Best Eats
Our guide to the Best Restaurants in Canberra
12/12/2024
Once seen as a city for policy wonks and public servants, Canberra has gone from quiet to can’t miss in the blink of an eye. Remarkable for its exceptional breadth, spanning everything from fabulous fast food to fine-dining establishments that draw on the region’s cool-climate produce, the capital’s ever-evolving dining scene is having a moment.
Whether you're craving innovative, seasonal dishes paired with award-winning local wines or seeking small-batch beers from creative local microbreweries, the city delivers.
Local ingredients, such as the region’s famed truffles and fresh produce, are at the heart of the culinary experience, with many restaurants showcasing the best of what Canberra’s surrounding vineyards and farms have to offer.
A must-visit destination for food lovers, here are our picks of Canberra’s best restaurants.
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Pilot
Ainslie, Canberra, Australian Capital TerritoryAs one of the stars of Canberra’s dining scene, award-winning Pilot exemplifies the city’s culinary creativity, blending bold flavours and elegant presentation with a seasonal twist in creative tasting menus. Dishes like mussel escabeche and bone marrow pasta with barbecue squid and kombu are a masterclass in refinement and innovation. Desserts, such as their apple terrine with salted vanilla and brown butter, are as indulgent as they are artistic. And a curated beverage selection complements the menu beautifully.
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Waters Edge Canberra
Parkes, Canberra, Australian Capital TerritoryForget Parliament House—Water’s Edge is where the real deals are sealed. Perched on the shore of Lake Burley Griffin, the fine-dining stalwart has been winning hearts and awards with its modern European-Australian cuisine for years. Use your Best Restaurants gift card to enjoy dishes like Honey Spiced Hawkesbury Duck Breast or Blue Swimmer Crab with pepper berries. Intimate lakeside dining domes add an extra touch of magic for a special occasion.
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The Boat House
Canberra CBD, Canberra, Australian Capital TerritorySophisticated and special, the multi-award-winning restaurant, The Boat House, offers a menu as breathtaking as the views it offers of Lake Burley Griffin. Expect like roasted white Pyrenees lamb noisette and Daintree barramundi with burnt butter macadamia are paired with seasonal sides that, like Canberra itself, are clean, fresh, and a little surprising. The vibe is serene yet celebratory, making it the perfect spot to flex your Best Restaurants gift card and toast Canberra's culinary swagger.
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Wild Duck Fine Asian Cuisine
Canberra CBD, Canberra, Australian Capital TerritoryLooking for a vibrant spin on modern Asian? Wild Duck Fine Asian Cuisine nails it every time. Golden lighting, plush chairs, and teardrop lanterns set the mood, but the food steals the show. Use your Best Restaurants gift card to take the menu for a spin, and you’ll find dishes like Balmain bug steamed dumplings that pack a zing of pickled ginger and red vinegar to slow-cooked pork belly – sticky, spiced, and wrapped in lotus leaves like a gift you didn’t know you needed.
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RAKU
Canberra CBD, Canberra, Australian Capital TerritoryOffering a refined Japanese dining experience, Raku’s menu is equal parts traditional and cutting-edge. This chef-hatted CBD hotspot serves up exquisite dishes such as delicate Canadian scallops paired with jalapeño, pickled green apple, and garlic mayonnaise, and showstoppers like miso-marinated duck breast and skewers fresh off the robata grill. The sleek interior design screams urban chic, but it’s the food that’ll have you planning your next visit before dessert is even served.
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