STAY > Astra, Falls Creek (18/20)

Regulars to Falls Creek Ski Resort in Victoria are probably very familiar with Astra, it is a great place to stop for an apres ski drink, or come back for dinner. But the greatest luxury comes from staying at Astra and having the full experience. Astra is a super stylish hotel that continues…

ByCrispyAugust 31, 20250Comments

EAT > EAT > FALLS CREEK

EAT > Summit Ridge, Falls Creek (16/20)

Falls Creek has always been a personal favourite ski destination and a tradition has built up in recent years, we always have a Saturday dinner at Summit Ridge. Summit Ridge in Falls Creek is an alpine classic—a restaurant and lodge perched above the snowbound slopes, quietly (and reliably) keeping the torch lit for mountain fine…

ByCrispyAugust 31, 20250Comments

EAT > EAT > ADELAIDE

EAT > Star of Greece (18/20)

If ever asked about where to eat in Willunga, The Star of Greece is on the top of my list, actually if its top of my list if someone asks me the best places to eat in South Australia (but maybe I am a little biased). I spent some of my formative years living…

ByCrispyAugust 26, 20250Comments

EAT > ADELAIDE EAT >

EAT > Salopian Inn, McLaren Vale (17/20)

Salopian Inn is a location firmly lodged in my childhood mind, it was the home of family friends in my primary school years and I visited often. Decades later I returned to the restaurant with the same couple who had lived there in the late 1970's when I was young. The venue became…

ByCrispyAugust 26, 20250Comments

EAT > SYDNEY EAT >

EAT > Porteño, Surry Hills Sydney (17/20)

In 2025, Porteno was recognised as number 20 on the world's best steak restaurants. This is Sydney hospitality done well, Its a smart room, good food, good service and an excellent wine cellar. What's not to love. AMBIANCE > Step inside Porteno and it’s Buenos Aires by way of Sydney—soccer pennants, dark wood, flickering lamps,…

ByCrispyAugust 25, 20250Comments

EAT > MELBOURNE EAT >

EAT > Harriot, Melbourne (17/20)

Set on the corner of King and Collins, Harriot is where Melbourne’s European ambitions shimmer brightest. Think discreet bon vivant, white tablecloths and all. Yet beneath the crisp linen and glass is a quietly restless soul, drawing whispers from Parisian bistros but thumping a resolutely Melbourne tune. Step inside and it’s luminous—a 60-seat ode to…

ByCrispyAugust 17, 20250Comments

DRINK > WINE > Nebbiolo (including Barolo) DRINK > WINE

WINE > Figli Luigi Oddero Barolo, Piedmont Italy 2013 (18/20)

There are Barolos that linger politely in the glass, and then there are those that stride into the room with quiet gravitas—Figli Luigi Oddero’s 2013 Barolo is firmly the latter. Heritage and tradition echo in every swirl, as this estate’s legacy (fractured but never diminished by familial divides) carries through in the pedigree of the…

ByCrispyAugust 7, 20250Comments

DRINK > BURGUNDY DRINK > BARS

DRINK > Caves de l’Abbaye, Beaune, Burgundy (18/20)

Step from Beaune’s winding, cobbled heart into Caves de l’Abbaye, and you’re greeted by the cool hush of a centuries-old cellar—a true Burgundy hideaway shaped from vaulted stone. Beneath low arches, the glow is candle-soft, shadows flicker against wine-streaked walls, and every table feels like a private alcove ready for pure vinous discovery. AMBIENCE >…

BySimonAugust 2, 20250Comments

EAT > EAT > BROOME

EAT > Cichetti Restaurant, Cable Beach, Broome WA (17/20)

There is a particular hush that settles over Broome as the sun dips behind the dunes at Cable Beach. Down a torch-lit path past frangipanis and paperbarks, you’ll find Cichetti, the flagship Italian at Cable Beach Club Resort—a place lending the tropics a taste of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Broome is about as far as…

ByCrispyAugust 1, 20250Comments

EAT > MELBOURNE

EAT > Society, Melbourne (17/20)

Amidst the sparkling towers of Collins Street, Society is less a restaurant and more a statement—one part art installation, one part theatre for the business set, and one part shimmering supper club. Enter and you’re enveloped by velvet, soft lamplight, and enough George Jensen flourishes to spark envy on a Paris catwalk. There’s a pulse…

ByCrispyJuly 31, 20250Comments

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