Our restaurant critics’ picks of the latest and best eats around the country including Rosetta, MoVida Sydney, Sidecar, and The Apple Daily Bar & Eating House.
**MELBOURNE
**Rosetta
Yep, it’s big. And the lengthy menu at Neil Perry’s very new ristorante (which some wags are already calling Wogpool) may leave you paralysed by choice. Here’s my tip: go hard on the pasta (16 varieties, all handmade) and seafood, particularly if it’s something grilled over mallee root – prawns, say, or calamari (pictured). The room, a festa of marble, upholstery, timber panelling and chandeliers, is gorgeous, but on clement days the riverside terrace might just pip it for pole position. Riverside at Crown, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank, Vic, (03) 8648 1999 MICHAEL HARDEN
**SYDNEY
With Frank Camorra at the pans, Andy McMahon heading the floor and a crack team of veterans supporting them, the brand-new northern outpost of Melbourne’s favourite tapas juggernaut might – wait for it – be even better than its Victorian counterpoints right now. Play it light with an Andalucian tomato, onion and tuna belly salad or go full-throttle with the superb braise of tripe, chorizo and chickpeas. It’s win-win. Get in early, get in late, but get your taste however you can. 50 Holt St, Surry Hills, NSW, (02) 8964 7642 PAT NOURSE
**HOBART
**Sidecar
“Smoked” and “fried” are both big-flavour words guaranteed to set our mouths a-watering. Put them together and things get even more interesting. So this weekend the new smoked fried chicken dish at Hobart wine bar Sidecar is on our radar. After brining, the chicken is lightly smoked and then deep-fried, making for hands-on eating at its best. 129 Bathurst St, Hobart, Tas, (03) 6231 1338 SUE DYSON & ROGER McSHANE
**PERTH
**The Apple Daily Bar & Eating House
We’re just a little smitten with Print Hall’s first-storey paean to all things tasty and Asian. Admittedly, the no-bookings policy isn’t exactly ideal, but with rewards like melty tamarind-blasted ribs and juicy Filipino sausage sang choi bau on offer, your persistence won’t go unrewarded. Bring an appetite (and some wet wipes). 125 St Georges Tce, Perth, WA (08) 6282 0088 MAX VEENHUYZEN