This Is Canberra

I (far left) didn’t have any of the shared chips bowl when dining with Chris Roe, Dan Johns and Adam Drummond at Wagga’s Hide Steak and Bar. Should I have asked to pay $3 less? Photo: Supplied. Australians are dining out less and less, but is anyone surprised? I don’t get out of my cave much, but when I do, I’m invariably disappointed. It’s not just the $17 glass of wine, although that certainly doesn’t help. It’s the people.

In just over two years, Good Neighbour has found a sweet spot with the community. Photo: Good Neighbour. When Kingston cafe Good Neighbour opened its doors just over two years ago, our resident chief of all things food, Lucy Ridge, thought it was well on its way to becoming a local favourite.

Meat House is marketed as Canberra’s first Chinese BBQ Buffet, taking over the space where Hanok Korean once operated. Photo: Tenele Conway. Over the last decade, Korean BBQ has become a staple night out in Canberra, and when it comes to choice, there’s a long list of restaurants specialising in the self-service cooking technique. So when Hanok Korean at the Capital Food Markets relaunched as Meat House, Canberra’s only Chinese BBQ buffet, I was intrigued.

The Great Hall at University House heralds the completion of the 6-year renovation with new colourful uplighting. Photo: Tenele Conway. The 2020 hailstorm did more than severely damage the roof structure of University House at ANU – campus life also suffered. The storms forced the closure of the hotel that first opened its doors in 1954, and all associated businesses in the heritage-listed precinct, including Fellows Bar and Boffins Restaurant.

Winners are grinners at the ACT AHA Awards! Photo: Supplied, ACT AHA. It’s officially awards season for the hospitality industry, with the latest prizes coming through thick and fast. The Australian Hotels Association ACT held its industry awards night in late September.

Ryan Smith went to the awards and was surprised to come away with a trophy! Photo: Australian Bartender. Bar Rochford has once again been awarded a gong by the Australian Bar Awards, an annual celebration of the best-of-the-best in the industry. Bar Rochford has previously won Wine Bar of the Year at these prestigious industry awards, but this time they took home Restaurant Bar of the Year.

You’ll never guess where the couple behind Moby Dick’s – Atika Keane and Mick Reid – met. Photos: Supplied. I used to laugh when Canberra friends would describe a little tavern deep in West Belconnen heartland as “scary”. “Mate, I’m from Queanbeyan,” I’d say. “You blokes over the border don’t get to tell me what’s ‘scary’.” Still, Moby Dick’s was a hard no when partying in the general 2615 area.

Kambah resident Michelle Smith has put up Halloween decorations two months early. Photo: John Lomnicki. It may only be the first week of September, but for Kambah resident Michelle Smith, it’s the perfect time to get the Halloween decorations out and start spreading some mischief. Filling up almost all of her front yard, Ms Smith’s spooky installation on Downward Place is already attracting visitors (as well as some critics).

The birria ramen might just be the richest thing you eat this year. Photo: Tenele Conway. When Braddon’s Taco Boi opened its doors in 2024, owner and chef Yokas Wu wanted to combine his years of culinary experience with some cool, casual vibes. Upon taking over the lease after Burger Hero’s departure, Wu had always envisioned tacos as the hero of his own establishment.

Michael Cook, Walkabout, 2025, pigment photographic print (frame: 125.1cm x 164.0 cm, depth 6.1cm). Photo: NPG. Since its inauguration in 2007, the National Photographic Portrait Prize, in its 19 iterations, has presented a lively and polemical survey that highlights curatorial thinking on photographic portraiture. The exhibitions have always been topical, popular with gallery visitors and highly contested in professional circles.