Australia's best food holidays: Greatest gourmet getaways

Coast

COTTAGE POINT, NSW

Cottage Point Inn

The gorgeous Hawkesbury riverside setting has long been front-of-mind for visitors to this former boatshed, but the slow reveal while driving down through the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park shouldn't be overlooked - unless you arrive by seaplane or ferry. Despite double-clothed tables and refined kitchen technique, the mood is holiday-relaxed. Roast scampi are firm and sweet with radish salad, sweet pickled ginger and avocado. Translucent gruyere-filled tortellini wallow in an earthy mushroom consomme, and the new French chef has placed grilled onglet (hanger steak) on the menu - a flavoursome cut well-matched with gutsy tomato confit and smoked eel. Honeycomb chunks crown almond-milk ice-cream and berry salad to round off your riverside mini-break.

Staying and getting there

Two waterfront apartments, one bedroom and studio, with balconies: room only from $220; dinner, bed and breakfast packages $540-$640 a couple. Cottage Point is 35 kilometres north of Sydney, a 45-minute drive. You can also reach it by ferry from Palm Beach, seaplane or boat. Call the inn for more details. See cottagepointinn.com.au.

WHALE BEACH, NSW

Jonah's Restaurant

Share the cliff-top view with the pair of sea eagles that occasionally swoop past as you sip a cocktail on the terrace of this 85-year-old icon. This piece of paradise is best by day, with its incomparable view of the Pacific Ocean; at night, the cool, cream-toned room can feel a little cold if not full. Staff are welcoming and the wine service exceptional. Spanner crab is delicately wreathed in cucumber with poached greens and paw paw dressing, while North Atlantic scallops happily sit with melt-in-the-mouth foie gras mousse and artichoke.

Mains are as pretty but fussy: Rangers Valley wagyu rump cap lands with goat's curd, fig tapenade, pickled cucumber and marrow jus. More cohesive is a fig-themed dessert - fresh sorbet and compote with honeycomb, meringue and rosemary jelly.

Staying and getting there

Eleven modern, elegant rooms with sea views, room service and spa facilities. Dinner, bed and breakfast from $475 to $495 a person a night. Seaplane lunch packages available, too. Whale Beach is 40 kilometres north of Sydney, a one-hour drive. You can also arrive by seaplane (Sydney Seaplanes) or limousine. See jonahs.com.au.

MOLLYMOOK, NSW

Rick Stein at Bannisters

Rick Stein isn't always at Bannisters. But high above the South Coast surf, with a menu on permanent global roaming, his only Australian outlet draws on tales and flavours from the wandering TV host's travels. With colourful Mediterranean tiles, books for sale and a personalised wine list (and a good one, too), Stein's beach-chic holiday-house restaurant does him proud. And everyone is having a jolly good time. Service and cooking have lifted in recent years, but once-lofty prices have not. There are a few quirks such as parmesan with the (excellent) shellfish soup, tuna marinated with passionfruit, and a sweetish fruit chutney with a feisty Madras fish curry - sweet, white, squeaky-fresh fillets slathered in a chunky tomato-tamarind sauce, amped up with lots of chilli.

Staying and getting there

Stay the night at one of 32 rooms, plus a choice of penthouses or beach houses, priced from $250 to $1475 a night, breakfast included. Mollymook is 840 kilometres from Melbourne, and 225 kilometres south of Sydney, a three-hour drive. See bannisters.com.au.

SURFERS PARADISE, GOLD COAST, QLD

Salt Grill

He may not physically be here, but Luke Mangan is omnipresent, his signature on everything. The dining space with sleek urban styling, indulgent seating and giant fishbowl windows affords voyeuristic views of Orchid Avenue below, but it is the cuisine (and a sexy open grill) that you'll want to focus on. The lauded signature starter is hiramasa kingfish sashimi with ginger, eschalot and Persian feta. Pure South dry-aged rib-eye, so tender it could be eaten with a spoon, and sweet, juicy Riverina lamb cutlets served with unassuming green beans are some of the main options. Flavours are honest, the quality and presentation high, but no dish is so precious you'd think twice about an order of parmesan-crusted and lightly truffled fries. A dessert of glossy bombe Alaska circling strawberry gelato spiked with champagne and strawberry consomme is a luxurious finish.

Staying and getting there

The skyscraper Hilton Surfers Paradise offers rooms as well as "residences" of up to four bedrooms, all with views. Prices start at $242 a night. Gold Coast International Airport is 20 kilometres from Surfers Paradise, and served by shuttles, taxis and limousines. See hiltonsurfersparadise.com.au/restaurant-salt-grill.

Seaduction

It's Gold Coast glitz and glamour from the moment you climb the dramatic white marble staircase, settle comfortably into a bronze leather chair and take in the ocean vista. Savvy staff know their stuff, and the stylish aesthetic carries through to the plate, where you might find tender pieces of slow-cooked octopus resting on slivers of pickled fennel surrounded by tiny pearls of red grape gel and flower petals. Rosy pieces of Junee lamb loin come with crunchy toasted buckwheat alongside tart yoghurt and more of those gel pearls - mint in colour and flavour this time. And there's the unexpected pleasure of a croquette of slow-cooked lamb neck, hovering above the plate on a stainless steel spike. Desserts are of the deconstructed variety, such as roasted peach with little cubes of sweet cornbread, or a florally creme patissiere balanced with an intense bourbon - you guessed it - gel.

Staying and getting there

The 77-storey Soul resort offers one- to three-bedroom apartments. Prices from $279 to $1499 a night. There's a four-bedroom sub-penthouse, $5999 a night in high season. Gold Coast International Airport is 20 kilometres from Surfers Paradise, and served by shuttles, taxis and limousines. See seaduction.com.au.

PALM COVE, QLD

Nu Nu

Nu Nu's movie-set location overlooking a a grove of coconut palms fringing a curve of silver sand lapped by the Coral Sea sets the bar high. Tear your eyes away from the view and regard the menu, though, because it is equally seductive. Tempura oysters come on a ginger caramel with a tangle of pleasantly tannic green-tea noodles with thin strips of jellyfish and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Light ricotta and pecorino tortellini is accompanied by local mushrooms, a curl of cured duck ham and candied radish. A simple but perfect tomato essence is poured over the freshest piece of line-caught red emperor. If you can't manage dessert, a mini sweet treat such as jubes, "Velvet Crumble" or brownies will satisfy.

Staying and getting there

Nu Nu is part of Alamanda Spa and Resort, where studios to four-bedroom resort rooms cost from $221 to $617 a night. Palm Cove is 26 kilometres north of Cairns. Shuttles, cabs and limousines available from Cairns Airport.

See nunu.com.au.

LOCAL HERO

NICK HOLLOWAY

CHEF, NU NU RESTAURANT, PALM COVE, QLD

You should visit Palm Cove for its village-like atmosphere. The original town planning was ingenious - the main street runs along the foreshore and winds in among the giant melaleucas, some of which are up to 300 years old. They're protected here - any building has to build around the trees.

If you do one thing while you're here it should be to indulge in a spa and enjoy a world-class massage.

For a coffee and/or a quick bite try Caffiend in Cairns. It's run by Olly James, an ex-waiter of mine, who's gone on to do incredible things in his own right.

My own favourite place for a gourmet getaway is the Yarra Valley, Victoria. I've watched the place grow up and it's just awesome. I can spend a weekend going to wineries and hanging out with winemakers.

LOCAL HERO

RICK STEIN

CHEF, BANNISTERS, MOLLYMOOK, NSW

You should visit Mollymook, because it's got great seafood, lovely beaches and dairy-farming countryside. My wife, Sarah, has been coming here ever since she was a child for family holidays, and it has the same appeal as where I come from - Padstow in Cornwall. The same families come back year after year.

If you do one thing while you're here it should be to climb Pigeon House Mountain if you're feeling energetic, or go to Milton if you want to buy antiques.

For a coffee and/or a quick bite try Pilgrims or Annabel's Cafe in Milton.

My own favourite place for a gourmet getaway is Steve Manfredi's place - Bells at Killcare on NSW's Central Coast. The area has nice beaches, lovely country and a really nice feel. If I'm heading north, that's where I'd head for.

Country

DUNKELD, VIC

Royal Mail Hotel

Sitting at the foot of the Grampians, the Royal Mail remains one of Australia's great dining destinations. Having taken charge of the kitchen, Robin Wickens, once the boy wonder of molecular gastronomy, has relaxed the restaurant's rules to welcome a la carte as well as degustation diners. Similarly, his food loosens the belt a notch. Like this sleek pub, it's elegant but a little bit country. Drawing on the bounty of the surrounding paddocks and gardens, menus celebrate the seasons: an ode to tomatoes in summer; perky pine mushroom ketchup beneath braised oxtail and a curl of calamari, and carrot risotto in a puddle of vivid green lovage in autumn. Dishes are often aromatic - a hint of lavender with lamb, eucalyptus scenting the ewe's milk ice-cream that accompanies a dessert of quince. The stellar cellar and fine service remain. For most visitors, a trip to the Mail means two days away from home. Don't be surprised if you want to linger - there's beautiful walking on the surrounding Mount Sturgeon Station.

Staying and getting there

Accommodation includes stylish renovated motel rooms on-site and rustic one- and two-bedroom bluestone workers' cottages (with bathrooms enclosed in corrugated iron tanks, and wood fires) on the adjoining farm (from $190 a night). There's also a historic homestead that sleeps 12. From $1050 to $1850 a night. Dining packages available too. Dunkeld is 260 kilometres south-west of Melbourne, a 3¼-hour drive. There's a V-Line coach daily from Ballarat station, and flights from Melbourne's Essendon Airport to Hamilton; the hotel will provide transfers. From Sydney, fly to Avalon Airport (closer to Dunkeld than Tullamarine) and hire a car for the drive to the Royal Mail. See royalmail.com.au.

BEECHWORTH, VIC

Provenance

Japanese-inflected cuisine in a gold-rush-era bank is improbable enough. That a restaurant of Provenance's calibre thrives in tiny Beechworth is miraculous. Chef-patron Michael Ryan and his winemaker partner, Jeanette Henderson, continue to hone a restaurant "worth a special journey", with inventive cooking and staff who meld country charm with city smarts. Using techniques such as fermenting and smoking and unexpected ingredients (desert limes, roast sake lees, rose petals), Ryan plates up a succession of small dishes. Umami is used to good effect in an optional starter of silken tofu with soused seafood or soy-braised shiitakes, in anchovy or parmesan crisps with roasted broccolini, and in an unctuous dish of pork with tonkatsu sauce. Desserts such as baked egg custard with barley and burnt sugar can seem more intriguing than indulgent. The food is matched by some of the region's best wines and rare sakes, drawn from the bank's former vault.

Staying and getting there

Dinner, bed and breakfast packages at Provenance's chic, modern apartments within a historic converted carriage house start from $425 for two for one night including the full degustation menu at weekends. Room only from $285. Beechworth's a 285-kilometre, three-hour, 15-minute drive from Melbourne, and makes a nice stopover en route to or from Sydney. It can be reached via Albury (train or plane) or Wangaratta (train or bus). See theprovenance.com.au.

MALENY, QLD

The Tamarind

As tranquil and idyllic as a place can possibly be without a water view, the Tamarind's open Thai pavilion-style restaurant makes extraordinary use of lush surrounds. Yet the setting is merely the support act to the kitchen and its Thai-centric, modern Asian menu. And "modern" is a pale adjective for the clever, imaginative stuff that happens, such as the unexpected addition of samphire tendrils to a plate of sweetbreads and prawn; saline, subtle and visually spectacular. Or rectangles of pork belly, braised in black vinegar, topped with a couple of fat scallops and peppered by pickled black beans. Some of the dishes sound like they shoot a little straighter, such as red curry with prawn and barramundi, but even here the complexity of the multi-layered curry component displays a real understanding of the cuisine. Service is detailed but calmingly unhurried and the food ranges from quite special to stunning. Add the rainforest setting and you've got the entire package.

Staying and getting there

Spicers Tamarind Retreat has 13 luxury one- and two-bed villas, five with outdoor hot tubs, from $399 to $549. Dining packages available, too. Maleny is 45 kilometres from Sunshine Coast Airport; door-to-door transfers available through the resort. See spicersretreats.com/spicers-tamarind-retreat.

BOWRAL, NSW

Biota Dining

In a beautiful dessert of poached stone fruits with peach gel, rose meringue and stone-fruit sorbet, chef James Viles caps things off with rose petals from his mum's garden. You can't help but think she must have a pretty big garden to supply her son's restaurant with all those petals. These stories pervade all the dishes at Biota - a restaurant with deep connections to the people and forests of the Southern Highlands and with food that is all the better for it. Hen's yolk trembling ingenue-like in sheets of pasta covered in curds and rye is a textural triumph, as is a delicious bowl of smoked roe and scampi hiding under foraged purslane and charcoal. With thickly painted artworks, handsome ferns and sleek Scandi furnishings, Biota Dining is a place you'll never want to leave. It's a good thing the hotel rooms are only a stone-fruit's throw away.

Staying and getting there

Rates for the 12 en suite rooms in Biota's renovated motel accommodation start from $150 a person a night midweek, including dinner, up to $275 a person for the weekend, dinner included. Bowral is 120 kilometres south-west of Sydney, about 1½ hours by car. It can also be reached by train from Sydney's Central Station. See biotadining.com.

FLINDERS, VIC

Terminus at Flinders Hotel

The quiet, understated Terminus dining room may lack the wow - and vineyard views - of some Mornington Peninsula darlings, but who needs that when the food is the real star? Interesting, flavour-packed dishes showcase chef Pierre Khodja's fusion of his North African heritage and classical French training. Presentation is detailed and elegant; plump scallops are interspersed with discs of black pudding crusted with pistachio and walnut, the accompanying smoked eel patty topped with apple batons and resting on an apricot and ginger chutney. Three types of mushrooms dress baked hapuku, well matched with the pastry crunch of an oxtail borek; a chocoate dessert platter and Moroccan mint tea make a fitting finish. Top service completes a serious dining experience.

Staying and getting there

Forty architect-designed rooms, from $225 a night, one luxury suite from $450 a night. Flinders is 110 kilometres south of Melbourne, about one hour, 20 minutes' drive. See flindershotel.com.au.

LOCAL HERO

JAMES VILES

CHEF, BIOTA, BOWRAL, NSW

You should visit Bowral because it's only an hour out of Sydney. There's also a really good wine trail now - there are more than 20 active vineyards doing some great cool-climate wines. Spring/summer is the best time to go because there's an amazing variety of plant species in the Southern Highlands - the whole place comes alive.

If you do one thing while you're here it should be a tour of the mushroom tunnel in Mittagong.

For a coffee and/or a quick bite try The Hospital Shop - it's very cute and does great coffee.

My own favourite place for a gourmet getaway is the Hunter Valley. I love going to see what the guys at Muse are doing - they're making a mark in regional dining as well.

LOCAL HERO

ROBIN WICKENS

CHEF, ROYAL MAIL HOTEL, DUNKELD, VICTORIA

You should visit Dunkeld to explore the Grampians. There are really nice walks and climbs up to Mount Abrupt and Mount Sturgeon - the views from up there are amazing. I'm also pretty keen on mountain-biking - if anyone wants to know about trails they can come and ask me.

If you do one thing while you're here it should be to visit the Myers' garden. They're the owners of the Royal Mail and they have a large property in Dunkeld. They have just opened up their garden for public tours.

For a coffee and/or a quick bite try the General Store - it does the best coffee in town.

My own favourite place for a gourmet getaway Port Fairy, Victoria. It's not super-gourmet but there's a fish and chip shop right on the pier where the fishing boats come in.

Luxury

KATOOMBA, NSW

Darley's Restaurant

It might be the chocolate and gold flock wallpaper or the inky-black night beyond the picture-book windows, but dining at Darley's is like entering another world, one that is calmer, slower, considered and designed for pleasure. From the plush carpet to the upholstered dining chairs and layered fine china on the cloth-covered table, everything here aims to soothe and seduce, including Lee Kwiez's cooking.

Each dish is beautiful to behold, tiny landscapes of colour and shape. Marron, butter-poached in vanilla, is in sweet concourse with segments of red grapefruit and confit tomato. A dish of duck breast and crisp dark leg meat goes luxe with a rich demiglaze and batons of toasted brioche spread with silken chicken liver parfait.

Kwiez uses dessert territory to show off his admirable skills and the season, as in compressed apple, Calvados cream, apple sorbet and poppyseed sable with cinnamon marshmallow.

Staying and getting there

Darley's is within the grounds of the Blue Mountains' luxury Lilianfels Resort & Spa, with 85 rooms and suites from $299 to $699, with packages and specials available. The resort is 110 kilometres west of Sydney, a 90-minute drive. It can be reached from Sydney by train to Katoomba, then a short bus or taxi journey. See darleysrestaurant.com.au

DAYLESFORD, VIC

Lake House

In warmer months, the sun dapples the dining room in flickering gold; in winter, eerie mists swirl from the lake outside. Plush cushions and soft banquettes envelop and cosset; flowers soar above the waiters' station. It's luxurious, so settle in. The evocatively named dish "Rivers and Lakes" is a glorious flurry of techniques and waterway proteins. With verdant salsa verde, there's delicate smoked trout jelly, fine sashimi of Murray cod, a gleaming yabby and quenelles of eel brandade, and puffed pumpernickel crisps for texture. Mains might feature expertly roasted and rested fillet of kangaroo with mountain pepper and sweet heirloom beets, and the daring juxtaposition of slow-braised beef rib revelling in a frisky Asian broth.

A quenelle of golden sweetcorn sorbet and tart passionfruit parfait combine with the unexpected aniseed hit of tarragon to create a memorable dessert. Lake House is unique, beautiful and, at 30, at its peak.

Staying and getting there

Dinner, bed and breakfast packages start from $275 a person; in the luxe Retreat they start from $742 a person and include private check-in, a grazing plate and wine, canapes and cocktails. Daylesford is 110 kilometres from Melbourne, a drive of about 80 minutes . It can also be reached by V/Line coach and train, via Woodend. See lakehouse.com.au

MONTVILLE, QLD

The Long Apron

The Long Apron is the jewel in the Spicers Group's rather impressive crown. It is intimate, impeccably run and verging on formal, but manages to be both special and relaxed, and dining here is a rare experience. Chef Cameron Matthews produces clever, original dishes showcasing a mastery in matching texture and flavour. Some aspects are micro-managed while others are more organic, relying on what's at hand in the kitchen garden. With "Foragers", diners sift through vegie-garden leaves using a rosemary skewer to find local glasshouse snails - some as mini kievs, some braised - accompanied by potato in two guises: Parisienne cream infused with hay, and spheres coated in panko crumbs and hay ash. There's a sweet course of choc mint that plays on the local flora, made to look like the growth on the rainforest floor and infused with three types of mint from the garden. It's clever stuff, but heartfelt and sublime.

Staying and getting there

Spicers Clovelly Estate has a variety of classically furnished suites, plus the three-bedroom French Cottage. Suites from $319 a night, up to $995 a night in the cottage, for six people. Dining packages available. Forty minutes (29 kilometres) from Sunshine Coast Airport, transfers available through the resort. See spicersgroup.com.au/restaurant/long-apron.

KILLCARE HEIGHTS, NSW

Manfredi at Bells

What price a little luxury? On-site suites and spas, rolling gardens and jaunty nautical blue and white across the elegant country dining room and verandah make a most alluring package for moneyed mini-breakers. Then there's the rest of us, whose glimpse of the good life comes via Stefano Manfredi's coastal kitchen. And what a good life it is. From fabulous nibbles (olives, cheese biscuits, chewy ciabatta and olive oil) to sweet treats at the end, here's one excellent Italian-accented feast. Pappardelle are slippery-slender with rich venison slivers; pink vitello tonnato is draped on a dense caper-dotted mayo. Sticky wagyu short ribs are Flintstone-spectacular, with sweet-spiced sweet potato and almonds. Sad about the apparent lack of rum in the giant rum baba. But, oh, what petits fours.

Staying and getting there

Luxe designer studios, suites, villas and cottages range from $350 a night up to $900. Dining packages available, too. Killcare is 92 kilometres, about a 1½-hour drive, from Sydney. Bells can be reached via train to Woy Woy, ferry from Palm Beach, and seaplane. Contact Bells for transfer details. See bellsatkillcare.com.au.

RED HILL SOUTH, VIC

Port Phillip Estate

With one of Australia's great architectural reveals as a greeting, Port Phillip Estate promises much. And with new chef Stuart Deller in the kitchen, the food delivers on the pledge, with outstanding ideas wrought into tasty and satisfying dishes. A breathtakingly pretty blue-eye dish almost outdoes the view towards Western Port - classic technique shines through in the golden crisp skin, pearly flesh and shimmering onion consomme, while a meandering eye for local bounty sees samphire and nasturtium scattered over the plate. A duck dish is a similar balance of light and shade, with carved breast blushing over a melange of shredded leg meat, pert peas and sticky jus.

Desserts do a clever dance of textures and flavours - a parfait of caramelised white chocolate plays off an almond tuile and frisky fennel sorbet. White tablecloths, weighty cutlery, proper glassware and confident, well-drilled service further signal that this is a classy operation.

Staying and getting there

Six luxurious, contemporary, architect-designed vineyard apartments featuring artworks by Bill Henson, Missoni bathrobes and Aesop products. From $450 a night to $900; packages available, minimum stays may apply. Red Hill South is 88 kilometres south of Melbourne, a one-hour drive. See portphillipestate.com.au.

LOCAL HERO

CAMERON MATTHEWS

CHEF, THE LONG APRON, MONTVILLE, QUEENSLAND

You should visit Montville, because it's a beautiful part of the world. It's a great drive from the coast up and along the Blackall Range. There are lots of farm-gate suppliers, lots of little honesty boxes where you can pick up avocados, honey, macadamias, lychees, pineapples, strawberries - you name it.

If you do one thing while you're here it should be to visit a local market. The one at Witta [the monthly Blackall Range Growers Market], on the other side of Maleny, is awesome. It's different to your normal market in that it's mostly homemade.

For a coffee and/or a quick bite try Rosetta Books in Maleny. I always get a coffee there because they have a really good selection of cookbooks and I can do the food-porn thing.

My own favourite place for a gourmet getaway my home town of Bright, Victoria. I catch up with the chestnut growers or farmers that I know. It's great to go for a fish and cook up some trout.