Winning Feeling

Pull up a chair and raise a glass as we present the winners of the 2020 Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards. Order up!

- Max Allen, Fiona Donnelly, Michael Harden, David Matthews, David Sly & Max Veenhuyzen

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

Attica Melbourne

Attica has been evolving since it opened more than a decade ago but since Ben Shewry’s buy-out of his business partners a few years back, the evolution has become bolder and more experimental. From what’s on the plate to the restaurant’s culture, an always interesting restaurant is morphing into something even more intriguing.

And the inspiration behind the changes doesn’t always come from expected sources.

Shewry, a diehard music fan and sometime DJ, cites ’80s punk band Fugazi as an influence on how he approaches Attica. “Fugazi is a band that’s all about self-publishing, self-creating, self-funding and doing everything themselves,” he says. “They have full independence, full creative control and kind of give the finger to the establishment, while on the other side, they’re absolutely taking care of their fans. I like that hardcore mentality paired with the desire to not want to screw people.”

So how does the Fugazi model work in the context of an internationally acclaimed restaurant?

For starters, the dining room and service has become looser, more relaxed, while still maintaining a remarkable level of precision. Then there’s the awareness of the mental health of his staff that’s brought about four-day weeks and shifts allocated in the restaurant’s kitchen gardens, bringing fresh air and daylight to the equation.