While there has certainly been an increase in fancy potato scallops and shimmering Korean soups in 2026, the biggest restaurant trend of the past 12 months has been previously bold and ambitious operators dialling back risk. We’ve never seen more steakhouses, sandwich shops or generic Italian joints sweep Sydney. If at first it doesn’t work, flip to pizza.
And we get it – restaurants have become ferociously expensive to run, and the cost-of-living crunch is real. Whether you’re a restaurant investor or a diner, no one’s overly keen to roll the dice on untested pitches right now.
At the same time, young talent and veteran restaurateurs continue to open personal, singular venues because having a point of view – telling a story or sharing a history – is still more important than the profit margins on farmed kingfish and steak frites. Great restaurants find a way.
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This year’s Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide Awards celebrate that drive and courage, and the finalists listed below display the ingenuity that stands out in NSW and the ACT’s competitive dining scenes. On Monday, October 26, the 42nd edition of the Guide will be launched and these awards (plus several others, including Pub of the Year) will be unveiled.
The winners of the 42nd Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide Awards will be announced on Monday, October 26, presented by Oceania Cruises and T2 Tea. The awards ceremony will be live-blogged via the Herald from 3pm; the Guide reviews will be available on the Good Food app from 8pm. Pick up a free 56-page Good Food Guide liftout in the Herald on Tuesday, October 27.
The home of the Good Food Guide , the app is free for premium subscribers of the SMH and also available as a standalone subscription. You can download the Good Food app here .
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