The best Canberra restaurants to visit in 2025
Gone are the days when suits and symmetry defined Canberra. Today, our nation’s capital is a treasure trove for food and wine lovers, with dining options as varied as its topography. Whether you’re after a special-occasion fine dining experience or something more low-key, Canberra’s culinary scene offers something for everyone — especially with this firecracker list of the best Canberra restaurants.
Casual eateries rub shoulders with fine establishments, from discreet corner bars with hidden basements dishing up Asian-leaning plates to hilltop trattorias housed in landmark buildings serving flame-cooked meals; the city is a gastronomic wonderland.
We’ve searched the capital for the best places to eat, drink and celebrate Canberra’s dynamic restaurant culture. This guide is not limited to a single style of dining; every restaurant featured should be considered gold standard. See how the guide works.
Our expert critics
This guide to the best Canberra restaurants in 2025 has been edited by Gourmet Traveller’s national guide editor and Australian Capital Territory state editor, Michael Harry. Harry has travelled far and wide to visit — and revisit — dozens of restaurants, seeking out the most exceptional meals and memorable dining experiences in Canberra.
The best restaurants in Canberra in 2025
Canberra views at Lunetta (Credit: Lillie Thompson)
This architectural icon housed atop Red Hill serves a polished, Italian-ish menu with dishes cooked over flames in the open kitchen. On ground level, you’ll find more casual fare via Lunetta Trattoria, while upstairs, fine-dining dazzles. Pasta is a standout — as is the knockout view.
(Credits: Ash St George, Pew Pew Studio)
Brothers Mork and Benn Ratanakosol have made their mark in Yarralulma with a 22-seat wine bar that dabbles in Thai, Chinese and Southeast Asian flavours, alongside European influences. Killer snacks with modern spins are the name of the game — try the mee goreng with shattery pork chicharon.
(Credits: Leah Timms)
The sleek, loosely European wine bar brings big-city energy to a low-key Canberra corner. Specialising in natural drops with personality and well-matched plates that occasionally swerve Asian, the elegantly casual bar comes complete with a hidden basement (11e Cave) for one last tipple.
pilot-restaurant-ainslie-act
Located at the back of a suburban shopping strip, this quietly brilliant 24-seat fine-diner surprises and delights. Owners Dash Rumble and Ross McQuinn, together with chef Mal Hanslow, serve up a playful tasting menu and an all-Australian drinks list.
Interiors of Such and Such in Canberra
The casual sibling to fine-diner Pilot, Such and Such is ideal for those post-work cocktails that turn into late-night dinners. Food-wise, expect influences from Thai to Middle Eastern, and a wine list stocked with local naturals.
How the guide works
To earn a place in this guide, each venue must excel from welcome to farewell, with service, design, originality, consistency and atmosphere each carefully considered. But the most crucial area of excellence is always the food. From fine-diners to city wine bars, bistros, trattorias, izakayas and many more, every restaurant featured in this guide should be considered gold standard. It’s an exciting snapshot of how we like to eat out in 2025 and beyond. All of the restaurants reviewed were visited anonymously between March and July 2025 with reviewers paying their own way.
The price guide has been updated this year to convey the average cost for two people. While we’re big fans of solo dining, restaurant visits are more often a shared experience, and this adjustment reflects that.
PRICE GUIDE
Average cost for two diners, not including drinks.
$ = under $100
$$ = $100 to $175
$$$ = 175 to $250
$$$$ = $250 to $325
$$$$$ = $325+
