What a delight to dine at Bistro Penny, the Team were totally welcoming, the food was delicious & beautifully presented with a thoughtfully curated wine list to pair with the food. A must visit Newcastle restaurant, throughly enjoyable!

Great food as always, we were there celebrating our 22nd Wedding anniversary but the large hens night group on a large table spoilt the atmosphere, they were so loud I couldnt hear my partner talk. I was glad to leave at the end of the meal which was a shame. The lovely lady serving us offered us a table outside but I did not want to sit outside when at such a beautiful restaurant.

Fabulous meal. We had the set menu ($110) and the only thing I didn't love was the dessert (creme brulee which was a bit eggy for my taste). The two stand out dishes for me were the tuna crudo and grilled scallops but all the entrees were fabulously flavourful. The main course of steak hanger steak was tender and delicious. We will be returning soon to try the dishes that weren't included!

Newcastle’s finest and this is genuine praise worthy of the most incredible dedication to food and service. A more enjoyable experience would be hard to find. Can’t wait to take others there. Produce transformed into the most delicate and delicious plates with the touch of open kitchen and wood fire tempting the discerning dinner. Congratulations team you are exemplary. And to think a train ride away from Central Station.

Continuing to cement Newcastle’s place in Australia’s top dining landscape, Bistro Penny packages everything you’d want from a contemporary French restaurant into the former home of Newcastle’s first hatted restaurant, Restaurant II. The Edwardian building hints at a more expansive history via hand-painted signs on its frontage and exposed steel rafters. This story is now in the capable hands of Joel Humphreys (ex-Rockpool, Bistro Moncur), who is busy writing the next chapter of Australian cuisine as both descending from, and expanding beyond, its French underpinnings. As your nose will inform you, this is a story about cooking with fire, on grey ironbark that’s endemic to NSW. Nowhere is that more evident than in the hanger steak ($55) served a tender, medium rare with a blackened exterior, under a pepper sauce so good you’ll be dragging well-seasoned potato frites ($10) to scoop up more. With the menu whittled down to a single, all thriller no filler, page, it’s easy to trust the chef. Starting with bread and cultured butter, the set menu ($95/head) is also extraordinarily good value. Raw coral trout allows you to appreciate the chewy texture of the delicate fish against seaweed, verjus jelly and a whisker of horseradish. Textbook chicken liver parfait with brandied prunes gives you an excuse to lean into your wine. Chardonnay is well-represented on the interesting list, and even down at its more modest end, the 2023 Shaw & Smith M3 Vineyard ($115) is an excellent and powerful wine. It rises to meet grilled scallops enveloped in an indulgent, perfumed French fog—béarnaise—where vinegar and chicken fat intertwine. North Queensland king prawns slip from their shells into a beurre blanc tinged with tomato and an elusive echo of cardamom. After being defeated by the main event, we were steered by the keen and friendly floor team, into frozen strawberry granita with coconut chantilly and black liquorice intrigue. I wish I lived close by…