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.

The signature snack at the CBD favourite Press* Food & Wine is not your average profiterol. Instead, Tom Tilbury’s choux pastry is wrapped in a layer of crisp biscuit “craquelin” and filled with a chicken liver parfait smoother than a Barry White love song. Just the thing to get you in the mood for love, with their seductively smooth, savoury centres. 40 Waymouth St, Adelaide; pressfoodandwine.com.au.

Step into Garçon Bleu, the opulent ninth-floor restaurant in Adelaide’s Sofitel, which features mirrored ceilings and a mosaic of Turkish tiles, and the combination of classical and modern elements that’s a little bit French yet very Adelaide. Shared dishes abound on a menu that is about bringing people together like venison tartare with shaved goat’s cheese and truffle, cubes of raw tuna and fermented vegetables in a Hainan-style dressing with green apple, ginger and turmeric juice and a lamb leg baked for 12 hour in a clay, hay and rosemary crust that’s hammered open by the waiter at the table. 108 Currie Street, Adelaide; garconbleu.com.au

The historic rotunda at the heart of Adelaide Botanic Garden has an open kitchen that juts into the heart of the restaurant like a ship’s prow. This is the stage for a team led by executive chef Justin James (Noma, Eleven Madison Park, Vue de monde) who uses the natural pantry of the garden, weaving his ingredients into a tasting menu starring plates that are intricate and inspiring. Perhaps roasted marron tail resting on a puddle of charred cream with splashes of fermented chilli and lemon myrtle oil. Or a charred paperbark parcel unwrapped to reveal a whole abalone, neatly dissected and spread to fit a sliver of fresh asparagus between each slice. There are also sorbets, palate cleansers and petit four too complex to be done justice here. For those who care about what they eat. Plane Tree Dr, Adelaide; restaurantbotanic.com.au.

Overlooking the ocean off Port Willunga, the flavours of the sea also loom large in the menu of this small eatery. Visiting without eating squid is like going to Naples and avoiding the pizza. Salt and pepper calamari is a permanent fixture among the entrees, while a main course version adds a tickle of Sichuan pepper to the coating, with a salad of julienned greenish mango, cucumber, kimchi, mixed herbs and a gentle chilli dressing. Mains include Kangaroo Island King George Whiting (battered, crumbed or grilled), served with garden salad and hand-cut chips, and a pan-fried barramundi with braised kidney beans and sweetcorn salsa. 1 Esplanade, Port Willunga; starofgreece.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.

Fishbank, established in the grand bank building on one of the city’s most prominent corners, lives up to its name by putting local seafood treats in the spotlight. A plate of Albany and Sydney rock oysters is shucked on demand by the chef, while the raw section offers up ora king salmon, bluefin tuna and kingfish sashimi. Grilled King George Whiting is dressed with peperonata, green olive and basil salsa. Whole fish, such as baby snapper, are handled with expertise; if your budget has no limit, order lobster (grilled or wok-fried). All this is enhanced by a wine list of such commendable breadth and engaging personality that we have named it the best in SA. 2 King William St, Adelaide; fishbankadl.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.

In Fugazzi, the Adelaide CBD has a restaurant with the sense of occasion. It all starts with the drop-dead gorgeous interior, then co-owner/chef Max Sharrad brings his US/Italian theme up to speed with a wood grill where vegetables figure prominently. Golden strands of egg taglierini are tossed with hand-picked blue swimmer crab, salmon roe pearls, fermented chilli and crustacean butter for a pasta dish that is luxury with a backing of heavy metal. Also maxing out the flavour volume is flat iron steak grilled over a wood fire and rested in the smoke, before serving with fries, anchovy butter and jus. To finish try the mango, mandarin, granita and coconut pavlova. 27 Leigh St, Adelaide; fugazzi.com.au.