The best restaurants in Newcastle right now

Newcastle's dining scene has grown substantially in the past decade, driven by the city's economic diversification, the influx of professionals from Sydney, and the proximity to the Hunter Valley wine region and the Pacific Ocean seafood that sets the table for ambitious cooking.

Restaurant Mason

One of the Hunter region's most highly regarded fine dining rooms, Restaurant Mason on Bull Street in the CBD delivers a seasonal tasting menu that draws intelligently on Hunter Valley produce, the seafood of the Tasman coast, and the wine region at the restaurant's doorstep. The Hunter Semillon pairing program is without equal in the country.

Muse Restaurant, Hungerford Hill

The destination restaurant at Hungerford Hill in Pokolbin is worth the drive from Newcastle — a 45-minute journey through the vineyards that ends at a restaurant whose cooking quality and winery setting combine to create the kind of complete experience that justifies a long lunch well into the afternoon.

Subo

Newcastle's most innovative fine dining room on Hunter Street seats 30 people for a tasting menu that Belinda Franks has built around precise, intelligent cooking informed by Italian and Japanese principles applied to Hunter and coastal NSW produce. The intimacy of the room and the quality of the cooking make it the essential Newcastle booking.

Flotilla

The wine bar and small plates restaurant on Hunter Street is Newcastle's most convivial evening destination — the natural wine list is excellent, the small plates show real technique without pretension, and the room has the energy of a place that's become a genuine community hub for the people who care about eating and drinking well.

Goldberg's Coffee House

The legendary Newcastle breakfast institution on Hunter Street has been serving coffee and the morning meal to Novocastrians since 1991. The deli cabinet, the Jewish-style baked goods, and the coffee that has been excellent for 30 years before specialty coffee was an expectation make it a genuine city institution.

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