There's more to a great experience than just a fabulous meal.
Tolerance for poor restaurant service has probably never been lower. So it only makes sense that chefs are rewarding the best service teams as well as the best food. 
For Angie Giannakodakis, owner of Melbourne restaurant Epocha, making people feel at ease is the key to good service. "Our restaurants are about food and cuddles," she says.
After more than 27 years in the hospitality industry, previously running Press Club, her attention to detail with service is second to none.
Epocha has been named in in this year's Australian Financial Review Top Restaurants, presented by Qantas, where the nation's top chefs and restaurateurs vote for their peers.
This year there will be a new category, where chefs can vote for a restaurant has a great service team.
Awards co-director Terry Durack said the idea of the new Top Restaurant Service Team Award came from the award's chef's advisory panel.
He said the best dining experiences aren't a leap of faith, but a silent contract.
"You look after me, and I'll look after you," he said.
"Today's chefs and restaurateurs are so focused on the experience of dining being the best it can be, that they are aware that there is little point in having one brilliant manager and a bunch of backpackers - sorry, six-month working visa recipients - on the floor.
"There is a distinct shortage of well-trained hospitality staff, so the onus of training is falling more and more on the individual restaurateur." Durack says this actually works out well for restaurants, which end up with service approaches that suit the tenor and vibe of each restaurant.
Giovanni Paradiso, co-owner of Sydney restaurant Fratelli Paradiso, said many restaurateurs were struggling to find people who want to make hospitality their career.
"Restaurants aren't just about a great chef, people are looking for a total experience," Mr Paradiso said. "Good service is about being able to read a situation, read a person. We always try and teach our staff to be one step ahead of our customer. It's not carbon copy service."
Mr Paradiso said it was an intuitive skill to determine the pace of the meal.
Hospitality industry consultant Tony Eldred said restaurants that provide good service have trained staff to recognise that not all customers are equal.
He said staff need to size up the customer, what they are there for and create an experience "they'd dreamt of".
"Nobody spends $200 on a meal for the sake of eating and drinking," he said.
"People tend to come to restaurants with a hidden agenda. They're there to seduce or reward, do business or recognise a special occasion or lesser still relieve fatigue from day-to-day existence at home."
Awards co-director Jill Dupleix said good front-of-house staff have 360 degree radar and can walk through the dining room and know what's going well and what's missing.
The Top 100 list will be announced at a Gala Awards ceremony in Sydney on   May 2.
For more information and to view the full list of 500 restaurants visit www.australiastoprestaurants.com