The best restaurants in Wollongong right now

Wollongong's restaurant scene has benefited from the population of culturally engaged Melburnians and Sydneysiders who've chosen the Illawarra for its lifestyle and brought their food standards with them. Crown Street and the surrounding streets now offer an evening's dining that requires no excuses.

Caveau

The most formally accomplished restaurant in the Illawarra, Caveau on Kembla Street delivers a French-influenced tasting menu that uses South Coast and Southern Highlands produce with the technique and ambition that has earned it consistent recognition in the Good Food Guide. The wine list is the best in the region.

Diggies

The beachfront cafe and restaurant on the northern end of Wollongong Beach has earned a national following for its breakfast — the eggs, the granola, and the coffee in the coastal setting create the experience that embodies what living in Wollongong feels like to those who've chosen it deliberately. Weekend queues are real and worth enduring.

Lorenzo's Diner

The classic Italian-American diner on Crown Street has been feeding Wollongong for decades and maintains the kind of loyal following that honest food at fair prices always generates. The pasta is made daily; the veal parmigiana is the standard against which all others are measured.

Babyface Kitchen

The Korean-Australian fusion restaurant on Kembla Street is the most exciting newer restaurant in Wollongong — the gochujang butter wings, the Korean fried rice, and the cocktail program that matches the kitchen's cultural ambiguity make it the restaurant that Wollongong's younger professional cohort has adopted as its own.

Five Islands Brewing

The brewery and restaurant on the waterfront at Stuart Park brews excellent IPAs and lagers on-site and serves a food menu that takes the brewery kitchen format more seriously than most — the Korean fried chicken, the smash burgers, and the weekend roast are all competent enough to compete with dedicated restaurants at similar price points.

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