Guilio Sturla has won 2018's Chef of the Year. Photo / Supplied
Guilio Sturla has won 2018's Chef of the Year. Photo / Supplied
It's not an expensive fine dining restaurant that's picked up the coveted top spot at this year's Cuisine Good Food Awards. Nor does 2018's best dish sound much like a fanciful feat of gastronomy.
But it is a quintessentially Kiwi bite: As a paua pie from Amisfield Bistro in Otago is deemed New Zealand's best dish, a Japanese restaurant with a $40 lunch deal has taken out the coveted title of Restaurant of the Year at last night's annual awards ceremony.
Among just four restaurants this year to receive full marks under Cuisine's "hat" rating system, Cocoro in Auckland's Ponsonby has beaten out fellow triple hatters Clooney, Kazuya and Roots, in Canterbury, for the top spot.
Vittoria Coffee Restaurant of the Year, Cocoro. Pictured, chef Makoto Tokuyama. Photos / Supplied
And as Roots' Guilio Sturla won Chef of the Year, Monique Fiso, praised for her Michelin-style Maori cuisine, was awarded the Cuisine New Zealand Future Food Legend award.
Meanwhile, Al Brown's Depot added to its long list of accolades, taking home 2018's award for Best Casual Dining Restaurant.
Al Brown remains king of New Zealand's casual dining scene. Photo / Supplied
Gemmayze St in St Kevin's Arcade won Best Specialist Restaurant for its Lebanese cuisine.
These days, what would a New Zealand food awards line-up be without Sid Sahrawat? Not surprisingly, 2018's Best Metropolitan Restaurant is Cassia. For those in the capital, special mention was made in this category for Wellington restaurant Ortega.
Wellington staple Logan Brown, established in 1996, received the Long-Term Player award this year while the city's Charley Noble and Noble Rot, won the Best Drinks List and Best Wine Experience respectively.
Beyond the bigger centres, Hamilton's Palate impressed the judges with its regional prowess, winning the Best Regional Restaurant award.
Best Regional Restaurant, Palate in Hamilton. Pictured, Mat McLean. Photos / Supplied
Lead assessor of the awards, Kerry Tyack, acknowledged the country is experiencing a restaurant industry boom.
"This year we had a particularly challenging task in determining the winners and hatted restaurants – there have been an unprecedented number of new entrants into the industry, myriad changes of chefs, new menu directions and a host of other developments – including the rise of casual dining – all of which made the assessment task more complex than ever," says Tyack.
The awards follow the Cuisine Top 100 list, announced in September.
Here is the full list of winners and the restaurants awarded one, two and three hats.
Vittoria Coffee Restaurant of the Year COCORO - Auckland
Santa Vittoria Chef of the Year Giulio Sturla - Roots - Canterbury - Book Now
Best Metropolitan Restaurant Cassia - Auckland with special mention for Ortega Wellington - Book Now
SILERE Best Regional Restaurant Palate - Hamilton - Book Now
Estrella Damm Best Specialist Restaurant Gemmayze St - Auckland - Book Now
