There were some cool new venues from both established players and newcomers, and we said hello to Otis, Vincent, Bar Rochford, Tasting China, No. 10 Restaurant, Duck's Nuts, Little Bird, Yat Bun Tong, Casey Jones, Zaab, Rye Cafe, Casey Jones, Black Market, The Bearded Bean, Hale and Mary, Young and Frisky, Suke Suke, LoBrow, 16 West and Chaki Chaki, amongst others.

Kingston Foreshore became a fully-fleged dining strip, with Cinnabar, Molto Italian, Beef and Barley, Betti Bravos, Movenpick, 7th and Grain, and 7 By The Lake opening up - they were also joined by a second Sammy's Kitchen.

Over the lake, and three long-standing Civic venues - Gus's, Taze and Tongue and Groove - closed their doors, leaving what used to be a buzzing intersection that little bit quieter. But it won't be quiet for long, with Michael and Peter Harrington building their next venture in the Tongue and Groove space, slated for early 2017.

Two Canberra stalwarts got a new look - Aubergine closed for three weeks for its biggest makeover since the fine dining establishment opened, and Chairman and Yip moved across the lake to Barton to merge with its brother restaurant, Malamay. Clonakilla also had a makeover with a new, spacious cellar door, and The Duxton significantly revamped.

The casino also got a grown-up makeover, plus its own restaurant in Natural 9. Just up the road, the new developments at Campbell brought The Pedlar, Teddy Pickers and Avenue C Wine Co to the area.

In March, Canberra bakers made national headlines when PANDSI pulled off the ambitious plan to get all 103 cakes from the Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cakes cookbook in one room together at the Hyatt Canberra. More than 1,500 turned up for the event, which will return in 2017 with a focus on Canberra-themed cakes, the most popular being put into a cookbook.

Two local cooks also flew the flag nationally for Canberra on reality television cooking shows, both getting further than any Canberran before them. Electrician Trent Harvey made it the final six of Masterchef Australia, and now has plans for his own cookbook and, eventually, a restaurant. Insurance broker Ali King got oh-so-close, coming in as runner up on Zumbo's Just Desserts. She has launched Ali King Desserts with business partner Emilie Rohan, focusing on catering for events and special, one-off menus.

In March, the Night Noodle Markets were on again (run by Fairfax, which also puts out Good Food). This year had more stallholders, more food, and more space for the huge crowds. It was impressive to see more Canberra restaurants get involved, with ten local stalls.

To round out the year, we've again put together a 'top 20 favourite restaurants' list, according to our critics. After much heated debate, myself, Natasha Rudra, Catriona Jackson and Kirsten Lawson settled on the final list - although it was no easy feat, which is a credit to the thriving industry.

This is different to the Fairfax Good Food Guide - although many overlap. We've included venues that wowed us, kept us going back, or who have, over time, consistently delivered. And no numbers or rankings - the list is in alphabetical order.