Sixpenny named Restaurant of the Year as Sydney’s three-hat ranks shrink to just two

Sixpenny in Stanmore and Saint Peter in Paddington are now the only three-hatted restaurants in Sydney, the first time the top tier has been this small since 1988, as the 2027 Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide reshaped the city’s dining map.

The results were announced at the 42nd annual awards at Carriageworks on Monday, October 26. More than 160 NSW restaurants earned at least one hat, with many winning for the first time.

The top tier narrowed after the closures of Quay and Oncore by Clare Smyth. Sixpenny was also crowned Restaurant of the Year. Co-editor David Matthews said both venues had matured and strengthened their offerings to become truly world-class.

“What’s totally refreshing is that they’ve done it their own way,” he said. “It’s a generational shift happening right in front of us.”

Five venues step up to two hats

Five Sydney restaurants moved from one hat to two, including Paddington French bistro Porcine, Crown’s Woodcut in Barangaroo, and Neil Perry’s Italian restaurant Gran Torino, which replaced his Chinese venue Songbird in mid-2025.

The two-hat category gained 10 new entrants overall. Matthews said they included “blistering hot first-timers” such as South End, Stanley and Omakase by Prefecture 48, alongside veterans such as Giovanni Pilu and Marilyn Annecchini, who opened Flaminia after two decades at Pilu at Freshwater.

Three Blue Ducks Burradoo also won two hats. “Three Blue Ducks Burradoo winning two hats is huge for the group, but when the chefs’ CVs read Tetsuya’s, Quay and Sepia, anything less would almost have been a bigger surprise,” Matthews said.

Casual venues recognised

Newly hatted venues included Olympic Meats in Marrickville, Tida Persian Food in North Willoughby, Avia and Takam in Darlinghurst, and Farmhouse Kings Cross in Rushcutters Bay.

Takam became the first Filipino restaurant in Sydney to score 15/20, the mark equal to a hat. Co-editor Callan Boys said head chef Francis Dela Cruz had led the menu to “right where it needed to be” and that it served the tastiest skewers he had eaten all year.

Olympic Meats, a small gyros shop overlooking Dulwich Hill station, added a wine service and expanded its Peloponnese dishes under chef-owner Timothy Cassimatis. It operates without reservations, relying on a QR-code queue system, with peak waits of more than an hour.

“There might be some pearl-clutching about it, but calling Olympic Meats a ‘gyros shop’ is like saying Cold Chisel is ‘just a pub band’,” Boys said. “Timothy Cassimatis puts as much work into his souvlaki and chips as any fine-dining chef.”

The guide’s editors said critics had been encouraged over the past three years to judge venues on the experience they set out to deliver, rather than against a measure of fanciness. The 20-point scoring system itself is unchanged: 10 points for food, five for hospitality, three for setting and experience, and two for value.

“Many were awarded a hat for the first time because they understood that making guests feel welcome and nourished, no matter how much they’re spending, is paramount,” Boys said.

Service costs CBD venues their hats

Loulou Bistro Martin Place, Tilda and The Gidley, all in the CBD, lost their hats, with poor service being the biggest factor behind falling scores.

Boys described one case in which a solo reviewer was mostly ignored in favour of larger tables ordering triple-digit bottles of wine. “Plates weren’t refreshed, empty glasses were not refilled or removed, and staff offered little guidance … That restaurant no longer has a hat.

“We understand that it’s important to look after the big-spender tables, but we also want to celebrate restaurants with staff trained to see a solo diner and think, ‘Right, I’m going to make sure this person eating alone has the best night possible.’ This is what real hospitality looks like.”

Fratelli Paradiso in Potts Point, Paski Sopra in Paddington and Arthur, which reopened its Surry Hills dining room with an a la carte menu in July, regained their hats.

Three hats

• Saint Peter (Paddington)

• Sixpenny (Stanmore), also Restaurant of the Year

Moved from one hat to two (five in total)

• Porcine (Paddington)

• Woodcut (Crown, Barangaroo)

• Gran Torino (Neil Perry’s Italian restaurant, which replaced Songbird in mid-2025)

The article names only these three of the five.

New two-hat entrants (10 in total)

• South End

• Stanley

• Omakase by Prefecture 48

• Giovanni Pilu

• Flaminia (Marilyn Annecchini)

• Three Blue Ducks Burradoo

The article names only these six of the 10.

Newly hatted

• Olympic Meats (Marrickville)

• Tida Persian Food (North Willoughby)

• Avia (Darlinghurst)

• Farmhouse Kings Cross (Rushcutters Bay)

• Takam (Darlinghurst), Sydney’s first Filipino restaurant to score 15/20

Regained a hat

• Fratelli Paradiso (Potts Point)

• Paski Sopra (Paddington)

• Arthur (Surry Hills)

Lost a hat

• Loulou Bistro Martin Place

• Tilda

• The Gidley

Closed, shrinking the top tier

• Quay

• Oncore by Clare Smyth

   

Jonathan Jackson, 27th October 2026