Side-step… glide… pirouette. The kaiseki at Hobart’s Omotenashi is a mesmerising sequence of carefully choreographed kitchen craft and profound, ingredient-led cooking that respects both the Japanese tradition on which it’s based and the finest Tasmanian produce. Picking one dish, then, is like singling out a single movement in a pas de deux. Perhaps it’s best to talk about the dashi broth, made from spring water collected from the slopes of nearby Mount Wellington. Flavoured with kelp and shavings of bonito, the first brew (ichi ban dashi) becomes a heavenly clear soup poured around nasturtium-green dumplings filled with a crayfish farce.

The historic retreat of the well-heeled and green-thumbed, NSW’s Southern Highlands feels plucked from another time and place. Its grandest dame, Milton Park, has just been reborn as Ardour Milton Park Bowral, with destination restaurant Horderns relocated inside the homestead overlooking the gardens. While its setting is genteel, chef Mark Holland (ex Nomad) understands the beauty of simplicity. His signature lamb shoulder comes from Cowra, its natural sweetness coaxed out low and slow over 12 hours, served in custom cast-iron pans with a simple fennel and mint salad and herbaceous salsa verde. Speaking of place without shouting, this is Australian luxury.

So What Stereo is the perfect example of our rapidly diversifying restaurant scene. Five years ago, ‘retro diner-style fit-out’, ’vinyl collection’ and ‘boat noodles’ would not be read in the same sentence, let alone exist under one roof. It’s not only the eclectic nature of this Fortitude Valley cafe that is memorable; it’s a concise menu full of Thai classics like khao soi, congee kapow and everyone’s favourite – the beef and offal boat noodles. Who can refuse a bowl of rich, savoury broth and slow-cooked beef brisket, fall-apart tripe, bouncy fresh noodles, gems of pork crackling and crunchy greens?

It’s relaxed in appearance – a disc of frozen yoghurt topped with waves of crisp filo, sitting in a puddle of amber-hued syrup. Dig deeper, and you’ll find that just-sweet-enough parfait has jammy, reduced figs at its heart; that filo crown is hiding crunchy toasted walnuts; that seemingly simple syrup is spiked with fragrant lemon thyme. This is the kind of quietly assured, delicious food you can expect at Clare Falzon’s debut restaurant in the Barossa, housed in the Marananga School Precinct. Coupled with a considered wine list and warm hospitality, you’ll be plotting your return before you’ve even left.

This curried egg sandwich does the tuckshop classic proud, courtesy of some fine Tasmanian produce. The hero ingredient – the eggs – are regeneratively farmed: Westbae Pastoral’s free-range chickens roam open pastures, producing eggs with deep yellow yolks, which Sunbear soft-boils and spikes with a house-made curry paste. To complete the picture, thick-sliced sourdough comes from Hobart’s Pigeon Whole Bakers; the beetroot and greens are sourced from Valley Fresh Farm, an organic producer in the Huon Valley, just 40 minutes from Hobart. Bursting with flavour and goodness, you’ll need two hands for this epic cafe-style sanga, and a handful of napkins, too.

It’s hard to know whether to call Barragunda a regenerative farm with a restaurant attached or a restaurant taking paddock-to-plate to its logical extreme. Either way, the Mornington Peninsula estate was a 2025 revelation. Running between 250 and 400 impeccably raised Black Angus cattle on the sprawling property, its careful land stewardship is tasted on Simone Watts’ menu, from steak tartare with snow apple and curry leaf to perfectly blushing steaks with seasonal sides. Most ingredients are grown on site, profits fund regenerative agriculture projects and even bones are reused as stock and soil-enriching bone char in a virtuous cycle.

When freshly minted Marlowe opened inside a 1938 heritage-listed Art Deco building along Fish Lane, expectations were high. In fact, when the Fanda Group (the team behind Rick Shores and Southside) opens any venue, anticipation inevitably follows suit. Fortunately, Marlowe lived up to the hype. Its crunchy-shelled prawn cocktail tartlet, complete with classic marie rose sauce and crisp iceberg lettuce, gives a playful wink to a bygone Australian culinary era, when dining marked an occasion. And yet, this bistro is far from gimmicky or themed. Nostalgic yet refined, the menu from head chef Ollie Hansford is simultaneously comforting and precise.

Set among the orchards in Tasmania’s Huon Valley, Willie Smith’s has become a favourite stop for those with even a mild interest in cider. However, it might not be the drinks that you talk about afterwards. As well as a tasting paddle of Willie’s finest, the Valley Experience delivers a toasted sandwich highlighting the products of three Tassie heroes. Double-smoked ham (Cygnet Butchery), smoked cheddar (Ashgrove Cheese) and bechamel are layered between slices of Summer Kitchen sourdough that’s fried until golden brown. This movie-star sandwich is followed by a towering apple pie stacked with fruit and vanilla bean ice cream.

Sydney Fish Market has opened, and it’s a catch. Fishmongers trade in every shade and shape of seafood inside, while restaurateurs plate it at harbourside tables around the outside. Among them is Junda Khoo, following his 2025 Melbourne expansion with Malaysian ‘surf and turf’ at Tam Jiak; where crab swims through char koay teow; beef ribs drip with anchovy chimichurri and the humble snag has a makeover. In the tong mo sausage, gamy lamb gets mellow depth from barramundi. Wrapped in lettuce, mint and betel leaves with smoky hot sauce, it’s a mouthful that’s at once meaty, spicy and fresh.

The mango danish is an ode to Queensland summers at Anyday group’s breezy bakery cum cafe, which has been humming since it opened mid-last year. Elderflower syrup brightens the perfectly ripe fruit, diced over creme patissiere in a croissant pastry case, all topped with a whorl of cream. Seasonal bakes meet can’t-be-moved bakery favourites like choc wattleseed cookies and epic pains au chocolat, while diners can opt for a bacon and egg roll with waffle fries or Baghdad eggs with labne and flaky flat bread from a menu that runs seamlessly from breakfast through to afternoon closing.

Pesky carp gets a smart second act when it’s minced and mixed with Spencer Gulf king prawns and fragrant lemongrass, folded into dumplings and slicked with an aromatic tom yum sauce. Kuti Shack works with Coorong Wild Seafood, which carefully prepares the carp – you might also find carp schnitzels with salsa verde, or the ‘Carp-o Roll’ – a riff on the Chiko Roll. It’s clever cooking that deserves attention, from the crew that elevated pipis to sought-after status, thanks to a partnership between Ngarrindjeri-run Kuti Co and Goolwa PipiCo. Nestled on the foothills of Goolwa Beach, it’s sustainable SA dining done right.

It’s amazing the difference a quality sausage can make. At Six Russell – a bakery-slash-bistro from the owners of Hobart Cantonese institution Me Wah – Macca’s famous Sausage & Egg McMuffin gets a glow-up. Per its golden-arched inspiration, you’ll need to order at the counter, but any fast-food comparisons end there – you can expect a juicy fennel-and-herb-spiked free-range pork patty, a just-set square of omelette, melted American-style cheese, and dill and caper sauce spread liberally on both sides of a toasted English muffin (or, if the in-house bakers are feeling ‘extra’ that day, a brioche bun).

Tucked away on Celestial Avenue is Taqueria Sin Nombre, the new sibling of food truck Dingo Ate My Taco, loved as much for its cheeky, laid-back vibe as its Tex-Mex fare. The taco menu moves between Mexico City classics like al pastor and local riffs like kangaroo asada, but the brisket costra is the clearest expression of the venue’s identity. Slow-smoked beef brisket is served on a house-made tortilla layered with melted cheese, nodding to Texan barbecue while staying firmly taco-first. Go all in and add crispy chicken-skin chicharrón, and explore the mezcal range – the venue recently secured its liquor licence.

This appropriately named new Sydney arrival on King Street’s ‘south end’ hasn’t wasted any time building a devoted following. Part of the appeal is its produce-led menu, which shifts with the seasons and market hauls. But even in its fluidity there are non-negotiables. If the chubby potato rosti makes an appearance – all crisp-edged, soft-centred and crowned with squeaky Goldstreet Dairy cheese curds and fine rings of sugar snap peas – order it immediately. It’s a dish that captures South End’s ‘simple on paper, meticulous in practice’ charm, and hints at the eatery’s inevitable long-term relationship with the Inner West.

While on a road trip from Los Angeles to Nashville in 2022, Bread + Butter founders Olivia and Rob Morrison ate so many diner-style cinnamon buns, they were inspired to make their own. Made with an enriched, brioche-like dough filled with cultured cinnamon butter and topped with cream cheese frosting, theirs are fairly traditional, apart from a lick of orange zest. Just one tray of 15 buns is made each Saturday morning, and only at Bread + Butter Bakeshop on Launceston’s Cimitiere Street. If you’re feeling particularly intrepid, the Santa Monica (LA) outpost – which opened last year – bakes them on Sundays, too.