GUIDE > THE DECEMBER ALMANAK

An ‘almanak’ is a guide full of useful information, historically this started with useful farming information and expanded to be sporting, historical and much more. Our ALMANAK is your guide to finding the best places that suit your personal style and energy. This is our editorial where you can get a summary of articles and reviews from the month of December 2025 (we sneaked a couple in from November too!).

December brings thoughts of snow, crackling fires and mulled wines to those in the Northern Hemisphere and thoughts of beaches, camping, rooftop cocktail bars and BBQ’s in the Southern Hemisphere.  

Wherever you are in the world or where ever you travel there is something special about December/January holidays. 

ALMANAK covers the world where hospitality, travel, and wine culture intersect with a very deliberate sense of place, from Sydney’s grand dining rooms to Montana’s new era of ski luxury and the cellars of Burgundy. 

EATS >

In Sydney, the restaurant coverage has shifted decisively towards venues that balance drama with precision. Saint Peter in Paddington is framed as one of the most compelling seafood destinations anywhere, a neighbourhood dining room that simultaneously represents a global benchmark for sustainable, whole-fish cooking.  Nearby in the CBD, Eleven Barrack is cast as the grand steak and seafood room the city has been waiting for, marrying a heritage bank building, live piano, and the Bentley Group’s polished food and wine playbook into a contemporary city institution.

Beyond headline venues, recent pieces also nod to the romance of European dining rooms — Chez Georges in Paris and Punk Royale in Stockholm — one of the best dining experiences I have ever had, where history or theatrics (and sometimes both) are the point.  The most interesting restaurants in late 2025 are those that can hold tension: between comfort and spectacle, neighbourhood warmth and destination gravitas.

SKI >

The SKI coverage over the past two months reads like a blueprint for the modern alpine pilgrimage. Palisades Tahoe in California is presented as a resort of legendary steeps and Olympic history, thrilling but not necessarily built for everyone.  At the other end of the spectrum, One&Only Moonlight Basin in Big Sky, Montana is positioned as the United States’ newest epicentre of high-luxury skiing, all Olson Kundig architecture, lodge drama and big-sky vistas.

Further afield, Andorra’s Grandvalira and Vermont’s Stowe extend the narrative from duty-free borderlands to East Coast tradition, each resort analysed as much for culture and atmosphere as for snow conditions.  The common thread is clear: ski travel is no longer just about vertical metres, but about the stories, rituals and architectural statements that frame the slopes.

SLEEP >

On the accommodation front, QT Gold Coast in Surfers Paradise leads the recent STAY pieces, presented as an exuberant collision of beachside glamour, retro playfulness, and contemporary hotel craft on the northern edge of the strip.  It fits neatly into Almanak’s ongoing fascination with hotels that lean into locality without abandoning theatricality, encouraging readers to treat the property as a complete experience rather than a bed between outings.

In parallel, earlier STAY reviews in Athens and Paris—referenced throughout the site—reinforce that same editorial conviction: that a good hotel is defined as much by neighbourhood context and emotional temperature as by thread count.  The hotels Almanak is currently spotlighting are those that feel plugged into their city’s cultural current, not merely parked within it.

DRINK >

Sydneysiders have a new Negroni heaven, a sister to Conte in Surry Hills and the perfect place to meet a friend or settle in for a meal; deeply Italian Conte Bar is cracking. In Melbourne, Gracie Melbourne is a sake & wine bar on Hardware Lane with a distinctly Japanese flavour it brings a smart variety into the laneway.

Merchant Café in Mansfield (regional Victoria) is my local cafe, a place for fine brews, delicious food and smart roasted beans, Merchant is a solid reminder that the road to the slopes can be just as satisfying as the destination when breakfast is handled with care.

WINE >

Domaine de Bellene’s Nuits Saint Georges Vieilles Vignes 2022 is introduced as a confident, old-vine voice from Burgundy, its deep colour and intensity treated as a physical expression of history in the glass.  Figli Luigi Oddero’s 2013 Barolo is described as a wine of quiet gravitas, carrying a legacy marked by family fracture yet unbroken tradition.

Central Otago’s Valli Bannockburn Pinot Noir extend this approach to the Southern Hemisphere, emphasising soil, climate and a sense of hush that falls over a room when a serious Pinot is poured, bottling that balances elegance and rustic charm, underscoring Almanak’s belief that wines are best understood as living reflections of both philosophy and place.

Have a wonderful Festive Season and a Happy New Year.

Cheers

Crispin