The starting point is a bowl of lemon aspen jelly with finely diced kohlrabi and halves of twice-shelled green peas looking like lily pads on the surface of a pond. The finish is a toffee-topped, semi-frozen cream and matching syrup, flavoured with the spiky fallen branches of a bunya pine tree. As stunning as both are, the remarkable part about lunch at the reimagined Restaurant Botanic is that every one of the nine courses between are their equal. For those who care about what they eat, Restaurant Botanic is a Magical Mystery Tour from start to finish. Plane Tree Dr, Adelaide; restaurantbotanic.com.au.

Dining at this level is all about memorable moments and the cooking here from long-time chef and now owner Scott Huggins certainly offers plenty, with fingers used almost as often as forks. A sandwich of barbecued porcini and a frizz of fried leek between discs of brioche seems equal parts bread and (truffle) butter, while a next-level seafood medley of lobster meat, abalone and burnt tomato is served with roti to swipe through the ambrosial juices. A perfectly pink lamb cutlet is wrapped Wellington-style with prosciutto, mushroom duxelles and puff pastry that would ideally have cooked through a few minutes longer.To finish, a block of rice pudding adorned with poached pear, honeycomb, raisin puree and flakes of milk skin is comfort food of a rare calibre. 78 Penfold Rd, Adelaide; magillestaterestaurant.com.au.

The provision of bread to sop up sauce or gravy is a reliable indicator of a restaurant that cares about its customers. At Maxwell, however, they take this to a whole new level. A pair of waffles, brushed with beef fat, arrive on a folded napkin, ready to swipe through the glossy puddle of sauce at the base of a block of grilled wagyu. This final savoury course is Exhibit A of the sensible sophistication and egalitarian appeal that has taken Maxwell to a place among the very best of the state’s vast array of winery restaurants. Chef Fabian Lehmann has created a single tasting menu of 10 courses, starting with a sequence of bite-sized snacks. Then move on to a chicken tart with a case formed from a layer of crisp skin and pork belly brined and cooked in fat for three days to make a small, fat-streaked slab that hovers somewhere between bacon and the stuff of your wildest dreams. Finish with a dessert that has multiple links with the winery – caramelised oak chip ice cream, malt crumble, mead sabayon and mead jellies. 19 Olivers Rd, McLaren Vale; maxwellwines.com.au.

This bold venture from local food entrepreneur Callum Hann and his business partner Themis Chryssidis has plenty going for it. The cooking is often memorable; the drinks list superb. Chef Water Lo supervises the contemporary French cooking, realised mostly as hero ingredients arranged on a plate and sauced at the table. The magic here is the extraordinary, seductive flavours to be found in liquids with the consistency of your morning tea or coffee. Saffron risotto stars zucchini flower, buffalo curd and fermented chilli oil, while roast chicken breast is elevated by confit leek, pickled cauliflower and davidson plum jam. Mascarpone mousse with strawberry sorbet and bay oil supplies sweet relief. 11 Waymouth St, Adelaide; elevenedl.com.au.

If it’s a big celebration, or you just feel the need to splurge, Hardy’s Verandah Restaurant in Mount Lofty House has the grand setting and luxe experience to fit the occasion. On the table chef Jin Choi delivers with poise and elegance. There’s sublime savouriness in raw wagyu beef wrapped around a core of enoki mushrooms with a ponzu sauce, and pleasing spikes of Sichuan pepper in rich plum sauce to accompany lean duck breast smoked with oolong tea. Choi achieves similar great balance throughout a la carte four-course meals and eight-course degustations, with his signature wagyu brisket another highlight. Mount Lofty House, 1 Mawson Dr, Crafers; mountloftyhouse.com.au.

A visit to Seppeltsfield is a complete outing. The buildings across the Barossa property are steeped in history, while the galleries of the Jam Factory have an array of art admire. Along with the theatre of an open kitchen, it means there is plenty to talk about over lunch at Fino in the winery’s cellar door and courtyard. Taking the helm in the kitchenis former Fino sous chef Daniel Murphy, returned after polishing his talents at notable establishments including eleven, St Hugo and Appellation. The result feels seamless with superb, local ingredients singing for themselves. Both the a la carte and sharing menus build steadily in size, so if you are yearning for more of the likes of a deliciously meaty lamb croquette garnished with beetroot and labne, hold on. Kingfish crudo, with persimmon and Geraldton wax, is a more delicate and generous starter. From the larger serves, four sweet fillets of Coorong mullet feature in a lively plating with leek, oyster mushrooms and romesco, while wagyu brisket is accompanied by sugarloaf cabbage and black vinegar. Crema catalana for dessert is always excellent, or opt for something seasonal such as quince frangipane tart. 730 Seppeltsfield Rd, Seppeltsfield; seppeltsfield.com.au.

A trip to Hentley Farm has long been a day to look forward to on the calendar, particularly given how far ahead one needs to book to guarantee getting a table. The brilliantly restored stable and its glass-walled addition looking over a gum-lined creek remains among the best of restaurant settings. However, Hentley has been through significant changes (and challenges) in the past few years and on our most recent visit its young team, headed by Clare Falzon in the kitchen, needed a little time to properly find its feet. Highlights come mostly when the young chefs bring their dishes to the table. As for the food, there are still wonderful moments, some familiar (the “egg” of passionfruit and yoghurt), some new (cauliflower puree and salmon roe wrapped in fine slivers of raw cauli looking like little paper trees). The flow of starters needs attention, with some subtle elements shouted down by potent flavours such as an unctuous spiced eggplant relish. While a piece of barramundi with lemon dressing borders on perfection, the same can’t be said for the quality of kingfish sashimi. Raspberry sorbet on a parfait-style cream with pistachio crumble is nice enough finish. Gerald Roberts Rd, Jenke Rd, Seppeltsfield; hentleyfarm.com.au.

Aurora is part of a collective of hi-tech performance and hospitality spaces known as Light that has taken over what was originally a tobacco factory, then an adults’ club, on the western side of Light Square. A restaurant with an altruistic, ego-free, sustainable vision it is helmed by executive chef and chief mentor Brendan Wessels. Originally from South Africa, his menus offers diners the choice of a five-course tasting experience, or a la carte offerings such as a half wood-roasted chicken with bread pudding, lamb with fromage blanc and mulberry and a flat iron steak with potato and bone marrow sauce. All elevated by small but significant touches of technical virtuosity. Light, 63 Light Square, Adelaide; auroradl.com.au.

With vineyard views and a garden of citrus trees, The Currant Shed is a picturesque spot for lunch with family or loved ones. Inside, the setting is minimalistic but warm. All focus is on the food from Wayne Leeson and his team, which brings seasonal produce to the fore. Whether you pick the two or three-course meal, you’ll be starting with a house-made bread roll and bitesize snacks – an oyster, for example, or cracker topped with venison tartare and coconut “snow”. A medley of bright baby beetroots is the prettiest of plates, the roasted wedges and raw slices assembled atop cashew cream and decorated with watercress and lolly-like beetroot jellies. Kingfish sashimi wins the flavour stakes, with its SA-meets-Southeast-Asian vibe thanks to succulents, finger limes, coconut milk and coriander. The winning main is a more generous serve of flavour-packed fried rice, sticky with hot nuoc cham dressing and crispy chicken skin, topped with slices of sous vide chicken. Desserts include chocolate sorbet with raspberry four ways, and coconut snow. 104 Ingoldby Rd, McLaren Flat; currant shed.com.au.

Winding your way to this lofty spot is all part of the experience. The website gives the day’s sunset time for people keen to arrive in time to watch the panorama morph. Inside the dining room, old-school elegance endures. The sense of occasion is felt on all levels from the deep comfy chairs to a friendly style of formal service. Intimate groups are seated at ample half-round tables flanked by uninterrupted picture windows. Those on a raised tier also have great views and the benefit of a glass ceiling for star gazing. Chef Justin Miles and his team cook for each person: no sharing platters here. Over a five-course tasting menu he will make all but the main-course decisions for you. He awakens appetites with milk buns and balls of roasted garlic butter, alongside tiny cups of earthy vegetable soup, then a pretty dish in Woodside’s excellent buffalo feta, layered with figs, jamon, almonds and house marmalade. Another good looker of Boston Bay pork belly on batons of polenta and truffled mushrooms comes before your chosen main (perhaps lamb shoulder or duck breast) sided by particularly good Middle Eastern pumpkin. Windy Point Lookout, 339 Belair Rd, Belair; windypoint.com.au.