Reece Inkpen at Paranormal Wines. Photo: Supplied.
The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide has released its annual list of hatted restaurants, and Canberra has once again put in a good showing.
Among the happy hat awardees is Paranormal Wines, which Good Food lead critic Callan Boys noted was perhaps the first bottle shop to ever receive a hat! While selling bottles of wine was the initial focus of the business, Paranormal Wines has since become a cult favourite for their excellent food: seasonal small plates served with flair out of the shoebox kitchen.
Paranormal Wines chef Reece Inkpen told Region that the team wasn’t expecting the accolade but was really pleased with the result.
“This is very, very cool for Paranormal,” he said.
“Our offering has changed quite a lot over the years. When we first opened, it was mainly takeaway with a little bit of cheese and cold meats, then with Aiden Kidson coming in and doing such a wonderful job with the menu before me, the progression has been really cool.
“We do all these great small plates which champion small producers, wonderful farms and suppliers.”
These pretty-in-pink strawberry clams (sourced from Soueast Seafood in Ulladulla) were a recent menu item at Paranormal Wines. Photo: Reece Inkpen.
Pilot remains the only two-hatted restaurant in the ACT, and sister venue Such & Such – previous winner of best newcomer – continued its one-hatted streak.
Recently opened Italian fine-diners Lunetta and Carlotta also received their first hats in the guide this year. Lunetta was a contender for Best New Restaurant of the year, which was ultimately awarded to Sydney’s retro-chic grillhouse Eleven Barrack.
The Bill Grainger Trailblazer Award – named in honour of the chef who died in 2023 – was given to Sharon Windsor, the owner of the Indigiearth bush foods business. The Cultural Change Champion award went to the Sorry Not Sorry collective, founded by Rachelle “Rocky” Hair and Jenna Hemsworth, who were at the forefront of sexual assault claims made against hospitality giant Swillhouse. Together with Alex Hooker, Brittany Rowe and Reuby Kahl, they’ve been hosting events all over the country, bringing much-needed awareness to the workplace issues faced by women in the hospitality industry.
Healthy hospitality work culture has also been an important part of Paranormal Wine’s success.
“One of the biggest focuses at Paranormal is the idea that we all have lives outside of work, so when we’re working, we have very good hours and awesome working conditions,” said Reece.
“It’s a more sustainable way of being in an industry where burnout is so common. We go into work feeling refreshed and inspired to do what we love. Nothing will change from winning this hat; we worked out a while ago what was best for us, so we’re sticking to our guns.”
Lunetta restaurant, Red Hill. Photo: Lillie Thompson.
Other Canberra venues that were awarded hats include Mu Omakaze, Rebel Rebel and Bar Rochford. This food writer was particularly disappointed to see that Yarralumla restaurant Minima was not awarded a hat. Reviews are subjective, and sometimes really excellent places can be overlooked.
The Good Food Guide is just one of many different awards run by different organisations and newspapers across Australia (albeit one of the more prestigious ones). While awards can offer you an idea of what’s good, the best way to discover your new favourite restaurant is to go out for dinner and decide what you like best – and check out the reviews in Food & Wine.
See the full list of winners in the Good Food Guide.
