A Ballarat fine dining outfit was hatted for the first time in the prestigious Good Food Guide 2019 Awards.
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Doveton Street’s Underbar is a twelve seat restaurant with only two sittings per week and a six week wait just to get inside, but its philosophy of a tasting menu where no key ingredient is repeated has been lauded by critics.
Originally from Darwin, chef Derek Boath has worked in kitchens across Melbourne and Sydney, cutting his teeth at the three Michelin star restaurant Per Se in New York, operated by famed chef Thomas Keller.
What can you expect at Underbar? See here.
After operating for more than six months out of the nearby FIKA Coffee Brewers site, Mr Boath and wife Lucy Taylor began cooking out of their own space at 3 Doveton Street North in mid-2017.
On receiving one hat, Mr Boath said he was “extremely humbled” to be judged one of Australia’s culinary cream of the crop.
“We appreciate that people have travelled to Ballarat to experience what we have to offer,” he said.
Mr Boath said Underbar was a reflection of himself and his family, with the venture’s restricted opening hours providing them plenty of quality time together.
“When people come to Underbar, they really sort of feel our personality in not only the restaurant, but in the space’s atmosphere and the ambiance.
“From the artwork to spirits we choose … it was all designed by myself and Lucy.
“We are a small family restaurant, we didn’t have a design team, it was sort of all our own vision. We opened on the smell of an oily rag, really.”
Restaurants must receive a score of at least 15 out of 20 to receive one or more hats in the annual awards.
Ballarat favourite Catfish Thai – which had received one hat for three years in a row since 2016 – dropped off the list following its closure.
Chefs and owners Darren and Danielle Jones opened new venture Mr Jones at the same Main Road site earlier this year.
Adelaide’s Restaurant Orana was crowned Vittoria Coffee Restaurant of the Year at Monday’s award ceremony in Melbourne.
FULL LIST OF HATTED RESTAURANTS
THREE HATS
NEW SOUTH WALES
Momofuku Seiobo
Quay
Sixpenny
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Restaurant Orana
VICTORIA
Attica
Brae
Minamishima
TWO HATS
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
Aubergine
NEW SOUTH WALES, SYDNEY
Aria, Automata, Bennelong, Bentley Restaurant and Bar, Bert's Bar and Brasserie, The Bridge Room, Cirrus, Ester Restaurant, Est., Firedoor, Fred's, Icebergs Dining Room and Bar, Lucio's, LuMi Dining, Monopole, Mr Wong, Ormeggio at The Spit, Oscillate Wildly, Pilu at Freshwater, Porteno, Restaurant Hubert, Rockpool Bar and Grill, Saint Peter, Tetsuya's, Yellow
NEW SOUTH WALES, REGIONAL
Biota Dining, Fleet, Muse Restaurant, Paper Daisy
QUEENSLAND, BRISBANE
Aria, Otto, Stokehouse Q
QUEENSLAND, REGIONAL
Wasabi Restaurant and Bar
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Hentley Farm, Magill Estate
TASMANIA
The Agrarian Kitchen Eatery, Franklin
VICTORIA, MELBOURNE
Amaru, Cutler and Co., Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, Flower Drum, Grossi Florentino Upstairs, Ides, Iki Jime, Ishizuka, Lume, Matilda 159 Domain, O.My, Rosetta Ristorante, Vue de Monde, Woodland House
VICTORIA, REGIONAL
Igni, Lake House, Laura, Provenance, Wickens at Royal Mail Hotel
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Cullen Wines, Vasse Felix, Wills Domain, Yarri
ONE HAT
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
Bar Rochford, Courgette, Eightysix, Italian and Sons, Morks, Ottoman Cuisine, Temporada
NEW SOUTH WALES, SYDNEY
10 William St, A1 Canteen, Acme, The Apollo, Bacco Osteria, The Bathers' Pavilion, Billy Kwong, Bistro Guillaume, Ble Restaurant, The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay, Bodega, Buon Ricordo, Catalina, Chin Chin, China Doll, Cho Cho San, Continental Deli Bar Bistro, Cottage Point Inn, The Dolphin Hotel, Felix, Fratelli Paradiso, The Gantry, Glass Brasserie, Hartsyard, Hotel Centennial, Izakaya Fujiyama, Jonah's, Kepos and Co, Kepos Street Kitchen, Lankan Filling Station, LP's Quality Meats, Nomad, Otto Ristorante, Paper Bird, Poly, Queen Chow, The Restaurant Pendolino, Rising Sun Workshop, Rosetta Ristorante, Sagra, Sake Restaurant and Bar (Double Bay), Sean's Panorama, Sokyo, Sotto Sopra, Spice Temple, Stanbuli, Sushi e, Three Blue Ducks (Bronte), Uccello, Yan
NEW SOUTH WALES, REGIONAL
The Argyle Inn, Bistro Molines, Bistro Officina, The Byron at Byron Resort, Caveau, Clementine, Fumo, Harvest, Lolli Redini, Margan Restaurant, Muse Kitchen, Pearls on the Beach, Restaurant Mason, Shelter, St. Isidore, The Stunned Mullet, Subo, The Zin House
THE NORTHERN TERRITORY
Hanuman
QUEENSLAND, BRISBANE
1889 Enoteca, Blackbird Bar and Grill, E'cco Bistro, Gauge, Gerard's Bistro,
GOMA Restaurant, Montrachet, Tartufo, The Wolfe
QUEENSLAND, REGIONAL
The Fish House, Hellenika, Homage, Kiyomi, The Long Apron, Nu Nu, Rick Shores, Rickys, Spirit House
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Africola, Appellation, Bistro Blackwood, Botanic Gardens Restaurant, The Currant Shed, d'Arenberg Cube Restaurant, FermentAsian, Osteria Oggi, The Pot by Emma McCaskill, Press Food and Wine, Shobosho, Stone's Throw,
The Summertown Aristologist
TASMANIA
Dier Makr, Fico, The Source, Stillwater, Templo
VICTORIA, MELBOURNE
Anchovy, Atlas Dining, Bacash, Bar Carolina, Bar Liberty, Bar Lourinha, Cafe Di Stasio, Carlton Wine Room, Caterina's Cucina e Bar, Cecconi's Flinders Lane, Centonove, Coda, Cumulus Inc., Da Noi, Donovans, Elyros, Embla, Ezard, French Saloon, Greasy Zoe's, Highline at the Railway Hotel, Il Bacaro, Kakizaki, Kenzan, Lee Ho Fook, Lesa, Maha, Marion, Miznon, MoVida, Noir, Osteria Ilaria, Pascale Bar and Grill, The Press Club, Ramblr, The Recreation, Rockpool Bar and Grill, Saint Crispin, San Telmo, Saxe, Scopri, Spice Temple, Stokehouse, Sunda, Supernormal, Tempura Hajime, Tipo 00, Tonka, Trattoria Emilia, Tulum
VICTORIA, REGIONAL
Captain Moonlite, Doot Doot Doot, Ezard at Levantine Hill, Ipsos, Masons of Bendigo, Midnight Starling, Montalto, Oakridge, Paringa Estate, Pt. Leo Restaurant, The Public Inn, Sardine Eatery and Bar, Source Dining, Stefano's Cantina, TarraWarra Estate, Terrace Restaurant, Tulip, Underbar
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Amelia Park Restaurant, Balthazar, Billie H, Bread in Common, Garum, The Heritage Wine Bar, Il Lido, Lalla Rookh, Liberte, Long Chim, Lulu La Delizia, Millbrook Winery, Petition Kitchen, Rockpool Bar and Grill, Wildflower
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