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Traveller Awards: Dine and drink
In a world of fleeting food trends, some dining experiences stand the test of time and location. From a UNESCO-recognised culinary city in Greece to a chef who has reinvented how we eat fish, this is the new global gastronomic bucket-list. Read on for our Traveller Awards 2025 winners in the Dine and Drink category.
Saint Peter and Grand National Hotel, Paddington, NSW
It’s apparently not enough for Josh Niland, perhaps Australia’s most talented and creative chef, to run a three-hatted restaurant. It’s not even enough to run two more restaurants, one in Singapore, the other on Hamilton Island, both excellent. Because Niland and his wife, Julie, also run the Grand National Hotel, a gorgeous boutique property in Sydney’s ritzy Paddington, just above Saint Peter, the aforementioned three-hatter. A meal at Saint Peter, enjoying Niland’s innovative, skilful takes on fish and seafood, followed by a night at the Grand National, is just about the most exciting pairing Australia has to offer right now. See saintpeter.com.au
The Chef’s Table at Blue Duck Station, New Zealand
New Zealand’s most exclusive restaurant is not the place for a spur-of-the-moment meal. That’s partly because it’s a long way from anywhere – almost five hours’ drive from Auckland to Blue Duck Station, then a two-hour transfer up to the hilltop restaurant – and partly because it caters to just 10 diners per seating. But dinner at this off-grid restaurant, where chef Jack Cashmore uses ingredients mostly grown or foraged on-station, is an unforgettable experience. Book well ahead to stay overnight in one of the four cabins that sit next to the restaurant: watching the dawn shimmer into existence behind the high peaks is an amazing way to wake up. See thechefstable.co.nz
Thessaloniki, Greece
In a country of phenomenal fresh food, Thessaloniki is only one of two Greek cities listed as a UNESCO City of Gastronomy (no, the other’s not Athens, it’s Heraklion). Come to pay homage to the birthplace of souvlaki, the custardy breakfast pastry bougatsa and the quintessentially Greek iced frappe. Just a few hours’ drive from Bulgaria, Turkey, Albania and North Macedonia, the neighbourhood, and a passing parade of empires, has informed its cuisine. Over millennia, the city’s been occupied by some of the biggest names in the empire game, including Ottomans, Slavs, Venetians and Franks, with a strong Jewish influence during its Byzantine years; visit the top dining room Olympos Naoussa for an empirical dining crash course. The wine districts of Naoussa to the west and Katerini, south of the city, offer genre-defining Xinomavro and Assyrtiko wines. See visitgreece.gr, olymposnaoussa.gr
Ramen Guide Japan
You might think you know ramen, the increasingly popular Japanese noodle soup, but do the words kombusui tsukumen mean anything to you? How about chuka soba shoyu? Or tokusei shio? The truth is that the world of ramen in Japan is deeply complex and esoteric, and if you hope to do anything other than merely scrape the surface in a city like Tokyo, you’re going to need a guide. And that guide is Cody Mizuno. Cody is a self-confessed “ramen head”, a noodle-soup obsessive who eats hundreds of bowls of ramen a year, while also leading small-group tours of Tokyo suburbs revealing the hidden depths of this cherished dish. For aspiring ramen nerds, it’s a must. See ramenguidejapan.com
Great Journeys New Zealand, Scenic Plus
Take a luxury train carriage, add some of New Zealand’s most dramatic landscapes and serve it with regionally inspired cuisine and you have Scenic Plus, a new class of train travel offered by Great Journeys New Zealand. Available across all three journeys – TranzAlpine, Northern Explorer and Coastal Pacific – the exclusive service is a moveable feast of paddock-to-plate dining designed to reflect the region it travels through. The menu changes with the seasons – think Canterbury lamb, South Island smoked salmon – and is paired with local wines. Designed to accommodate just 56 passengers, the custom-built carriages feature panoramic windows, skylights and Maori-inspired detailing. Host storytelling brings the experience to life. See greatjourneysnz.com
Seppeltsfield Barossa
Established in 1851 in South Australia’s Barossa Valley by German immigrants Joseph and Johanna Seppelt, Seppeltsfield Estate has become one of Australia’s most enduring wine dynasties. The estate’s history can literally be tasted in its menu thanks to events executive chef Owen Andrews, who has reintroduced smoking and preservation techniques from the 1800s for modern diners, including preserving whole wheels of cheese in port and restoring the vineyard’s antique smokehouse to make bacon. However, the jewel in the crown is found above the original winery in the Centennial Cellar. Here, visitors can taste one of the world’s longest unbroken lineage of Tawny. A new barrel is added each year, with the whole collection dating back to 1878. See seppeltsfield.com.au
Culinary Backstreets
With most tours lasting five hours or more, Culinary Backstreet tour participants require comfortable shoes, deep curiosity and a robust appetite. Launched by a couple of American food bloggers living in Istanbul, the expert tours reflect the founders’ deep love of eating and storytelling and go deep into food, food culture and social history. Starting with an Istanbul food tour in 2010, the company now offers small-group walking tours in 24 cities around the world and week-long food-focused journeys in destinations across Europe and in Mexico, Japan and Malaysia. Whether it’s chatting to migrant patisserie apprentices in the backstreets of Marseille or snacking on salt cod fritters near Porto, these tours offer a deep dive into food culture and history like few others. See culinarybackstreets.com
Food Cart Tour, Jackson Heights, New York
One of the most ethnically diverse neighbourhoods on the planet, Jackson Heights, in the New York borough of Queens, is home to roughly 180,000 people who speak more than 170 languages. This cultural cauldron is best expressed in its cuisine, where you can find everything from Colombian cheese arepas and deep-fried Bengali fuchka balls to Himalayan momo dumplings and Mexican al pastor tacos. Few other places in the US comes close for cultural and culinary diversity. On Turnstile Tours’ two-hour Jackson Heights food cart tour, you’ll get to meet the vendors, learn their backstories and sample dishes. See turnstiletours.com
Ship to Shore, Tasmania
Fresh air and fresh produce – for Tasmania, they’re as good as motherhood statements and you get plenty of both on this six-night adventure. First stop is Stillwater, Launceston, a boutique hotel with one of the city’s best restaurants, transformed from an old mill at the foot of the Cataract Gorge. Two nights there, then you’re off to The Cove, coast front to Bass Strait and 10-minutes from Devonport, dining at its Basalt restaurant. The final instalment is the luxurious, expansive Van Diemen’s Apartment at the Ship Inn, Stanley, dining next door at Hursey Seafoods, with produce straight from the boats. The package includes a welcome bottle of wine and two nights’ bed and breakfast at each venue and most dinners. See stillwater.net.au/packages
Tasting Australia, South Australia
As far as food, wine and farming festivals go, South Australia’s annual symposium of scrumptiousness is hard to beat. Held over 10 days, the event is based in downtown Adelaide and stretches to the regions – the Flinders Ranges, Renmark and up the Murray River. The focus is on the state’s movers, shakers, makers and growers who contribute so much to SA agritourism, but the program also features national talent keen to be a part of the celebration. Tasting Australia Airlines is a day-long event packed with more dishes than you can poke a stick at, and an itinerary grounded in the farms and eateries of each area. The $995 ticket covers multiple modes of transportation, including flights, meals and all experiences – it’s an unbeatable deal. See tastingaustralia.com.au
Traveller Awards contributors: Kate Allman, Kate Armstrong, Flip Byrnes, Justine Costigan, Jim Darby, Anthony Dennis, Ben Groundwater, Jenny Hewett, Belinda Jackson, Kerry van der Jagt, Julietta Jameson, Trudi Jenkins, Brian Johnston, Ute Junker, Katrina Lobley, Catherine Marshall, Chrissie McClatchie, Rob McFarland, Justin Meneguzzi, Julie Miller, Jane Reddy, Jane Richards, Katherine Scott, Craig Tansley, Lee Tulloch, Sue Williams, Riley Wilson.
