Another year has flown by. Reflecting back on my posts, it’s time to pick out my top eats for 2016. In no particular order:

Pod Food

Pod Food can really do no wrong with their amazing fresh produce, lovely setting and excellent service. It never disappoints. I enjoyed a degustation dinner at Pod Food earlier this year. Each element of food was well thought out and presented beautifully. I recommend trying the 4-course breakfast degustation but you need to get there early.

Address: 12 Beltana Road, Pialligo. Open for breakfast both Saturday and Sunday, lunch Wednesday to Sunday, and dinner Thursday to Sunday.

Garden Pavilions at Pialligo Estate

Breakfast at the Pialligo Estate Garden Pavilions was introduced earlier this year. At the time, there was a 2-course breakfast menu but I’m not sure if it’s still available. Nevertheless, we found all dishes on the breakfast menu just delicious and extremely satisfying. The ricotta hot cake and anything with Pialligo estate bacon was a favourite. Service was attentive and the surroundings are beautiful. It feels like you’re no longer in Canberra.

Address: 18 Kallaroo Road, Pialligo. The Garden Pavilions are open for breakfast from 8am both Saturday and Sunday. Lunch is available Friday to Sunday, and dinner is available Friday to Saturday. See their website for more info and opening hours for their farmhouse.

Pizza Artigiana

Pizza Artigiana in Macquarie makes a fantastic pizza dough. The thin dough was wonderfully soft with a puffy soft crust but still managed to hold the light pizza toppings. I usually don’t eat the pizza crusts (why the extra carbs?) but couldn’t help but eat these crusts – the base was so good! The dough at Pizza Artigiana have a 3 day rise in order to ferment and develop a deeper flavour. The pizza base had bite, chewiness and a slightly salty flavour on its own. Not your regular bland base. Best of all, I wasn’t guzzling 3 litres of water afterwards.

Address: Corner Bowman and Wiseman St, Macquarie. Best to check opening hours with the restaurant – it was open every night except Wednesday, and lunch on Sunday.

Turkish Halal Pide House

You haven’t had Turkish unless you’ve been to the Turkish Halal Pide House in Yarralumla. Its kebabs are famous throughout the land. Good prices, plenty of fillings, lots of flavour, fresh wraps and fast service. Can’t get much better than that. I should really try their pides next time!

Address: 47 Novar St, Yarralumla. Open seven days a week from 9am to 8.30pm.

Pizza Arte

Another Canberra classic, Pizza Arte has been run by the same Romanian family for 17 years serving pizza at the back of a house in Kingston. The ‘large’ pizzas are gigantic and should last you a few days. Great pizza and lovely service. As the pizzas are take away only, it’s best to call ahead and place your order first so you don’t need to wait.

Address: 13 Leichhardt Street, Kingston. Open Wednesday to Sunday from 5pm to 9pm.

Vincent

A newcomer to Governor Place in Barton, Vincent is first and foremost a wine bar. However, I was impressed with its food – great combinations, flavours that worked well together and just yummy tasting food. My favourites are the smoked wagyu and the medley of beetroot and goats curd.

Address: Corner of Macquarie and Broughton Street, Barton. Open Tues-Thurs 4pm-10pm, Fri 12pm-10pm, and Sat 4pm-10pm.

Burmese Curry Place

The Burmese Curry Place is a Canberra institution. And I only tried it for the first time in 2016! The curries are very cheap – $6.99 take away or $7.99 dine-in for a choice of 2 curries with rice. There are 9 curries to choose from – think of all the combinations you could make! My favourite so far is the #4 fish cake and #5 fish curry combination. The fish is always so soft, full of flavour and slightly spicy. The fish cakes are massive and usually only two can fit into the take away container. The fish cakes are oily, but you’re not there to be healthy.

Address: 102 Alinga Street, Civic (at the bus interchange). Open Monday to Friday for lunch.

Two Before Ten

The absolute-melt-in-your-mouth confit ocean trout at Two Before Ten‘s Civic store made this one of the best dishes of the year. The massive portion of trout provided in combination with the perfectly poached eggs and delicious sourdough made this a winner.

Address: 1 Hobart Place, Civic. Open seven days a week for breakfast and lunch.

Delikase

A lesser known Filipino restaurant in Gold Creek, Delikase offers Filipino favourites like lechon, adobo, and various pancit. The lechon (spit pork) was a $25 weekend special and quite generous. Pork lovers should appreciate the menu as the majority of it offers pork! I thought the dishes were affordable and the service was extremely friendly.

Address: 39 O’Hanlon Place, Nicholls. Open Wednesday to Sunday for lunch, and Friday to Saturday to dinner.

Otis

The mid-week chef’s tasting menu (5 courses for $70) is a must-try at Otis. My favourites were the pan fried john dory with green pea risotto (that risotto was to die for), the Kentucky Fried Quail paired with a lovely soft artichoke, and the dessert of caramel ice cream with salted caramel, malt, chocolate and hazelnut. Service was excellent – it didn’t take long for the dishes to come out and the timing between each course was appropriate.  If you can’t make it mid-week (lunch or dinner), it’s also available on the weekends for $80.

Address: 29 Jardine Street, Kingston. I believe it’s open Tuesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner.

Dobinsons

Another Canberra institution, it had been years since I last dined at Dobinsons just outside the Canberra Centre. The buttermilk pancakes with seasonal fruits, lemon yoghurt sauce, house made honeycomb and vanilla ice cream was massive with two large thick pancakes provided. The vanilla ice cream, also a generous serve (about 2 scoops!) was served in a small bowl on the side. No complaints. Fresh fruit, big portion and it tasted just as good as it looked. My friend’s deluxe bacon and egg burger was also gigantic and he had to take half of it away in a doggy bag. Dobinsons have a matcha chai latte on the menu (added to my matcha lattes in Canberra list), not to mention a long fridge of cakes, tarts and other sweet goodies – all at very reasonable prices.

Address: 117 Bunda Street, Civic. Open seven days a week for breakfast and lunch.

Chifley’s

The best steak in Canberra we’ve had all year was at Chifley’s in the Hotel Kurrajong. The wagyu was OH-MY-GOD amazing. The softest steak I’ve ever tried, it melted in my mouth with its silky smooth and juicy texture. The high quality tender steak was instantly noticeable in the first bite. Unfortunately, the steak menu has changed and is much shorter than it used to be. You might need to ring up the restaurant to see if they will have any wagyu available.

Address: 8 National Circuit, Barton. Open for breakfast and dinner seven days a week, and lunch Monday to Friday.

Thank you to all those that read this blog and follow me on social media. I hope you’ll be ringing in the New Year with good food, drink and company. Happy New Year to you all!

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