The Fig Tree, Kangaroo Island, South Australia © Adam Bruzzone
Australia’s trendiest food and drink experiences
From farm-to-fork flavours to experiences that belong on a postcard, Australia’s top food and drink trends celebrate all things native and unique.
The farm-to-fork movement is unfurling across Australia, with chefs championing local and seasonal produce – and diners lapping it up. In Tasmania’s Derwent Valley, The Agrarian Kitchen shares its passion for connecting to the earth by cooking quality food harvested on-site. Gain a new appreciation for the earth’s ingredients at the award-winning restaurant, or learn to celebrate the seasons at one of The Agrarian’s cooking and foraging classes.
Sneaking away to a hole-in-the-wall bar makes you feel like you’re in on a secret. So there’s little wonder we’ve seen a rise in small bars across Australia. One of the world’s best is in Sydney – but you’ll have to find it first. The 20-seater Cantina OK! sits in a laneway, revealing a tiny bar framed by bottles of hand-sourced agave spirits. Flick through the curated menu to try exceptional Mexican-inspired drinks.
Eateries around Australia are bringing sustainability to the heart of what they do, but they’re not the only ones. You can sip sustainably too, with distilleries and winemakers shifting to low-carbon and organic practices. Leading the way is Four Pillars, the first carbon-neutral gin distillery in Australia. Savour beautiful cocktails featuring their finest gins – infused with native ingredients like lemon myrtle and Tasmanian pepper – in the Yarra Valley or Sydney.
Foraging for food and medicine in Australia is an ancient art, practised by Aboriginal people for tens of thousands of years. Australia is brimming with fresh produce from land to sea, and while foraging isn’t a new phenomenon, it’s one we’re proud of. Release your inner hunter-gatherer on an Indigenous-guided tour, or wade into the Tasmanian waters at Freycinet Marine Farm to shuck fresh oysters straight from the ocean. Food doesn't come any fresher than this.
Australia is home to a bounty of 6,500 native foods, and the desire to taste these unusual flavours has become increasingly popular. In Melbourne, savour a distinctly Australian dining experience at Attica, where native ingredients like crocodile, saltbush and finger limes are brought to the forefront of chef Ben Shewry’s degustation menu. Or in Queensland, taste truly traditional flavours on an Aboriginal-guided Walkabout Cultural Adventures tour, where you can savour bush foods from the source.
As a country passionate about our produce, it’s no surprise that Australia’s culinary calendar is steadily filling up. From Tasmania’s fresh oysters to Adelaide’s smooth wines, our food and drink affairs are prime time to celebrate the best local produce. Grab your ticket to one of the most lauded events in the beach town of Noosa, where the four-day Noosa Eat and Drink Festival brings together top-tier restaurants, breweries, distilleries and culinary minds on the beachfront.
Ever dreamed of dining beneath the Milky Way? Australia’s bucket-list dining experiences are truly once-in-a-lifetime, serving authentically Australian cuisine in extraordinary settings. At Tali Wiru, a bush tucker-inspired dinner will arrive at your table in the middle of the desert as the sun sets over Uluru. In Sydney, jaw-dropping harbour views meet rare and beautiful flavours at Quay. And on Kangaroo Island, take a seat beneath a 120-year-old fig tree to savour locally foraged flavours at The Fig Tree.
