Hats off to the best chefs in town

Each year a gaggle of reviewers head across the state to wine and dine at the best eateries on offer. In September, the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide awards are held when chefs hats – up to three – are awarded.

Eight Hunter Region restaurants were toqued in the 2013 Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide, announced in Sydney last week.

The Newcastle City Farmers Market was also named in the Top 10 Regional Farmers’ Markets.

Restaurant Mason (Newcastle) 15.5/20

Shop 3, 35 Hunter Street, Newcastle

His restaurant might be a newcomer to the hatted list, but Restaurant Mason’s Chris Thornton is no stranger to award-winning establishments.

Thornton has spent time in several noteworthy kitchens in the city, including at Restaurant II when Peter and Therese Bryant were at the helm, Bistro Tartine and fellow Novocastrian Brett Graham’s The Ledbury in London. 

Thornton set about opening his own establishment last year, redecorating and refitting the former Altas Cafe site on Hunter Street into a stylish space with white tablecloths, silver cutlery and a young and enthusiastic team who Thornton said ‘‘work their butts off’’ to help make and maintain the Mason product.

Joined by sous chef Kyle Liston, Thornton’s food has attracted a loyal following.  The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2013 reviewers agreed, awarding the eatery top scores for the Hunter Region and naming Thornton ‘‘a rising star’’. Thornton told GT last week the impact of receiving a hat hadn’t quite sunk in yet.

‘‘Being our first restaurant and our first attempt at running a business we were just trying to get the restaurant started and running smoothly and making sure our customers were always happy, so to get the hat and the score was a massive shock,’’ Thornton said.

 ‘‘The Good Food Guide is such a widely recognised and prestigious award that when you do receive it, it gives a great sense of achievement and to be put alongside the names of other talented chefs and restaurants in Newcastle and NSW was extremely humbling.’’

And what about the ‘‘rising star’’ tag?

‘‘To have the recognition for doing something that you love doing every day is quite gratifying.’’  ‘‘At the same time it puts a bit of pressure on you to maintain the standard... 

‘‘As a well-respected chef said to me on the night, ‘Well, mate, the easy part is done, now the hard part begins’.’’

Subo (Newcastle) 15.5/20

551D Hunter Street, Newcastle West

It’s true to say Subo is a labour of love for husband and wife, Beau Vincent and Suzie Pollak-Vincent. The contemporary bistro opened late last year and has already earned rave reviews and a loyal following.

Vincent is a former Lexus Young Chef of the Year winner who has previously worked at Tetsuya’s, Restaurant Assiette, and Melbourne’s Bistro Guillaume, while Pollak-Vincent  has spent time at Guillaume at Bennelong and Claude’s.

The SMH Good Food Guide reviewer praised Vincent’s ‘‘dynamic and colourful’’ cooking which plays with tastes, aromas and textures.

Bacchus (Newcastle) 15.5/20

141 King Street, Newcastle

Bacchus has again been rewarded for its excellent food and service with a coveted hat.

With chef Timothy Montgomery manning the pans, Bacchus has built a reputation for polished food which even shows off fresh produce gathered by Montgomery himself from the shores of Newcastle’s beaches. The building is just as impressive as Montgomery’s food – a heritage-listed former playhouse and former Methodist Mission. Indeed, the Good Food Guide reviewers give a nod to this, but call Montgomery’s food the ‘‘star attraction’’ at the venue.

Muse (Pokolbin) 15.5/20

Hungerford Hill Wines, 1 Broke Road, Pokolbin

This year’s hat adds to the swag  awards already collected by Megan and Troy Rhoades-Brown since they opened Muse Restaurant and cafe in 2009.

The duo were quickly recognised by the Good Food Guide, scoring their first chef’s hat just 18 months after throwing open its doors.

This year’s review is no different, praising the eatery’s service and atmosphere, as well as its ‘‘tantalising’’ food.

Muse Kitchen (Pokolbin) 15/20

Keith Tulloch Wines, Hermitage Road, Pokolbin

The newer addition to the Muse dining stable, Muse Kitchen earned its first chef’s hat this year.

It’s more informal than Muse and has French provincial influences in the decor and beautiful garden. Settle in for lunch from Wednesday to Sunday and wash it down with a Keith Tulloch Wine.

The menu also bears a European influence in dishes such as pork hock croque monsieur, onion soup with a traditional gruyere crouton and fennel, lemon and dill scented seafood chowder.

Bistro Molines (Mount View) 15/20

749 Mount View Road, Mount View

 The French food on offer at Bistro Molines is almost as famous as the people who lend their name to the eatery – Robert and Sally Molines who have operated a number of eateries in the Hunter Valley.

The little bit of Provence in the Hunter is praised by the guide for its food with ‘‘a distinctly French provincial accent’’.

restaurant deux (Newcastle) 15/20

8 Bolton Street, Newcastle

 Lesley Taylor’s modern French offering at Newcastle’s restaurant deux has again been awarded a chef’s hat. The eatery, snuggled in a sandstone building on a CBD street, brings together Taylor’s love of French food with the best of the Hunter Region’s produce. You can also try her food at the more casual le petit deux, also in Newcastle.

Zest Restaurant (Nelson Bay) 15/20

16 Stockton Street, Nelson Bay

 Since opening in 2002, Zest Restaurant has developed a strong reputation and a swag of awards including several chef’s hats.

Under the guidance of chef Glenn Thompson, the menu focuses on produce from Port Stephens and the Hunter Region.

His desserts are praised in the  Good Food Guide, saying they ‘‘are almost worth the two-and-a-half hour drive from Sydney’’.

The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2013 is on sale from bookstores for $24.95. You can also access the guide through iPhone and Android apps. For more information and to order go to goodguides.com.au.