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Quay

It’s a brave restaurant that tries to compete with one of the nation’s best views (cue close-ups of bridge and opera house), but Quay manages the seemingly impossible. Peter Gilmore’s beautiful, clever food can make you forget what’s outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. Most importantly, it’s hugely satisfying – a smoked eel and eggwhite “pearl” lying among a jumble of kingfish sashimi, octopus, nasturtium flowers and cubes of dashi jelly that, together, tick every tastebud box; a mud-crab congee that’s a poster dish for textural seduction. And while the Masterchef-enshrined snow egg is obviously the sweet star, desserts such as a wild-cherry compote with chocolate crumble and coconut cream are also ready for their close-up. Service can be perfunctory and the room feels pedestrian in the presence of this food and view, but Quay still manages to shine as bright as any other.