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The 2026 nominees for Time Out’s Food & Drink Awards, for both Melbourne and Sydney, have just gone live. Time Out’s local food writers and editors eat out – a lot! – so we can bring you recommendations on restaurants and bars that are worthy of your precious money and time, based on real people’s real experiences.
In case you’re wondering how Time Out goes about reviewing, we never write starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences, or as part of paid partnerships. Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our recommendations. That means all the restaurant and bar reviews you'll read on nominated Food & Drink Award venues are based on experiences that have been paid for by Time Out, and venues don’t know we’re dining.
Based on this system, we’ve been running awards that celebrate Australia’s hospitality industry for more than 15 years. We truly believe we have some of the most delicious dining scenes in the world, and we love being able to celebrate this hard-working industry.
For the 2026 Food & Drink Awards, we’ve been checking new spots out, as well as revisiting long-standing restaurants and bars to make sure they’re still delivering excellent experiences.
It was difficult to narrow down the shortlists – there are so many amazing business owners, chefs, bartenders, sommeliers, front-of-house and back-of-house professionals delivering exceptional experiences to diners. But we’ve worked hard to bring you a selection of nominees that is diverse – diverse when it comes to price point, cuisines, locations and vibes. The only thing they all have in common? They all deliver a “wow” experience.
2026 nominees
For 2026, Time Out Melbourne and Sydney have announced Editors’ Choice nominees in the following Editors’ Choice categories:
- Best Restaurant
- Best Affordable Eat
- Best Bar & Pub (Sydney)
- Best Bar (Melbourne)
- Best Destination Venue
To see all nominees for Melbourne, click here.
To see all nominees for Sydney, click here.
People’s Choice voting
We also have People’s Choice Award categories, and that’s where we need your help. Share with us which places you’re loving most. For the first time, you can vote for venues across all of Australia (not just in Sydney and Melbourne).
You can vote for absolutely any restaurant, café, bar or pub in Australia. Voting is now open, and closes on Friday, April 24 (at 11.59pm AEST). Not only will you be able to share your views and support your favourites, but everyone who votes will go in the running to win one of three $250 Visa gift cards (which you could spend on your next dining experience).
These are the People’s Choice categories you can vote in:
- People's Choice: Restaurant
- People's Choice: Café
- People's Choice: Bar
- People's Choice: Pub
Vote now for your favourite venues throughout Australia by clicking here.
When will winners be annouced?
The winning venues in all categories will be revealed on Tuesday, May 5. On this day, we will also announce the winners of these other special awards:
- Impact Award
- Legend Award
The winners will be shared across our social channels and websites, so keep an eye out.
A bit more about how we review
As mentioned above, Time Out never writes restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences, or as part of paid partnerships. All the write-ups about Food & Drink Award nominees are based on experiences that have been paid for by Time Out, and venues don’t know that we’re coming.
While we’re always honest in the reviews we publish, we won’t publish a negative review – we’re a recommendations publisher, so if we don’t have a great experience at a restaurant or bar, we don’t write a review. That’s why you won’t see Time Out publishing a restaurant or bar review that's less than three out of five stars. We’re here to support good hospitality businesses – we know it’s a tough industry! – by inspiring you to get off the couch to experience the best of the city.
Also note that venues don't nominate themselves for awards – Time Out editors and local food writers independently review venues and then curate nominee lists from those reviews.
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Will your favourite place get a nod in 2026? Will you learn about new places to add to your list of spots to hit up? Stay tuned for the winner announcements.
To see all Editors’ Choice nominees for Melbourne, click here, and for Sydney, click here.
To vote for any venue anywhere in Australia, head to our People’s Choice voting over here (and you’ll go in the draw for a prize).
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