Ingredients that taste like themselves, service that neither coddles nor evades, a knock-out wine list, and a room that brings joy. It’s not rocket science. Yet, so many restaurants never quite get it right. This is what we’ll call deliciousness, and it’s everywhere at chef Danielle Alvarez’s Fred’s. The lovely Paddington destination feels like a home kitchen, albeit a dream-on home, with bowls of produce on marble benchtops instead of stainless steel prep containers. Everything centres around a fire, and the food is the product of a sublime, sustainable harvest. It’s old-world cooking via California’s Chez Panisse to Sydney. Soft slow-cooked ocean trout tastes of the sea, prettied up with nutty broad beans, radish and wild fennel. Baby turnips are a forgotten vegetable allowed to shine in their bitter, sweet, tender crunch, matched with thin slices of buttery fried Southern squid, snow peas and black garlic vinaigrette. What a delight to find a puddle of earthy white bean puree under deboned chicken Marylands instead of the oh-so-common cauliflower. Address: 380 Oxford St Paddington 2021

Devising cyclical menus based on the six seasons of the local Indigenous people may seem gimmicky, but Jed Gerrard, the executive chef of Wildflower, is the real deal. The menu at Wildflower is exquisite, and Gerrard’s contemporary use of local, native and foraged ingredients is inspired. All the dishes, especially the raw Geraldton kingfish with preserved daikon, beach banana, fermented cucumber and soured Geraldton wax cream, are winners. Rooftop of COMO The Treasury, Perth, wildflowerperth.com.au

It has been Sydney’s most anticipated opening in recent years. And now that Barangaroo House has launched, patrons can witness where Matt Moran has sprinkled his magic yet again throughout the three venues over three levels. From the casual indoor-outdoor House Bar to Bea, the refined restaurant, and Smoke, the rooftop cocktail bar, Moran has created something quite incredible. The food is masterful and playful (think ants and crickets used as seasoning) and the setting is unbeatable. 35 Barangaroo Ave, Sydney, barangaroohouse.com.au

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

Tasmania is the Australian destination of the moment, and Agrarian Kitchen co-founder Rodney Dunn has certainly had something to do with the Apple Isle’s popularity. The Agrarian Kitchen Eatery and Store in New Norfolk is a bright and breezy restaurant – a far cry from its original use as a hospital for the mentally ill in the 1800s and 1900s. In Dunn’s commitment to sustainable, renewable and organic traditions, much of the food is woodfired, hot-smoked, locally sourced and pickled or fermented. 11A The Avenue, New Norfolk, Tasmania, theagrariankitchen.com

Kisume is spread over three levels, into which Mr Chin Chin, Chris Lucas, has distilled decades of experience into creating his boldest, unashamedly ambitious, restaurant yet. Set up as a many splendored thing – part chablis bar, sushi counter, basement restaurant, exclusive private dining room and intimate 12-seat kaiseki – Kisume is a modern Japanese restaurant that’s unmistakably Melbourne but with added New York attitude. Upstairs is Kuro Kisume housing the chablis bar and The Table, the crowning jewel of the lot. It’s here that Korean-born, Tokyo-trained Chef Moon presents a uniquely Australian expression of kaiseki (the Japanese version of French haute cuisine), across an evolving 15-course meal that might include bonito broth served over abalone, fresh oyster with sea urchin, mud crab with caviar, and the prized o-toro tuna belly shaved, sliced and served with black truffle and foie gras in the ultimate expression of OTT luxe. With master sommelier Jonathan Ross guiding drinks across the venue, Kisume is like nothing we’ve ever seen before. And it’s a glorious vision indeed. Address: 175 Flinders Lane Melbourne 3000

Vegan food has never looked or tasted so good. Constantly innovating and on the lookout to infuse more punchy flavours into whatever they cook, Smith & Daughters co-owners Mo Wyse and Shannon Martinez challenge any notion of meat-free fare as bland or boring. These are big and bold flavours – our current favourite is chili rellenos – crispy poblano peppers stuffed with spiced black beans and cheese (vegan of course), served with sweet creamed corn and salsa roja. 175 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, smithanddaughters.com

Kitchens are notorious for the amount of food and plastic waste they create. Melissa Palinkas, the chef and co-owner of Young George, was so horrified after filling bin after bin with plastic that she pledged to do something about it. The restaurant now eschews single-use plastic and has dramatically reduced the waste that gets sent to landfill. But Palinkas’ commitment to looking after the environment doesn’t detract from the food – the house-made charcuterie is just like Nonna used to make and the baby roasted squid with smoked lardo is worth a plane flight from the east coast. 48 George St, East Fremantle, Western Australia, younggeorge.com.au

Kylie Kwong is always looking to innovate and push boundaries. Her Sydney restaurant, Billy Kwong, is the perfect example of how the energetic chef has consistently delivered exceptional dishes while also keeping an eye on the bigger things associated with running a business. The restaurant is one of the very few carbon-neutral eateries in Australia, and Kwong makes a point of using Fair Trade products and preparing all the sauces from scratch. Even the sparkling water served to patrons is carbonated on site, doing away with single-use plastic or glass bottles. Shop 1, 28 Macleay Street, Potts Point, Sydney, NSW, billykwong.com.au This gallery is in parternship with the All-New Toyota Camry. To find out more, please visit toyota.com.au/camry.

It’s not every day that you get to dine inside a Rubik’s Cube. The remarkable glass five-storey D’arenberg Cube is set within one of the McLaren Vale’s most established wineries. The complex houses tasting rooms, a museum, bars and a restaurant. The restaurant’s degustation menu changes with the seasons and is an exciting and contemporary offering that matches the striking surrounds. 60 Osborn Road, McLaren Vale, South Australia, darenberg.com.au