Argyle Inn is awarded a hat in the Good Food Guide 2020

Owner of the Inn Hugh Wennerbom was awarded a coveted hat for the second year at the Good Food Guide 2020 Awards held on Saturday night in Brisbane.

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The country-inn and restaurant opened in 2017 and received their inaugural hat in its first year.

In the Southern Tablelands, the Inn and Clementine in Yass Valley made the list of fine dining experiences. Biota Dining in the Southern Highlands received two hats. Meantime, Pilot at Ainsleigh in Canberra was named in the top 10 hot and new restaurants for 2019.

Mr Wennerbom said the restaurant and public country house has found its rhythm.

"We're quietly proud of doing our own thing and conscious of doing simple things well," Mr Wennerbom said.

"We're happy to do what might read as a cliche dish, but its a classic dish that we do well. We're not trying to muck around with ingredients just for the sake of it."

A pasta dish, tajarin, has been on the menu since 2017 and is made with 30 egg yolks to a kilogram of flour. It's quite a simple dish, but there is quite a lot of thought behind it," he said.

"In terms of it being produce-driven, we look at it in terms of how we can make it as delicious as possible.

"We have veal chuck, but if we do it as classic french, it's a bit bland, so we're flavouring it with some Indian spices, we'll punch things up to add a bit of flavour."

The not-so-average pub scored a 15 out of 20 when the secret reviewer visited.

The Inn has retained most of the staff since it opened and Mr Wennerbom credits the high praise of the Good Food Guide to his team, both front and back of house.

Every week he works on the careful preparation of a new menu, but it is the team's interpretation, led by chef Brenden Gradidge, which is served to diners.

The Inn is open Friday to Sunday, and Mr Wennerbom said that won't change for now.

The Vittoria Coffee Restaurant of the Year was awarded to Brae in Birregurra, regional Victoria, a dining experience at the restaurant costs $290 for the tasting menu and drinks.

Reviewer Gemima Cody described chef Dan Hunter's relationship with food at goodfood.com.au: "That is arguably more effort, philosophy and care than proud parents put into their offspring and you better believe they'll make you admire their work.

"To Brae's credit, despite having scaled the heights of the world's best lists, it remains un-smug."

The fine-dining restaurant is set in a colonial cottage on an organic farm.

The Good Food Guide was released on October 1 with reviews of more than 500 restaurants across the country.

According to reviewers some of the new trends spotted this year include round food, the bombe Alaska, cacio e pepe (pecorino cheese, black pepper and spaghetti), fancy sandwiches, kangaroo tartare, shared steaks, the new surf and turf, and weirdo miso (variations of Japan's miso paste).

The Good Food Guide 2020 is available from bookstores, newsagents and thestore.com.au for $29.99.