Glamourous, art-deco and serving a mean Martini, Gimlet at Cavendish is a polished establishment in a Chicago-style 1920s building. Focusing on European flavours using Australian produce, the menu is packed with showstoppers. For a quick bite, you can sit at the bar and enjoy smaller snacks, like freshly shucked oysters and even a caviar service. But for a long, intimate dinner, ask for a booth and indulge in steak grilled to perfection, warm duck salad and zucchini flowers. Thankfully, Gimlet is a quick 5-minute tram ride or 10-minute walk from Melbourne Park.

Food for the soul is plated up at this wholesome Peninsula farmhouse. Tedesca Osteria’s menu features a constantly changing mix of antipasto, which may include jamon Iberico sheets paired with honey-licked persimmon cheeks from the property’s biodynamic farm. tedesca.com.au/osteria-tedesca

Ten Minutes By Tractor is less known as a form of measurement between the estate’s vineyards and more as a wow-factor winery-restaurant. Celebrate pristine local produce across five or seven courses with optional add-ons (think marron with foraged pine mushrooms in a foaming marron bisque). Kiwi-born head chef Hayden Ellis’s creativity shines through, as does his reverence for the holy trinity of food, wine and nature. 1333 Mornington-Flinders Rd, Main Ridge VIC. http://www.tenminutesbytractor.com.au/

Pt Leo Estate may have lost culinary director Phil Wood to Sydney last year, but that made way for Josep Espuga to bring his global skills and Michelin-star thrills to the ’Ninch. The Spanish native couldn’t have placed the squillion-dollar winery on a map two years ago, but now he’s lobster-diving and chestnut-foraging to hammer home Laura’s farm-to-fork, seafood-inspired menu. Dressed up or down, Laura is the perfect Peninsula pitstop for locals and long-lunchers alike. 3649 Frankston – Flinders Rd, Merricks VIC. https://www.ptleoestate.com.au/

Sardine remains a consistent culinary beacon on Paynesville’s waterfront. The namesake Lakes Entrance sardines will always be a familiar entry to owner-chef Mark Briggs’ seafood and Gippsland-driven menu. A tiny, perfectly executed skewer of braised and chargrilled Mallacoota abalone and salt-baked celeriac takes inspiration from Briggs’ Vue de monde days. Sure, Sardine is a tad more exxy than it was pre-pandemic, but them’s the breaks of a restaurant that has weathered the storm and emerged stronger than ever. 3/69A Esplanade, Paynesville VIC. sardineeaterybar.com

There are three things you must know about Ballarat’s smallest restaurant, Underbar. It’s pronounced oon-de-bar (which is Swedish for wonderful), chef-owner Derek Boath and partner Lucy Taylor are moving their fine diner of six years to a new home in September – downsizing from 16 to 14 seats. And the third? It’s as exceptional as ever. The farm-to-table degustation will take you on a journey through Ballarat and beyond, via Japan and France. The food is held up by impressive service and a hyper-local modern wine list that can be enjoyed by half or full pours, by the bottle or matched with each meal. There’s no hotter seat in town. 710 Sturt St, Ballarat Central VIC. underbar.com.au

Two menus lie on the table at Igni, but neither reveal any food. Pick a wine or cocktail and succumb to the surprises of Geelong’s fire-fuelled and arguably finest restaurant (after dietary requirements are ironed out, of course). Igni’s “surprise set-course menu” doesn’t disappoint. Igni, which is Latin for fire, is many things: intimate (there are only 20 seats) with exceptional hospitality that’s informative, refined, unpretentious and top tier. 2 Ryan Place South Rear of 205, 207 Moorabool St, Geelong VIC. restaurantigni.com

The farm-to-table concept is taken to dizzying heights at one of Australia’s (and the world’s) most awarded restaurants, Brae. Every ingredient surrounding the Birregurra farmhouse is celebrated in its purest, freshest and mind-blowingly delicious forms on the plate. Dan Hunter takes us on an Otways Hinterland tour across 10 courses. If money isn’t an issue, pack a bag and enjoy an overnight stay, which sees warm sourdough and housemade jams delivered to your cabin. Boasting exceptional cooking and an experience to boot, Brae remains a world-class favourite. 4285 Cape Otway Rd, Birregurra VIC. braerestaurant.com

World-class chef. Summer camp leader. Soup king. Cheesecake baker. Lockdown meal-maker. Attica’s Ben Shewry has worn many hats in two years, but now the star chef is back doing what he does best at his Ripponlea restaurant that started it all. In the still dialled-down and relaxed space, you’ll forget you’re paying an eye-watering $360 for dinner. Shewry is the humble, quiet achiever making a lot of noise with his cooking and dinky-di, tongue-in-cheek attitude. Team that with rockstar service, out-of-this-world wines and street cred to boot, and Attica is silver service without the stuffiness. 74 Glen Eira Rd, Ripponlea VIC. attica.com.au

Things aren’t always as they seem at Vue de monde. Gumnuts tangled in an eucalyptus wreath turn out to be wattleseed choccies, and that outback “roo-shi” isn’t from Japan. And when things start as slam-the-table-good as the macadamia and smoked eel tofu, you know you’re in serious danger of falling head over heels for Melbourne’s bucketlist diner in the clouds. Wunderchef Hugh Allen is making his mark on a restaurant almost as old as he is. It’s really everything at Vue de monde, right down to the service, that’ll give you that top-of-the-world feeling. 55 Rialto Towers, 525 Collins St, Melbourne VIC. vuedemonde.com.au