Canberra's top eateries?

Holden Caulfield said :

Felix the Cat said :

A place I quite like and have had constant good food and service is Zeffirelli at Dickson.

Haha, you should take that on the road. You’ll get a guaranteed laugh wherever you go.

Worst restaurant in Canberra. I use the term “restaurant” very loosely.

Zefirelli is one of those places that transitional for kiddies who want to move on from McDonalds but aren’t quite ready for restaurants.

Felix the Cat said :

A place I quite like and have had constant good food and service is Zeffirelli at Dickson.

Haha, you should take that on the road. You’ll get a guaranteed laugh wherever you go.

Worst restaurant in Canberra. I use the term “restaurant” very loosely.

I found Sage pretty “meh” when I was there recently. I was disappointed as I’d heard good things.

Pulp Kitchen is always worth a visit.

Best coffee in town is Harvest, though there’s supposed to be a good place in Weston.

The Artisan in Narrabundah is the place to go.
Or D’Browes is also excellent.
Spicy Ginger in Acton is an excellent Chinese restaurant.

I seriously don’t understand the love the supposedly “top” restaurants in Canberra recieve, typically the food is over rated, over priced and the service is on/off.

astrojax said :

haroldluntz said :

astrojax said :

tasuke, for authentic as possible in canberra .

Sorry to break it to you but most of the staff speak Cantonese, including the kitchen staff.

mebbe they speak cantonese, but the chef dude, and owner, is certainly japanese: i guess he needs whatever staff he can get..? (and very few people i know who have been to japan rate the others in the vicinity over tasuke)

I’ve been to Japan – twice – and Coo, Iori, and Tasuke are as authentic as you can get in Canberra. I keep going back to Tasuke because I like their range and their atmosphere. I’ve spoken with the owners of Coo/Iori and Tasuke and they are indeed Japanese.

Mysteryman said :

Watson said :

It depends what you are after?

One restaurant where I always love going is Sammy’s in Civic. It’s not at all haute cuisine, but their food is consistently excellent and the service is mind-bogglingly fast. And if you sit outside there on a summer night, it almost feels like you’re in a big city.

Of the more upmarket restaurants – I have found the few I tried rather dissapointing personally. I did like D’Browes when I went there a couple of years ago. I felt the urge to lick my plate clean and the staff were very friendly. I might have been a little bit biased because they were so great with my 4yo daughter, but that just shows good business sense.

Just my opinion – I have tried a lot of Chinese restaurants and found Sammy’s to be essentially the same as all the others with regards to taste/quality of food, but in a far noisier atmosphere.

If you want something that’s actually tasty, and similar to real Chinese food (the stuff you would actually get in China) go to Spicy Ginger near UniLodge. Way better!

Sounds good. 🙂

I found Sammy’s to be awful – crowded, noisy and food for which “ordinary” would be high praise.

Kenny’s in Dickson is brilliant.

Don’t waste your time or money going to Italian Kitchen or Lambretta (why would you name a restraurant after a motor scooter?), as it now appears to be known as. I can’t comment on the actual food because I couldn’t actually make a booking. I had been past there numerous times and thought I will have to try that one day so on the way home from work the other night I stopped in to try and book a table for another night.It was about 5.30pm, the doors were open and there was a A-frame sign out the front so I went in to make a booking. There were no other customers there but there was a staff member at the front counter but apparently he couldn’t take a booking. Not sure what his role was. Maybe he was the cleaner. Maybe he didn’t even work there. I don’t know. So I just walked out.They obviously don’t need my business.

A place I quite like and have had constant good food and service is Zeffirelli at Dickson.

haroldluntz said :

astrojax said :

tasuke, for authentic as possible in canberra .

Sorry to break it to you but most of the staff speak Cantonese, including the kitchen staff.

mebbe they speak cantonese, but the chef dude, and owner, is certainly japanese: i guess he needs whatever staff he can get..? (and very few people i know who have been to japan rate the others in the vicinity over tasuke)

la_psyche said :

Forgot to say, I also rate the Ethiopian food stall at the Gorman House Markets. I think they’re affiliated with one of the restaurants in Canberra but I can’t remember which.

Fekerte’s in Dickson?

You might want to check out http://www.eatability.com.au/au/canberra/ – patron reviews from virtually every eatery in Canberra. Or you can post a review.

astrojax said :

tasuke, for authentic as possible in canberra .

Sorry to break it to you but most of the staff speak Cantonese, including the kitchen staff.

Banana Leaf is a favourite of ours – Sri Lankan and modern Australian. My favourite dish is the Pittu.

We ate at the new Locanda Italian Steakhouse in Rydes last Saturday night and I would recommend it for sure…..

And another little favourite (although in a very different league) is the Dickson Dumpling House

la_psyche said :

poetix said :

la_psyche said :

Forgot to say, I also rate the Ethiopian food stall at the Gorman House Markets.
….

You’re right, I’ve never suffered an injera from the food at that stall. (First ever Ethiopian joke; some cultures just aren’t funny enough.)

Lol, good one poetix.

la_psyche said :

poetix said :

la_psyche said :

Forgot to say, I also rate the Ethiopian food stall at the Gorman House Markets.
….

You’re right, I’ve never suffered an injera from the food at that stall. (First ever Ethiopian joke; some cultures just aren’t funny enough.)

Lol, good one poetix.

Why thank you sir or madam. It was so good I was compelled to post it twice, like a drunk laughing at her (in this case) own jokes.

poetix said :

la_psyche said :

Forgot to say, I also rate the Ethiopian food stall at the Gorman House Markets.
….

You’re right, I’ve never suffered an injera from the food at that stall. (First ever Ethiopian joke; some cultures just aren’t funny enough.)

Lol, good one poetix.

poetix said :

la_psyche said :

Forgot to say, I also rate the Ethiopian food stall at the Gorman House Markets.
….

You’re right, I’ve never suffered a bad injera from the food at that stall. (First ever Ethiopian joke; some cultures just aren’t funny enough.)

TheGingerNinja said :

To add though, actually tilley’s does a good coffee and the food is starting to get quite decent as opposed to it previously being unpalatable

You can’t be serious! Tilleys is all about alcohol and coffee, and it does those very well. The food at Tilleys is foul – exactly the same as it has always been! Pretty much all ingredients bought in as pre-prepared, cheap “industrial warehouse” food, such as the “hash browns” which are an even cheaper version of the Mackers ones. The pizzas and pastas reek of garlic out of a jar, the nachos have barely any beans, and it’s all very expensive. Frankly, Tilleys regards having to sell food as a chore, and has always priced it to the “we hope they don’t buy it” point. The pub food at Edgars is WAY better than Tilleys – fresher, more honest.

la_psyche said :

Forgot to say, I also rate the Ethiopian food stall at the Gorman House Markets.
….

You’re right, I’ve never suffered an injera from the food at that stall. (First ever Ethiopian joke; some cultures just aren’t funny enough.)

Forgot to say, I also rate the Ethiopian food stall at the Gorman House Markets. I think they’re affiliated with one of the restaurants in Canberra but I can’t remember which. And Brodburger still does the best burgers in Canberra but it’s a bit disappointing that the wait time for a burger hasn’t reduced at all with their new set up.

Oh, and Sfoglia in Dickson and Croissant D’Or in Civic are great for desserty type stuff…

A couple of my favourites that no one seems to have mentioned (or I missed as I was skim reading):
– Tudo Vietnamese in O’Connor
– Sanur’s Balinese in Belconnen
– 2 Yummy (Chinese) in Belconnen – their super tasty duck really is super tasty
– The Scholar in Dickson for yum cha
– Tasuke in Civic for Japanese, there’s also a great little Japanese kiosk in the Canberra House arcade which does cheap, cheerful and authentic
– Mamak Roti House in Civic – not as good as the one in Sydney, but I’ll settle for 3 minutes from my place as opposed to 3 hours
– Turkish Grill in Erindale
– Turkish Delight in Belconnen
– Coo (Japanese) in Civic for their lunch specials
– Pizza Gusto in Braddon.

Would also give a +1 to Rubicon, Ottoman, Courgette and the Lemongrass Thai restaurants.

TheGingerNinja said :

To add though, actually tilley’s does a good coffee and the food is starting to get quite decent as opposed to it previously being unpalatable

This is what I mean though. I don’t think any place does good coffee reliably because there are just so many factors. You can tell immediately by the colour – good coffee is a warm caramel brown – bad coffee will look like a pale off brown. The reality is that it takes a bit of extra time and control to make good coffee and unless the machine is staffed by a real “expert” barista, it’s just not going to happen in a high volume / busy restaurant environment.

We shop at Ainslie often so have often seen Pulp Kitchen and wanted to try it, but it’s always seemed packed even weeknights.

The Indian place in Colbee court Phillip is one of the few really good Indian dining experiences we’ve had in Canberra so I’ll give them a shout out (I think the name is Indian Affair).

To add though, actually tilley’s does a good coffee and the food is starting to get quite decent as opposed to it previously being unpalatable

Darkfalz said :

In no particular order:

China Tea Club in North Lyneham – have given them literally thousands of dollars in business over the years (mostly delivery though when we’re feeling lazy)
Italian Kitchen Kaleen
The best pizza I had recently was in Manuka, but I forget the name of the place… it might have been Les Rendevouz, but I think that’s a under-ground family type place and not the place I am thinking of
The best of the $200 club we’ve eaten at was probably Courgette, but they may be out of business now. I think our last trip to Sage was under $200. The food was okay but being pestered every 5 minutes by a waiter wasn’t much fun.
My Friend in Watson, not particularly the best food probably but I like the atmosphere, complete with the cook’s little toddler running around.
I had the seafood buffet at Red Salt once, that was pretty good
Believe it or not I think the best Turkish pizza on the Northside is from a dingy little takeaway in Braddon called “Charcoal Rooster”.
We get breakfast out sometimes as a bit of a treat, a place called Spill the Beans did the best big breakfast but they’re out of business. Had one today at Hansel and Gretal today which wasn’t so great, apart from the eggs. Last week we went to that place in Hackett shops.
I loved the old Japanese restaurant at Dickson, before it closed and reopeoned under someone else (Sushi chef not works in Gungahlin at the sushi place opposite Coles). Seems all my fave places keep closing…

With so much on offer in Canberra I can’t really pick favourites, have dined once at probably 50 places, whether the food was good or bad. To be honest I remember the bad more than the good. And there are still hundreds more to try…

Good coffee in Canberra is miss and miss. Even if they source fresh beans every week and have a good machine depends entirely on the training of the barista on the day. Most of them just used a timed auto machine for the shot. I stopped getting coffee out after getting my own machine and on the odd occasion I do, it’s always atrocious. I’m convinced most people haven’t had a really good coffee in their life and just need the caffeine or do it for “status”, and with enough milk and sugar anything is “bearable”. The last really good one I had was in Tasmania and before that the Hilton in Sydney. They probably do decent in house coffee at roasters (like Lonsdale, or Cosmorex) but I’m talking in-restaurant coffee, as something to have with your meal.

Lonsdale city roasters food and coffee is the worst i’ve had, but i agree, the coffee sucks, let alone the atrocious chai lattes, nothing worse than burnt beans in a coffee, i’m still looking for a place where I won’t want to go anywhere else, maybe i should give up haha

Darkfalz said :

I’m talking in-restaurant coffee, as something to have with your meal.

This. I’ve never had decent coffee at the end of meal at any of the “good” restaurants in Canberra – every course might be the finest of ingredients and preparation, but the coffee is invariably dishwater. For some reason none of the restaurants recognise the incongruity.

Holden Caulfield said :

poetix said :

…that makes me feel violent, and I’m a vegetarian.

Doesn’t that go hand in hand. 😛

Feel the wrath of tofu…

In no particular order:

China Tea Club in North Lyneham – have given them literally thousands of dollars in business over the years (mostly delivery though when we’re feeling lazy)
Italian Kitchen Kaleen
The best pizza I had recently was in Manuka, but I forget the name of the place… it might have been Les Rendevouz, but I think that’s a under-ground family type place and not the place I am thinking of
The best of the $200 club we’ve eaten at was probably Courgette, but they may be out of business now. I think our last trip to Sage was under $200. The food was okay but being pestered every 5 minutes by a waiter wasn’t much fun.
My Friend in Watson, not particularly the best food probably but I like the atmosphere, complete with the cook’s little toddler running around.
I had the seafood buffet at Red Salt once, that was pretty good
Believe it or not I think the best Turkish pizza on the Northside is from a dingy little takeaway in Braddon called “Charcoal Rooster”.
We get breakfast out sometimes as a bit of a treat, a place called Spill the Beans did the best big breakfast but they’re out of business. Had one today at Hansel and Gretal today which wasn’t so great, apart from the eggs. Last week we went to that place in Hackett shops.
I loved the old Japanese restaurant at Dickson, before it closed and reopeoned under someone else (Sushi chef not works in Gungahlin at the sushi place opposite Coles). Seems all my fave places keep closing…

With so much on offer in Canberra I can’t really pick favourites, have dined once at probably 50 places, whether the food was good or bad. To be honest I remember the bad more than the good. And there are still hundreds more to try…

Good coffee in Canberra is miss and miss. Even if they source fresh beans every week and have a good machine depends entirely on the training of the barista on the day. Most of them just used a timed auto machine for the shot. I stopped getting coffee out after getting my own machine and on the odd occasion I do, it’s always atrocious. I’m convinced most people haven’t had a really good coffee in their life and just need the caffeine or do it for “status”, and with enough milk and sugar anything is “bearable”. The last really good one I had was in Tasmania and before that the Hilton in Sydney. They probably do decent in house coffee at roasters (like Lonsdale, or Cosmorex) but I’m talking in-restaurant coffee, as something to have with your meal.

And, what’s more, TCH do you bonzer chips!

poetix said :

…that makes me feel violent, and I’m a vegetarian.

Doesn’t that go hand in hand. 😛

Amanda Hugankis said :

Della has been closed for quite a while now. And I miss it. It weren’t fancy-shmancy-pants, and it was in Garema Place, but it was my go-to place for tasty and inexpensive din-dins. I still dream about a particular garlic, hungarian fetta and pine nut pasta they did for me once. Siiiiiigh.

Yep, I miss it too. Food was almost always bang on and they had a great wine list.

Pulp Kitchen is probably the closest match I have found, although not in Civic, not as extensive with either the food or wine menu and not as consistent with its quality, haha.

In my experience Pulp Kitchen was much better when it was newer. It’s still okay now, but not as good as it used to be. Which is odd, because AFAIK it’s still the same chef/owner.

Lime Leaves Thai in Queanbeyan
Lemon Grass Thai in Tuggeranong – Best service in Canberra
Erindale Vikings – Tastiest Steak in Australia “Portugese spice Prime Rib, on the bone, with Garli Aioli (SP?)”
Sfoglia – Dickson – Best value lunch menu with good service

I don’t do fancy – Serve me well and I will rave about you for life

EvanJames said :

TheGingerNinja said :

le tres bon is the restaurant near jazz apple cafe? … Tried Mezzalira tonight, was well worth the $145, great service, great food, great knowledge, and apparently its the same owner as italian and sons!

Le Tres Bon is at Bungendore. French Provincial by a chef with good local form for this type of food.

Is that the one that used to be in Manuka? That was noice…

As for some of the other suggestions:

I only went to Rubikon once but didn’t feel compelled to go back. I cannot clearly remember why now though.

Unfortunately I also was dissapointed in Joey’s Kitchen in Watson. More upmarket than the name suggests – $36 for a steak, but I thought their food wasn’t really worth the bill and I am not dazzled by their spartan (or cafe-like) interior. My daughter is however a regular customer for their lemon-lime gelato.

El Dorado is a dump. Sorry, my opinion. But it is club food at twice the price and they cannot even cook a steak to order properly.

And I will definitely need to get out more and try some of the other suggestions. Though I will be very happy just having my leftover Pad Thai from Yum Thai in Dickson tonight.

Oh and Poetix, your description of your meal at Sage made my eyes glaze over! I love ending a good meal with cheese and cognac! That just makes me want to purr like a cat. 🙂

We do have the highest per capita apparently, but then we also have the cash to splash on average for it.

Aubergine
Ottoman
Waters Edge

Never tried Courgette and frankly their bargain meal ads on the radio scream desperation – that and wearing kevlar may be advisable on the premises.

Anise was another good pick but unfortunately, is no more.

I’m surprised no one has mentioned Urban Pantry in Manuka, it’s always busy – not sure why, my meal came with a side of charcoal – it wasn’t meant to.

Holden Caulfield said :

S for Search?

Here’s a few I’ve enjoyed and found reliable over the years and would happily recommend. In alpha order…

Aubergine
Courgette
Dieci e Mezzo
Italian & Sons*
Sage
The Ginger Room
Water’s Edge

…and, once again, Vale Anise (and Caffe Della Piazza to a lesser extent).

*Although not always good service.

Della has been closed for quite a while now. And I miss it. It weren’t fancy-shmancy-pants, and it was in Garema Place, but it was my go-to place for tasty and inexpensive din-dins. I still dream about a particular garlic, hungarian fetta and pine nut pasta they did for me once. Siiiiiigh.

I will have to prop a place I got to eat at last week, I am a mum of 2 and I haven’t been to dinner since before my oldest was born in 2006, so I was rather happy to go and eat out for a change. We went to El Dorado in Dickson, it was fantastic and I’d go every week if I could. Service by great and friendly people,food was amazing, and my man won the 1 kg steak ” big eldo” challenge and won a prize and has his name of the wall. It was a fun night, and it may be because I don’t get out much, but I truly enjoyed it.

TheGingerNinja said :

le tres bon is the restaurant near jazz apple cafe? … Tried Mezzalira tonight, was well worth the $145, great service, great food, great knowledge, and apparently its the same owner as italian and sons!

Le Tres Bon is at Bungendore. French Provincial by a chef with good local form for this type of food.

Mezzelira has been pretty reliable since it opened. Pricey and finnicky, but the food really is pretty special. Owned by the Trimboli family and they keep a pretty tight rein on the kitchen.

Ben_Dover said :

schmeah said :

My Rainbow Dreams in Dickson. Healthy and local, you just have to get past the slightly ‘cultish’ business model

I can’t even get past the bloody name of the place.

Pretend it says Rambo and you’ll be right! And don’t read the meaningful quotes board outside, that makes me feel violent, and I’m a vegetarian.

Oh, and the Fish Shack in the City is actually bloody good.

I gave up on the more conveniently (for me) located Flatheads in O’Connor years ago, but Fish Shack has restored my belief that you can get half decent fish’n’chips in this town.

In the warmer months the Yacht Club back door is quite good for fish’n’chips too.

TheGingerNinja said :

we’ve covered a lot of the high end places which is great, my list of places to try is very abundant, now what are some of the lower end places to go when you’ve blown your money on the nice places?

Watson Take Away.

I second Pho Phu Quoc in Dickson, nice and fresh and quite cheap.

TheGingerNinja said :

we’ve covered a lot of the high end places which is great, my list of places to try is very abundant, now what are some of the lower end places to go when you’ve blown your money on the nice places?

someone already mentioned tak kee in dickson – as close to authentic chinese roast duck house as you’ll get [including a public health notice a while back for preparing food in the parking lot out the back – like, it’s supposed to be done that way, innit?? :)] and they do perhaps canberra’s best spring rolls (prepares for contradiction…)

tudo, in o’connor shops, is also excellent, as is the vietnamese in dickson, pho quoc [i think that’s its name] which does delicious pho. the dumpling house in childers st does excellent dumplings, well priced – don’t bother eating any other dishes there, though…

Soju Girl in the City is doing great thinks , ex Parlor chef. And for the cheap and easy Noodle house in Dickson its an institution best Laksa around

Oh, and in terms of cheap and cheerful, you cant go past Madam Woo in Kingston. inthetaratory.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/madam-woo-i-do-love-you/

Also a big fan of Pho Viet in Belco.

TheGingerNinja said :

we’ve covered a lot of the high end places which is great, my list of places to try is very abundant, now what are some of the lower end places to go when you’ve blown your money on the nice places?

Home.

+1 for ellacure – great experience all round. Have been back countless times since this review http://inthetaratory.wordpress.com/2012/02/28/curious-about-ellacure/

we’ve covered a lot of the high end places which is great, my list of places to try is very abundant, now what are some of the lower end places to go when you’ve blown your money on the nice places?

My wife and I have been eating at Sea Salt Dining in Bruce on average about once a week. The atmosphere is quite good, the seats are comfy, the service friendly, and the food is brilliant. Best fish I have eaten in Canberra in a long time, and the rest of the menu if fantastic too. I feel quite reasonably priced too. They have a good selection of wine, and they do BYO also at only a couple of dollars per head

I had lunch at BBP the other day and was wowed by what’s on offer at The Fat Goanna. Diverse ala carte menu, well priced and bloody good eating.

Genie said :

Wait a minute ! Did someone mention Tilly’s.. as in DING your microwaved food is ready???

I go to Tilley’s every day. I love the fact I can write there for hours if I want without being thrown out by the staff. I like the soup, too, and stopping there with my daughter for a glass of wine sometimes after school. (She doesn’t have wine yet.)

The coffee is fine too.

Wait a minute ! Did someone mention Tilly’s.. as in DING your microwaved food is ready???

Hmmm I need to get out more.. I haven’t heard of half these places…or maybe I’m just too simple..

Give me a burrito from Zambreros or a Grill’d burger any day of the week !

Seoul Palace – in Civic on Northbourne. Found this beauty as a Uni Student, still going back there. Great food, great wine and BYO available, fast service, friendly, never been disappointed!

The Dark said :

Gonna throw my 2 cents in for Debacle in Braddon (don’t think they have been mentioned in a while). Great beers, pizza and tapas, the pizzas can be abit pricey but good for there size and Monday and Tuesday are 2 for one, so splitting a few with a couple of mates is fairly cheap, same sorta thing with the tapas plates, cheap on there own or platters to share. Similar sorta place to ABN and Tilly’s, the inner north pub/eatery style but with more focus on food and with high end cafe style breakfasts in the morning. Good place to check out if you havn’t before or havn’t been in a few years.

Too bad they are being either forced to move, or shut down! BOO!

Gonna throw my 2 cents in for Debacle in Braddon (don’t think they have been mentioned in a while). Great beers, pizza and tapas, the pizzas can be abit pricey but good for there size and Monday and Tuesday are 2 for one, so splitting a few with a couple of mates is fairly cheap, same sorta thing with the tapas plates, cheap on there own or platters to share. Similar sorta place to ABN and Tilly’s, the inner north pub/eatery style but with more focus on food and with high end cafe style breakfasts in the morning. Good place to check out if you havn’t before or havn’t been in a few years.

Onred was nice (by Canberra standards of course 😉 ) last time I went- which was a while ago so no idea what they are like at the moment…

Lanterne rooms has some scrumptious food.

I would second the suggestion of Fekerte’s Ethiopian.

Italian and sons is on our must try list.

There must be two sage restaurants in Canberra because the one I went to was crap. They gave brodburger a run for their money on service times and brought out one main plate a full 30 mins before the rest of the table. The food was average at best and the staff useless, we won’t be going back.

canberralocal said :

To be honest, you all need to get out more into some serious restaurants like Rubicon and La Scala. They are way ahead of the run of the mill variety.

I ate at Public the week that it opened and it was diabolical so I’m pleased to hear that it was a good experience for someone a bit more recently.

Rubicon- yes, La Scala- No…That’s all you need to know.

To be honest, you all need to get out more into some serious restaurants like Rubicon and La Scala. They are way ahead of the run of the mill variety.

I ate at Public the week that it opened and it was diabolical so I’m pleased to hear that it was a good experience for someone a bit more recently.

XO_VSOP said :

TheGingerNinja said :

I did mean Sage, I didn’t know if it would be appropriate to use the name as i didn’t want to appear biased when i generally trashed the whole of canberra when it came to food in so many words, I do enjoy delissio in braddon but its slipping lately, dzire and sfoglia in dickson are quite decent also![/.
Haha those three would be no where near the top of anything. Sage and dieci are currently one and two Italian and sons might also get a run in the top three! But don’t forget the region Grazing is doing some great things and using all there own produce. Le tres bon is also one to keep on the radar. That’s resturants covered. Cafes Ona Manuka doing good things and urban pantry.
I could go on I think you just don’t get out enough.

It just is personal taste i guess, le tres bon is the restaurant near jazz apple cafe? its not that I don’t get out enough, and i was basing sfoglia and dzire based on their coffee and their semi decent breakfasts! seems alot of the cafe’s can’t even poach an egg properly so when i get a decent poached egg and decent hollandaise i tend to rate higher!

Tried Mezzalira tonight, was well worth the $145, great service, great food, great knowledge, and apparently its the same owner as italian and sons!

schmeah said :

My Rainbow Dreams in Dickson. Healthy and local, you just have to get past the slightly ‘cultish’ business model

I can’t even get past the bloody name of the place.

Postalgeek said :

I often visit TCH during meal time, and you can usually find untouched or unfinished meals. Their cold mash potato is to die for.

Try the leftover (read: rejected) warm lime jelly with the mystery dark hair sitting atop for decoration.

If you don’t fancy breaking the bank at Sage, I recommend Pulp Kitchen at the Ainslie shops. Mid price for a white-linen-tablecloth experience (main $30, dessert $14), good wine list, free parking, very friendly, background noise at conversation level (thanks to good sound baffles & things) great desserts, and perfectly timed service – enough time between courses for each one to settle.

Brodburger. Although I understand you should order now and it should be ready on Friday evening.

Ben_Dover said :

For fine dining you cannot beat Hawker Chippy.

Agreed, and you don’t have to wait 90 minutes for one of their burgers.

johnboy said :

One can only assume S is for Sage

“Silo”, surely…

TheGingerNinja said :

I did mean Sage, I didn’t know if it would be appropriate to use the name as i didn’t want to appear biased when i generally trashed the whole of canberra when it came to food in so many words, I do enjoy delissio in braddon but its slipping lately, dzire and sfoglia in dickson are quite decent also![/.
Haha those three would be no where near the top of anything. Sage and dieci are currently one and two Italian and sons might also get a run in the top three! But don’t forget the region Grazing is doing some great things and using all there own produce. Le tres bon is also one to keep on the radar. That’s resturants covered. Cafes Ona Manuka doing good things and urban pantry.
I could go on I think you just don’t get out enough.

Lanterne Rooms, Campbell for fine dining.

Fekerte’s Ethiopian, Dickson for yummy, filling and not too pricey.

Italian & Sons, Braddon for desserts to die for.

The food at Vivaldis (ANU Campus) is tasty and reasonably cheap which equals good value.
Unfortunately, the wine prices are just a huge ripoff and the seating is far to cramped (OK for Japanese/Eskimo students I guess) Worth the discomfort is there is a good band playing for which a reasonable cover charge is applicable.

My personal favourits are:

* Rice in the city
* Diamond Chinese in Queanbeyan
* Indo Cafe in the city
* Dickson/City Asian Noodle House (Dickson or city)
* Chinese BBQ in Woden
* Punjabi Hut in Queanbeyan

There are lots of other places I like too, but these I love. We are truly fortunate to have such good food locally.

My Rainbow Dreams in Dickson. Healthy and local, you just have to get past the slightly ‘cultish’ business model 🙂

If you’re looking for up-market and amazing .. go for Rubicon in Griffith. I’ve never had a bad experience!

I did mean Sage, I didn’t know if it would be appropriate to use the name as i didn’t want to appear biased when i generally trashed the whole of canberra when it came to food in so many words, I do enjoy delissio in braddon but its slipping lately, dzire and sfoglia in dickson are quite decent also!

johnboy said :

One can only assume S is for Sage

Yes, OP could have used the name, especially given he or she only has nice things to say about it. I had the best meal there since I became vegetarian the other night, including a potato dish with potato done four different ways which looked and tasted wonderful. And Mr Poetix thinks he managed to get foie gras past me (i.e. that I didn’t notice him ordering it) but it was actually noticed but not argued about because it was our 20th wedding anniversary. He had a few hundred different types of pork as well.

And I had cheese instead of anything sweet. I didn’t like the fact they put chocolate on top of the Stilton, so they brought yet me more Stilton after I had carefully scraped the chocolate off. And I finished with the really good Cognac, which was heaven. So for me the fact that they don’t treat vegos as idiots, and the attentive service, makes Sage the best place in Canberra at the moment.

Also the wine list, I seem to remember.

If you’re not after fancy, I highly recommend Tak Kee Roast Inn in Dickson. It very much reminds me of the tiny BBQ duck/pork places in Sydney Chinatown 🙂 The duck pancake serves are really generous and they provide Pu-er tea with meals. Also, every time I’ve been there, it’s been packed with other Chinese diners, which is more than enough recommendation to keep eating there 😛

The Turkish place at Yarralumla shops is awesome too. Generous serves of yumminess 🙂

I often visit TCH during meal time, and you can usually find untouched or unfinished meals. Their cold mash potato is to die for.

Holden Caulfield said :

johnboy said :

One can only assume S is for Sage

Yep, agreed.

Actually, I had a meal in the restaurant section of Public the other night and was very pleasantly surprised at how good it was.

The food there is alright but its expensive for what it is. Just like their alcohol i suppose.

kepayne said :

Au Lac in Dickson is absolutely fantastic and great value for money as well. I go there about once a week and have never been disappointed.

While they only serve vegan food, many of my meat-eating friends love it just as much as I do!

Oath! My personal fave in Canberra.

Watson said :

It depends what you are after?

One restaurant where I always love going is Sammy’s in Civic. It’s not at all haute cuisine, but their food is consistently excellent and the service is mind-bogglingly fast. And if you sit outside there on a summer night, it almost feels like you’re in a big city.

Of the more upmarket restaurants – I have found the few I tried rather dissapointing personally. I did like D’Browes when I went there a couple of years ago. I felt the urge to lick my plate clean and the staff were very friendly. I might have been a little bit biased because they were so great with my 4yo daughter, but that just shows good business sense.

Just my opinion – I have tried a lot of Chinese restaurants and found Sammy’s to be essentially the same as all the others with regards to taste/quality of food, but in a far noisier atmosphere.

If you want something that’s actually tasty, and similar to real Chinese food (the stuff you would actually get in China) go to Spicy Ginger near UniLodge. Way better!

For fine dining you cannot beat Hawker Chippy.

tasuke, for authentic as possible in canberra japanese

lanterne room, for delicious and inventive food in intimate surrounds

sage – ’nuff said, it seems

your kitchen, with some time, good ingredients and some good recipes/inspiration…

The dry chilli beef Peking style at Kevin’s Place in Kippax is exceptional.

that would be ‘book’

Ellacure must have something going for them, I’ve given up trying to boo.

johnboy said :

One can only assume S is for Sage

Yep, agreed.

Actually, I had a meal in the restaurant section of Public the other night and was very pleasantly surprised at how good it was.

It depends what you are after?

One restaurant where I always love going is Sammy’s in Civic. It’s not at all haute cuisine, but their food is consistently excellent and the service is mind-bogglingly fast. And if you sit outside there on a summer night, it almost feels like you’re in a big city.

Of the more upmarket restaurants – I have found the few I tried rather dissapointing personally. I did like D’Browes when I went there a couple of years ago. I felt the urge to lick my plate clean and the staff were very friendly. I might have been a little bit biased because they were so great with my 4yo daughter, but that just shows good business sense.

Can’t beat the bistro at the Hellenic Club.

S for Search?

Here’s a few I’ve enjoyed and found reliable over the years and would happily recommend. In alpha order…

Aubergine
Courgette
Dieci e Mezzo
Italian & Sons*
Sage
The Ginger Room
Water’s Edge

…and, once again, Vale Anise (and Caffe Della Piazza to a lesser extent).

*Although not always good service.

Au Lac in Dickson is absolutely fantastic and great value for money as well. I go there about once a week and have never been disappointed.

While they only serve vegan food, many of my meat-eating friends love it just as much as I do!