Australia Restaurant Tips by iandsmith

Beaumont Street, Hamilton (Newcastle)
So it's a street in Newcastle, but, in that street are over 50 restaurants. You can choose Brazilian, Italian, Lebanese, African, Chinese, Thai, Turkish, Greek, English, American and even Australian all in 5 blocks.
You can find similar set ups in Sydney (Neutral Bay springs readily to mind) and Melbourne (Lygon Street is famous down there) as Australia has a very eclectic mix of food and so many fresh ingredients. The best, freshest and most mouth watering food I have had consistently in Australia though, was in Tasmania!
Newcastle, at the last census, had just under 4,000 restaurants. In my experience, most serve good quality food and I can still count the duds on one hand. Go ahead, gorge yourself!

Favorite Dish: Just about any lamb dish. If you have never had Australian roast leg of lamb then your culinary life experience is, as yet, unfulfilled.

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Theme: Other
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Address: Newcastle N.S.W. about 150kms north of Sydney.

So, since I've mentioned pies, where are the best? Well, I can't tell you all, but I can tell you some.
If you're on the N.S.W. Central Coast you should aim for True Blue Aussie Pies at The Entrance and The Bremen Pie Shop at Umina, the latter is my personal favourite.
In Port Stephens you must eat at Red Ned's, at North Haven it's the Addictive Pie Shop, near Kempsey it's Freddo's at Fredrickton, Tea Gardens pie shop is great and, of the franchised chains, Ridgy Didge and Michelle's are worthy of sampling.
For wood-fired bakeries try the one at Dorrigo in N.S.W. and the one at Ross in Tasmania, all very tasty!
Probably the pick for me though is Beechworth Bakery. There are four outlets with this name run by the same man. I've visited two, one at Echuca and the other at Beechworth itself. See tip further down for the full story.

Favorite Dish: Try the apple squares from Beechworth Bakery. We're talking food to die for here.

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Theme: Bakery
Comparison: least expensive
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Directions: Every worthy town has one

Restaurant Name: Northbridge

If you're dining out in Perth, you should come home satisfied. Most of the restaurants are good quality or better.
The most popular place for dining is the inner city suburb of Northbridge where there are about five blocks of almost wall-to-wall restaurants. You can try Italian, Greek, Lebanese, several types of Asian and many more that I can't remember.
It's very cosmopolitan here and there is a bustle about the place late into the night as there are some nightclubs (not all of the family kind) sprinkled among the eating houses as well.


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Theme: Local
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Directions: Just over the railway line from the CBD.

Restaurant Name: Brisbane and Melbourne

Two of the major cities in Australia have completely redeveloped the southern banks of the rivers the towns were originally situated on.
Both have heaps of restaurants overlooking said rivers where you can dine internally or A la carte your way around and watch the world go by.
The Brisbane one happened mainly as a result of Expo which necessitated redeveloping the south bank so they could accommodate the world's fair. When the fair was over they had a ready made area where people could spend a whole day either eating, using the children's playground, visiting the museum or sampling some of the other activities. All in all, a wonderful public space.

Favorite Dish: Melbourne had no such excuse but did it anyway with a similar result. Sitting amid the sculptures watching the cruise ferries cutting their wakes along the Yarra is definitely one of my fondest memories of Melbourne.
Of course, there's much more to it than that. You can enjoy buskers like the manic Asher T (pic 4) or toddle off to the casino behind the flames. Oh, and did someone mentione the flames? They're powered by gas and go off every hour on the hour at night till midnight. Wow.

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Theme: Eclectic/International
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Address: South bank - were else!

Restaurant Name: Jetty Street

As with all Australian cities, Adelaide has its restaurant street, in this case Jetty Street in Glenelg, a splendid suburb by the sea.
Block after block of culinary delights await, with probably a leaning towards Italian but you will find an eclectic mix as you peruse the fare from the footpath before making up your mind. You won't be disappointed if you're an ice cream freak either, at one point there are four within 100 metres of each other.
Should you be staying in the city you can conveniently catch the tram (the only one in Adelaide) whose final stop is right in Jetty Street. In fact, it takes you right down the middle of the street!


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Theme: Other
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Address: Jetty Street, Glenelg
Directions: South East of Adelaide CBD.

Restaurant Name: Beechworth Bakery

What's to do in Beechworth I hear you ask. Well, as one other VT site will testify, a lot more than you can see in two days.
The one place you must not miss is the Beechworth Bakery. In fact, if that was all the town had to offer I'd still go there and I'd still have to queue up to get a pie.
If Australia is a land of pie shops, this is one of the finest.
The owner even wrote a book about his success. My first experience came at the Echuca branch when we went in for a late breakfast. I was amazed, I could count 12 staff in this outlet on a Sunday morning in a country town and it was just short of being packed with customers.
Tom O’Toole has been described as John Cleese on speed. A self confessed kindergarten dropout, he is so sought after by the financial world that he delivers over 100 lectures a year at over $6,000 a pop.
O’Toole bought the bakery business over 20 years ago. He had previously owned the shop as a restaurant, flogged it off and went to W.A. where he learnt about baking. He then returned, repurchased the shop and it has now gone from two staff turning over $100,000 per annum to 4 stores, 160 staff, churning out over $10,000,000 at 20% nett profit.
The Beechworth Mayor has credited Tom O’Toole with single handedly getting Beechworth motivated into tourism. Bill Hotson says, “He was the catalyst, the reason we got into tourism.”
He’s now sold 75% of his business to others and the partners estimate Australia can handle over 300 of these stores. Personally speaking, I can’t wait till they open in Newcastle.
For mine the ultimate gem is what the bank said. In Tom’s words, “The bank was here, they said Tom we’re going, it’s dying, this town’s had it, and my accountant said you’re bloody mad, you’re overcapitalizing a town that’s dying. Today they all think I’m a guru.” Gotta love a man with that attitude.

Favorite Dish: Pass me another apple pie please (they’re to-die-for).
If only I could induce the owner to open up in my home town.

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Theme: Local
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Directions: Beechworth, Echuca, Wangaratta, W.A.

Restaurant Name: Take your pick

Here is probably Australia's best known culinary street. It sits on the outskirts of the Melbourne CBD and has restaurants crowding the pavement for a few blocks. You will get hassled on the sidewalk, just like if you're in the Near East, so be prepared.
Personally, I love it and that's part of the reason I go.
The prices are competitive and the food is very filling. Sometimes it's a good idea if you can see just how much they pile onto your plate by checking out another table's order before you get yours because otherwise you might waste a lot of it. Some of the dishes are substantial.

Favorite Dish: You can get many different types of cuisine here but I lean towards the original Lygon Street restaurants, the Italian ones.

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Theme: Italian
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Directions: Northern side of the CBD in Melbourne