The food is only part of the appeal; the lively crush of bodies yelling for picks from one of the edgiest wine lists in town gives the place permanent buzz.
The dining revolution will not be televised. Mindful eaters need to drive down an unsealed road in Margaret River scrub to see (and taste) it for themselves.
A crisp Negroni Blanc on the patio is a refreshing way to ease into the four-course offering at this Barossa favourite – especially when the weather is fine.
Changing cuisine every four months could lead to gimmickry. Not so at Atlas where Charlie Carrington's approach – a focus on essence over tradition – keeps things fresh and exciting.
James Viles takes Mother Nature seriously. At Biota Dining, the kitchen and the environment are closely connected, with a focus on locally gathered and grown produce.
There's a generosity of spirit at this warehouse, a carefully restored 1898 heritage-listed building where diners sit at long tables overlooking the open kitchen.
This large gorgeous restaurant atop the former Newport Arms owes more than a dash of its sunny elegance and Med-luxe vibe to Merivale's Paddington flagship.
Embla: it can get emotional. There's the despair of seeing all seats full, the impatience of watching diners linger over the last cheeky sip of rosado… and then the elation of being seated in the throng.
A string of bright young things may have recently arrived on the southside dining scene, but the prized tables at France-Soir are as hotly contested as ever.
It's the professionalism of the service, honed over a lifetime, and the opulent setting of 85-year-old murals and chandeliers, that makes Florentino something special.
Think of Fratelli Paradiso as a stage, its diners and staff all actors working together daily to produce a play dedicated to the joys of a peculiarly inner-city brand of Sydney-Italianness.
Adam Wolfers and the team subvert Middle Eastern cuisine, hijacking typical ingredients to create share plates as complex and surprising as the richly detailed fit-out of this must-visit James Street eatery.
Just like the artworks in the gallery where this light-filled, minimalist restaurant resides in, chef Josue Lopez's food is designed to make patrons think.
Take a journey along dusty Barossa back roads to reach this restored stable, transformed by the addition of an elegant glass-walled dining pavilion overlooking vines and gum trees.
The menu at Liberté includes nods to owner Amy Hamilton’s French training (comforting steak frites, chicken liver parfait), much of the cooking is notable for its effortless use of Vietnamese flavours.
Can anything be less Spanish than 6pm dinner? The popularity of this tapas bar means that may be the only sitting you get unless you're a forward-planning booker.
It could be downtown Tokyo instead of backstreet Richmond. Despite its Antipodean location, Minamishima sticks to the sushi-temple script by playing hard to get in.
It could be one of the darkest dining rooms in town, but nine years in the ideas on the plate and in the glass at Monopole are brighter and sharper than ever.
How does a kitchen compete with the finest ocean views on Australia’s east coast? An impressive raft of inventive, meticulously finessed share dishes, that's how.
Yes, The Agrarian Kitchen cooking school has a restaurant spin-off - and you can find it in the Instagram-friendly surrounds of the former New Norfolk asylum.
Vue de Monde impresses not just with the views that come with its lofty 55th-floor perch, but for holding its position in Melbourne's premier restaurant league for so long.
Rolling vineyards before you. A thoroughly modern cellar door around you. In your glass, wine from one of the region’s rising stars: life in this scenic corner of Margaret River ain’t half bad.