Mark Briggs is winning sardine haters over, one pan of Lakes Entrance beauties at a time, at his smart Paynesville restaurant of the same name.

Briggs (ex Vue de Monde) has made a Gippsland Lakes-change from the city and is championing a boatload of lesser loved fish within a stylish dining room that’s toasty warm in winter, open-windowed breezy come summer.

On the ever-changing menu, fisherman’s stew is generously strewn with the good stuff – prawns and bugs and clams and snapper on our visit – in a saffron-bright sauce of sunshine that’s mop-every-drop good, while roasted fish of the day might come with fat diamond clams, smoky bacon, garden peas and pillows of buttery mash.

Gippsland’s also celebrated in the glass, the small list served with admirable knowledge by the keen young team.

And those sardines? Fresh off the boat and into the pan, a half dozen whole fish are perfectly cooked, the flesh without a hint of the fishiness effortlessly falling from the spine. A sprinkle of salt flakes and a squeeze of lemon lets the flappingly-fresh fish shine, a sauce of blitzed coriander hiding pops of finger lime its vibrant accompaniment.

An impressive offering that caters to locals and holidaymakers alike, Sardine is a real catch

Must eat dish: Lakes Entrance sardines