Canberra restaurant Corella represents in Gourmet Traveller restaurant awards 2021

Editor Joanna Hunkin said Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards have always been about celebrating the best in Australian dining and uncovering exciting new experiences for their readers to explore in the year ahead.

"It is testament to both the creativity and resilience of the industry that new venues have continued to open since March last year, offering new and exceptional experiences," she says.

"Lockdowns may pause physical progress but, time has proven, they can spark even brighter, bolder plans."

Opening this refined restaurant on Lonsdale Street was always a bold move.

The 30-seat venue is somewhat of a passion project for the team from Assembly, just across the road.

Restaurant owner Wes Heincke brought in Brady Scholes as venue manager and Nemanja Babic to lead the kitchen. There's a focus on native Australian ingredients that was recognised by the Gourmet Traveller judges.

The citation read: Trying to describe the difference between a wine bar and a restaurant is almost as difficult as defining "Australian cuisine", but Canberra's bright newcomer Corella takes a confident stab at both with its cheery wine-buddying plates sprinkled with hits of both native ingredients and nostalgia. Nearby wineries and Australian distilleries are celebrated on the sharp drinks list; the clever cocktails evoking the same spirit as a menu that might include Davidson plum teriyaki, bush tomato balsamic and Bundy Rum ice-cream.

Scholes said the nomination was a bit of a silver lining on what's been a tough few months. During lockdown the restaurant has been doing takeaway lunch and dinners, as well as grazing packs.

"Right from the start we wanted to be a venue that's a bit more laid back, unpretentious and fun but with a touch of refinement.

"I want people to feel as though they're in my own house, which is a little ironic given that's where we're mainly eating these days.

"But before we closed up we couldn't have been happier with the reception we had from customers and the industry alike."

Canberra Times restaurant review Kirsten Lawson visited in late July, scoring it 15/20.

"Corella is not the kind of place you expect to open in a time of economic uncertainty," she wrote.

"With a swish fit-out and a tight dining space with a really limited number of seats, plus quite a complex menu, it adds up to an ambitious plan that not every business owner would be up for just now. You have to champion the commitment."

Due to ongoing restrictions, the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Award winners will be announced via a virtual announcement on October 24.

Other best new restaurant nominations include A'Mare, NSW; Aru, VIC; Aurora, SA; Bianca, QLD; Elska, QLD; Gimlet, VIC; Ho Jiak Town Hall, NSW; Porcine, NSW; and Van Bone, TAS.

Finalists have been announced in five hotly contested categories: best new restaurant, best wine bar, best new talent, restaurant personality of the year and best destination dining.

The winners, along with Australia's top 80 restaurants, will be profiled in a special celebration Issue of Gourmet Traveller, on sale Monday 25 October.

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