Save the trifecta of fine-dining restaurants keeping the beacons lit at Circular Quay, it long seemed like the light had gone out in Sydney’s CBD. But the precinct growing around 25 Martin Place signals the tide is turning. Shooting up behind architect Harry Seidler’s Modernist ‘mushroom’ tower, new three-storey The International transformed its corner of the CBD overnight. On fine days, crowds now spill out of ground-floor Wine Bar and Paul Farag’s luminous AALIA restaurant across the way. Upstairs, in a dining room that relishes its mid-century influences, The Grill brings back city power dining in swaggering style. 25 Martin Pl, Sydney. 25martinplace.com.au

There’s a special place in our hearts for Bar Planet – the gateway to the Enmore Road experience. The galactic-themed bar from the aces behind Cantina OK! and Centro 86 specialises in martinis, but banish any notion of tailored suits and swinging jazz. Here it’s graffiti in the bathrooms, ‘tinis’ served from on high and free popcorn to line the stomach. It’s the perfect start for a bar-hop on to Palomino Lounge, Enmore Country Club or The Duke, or a quick slide over to Newtown’s King Street. Pace yourself – there’s plenty to eat and drink along this golden mile. 16 Enmore Rd, Newtown. barplanet.com.au

The Grand National Hotel in Paddington dishes up one of the greatest breakfast experiences in the land; it’s also one of the rarest, given it’s for guests of the 14-room hotel only. But what else would you expect from Josh and Julie Niland of Saint Peter? It might entail a lavishly designed fruit plate, starring luscious cherries and rare bayberries, with fig and coconut bircher muesli and fresh-baked pastries. The unrivalled showstopper, though, is the marron scrambled eggs, as striking as a Salvador Dali sculpture, which Josh has infused with head meat and paired with zingy hollandaise. Surreally good. 161 Underwood St, Paddington. saintpeter.com.au/stay

Sniff out a truffle on your guided walk through Beltana Farm’s orchard, and chances are you’ll be reunited with it during the lively farm-to-table lunch that follows. Tucked in among 800-or-so truffle trees on the edge of Canberra, Beltana’s sunny dining room is the perfect place to enjoy a vibrant seasonal menu dotted with native ingredients. Warm potato damper hums with macadamia dukkah, roast chicken swims in tarragon-spiked jus dotted with saltbush and coal-kissed ox tongue is hit with bright lilly pilly, all showcasing the best of the region and – during winter – punctuated with shavings of just-harvested truffles. 14 Beltana Rd, Pialligo. beltanafarm.au

They say you can’t be everything to all people, but nobody told Bar Rochford. Emblematic of Canberra’s bar culture, chill pre-dinner drinks flow into shared-plate dinners, where chefs Belinda Barrett and Josh Lundy create magic from whatever’s in season. That might mean sticky lamb ribs, a skewer of smoked beef tongue dunked into anchovy mayo, or the famous potato galette, spiked with miso and caviar. After dinner, the lights get low, and funk and soul grooves bring things to an exuberant climax that lasts until the doors close. In other words, there’s never a bad time to visit Bar Rochford. 65 London Ct, Canberra City. barrochford.com

Even if you leave Carriageworks Farmers Market empty-handed – and it’s near impossible to do so – you won’t leave empty-bellied. Punters queue down the length of the sweeping old locomotive workshop for pastries by Sydney’s most beloved bakeries, or for the first Meyer lemons or peonies or heirloom tomatoes of the season; others elbow for the last milk crate to perch on and inhale steaming congee, hot pies or stuffed flatbreads in the sun. Stock up on seasonal local produce, leave the cooking to the pros, or just watch the people (and dogs) – you honestly can’t go wrong. 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh.

For generations of Australian migrants, community clubs formed a precious link to distant homelands. Those unassuming suburban halls, walls lined with faded photos and floorboards scuffed by years of sit-downs and impromptu dances, offer a window into the many diasporas ending up Down Under. At Casa do Benfica, the Portuguese club inside the Marrickville Hardcourt Tennis Club, portions are vast and community spirit still larger. Share a bottle of Vinho Verde with your neighbour, order clams swimming in garlic, towering espetada de carne skewers or seafood-studded arroz de marisco, and encounter Iberian hospitality right here in the Inner West. Henson Park, 33 Centennial St, Marrickville.

Produce-focused restaurants, artisan makers and growers and more than 50 vineyards make the Granite Belt a getaway par excellence for gourmands, and one of Australia’s most unexpected wine regions. Winemakers here are known for their love of colouring outside the lines, experimenting with varietals like tempranillo, barbera and saperavi. An influential local figure is Angelo Puglisi, who swapped growing table grapes for wine grapes in the late 1960s and opened a cellar door a few years later. A visit to his family-owned Ballandean Estate Wines for a tasting and cheese platter in the atmospheric Barrelroom is an essential stop. Granite Belt.

Harkham’s single-vineyard wines had already distinguished it in a region brimming with cellar doors, with the family-owned winery making some of the Hunter Valley’s first preservative-free (and kosher) drops. A new cellar door and restaurant has now made it the epitome of the modern Hunter experience. Scanning the menu of spaghetti aglio e olio, fish piadina and blistered woodfired pizza, you could be breathing in the salty air of Sorrento or grazing on aperitivi in Romagna. Glance through the picture-frame windows of the airy restaurant, however, and you’re firmly planted in the unmistakable beauty of the Hunter. 266 De Beyers Rd, Pokolbin.

If Canberra’s wine industry had an epicentre, Helm Wines would probably be it. Set up in 1973, Ken and Judith Helm capitalised on their family’s German winemaking heritage and established this cool-climate gem specialising in cherry-red cab sav and rieslings of all kinds. Today, with all the kids involved, Helm still hums with the passion you only get from a family operation. Spend an enlightening afternoon tasting rare and interesting vintages in the repurposed 19th-century schoolhouse that sits on Helm’s undulating property, flanked by the stunning vistas of a wine region that they were instrumental in putting on the map. 19 Butts Rd, Murrumbateman.

The Tweed may be a lesser-known gem of the Northern Rivers region, but it’s just as worthy of your attention. Within its borders sits Husk Farm Distillery, an idyllic property perched on the banks of the Tweed River in North Tumbulgum. The former cattle and sugarcane farm of the Messenger family was transformed into the (still family-run) distillery eight years ago, where its craft gins and rums are made from produce grown onsite. While you can drop by the cellar door to grab a bottle to go, these drinks are best enjoyed there and then, among the paddocks. 1152 Dulguigan Rd, North Tumbulgum.

The word ‘iconic’ gets thrown around a lot, but few justify it like this sky-hued dining room perched above Bondi Beach. The views are swoony – never more so than at sunset – but it’s the food that draws attention, with chef Alex Prichard taking a playfully loose approach to the ‘Italian pescatarian’ brief. See the signature risotto, crafted with Japanese koshihikari rice, slicked with XO sauce and topped with raw red prawns. Add one of Sydney’s best wine lists and top-tier cocktails (the hand-whipped gelato and vodka sgroppino alone is worth a visit), and it’s an experience cooler than a dawn dip. 1 Notts Ave, Bondi Beach.

Fasting is an important opportunity for reflection and devotion during Ramadan, but when the fast breaks, the feasting starts. Nowhere in Australia marks the month-long occasion with as much exuberance as Lakemba in Sydney’s west, where food vendors from Lebanon, Indonesia, Pakistan, Syria and beyond line the charcoal-scented streets to sling deliciousness until the small hours. Stroll the suburb’s celebration-filled main drag and sample everything from curries and roti to camel burgers and cheesy knafeh. The best bit? The party runs for a month, so you can return again and again to give every delicious bite a try. Haldon St, Lakemba.

In the rarified world of wine, it can be forgotten that so much of winemaking is about farming. But a love of the land is palpable at Tinja Farm, the rambling organic, biodynamic property run by David Lowe and Kim Currie on rolling Wiradjuri land outside Mudgee. Sixth-generation farmer Lowe crafts the small-batch wines poured at the wisteria-draped Lowe Cellar Door, while Currie nurtures the ever-expanding permaculture gardens and orchards that sustain refined farmhouse restaurant Zin House and Althea by Zin bakery in town, with the business always growing and responding to the land on which it relies. Tinja Ln, Mudgee. lowefamilywineco.com.au

Lament it or love it, there’s no ignoring the metamorphosis of Marrickville. The inner-west ’burb has long been a go-to for Sydney’s best banh mi or a Greek deli feast. But a new type of business has emerged between factories, with the once-industrial area now home to micro-brewers, distillers and culinary mavericks. Wildflower Brewing is a rare bloom, with its joint taproom with Mountain Culture, Village, a standout on the newly enshrined Inner West Ale Trail; while Ester Spirits does the distillery trail proud. And of course there’s Baba’s Place – its playful ode to suburban cuisine is redefining Sydney’s dining scene.