the juggernaut hospitality group a somewhat modular in design, allowing Justin Hemmes to expand his empire…

You might not be able to take an actual bite out of Australia’s grizzly landscapes and boundless plains, but you can at least have a taste. Swallowing Australia is even more tempting now that popular artisan chocolatier Koko Black has traversed the many native flavours of Australia for its new collection. The “Australian Native Collection”…

It’s tough to be in VIC right now, with COVID-19 cases soaring and Melbourne returning to tight lockdown measures. Some of Australia’s biggest casual restaurants are doing their best to help out. We’ve already seen Grill’d offer Victorians 2-for-1 burgers to ease them back into the order-in state of mind. Now it seems Mexican favourite…