These are Australia's 8 favourite restaurants for 2026, as voted by locals

The results are in! For more than 15 years, Time Out’s Food & Drink Awards have celebrated the restaurants and bars worthy of your precious money and time. While our local food writers and editors have crowned the top venues for 2026 based on first-hand experiences, we also invited you to have your say.

RECOMMENDED: Check out all the Time Out Food & Drink Award 2026 winners, incl. Editors' Choice

This marks the very first year our People’s Choice categories went national! We received more than 10,000 votes – helping determine your favourite restaurant, café, bar and pub in each Australian state and territory. And now we’re excited to reveal the 2026 Favourite Restaurant winners. Congratulations to the following popular venues…

People’s Choice Awards: Favourite Restaurants

ACT: Lolo & Lola, Canberra

NSW: Cibaria Manly & Como Italian, Sydney (tie)

NT: Ella by Minoli, Darwin

QLD: Cibaria Noosa

VIC: Otakoï Ukrainian Restaurant, Melbourne

SA: Ekhidna Kitchen, McLaren Vale

TAS: Peppina, Hobart

WA: Emily Taylor, Fremantle

Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Australia newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. 

RECOMMENDED:

See the full list of Time Out Food & Drink Award 2026 winners