EAT > Victory Hotel, Sellicks Hill (16/20)

There are pubs that age badly, and there are pubs that age magnificently. The Victory Hotel, perched on the brow of Sellicks Hill with a panorama stretching across Aldinga Bay and the Fleurieu coast, belongs emphatically to the latter camp. This is one of Australia's great gastropubs — weathered, warm and quietly formidable, with a…

ByCrispinApril 26, 20260Comments

EAT > AUSTRALIA EAT > NSW EAT > SYDNEY WHERE TO EAT >

EAT > The Tilbury, Woolloomooloo (14/20)

The Tilbury is that rare inner-city pub-restaurant that feels equally right for a midweek Martini, a long Sunday lunch or a dressed-up dinner on home turf in Woolloomooloo. Set back from the wharf on Nicholson Street, it trades harbour theatre for something more quietly assured: a heritage shell smoothed into a contemporary, Mediterranean-leaning dining room…

ByCrispinFebruary 13, 20260Comments

EAT > MELBOURNE EAT > VICTORIA WHERE TO EAT >

EAT > Bellota, South Melbourne (18/20)

When people say to me where is your favourite restaurant, I struggle to name one. So many places bring something special to the dining experience. But when I get asked where is your favourite place to eat, I always say Bellota. Why? The food (which is always delicious), the incredible wine list (best in the…

ByCrispinOctober 12, 20250Comments

EAT > MELBOURNE EAT > VICTORIA WHERE TO EAT >

EAT > The Builders Arms, Fitzroy (15/20)

Builders Arms is where old Fitzroy charm meets the sharp edge of Melbourne’s culinary present—a neighbourhood pub reimagined by chef Andrew McConnell, its bones humming with history and its menus tuned to modern tastes. Those iconic yellow tiles and timber floors set the scene for a dining room that trades nostalgia for clean lines and…

ByCrispinOctober 12, 20250Comments