After almost two years of lockdowns, capacity restrictions and border closures, Australia’s hospitality scene is ready to welcome us back. To ensure food and drink lovers experience the ultimate summer of good food in this new era, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age’s Good Food Guide has been re-invented.
Released as a glossy inspirational 100-page magazine inserted into the November 30th edition of the Herald and The Age, the Good Food Guide 2022 magazine – tailored specifically to either NSW or Victoria – is the definitive guide to restaurants, cafes and bars, and is a celebration of our hospitality scene.
The magazine will replace the annual Good Food Guide book which, due to temporary restaurant closures during periods of lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne, will not be published.
Acknowledging the incredibly tough period the industry has gone through since the pandemic swept across Australia, the Good Food Guide 2022 magazine won’t give venues a score or award its respected Hats – for only the second time in its 40-year history. Hats and awards will return in 2022.
The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age executive editor Tory Maguire said: “The Good Food Guide is renowned as the authority on the best restaurants in NSW and Victoria thanks to our independent and respected team of reviewers. This year’s Guide is no different, despite the change in format, and we are proud to publish such a comprehensive list of the best places to eat this summer, from fine dining to more casual venues. At a time when it’s almost our patriotic duty to dine out, we’re very excited to be supporting the hospitality industry in this way.”
Edited by Myffy Rigby in Sydney and Michael Harry in Melbourne, reviews have been undertaken by esteemed critics including Herald chief reviewer Terry Durack and The Age’s Gemima Cody, but pandemic restrictions in both states have made it impossible to rate fairly all the restaurants they visited both before and after lockdowns.
In a nod to how the pandemic has changed the dining scene, more suburban venues are highlighted and reviewed as work-from-home orders reflect a burgeoning neighbourhood food culture. Featuring city fine-diners, local favourites and regional stars, the Good Food Guide 2022 magazine will feature more than 350 reviews each in NSW and Victoria.
With renowned brands Citi and Vittoria Coffee once again committing as co-presenting partners, the magazine will also go on sale from December 7 in newsagents, Coles, Woolworths and IGA supermarkets for $9.95.