Melbourne restaurant wins major global dining prize in its first year

It has been a hell of a year for Hugh Allen. Last October, after six years of planning, he opened his first restaurant as chef-owner in the heart of Melbourne’s Fitzroy Gardens. Yiaga was a feat of ambition and design and teamwork, and from the very beginning it showed, despite Allen retaining his role as executive chef at three-hatted Vue De Monde.

In January, this masthead awarded Yiaga three hats, an almost unheard-of accolade for a brand-new restaurant. This also gave Allen the distinction of being the first Australian chef to hold three Good Food hats at two restaurants simultaneously. Three weeks ago, Allen became a father. And today, The 50 Best Restaurants announced Yiaga the winner of the Visa One to Watch Award for 2026.

Hugh Allen at Yiaga. Eddie JimFormerly called The World’s 50 Best Restaurants (the organisation recently underwent a rebrand), the annual list and its awards, including this one, will be presented at a ceremony in Lima, Peru on November 4.

“It’s been hectic,” a sleep-deprived Allen said, having been up all night with a newborn. “But it’s amazing to have this happen in our first year.”

The award, as described by the governing body, “celebrates an emerging restaurant with exceptional potential to become a leading name in the industry in the years ahead”.

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The restaurant is surrounded by greenery in East Melbourne’s Fitzroy Gardens.Jason LoucasPast winners have included Barcelona’s Disfrutar (2017), which went on to be named The World’s Best Restaurant 2024; California’s SingleThread (2018), which has regularly appeared on both The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and North America’s 50 Best Restaurants lists, and London’s Ikoyi (2021), which was No.15 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list last year.

Sydney restaurant Sepia won the award in 2015. Run by chef and owner Martin Benn and his partner and co-owner Vicki Wild, it then went on to debut at number 84 on the 51–100 (the long list). That same year Sepia was named The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2015 Restaurant of the Year.

“Yiaga stood out because it’s a real love letter to Australia,” says Rachael Hogg, senior content editor for The 50 Best Restaurants. “The team seamlessly connects the food on the plate with the restaurant’s natural surroundings, through to the restaurant’s design, where Australian materials and local craftsmanship elevate every single touchpoint of the dining experience.”

Allen gives credit to his whole team for the achievement. When he describes everything from the work ethic of his head chef, Michael McAuley, to the way the staff handles and cares for the precious pottery made specifically for certain dishes, the phrase “treats it as if it were their own” is repeated often.

Nature and fine dining collide at Yiaga.Jason LoucasThe expression “labour of love” comes up a lot, too, especially when referring to the many artisans who have contributed to the physical crafting of the restaurant, from the bricks that were hand-made to create the walls, to the chairs where customers sit. Allen also gives credit to the setting, calling Fitzroy Gardens “one of the best parks in the world”.

Despite so much positive feedback and so many glowing accolades in such a short timeframe, Allen’s ambition shows no signs of slowing. He has dreams of turning Yiaga into a hub of culinary learning and community, and says: “We in no way think that what we’re doing now is the be all and end all.”

In 10 years’ time, he says, he hopes he can look back at 2026 and say, “that was cool, but what we’re doing now is 10 times better”.

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