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

‘The Ex’ ticks every box for a dream local. A packed beer garden, wallpapered with band posters? Curry nights and a mean schnitty? It’s all here. Glasses of Krug mightn’t be on your bingo card, but it’s part of the incongruous charm of this East End legend. The Champagne was added to its chalkboards in the ’80s at the urging of the wine crowd that frequented the front bar, and is still best ordered in the quintessentially South Australian 200ml ‘butcher’ glass. Otherwise, it’s an all-local affair: from the Australian wine list to the Coopers that will never leave the taps. 246 Rundle St, Adelaide. theexeter.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

For the best pint of Guinness in Victoria, head to Caretaker’s, a hidden gem behind Wesley Church. Inside this tiny 1914-built bluestone cottage is a pitch-perfect Melbourne take on an old-school British local. The Guinness is poured the traditional way – creamy, velvety and left to settle before a final top-up. It’s the star of a small but well-executed drinks list that includes rotating milk punches and classic cocktails. Pair your pint with a thick slab of Welsh rarebit (doused in the traditional Worcestershire). With its warm and timeless charm, this is as close as it gets to the real deal. 139-141 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne. caretakerscottage.bar

A smokehouse lunch at The Apollonian, named for the Greek god of music and theatre, is the gastronomic reward that awaits anyone who ventures beyond the beaches and boutiques of Noosa Heads to the tiny hinterland hamlet of Boreen Point on Lake Cootharaba. The classic Queenslander housing this popular hotel dates from the gold rush days and was moved here from Gympie in the 1980s. Nab a table in the shady garden and enjoy the regular musical entertainment and prime people-watching opportunities while dining from the please-all pub grub menu that includes cuts of beef from the owner’s own farm. 19 Laguna St, Boreen Point. apollonianhotel.com.au

The restaurant to sister-bar pipeline is strong in Melbourne and the latest additions, Bar Olo and Scopri, are a stone’s throw from each other on Nicholson Street. Start at newer Bar Olo, a cosy, Piedmont-inspired bar where snacks like prawn tramezzini pair perfectly with Northern Italian drops. Then, it’s a hop, skip and a jump to Scopri for dishes like beef carpaccio and house-made pastas, served in a warm and inviting dining room. Whether you begin with Bar Olo’s snacks and end with Scopri’s heartier plates, or vice versa, a night across these two venues is quintessential Melbourne dining. 165 Nicholson St, Carlton. barolocarlton.com.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

This tiny island at the southern end of Tasmania punches well above its weight when it comes to artisan producers. With one main road from the ferry to the town of Alonnah, you can’t miss the highlights: slurp ocean-fresh oysters at Get Shucked, battle the crowds for samples at Bruny Island Cheese & Beer Co. and pick up a loaf of warm sourdough from Bruny Baker’s roadside honesty ‘fridge’. Hotel Bruny – the island’s only pub – does craft beers and burgers, too. Outsource the driving with Pennicott Wilderness Journeys’ producer-focused Bruny Island Traveller tour, which includes lunch overlooking Adventure Bay. Bruny Island.

A visit to Bundaberg Rum’s distillery is engaging for rum novices and aficionados alike. The tourism experience gives visitors a new perspective on a distillery that produced its first rum more than 130 years ago. Check out the museum, representing not only the history of the brand, but the region, or take a tour of the back-of-house, including the barrel-ageing rooms, finishing with a tasting. And if you’ve ever fancied your chances as a distiller, there’s the opportunity to blend your own rum, with an expert-led experience that also gives you your own bespoke blend to take home. Hills St, Bundaberg East.

Founder John Ibrahim refers to Callington Mill as “the Rolls Royce of whisky distilleries” without a hint of hyperbole. His $46-million investment has transformed Oatlands’ 187-year-old sandstone mill into an experiential destination, from high-tech tours to blending masterclasses. The buildings have been meticulously restored – they now house video installations that chronicle the site’s history from colonisation to present day – while the cellar door’s glass walls let you watch distillers at work. Settle in for a tasting flight and a spot of lunch, with a short menu dedicated to fare like confit duck, pork belly and cheese platters. 6 Mill Ln, Oatlands. callingtonmilldistillery.com

Chauncy is the perfect embodiment of a country restaurant. Housed in a heritage sandstone building in the Central Victorian wine town of Heathcote, it’s the ideal setting for a long, lazy lunch. Chef Louis Naepels’ set menu takes excellent local produce and gives it a Gallic spin – think buttery Champagne velouté with sauteed scallops, or lamb with rosemary-spiked jus and deeply caramelised chard gratin. His sommelier partner, Tess Murray, runs the floor with aplomb, wielding a quiver of grower Champagne and other French delights. And you can have a game of boules on the lawn outside. What’s not to love? 178 High St, Heathcote. chauncy.com.au

Christened the “Wonder Room”, this elegant cellar door with a difference gazes out over vineyards, bushland and gleaming limestone cliffs from one of the most scenic spots in McLaren Vale. Concrete floors echo the white limestone underfoot, while solid girders nod to the rich ironstone soil of a neighbouring hill. The kitchen has a similar eye on its surroundings. Three-tiered tastings pair Elena Brooks’ treasure trove of wines with elevated snacks like oxtail and kohlrabi tacos or savoury cannoli stuffed with cured ocean trout and salmon roe; long lunches add in larger dishes that hero estate-grown food. 191 Chaffeys Rd, McLaren Vale.

The term ‘paddock-to-plate’ is overused and rarely justified, but Glenarty Road is the real deal. Fourth-generation sheep farmer Ben McDonald and his winemaker wife, Sasha, have created a destination restaurant and cellar door that might appear relaxed and rustic, but the food and wine offering is as sophisticated as it is authentic. The lunch feast of three or five courses is almost completely sourced from the regenerative farm, and it’s well worth booking a tour to understand how the market garden, vineyards and livestock work in harmony to provide the kitchen with an abundance of produce, year-round. 70 Glenarty Rd, Karridale.

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.