HATS APLENTY

after a three-year hiatus the 2023 good food guide was a welcome return for hunter gastronomes. Newcastle Hatted Restaurants.

The Newcastle and Hunter region has always had a modicum of exceptional food offerings and the stalwarts like Muse Restaurant, Bistro Molines, Margan and Muse Kitchen have always positioned the region as a foodie haven.

Muse Restaurant retained its super-star Two Hat status, putting it firmly on the map as one of regional NSW’s top three restaurants. According to the Good Food Guide, only two other regional restaurants received Two Hats.

With now six restaurants in the region bearing a One Hat status, the region has never been so recognised for its food. And there’s diversity too. From a traditional French Bistro with spectacular views over the vineyards, modern woodfired cooking, paddock to plate dining, modern experimental cuisine, through to clever classical hatted dining. Hatted restaurants Newcastle, there is something for every kind of diner in the Hunter.

“The region has never been so recognised for its food.”

Joining Muse with its Two Hats, the six One Hat restaurants are: Bistro Molines, Margan, Muse Kitchen, and new entrants EXP and Yellow Billy from the Hunter Valley; and Newcastle’s Flotilla.

“It’s an honour just to get in the Good Food Guide, with the plethora of great restaurants, and gruelling review process, let alone being awarded a hat. Basically, an independent reviewer determines whether a restaurant is worth your time and money. So it’s great to see these three new additions, and our region being recognised more than I’ve seen in my three decades in the Hunter.” says Lisa Margan of Margan Restaurant