Pie in the sky: inside Australia’s tallest restaurants

‘We’ve got food up here for days’: chef Mark Best stands at the window of his restaurant Infinity by Mark Best, on the 81st floor of Sydney Tower, one of Australia’s tallest restaurants. Photograph: Jason Loucas

Whether you’re a skier or a pantry item, everything arrives at Eagles Nest the same way: via chairlift. Australia’s highest restaurant sits 1,937 metres above sea level in Thredbo, New South Wales, and getting ingredients to this Snowy Mountains site is challenging. Skiers require priority chairlift access but delicate produce needs timely handling too. “No one likes frozen lettuce,” says the food and beverage manager, Ian Campbell.

“In good weather, all stock goes up the chair during the day and all garbage comes down the chair after public hours,” he says. A snowcat vehicle is deployed when conditions call for it.