10 of the most expensive restaurants in Australia

We all deserve to splurge sometimes and really indulge ourselves in a fine dining experience. Whether it’s a special occasion, a birthday or just a slow Tuesday, sometimes we just want to splash our cash and be rewarded with an explosion of flavours that takes our taste buds where they deserve to go. Australia has many restaurants that will nibble away at your bank account but when you and your tongue are in food heaven, you probably won’t have any regrets. So here are 10 of the best and most expensive restaurants in Australia.

Lûmé is a fine dining restaurant in South Melbourne, focused on making natural ingredients from the region more accessible to restaurant guests, you can even have a fully vegan menu. Lûmé is renowned for its $395 journey menu, a culinary celebration of Victorian biodiversity that takes you on a journey through the different flavours of victoria. All the produce is foraged or supplied locally, you’ll taste both the stories and flavours of your food. 

Location: South Melbourne

Price: $295 for full menu, $390 for The Journey menu, $150 matching wines for the journey

Explore more: restaurantlume.com.au

Nestled into Melbourne’s city centre, Ishizuka delivers a unique Kaiseki experience. Kaieseki refers to a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner, as well as the repertoire of skills and techniques that are required for the preparation of these meals. Your meal will be designed to incorporate the fresh ingredients available on the day of dining and the tasting menu is designed seasonally. 

Location: Melbourne CBD

Price: $255 Kaiseki Menu, $350 Bento Box, $120 matching wines

Explore more: ishizuka.com.au

A complete picture of luxury on the 55th floor of Melbourne’s Rialto Towers, Vue de monde is Melbourne’s crown jewel of fine dining. Executive Chef Hugh Allen brings together home-grown produce into mouth-watering dishes with exquisite artisanal presentation. Famously delicious oysters and locally foraged lamb are just some of the highlights you can expect your tastebuds to experience. 

Location: Melbourne Rialto Towers

Price: $310 for tasting menu, matching wines between $190 and $350.

Explore more: vuedemonde.com.au

Japanese flavours meet French technique inside of a heritage-listed site in Sydney’s CBD, creating a hidden-away dining journey. Head Chef Tetsuya Wakuda opened the restaurant in 1989 before relocating to the current location in 2000, so his dream restaurant could be accompanied by a gorgeous Japanese garden. The 8-course tasting menu is ever changing, but will likely take you through some of the best sashimi, wagyu and seafood that you’ve ever had. 

Location: Sydney CBD

Price: $250pp for 8 course menu and $165 for matching wines.

Explore more: tetsuyas.com

Fresh off being awarded as the winner of Australia’s Wine List of the Year, Attica has been acclaimed and celebrated as one of the Australia and the World’s best restaurants for a long time. You could search for the perfect words to describe the Attica experience but really you just have to go and eat there. Head Chef Ben Shewry has every ingredient meticulously picked and prepared to give you the perfect fine dining experience. 

Location: Ripponlea, Victoria

Price: $320pp, $190 matching wines.

Explore more: attica.com.au

Just a short drive from Brisbane’s City Centre is Chef Dan Arnold’s realised dream, his own restaurant. He worked for seven years in France before heading home to Brisbane in 2018. You can choose between three, five and eight course options, with the eight course Carte Blanche being the restaurant’s crown jewel. If you order the Carte Blanche, you’ll have to allow at least three hours of time and will be leaving your fate entirely up to the chef. With a perfect five stars on trip advisor, you’ll be leaving yourself in safe hands.

Location: Fortitude Valley, Queensland

Price: $135 for 5 course, $190 for Carte Blanche

Explore more: restaruantdanarnold.com

Brae has its own network of organic harvests, local farms and sustainable producers, each day the ingredients on your plate are carefully selected from these suppliers and prepared to be a plate. The restaurants sits on a hillside, only adding to your appreciation for the region responsible for the food on your plate. The owner and chef is Dan Hunter, who worked all over the world, gathering acclaim across Europe and Australia before opening Brae in 2013. 

Location: Birregurra, Victoria

Price: $300pp, $180pp for match wines

Explore more: braerestaurant.com

Quay is tucked into Circular Quay Sydney, situated perfectly to gaze over Sydney Harbour. Previously home to the iconic ‘snow egg’, as seen on MasterChef, Quay has six course and eight course options with current extravagant dishes ranging from sea cucumber crackling to pasture raised Maremma quail and fermented shiitake custard. Quay has been awarded Three Chef Hats for 18 years in a row and been Sydney Morning Herald’s restaurant of the year six times. 

Location: The Rocks, Sydney

Price: $290pp for eight courses, with a $230 sommelier pairing. $240 for six courses, with an $190 sommelier pairing. 

Explore more: quay.com.au

If you’re heading to Perth you’ll want to make your Wildflower reservation well ahead of time as it books up fast and it’s not an experience you want to miss out on. The menu is seasonal, celebrating its local resources through abiding to the six seasons of the Noongar calendar. Current dishes include South-West wagyu, wagin duck breast and roasted manjimup marron. Sat atop the rooftop of COMO The Treasury, your meal will be enjoyed with a backdrop of the Perth City skyline and Swan River. 

Location: COMO The Treasury, Perth

Price: $165 for six courses, sommelier match wines are $125 

Explore more: wildflowerperth.com.au

Positioned atop the rolling green hills of Piccadilly Valley, equally famous for its celebrated wine and locally sourced food, Hardy’s Verandah is the must have fine dining experience in Adelaide. The restaurant opened in 2017 and the acclaim instantly arrived, it’s been award 3 Chef Hats for two years in a row and was awarded best restaurant at the Australian Hotel’s Association South Australia awards. While the menu is ever-changing, current dishes include raw mayura wagyu rump, king george whiting and black angus tenderloin.

Location: Mount Lofty House, Adelaide Hills

Price: $205 for seven courses, $140 for sommelier wine match, $295 for premium wine match

Explore more: hardysverandah.com.au