Nestled on the sand with surfers carving up the waves metres from the tables and panoramic views up to the jagged Surfers skyline, Rick Shores justifies a visit based on outlook alone. But order, for example, the luscious lamb rump encrusted with sesame and seaweed, and paired with rich, bone marrow butter and you’ll be settling in for the long haul even after the surfers have packed up. This is assured food inspired by a variety of Asian cuisines reinterpreted in fresh ways. Starters (from the bar snack menu) might be the signature fried bug roll with gem lettuce and mayo turbocharged with Sriracha; crab and prawn dumplings with bonito flakes, or a pork belly slider enlivened by white kimchi and Sichuan caramel. Yellow curry of king prawns is a mild but deeply fragrant take on a Thai favourite, while twice-cooked duck with fermented plum, rosella, kohlrabi, radish and five spice offers a hint of Chinese in its compelling combination. Team all this with sparky, adept service and a decent wine list with an engaging by-the-glass selection and Rick Shores is far more than a room with a stunning view. Desserts stay on task, too, with chocolate parfait teamed with malted parsnip and brown rice miso, yoghurt foam with ginger crumble, coriander and apple elements and pavlova with shards of coconut parfait, semi-dried pineapple and a spiced rum cream. The location is unbeatable – Rick Shores is perhaps the ultimate beach canteen. Must-eat dish: Fried bug rolls Instagram: @imrickshores Address: 43 Goodwin Terrace Burleigh Heads 4220

Not so long ago, opening a fine-dining restaurant for three days a week and making the menu 50 per cent vegan would have been a recipe for disaster. Yet Urbane, in inner-Brisbane’s Mary Street, seems to be going gangbusters. With vegan chef and co-owner Alejandro Cancino at the helm, there’s a dedication and focus to taking plant-based cookery to the next level, although omnivores are far from on the back burner. Options are simply a five or seven-course omnivore or vegan tasting menu. Diners strapping in for the ride can expect an array of sensory challenging amuse bouche and sourdough, followed by the likes of tortellini in an intensely flavoured porcini consomme, the only difference between the vegan and omnivore dish being that smoked sesame cheese replaces ricotta in the filling of the silky pasta parcels. Address: 181 Mary Street Brisbane 4000

There’s a joy and a magic to the food Esquire chef-owner Ryan Squires puts on the plate (or coconut shell or stone). While the Brisbane River and Story Bridge view could easily be the star attraction at this degustation-only fine diner, Squires ensures all eyes are firmly on the table. Affable, well-drilled staff deliver each course – anywhere between 12 and 25 items – explaining the multiple elements and cooking techniques like proud school children reciting the alphabet; while the sommelier offers an expert wine matching ($75-$105 per head and highly recommended) but also suggests drops on the fly from the constantly changing, concise and interesting, international list. The culinary whimsy may begin with supple, house-cured prosciutto, buffalo jerky and the restaurant’s unique version of potato crisps, soaked in onion broth and air dried for an addictive, crunchy snack. Before following with a quirky take on a curry featuring a dome of coconut cream sorbet floating in a subtly spiced madras oil with fried curry leaves, beside a slice of the lightest Japanese cheesecake. It’s a match that seems illogical, but it is also this type of culinary synthesis that Squires pulls off with finesse. Even the simplest of dishes offers wow factor – crusty malt sourdough rye with conversation-stopping molasses butter. While Squires is perhaps pushing fewer boundaries with his food these days to make it more approachable for the masses, there’s still enough eccentricity and fantasy to keep the stakes high. Must-eat dish: Semi-dried tomatoes with burnt butter, macadamia milk, basil oil and garlic. Address: 145 Eagle Street Brisbane 4000

Imaginative, thought-provoking and strikingly beautiful – just like the artworks that grace the walls at GOMA, so too is the food at the gallery’s signature restaurant. The dishes here aren’t just ingredients on a plate, they’re stories told through the eye of the chef. If the Australian bushfire were a dish, it would be GOMA’s “after the eucalypt fire” with emu three ways (tartare, jerky, pan-fried) gathered on the plate like a burnt out bonfire with dots of rosella gel and beetroot embers, while charcoal pretzels sit like blackened twigs on top. It’s a dish as tasty as it clever. So too the locally caught rosy snapper, gently poached till flaky tenderness, balanced on a block of sweet, tofu-textured scallop mousse and garnished with scallop and its roe transformed into chips. Red seaweed and crisp, dried cauliflower florets, are elegantly gathered on the plate to resemble a piece of coral. Elaborate presentation, however, occasionally gives way to outstanding flavours, as with the modern take on a roast chicken dinner. Different cuts of the bird are roasted, fried and pressed, accompanied by a chip-like herb paper, lemony avocado puree, segmented fresh fig, macadamia and a jus worthy of licking the plate. Taking the food as seriously as the chefs are the waitstaff, who explain dishes with pride and passion, as well as offer wine pairings from the Queensland-centric list. With the fit-out a relatively blank canvas of polished concrete flooring, bentwood chairs and white walls, it’s a venue where the food will always be on show. Must-eat dish: The sky is falling chicken Address: Stanley Place South Brisbane 4101

Wander into Gauge across the road from the Queensland Museum in South Brisbane and the bright, low-fi interior belies the fact you have crossed the realm into a laboratory for boundary-pushing cuisine. Pull up a custom-made leather chair, or take a seat at the communal table, and tuck into one of the blood tacos for a hard and fast introduction to this establishment’s philosophy of maxing out on flavour. The dark-coloured taco shell – there’s pig’s blood mixed into the tortilla – is filled with a rich duxelles containing mushrooms and bone marrow. Bombastic is an understatement. Somewhat more restrained, but just as impressive are elegant plates of caraway and rye cracker topped with smoked mussel cream and bottarga; and a giant sumac-dusted rice puff, floating like a cloud on a bed of mackerel brandade. Whether it’s pan-fried cobia with clam and artichoke under a bubble of yeast foam, or salt-baked chicken thigh with barley and wakame under a cloak of brussels sprouts leaves, the dishes are refreshingly different, yet not so off-the-wall that flavour is sacrificed for invention. Desserts lean towards the savoury – think pumpkin ice cream with mustard fruits and honeycomb; and black-garlic bread with burnt vanilla and brown butter. While dinner is only served Wednesday through Saturday, there’s a daily brunch offering featuring eggs, bircher and avo toast, although probably not as you’ve ever seen them before. Service is engaging and helpful – the sommelier is keen to offer tastings of various wines – making Gauge an effortless, understated, yet exciting package that works. Must-eat dish: Mackerel brandade, cracker, sumac Instagram: @gauge.brisbane Address: 77 Grey Street South Brisbane 4101

The odyssey that is The Long Apron’s tasting menu begins with a caraway grissini “tree” sprouting out of a small vase and might end with a bone marrow truffle. Five dishes form the core of the inventive $125 menu at The Long Apron (there is a vegetarian option), preceded by a run of amuse bouche such as the “tree” and a sandcrab taco topped with cured egg yolk. The restaurant is part of the upmarket Spicer’s Clovelly Estate in the hills just outside the small Blackhall Range town of Montville in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. Diners will either be seated on the attractive stone-flagged patio overlooking the gardens or in the stylish dining room. Service is professional and restrained throughout the meal, which officially begins with tuna, watermelon, roe, lardo and beach herbs, a surprising combination that works well. Next is a lovely clean-tasting hillock of chopped asparagus over pieces of oyster mushroom, brought together with a beer and onion reduction. Soft folds of thinly sliced slow-cooked lamb entwine with strips of eggplant and smoked yoghurt, with a pool of capsicum consomme added at the table. Coal-grilled duck is matched with duck and date sausage, fronds of roasted kale, mulberries, dried plum and yeast cream. The dessert is something special, beeswax sorbet with roasted white chocolate, honeycomb and milk and honey meringue. This is stand-out creative cooking from chef Chris Hagan. Matching wines are an extra $70, or there’s a comprehensive list of by-the-glass options on the globally chosen list to make it a long lunch at the Long Apron. Must-eat dish: Beeswax sorbet dessert Instagram: @spicersretreats Address: 68 Balmoral Road Montville 4560

When chef-owner Paul McGivern lets his imagination and the month’s in-season ingredients dictate the ever-changing menu, diners are left guessing as to what will manifest on their plates. What they are guaranteed, however, is that the food will be exciting, inventive, beyond elegant and, most importantly, delicious. This modern and creative approach to the cuisine is in stark contrast to the setting – a handsome, quintessential Queensland cottage with charming back courtyard. But it’s this juxtaposition of old and new that works effortlessly thanks to inventive food that mashes up Australia and Europe, and classically trained, professional waitstaff, who help bridge the gap. Native ingredients are a love of the chef, so expect entrees such as duck rillettes with Davidson plum, or a risotto with tomato, goat’s cheese and saltbush. While mains could include native greens paired with brioche-crusted fish, or native berries alongside lamb rump with oyster mushrooms. A keenly chosen, French-leaning wine list offers plenty of variety, further boosted by a revolving Coravin wine system selection, and the opportunity to BYO vino on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. While the building may be a relic of time past, The Wolfe is a venue travelling straight into the future. Must-eat dish: Spanner crab with corn and fermented shitake Instagram: @thewolfe_eastbrisbane Address: 989 Stanley St East East Brisbane 4169

While Aria may have received a minor spruce up this year with new moody lighting, fresh artwork and carpet, it’s the changes to the menu that have given top chef Matt Moran’s signature fine diner a new lease on life. The riverside restaurant has been brought into line with its Sydney big brother of the same name, with diners choosing a minimum of two courses (starting at $95) from a collection of light entrees, heavier entrees, mains and desserts. The dishes have been stripped back – unnecessary elements and over-the-top cheffy flourishes giving way to a simple, produce-driven approach where the exceptional ingredients are the stars. Think bite-sized cubes of melting king salmon gently scorched alongside twirls of tart kohlrabi and a wasabi-spiked soy bean sauce, or gently caramelised Moreton Bay bug, boosted by umami notes from shiitake mushrooms and a melted seaweed butter. Meanwhile, mains include the likes of plum-pink roasted lamb loin, the meat naturally sweet and pure, accompanied by a baba ganoush-like blend and miso-infused eggplant pieces. Desserts also highlight restraint. Take, for example, a halved fig, its surface brandished with sugar and bruleed, sitting beside a swipe of whipped, meringue-like ricotta, crumbled cookie and slices of red grape. A refreshed drinks list encompassing precisely executed cocktails and wines swaying from boutique, small producers to big name Australian classics is well-pitched to the food, while the service is simply outstanding. Congenial, effortless and intuitive staff masterfully negotiate tables delivering expert care and attention. Having recently celebrated its eighth birthday, Aria is proving that, like fine wine, some things truly do get better with age. Must-eat dish: Roast lamb loin, eggplant, miso Instagram: @ariabrisbane Address: 1 Eagle Street Brisbane 4000

This slick and stylish restaurant with river views and access to a downtown financial district clientele makes no bones about its mission statement – the menu boasts 11 varieties of steak, and the kitchen’s centrepiece is a large grill lowered over glowering coals. Steaks range from Glen Innes Rangers Valley Wagyu-cross rump to Tasmanian Robbins Island full-blood Wagyu scotch fillet and are diligently cooked as requested, served with house-made mustards, a choice of three sauces and coleslaw. Beyond this fiesta of beef, options include roast suckling pig, moonfish roasted over coals and topped with seaweed butter, and share plates such as slow-roasted lamb shoulder and roasted chicken. What is slightly surprising amid all this hearty barbecue action is the delicacy of the entrees and desserts. Starters of crispy soft-shell crab on a bed of cauliflower puree and rabbit ravioli – a soft parcel of rabbit mousseline in a pond of ribollita, topped with currants and pickled walnuts – are well conceived and bursting with flavour. As a finale that represents Queensland on a plate, coconut rice pudding is teamed with passionfruit, orange and lime sorbet, caramelised roasted pineapple, as well as soursop fruit which proves a splendid addition. Rum baba is also smartly matched with citrus compote and Earl Grey ice cream. The wine list has global breadth and depth, and includes a large selection of local Granite Belt wines. It has a simple grill ethos built on quality produce as its centrepiece but Blackbird aims high in every aspect of its menu – and delivers. Must-eat dish: Rabbit ravioli Instagram: @blackbirdbrisbane Address: 123 Eagle Street Brisbane 4000

Perched on the edge of the Brisbane River, Pony is a restaurant with serious wow-factor. While the water view may captivate, so too does the handsome interior, seamlessly uniting industrial elements such as a concrete bar and floors, and curved metal detailing with shots of greenery and touches of cow hide for a space that feels comfortable yet carefully put-together. Acclaimed chef Michael Crosbie is at the pans in the open kitchen, harnessing the signature woodfired grill and the finest local ingredients to create elevated dishes that flaunt creativity, individuality and finesse. Take, for example, a starter of eel brandade sandwiched between two hand-cut potato crisps with freshwater caviar that pops in the mouth bringing salt and texture. Or perhaps spanner crab, the sweet, fresh meat hidden beneath crunchy Jerusalem artichoke chips and a fine grating of Parmesan, which brings an umami hit worth crying over. Steaks are a signature of the grill, but mains such as pork jowl are equally memorable, the tender, fatty meat met by crumbles of pork crackle, blackened pear segments, chestnut cream and turnip. Desserts pair savoury and sweet elements in a modern manner – think ‘milk and honey’ containing honey parfait, mead, bee pollen and toasted hay ice cream – while the imaginative cocktail list brings sweet treats in liquid form, such as a ‘banoffee pie’ swizzled with Pampero rum, crème de banane, cream, butterscotch, caramel and a biscuit crumb. Meanwhile, the predominantly Australian wine offering blends big-name labels with small, boutique producers well matched to the menu. Solid service rounds out an upscale dining experience that doesn’t horse around. Must-eat dish: Pork jowl Instagram: @ponydiningeaglestreetpier Address: 18/45 Eagle Street Brisbane 4000