If you want real Japanese in Canberra, go to Iori. It has amazingly fresh sashimi and a quaint Japanese interior with a mix of counter, floor and table seating. I find their set meals with the teriyaki main a bit disappointing because the entree is great and then the main is distinctly average, but you could avoid that problem by just heading straight for the sushi and sashimi.

Approximate cost: $30

If you want traditional Northen Chinese dumplings in Canberra, this is the closest you'll get. The dumplings are tasty and the prices reasonable, for Canberra. Service can be a bit slow and it's pretty cold inside if you're seated by the door. Still, it does deliver on dumplings and that's all I really want. (It does a lot of other Northen Chinese food too, but I'm most impressed the dumplings. The 'hand stretched noodles' just make me miss Sydney/China.)

Approximate cost: $13

Sage is THE fine dining place in Canberra. The interior of the restaurant is classy and charming and the tree-filled bar courtyard is delightful on a warm day (they also have outdoor heaters). The food is the best of all the fine dining places I've been to - creative but still delicious, generously portioned and just fun to eat! It's a great place for a special ocassion or for impressing out of town visitors. When I went they did 4 courses for $80 which was great value for something of its kind, and we left full! Definitely try the pork belly, and the creme brulee if available.

Approximate cost: $40?

Decent, quick Chinese food. Servings are not as large as some other places but we were still happy with our night out. Jimmy's is good for big groups and has a lot of authentic Chinese food like live mud crabs and snow fungus, etc. On some nights I've been, they give you a free soup starter and a free Chinese dessert soup but I've only been on weekends the last few times and they give you a plate of oranges at the end instead.

Approximate cost: $15

A friend recommended Paddy to us, and they'd been recommended him by someone else. Now we would recommend him to anyone who needed a mortgage broker!

He's knowledgable about the industry having worked for banks for (I think?) 20 years before being a mortgage broker. No charge (he gets trailing commission) and sorted our paperwork and dealt with the idiot seller/convenyancer so we often didn't have to. He was also flexible at looking at other options/negotiating with our bank.

Approximate cost: $Free

Cafe Garema does the best coffee in Civic as well as a solidly good hot chocolate and some interesting drinks like a green tea milkshake. Also their waitstaff don't have attitude like other cafes in the area.

Approximate cost: $4

This is our favourite restaurant in Canberra to get a quick, inexpensive and delicious meal! At Happy's it's ALL about the substance, not style: it's underground, looks like a Chinese restaurant from the 80's and the staff are efficient if not super friendly (which is more than fine by us) - but the food! It's the best Chinese food in Canberra, bar none. It's served quickly and it's hot and fresh and tasty. The servings are very generous and a huge meal will only come out to be about $20pp. There's nothing I don't like about Happy's and we always bring our friends who go on to be regulars just like us.

Approximate cost: $15