From harbourside brine to coastal espresso, these Readers’ Choice 2025 winners celebrate the flavours travellers chase and locals brag about. Across metro streets and seaside promenades, each venue has earned its crown through memorable food, atmosphere and that hard-to-fake sense of place.
Expect jewel-bright seafood in East Perth, a Miami café where mornings taste like surf, French finesse in tropical Cairns, Italian-leaning comfort in Geelong and Mediterranean glamour high above Surfers Paradise.
Whether you’re planning a milestone meal or a spur-of-the-moment escape, let this list guide your next great table. Book ahead, arrive hungry and enjoy the country’s most-loved venues.
Readers’ Choice 2025 – Seafood – Metro
Art of Seafood in East Perth feels like a polished harbour tucked into the city. The dining room is bright and calm, washed in coastal tones, with a soft buzz from the kitchen. Near the bar, ice displays glint with the day’s catch. Plates arrive like edible postcards: plump oysters, silky sashimi, scallops kissed by flame and fish grilled to smoky perfection.
A clean, briny perfume hangs in the air, lifted by citrus, herbs and butter. Service is warm and unhurried, letting the seafood speak. Come dusk, the riverside location adds sparkle and dessert leans light, lemony and fresh.
Readers’ Choice 2025 – International
Caffeine Kings in Miami is a sunny corner café that hums with beach-town ease. Morning light spills through wide windows onto pale timber tables, while the espresso machine hisses like surf on sand. Coffee arrives bold and silky, finished with a steady swirl of microfoam and the cabinet tempts with golden croissants, sticky buns and tidy slices.
Breakfast plates feel fresh and generous: avocado bright with lime, eggs softly folded, bacon crisp at the edges. Staff greet locals by name and visitors like friends, before you wander back outside with a cup and the sea breeze does the rest.
Readers’ Choice 2025 – French
C’est Bon French Restaurant in Cairns is a little pocket of Paris softened by the tropics. Near the Esplanade, it feels intimate, cheerful and romantic. Warm lamplight settles over white linen and wine glasses and the room carries that quiet, buttery perfume of good cooking. The menu moves with confident grace: onion soup dark and sweet, duck with crisp skin and rosy flesh, barramundi in beurre blanc that tastes like sunshine and pommes frites you keep stealing.
Desserts arrive as small celebrations- silky crème brûlée, a bright lemon tart and molten chocolate cake. Service is attentive and the evening lingers happily.
Readers’ Choice 2025 – Italian
Centra Hotel’s restaurant in Geelong is a cosy, contemporary hideaway that feels tuned to the city’s coastal tempo. The dining room is softly lit and easy-going, with modern finishes warmed by timber and chatter rising like gentle steam. Breakfast starts bright and steady-good coffee, eggs done properly and plates that lean fresh, hearty and unfussy.
As the day shifts, the space settles into a relaxed bistro mood, inviting lingering lunches and enticing, well-balanced dinners. There’s a quiet confidence to the menu, paired with friendly service that knows when to hover and when to let you enjoy. It’s a welcoming anchor for guests and locals alike.
Readers’ Choice 2025 – Mediterranean
Hyde Paradiso in Surfers Paradise rises above the beach like a Mediterranean daydream. Neon glows through palms, DJs spin a lazy weekend soundtrack and the terrace opens to a sweep of ocean that turns every seat into a lookout. Cocktails arrive icy and aromatic - citrus, herbs, a flirt of sea spray - then share plates follow for grazing: hummus slicked with olive oil, charred prawns, lamb skewers, oysters bright with finger lime.
The air stays sun-warmed at night, all white tile and coastal blues. Glamorous, breezy, unforgettable. Settle in at sunset, watch the shoreline glitter and let the music carry you into midnight.
