Walking into St. Isidore is like walking into the house of a great friend who has been looking forward to having you over for dinner. Chickens peck around outside and a vegetable garden grows down near the pond. Look into the kitchen and be welcomed by the chefs. Almost immediately after, front-of-house are beaming you through to your table.

The menu, like the décor, is no fuss. Sourdough gnocchi with mushrooms, Jerusalem artichoke, chestnuts and pecorino is beautifully presented and just harmony on the plate. Charred lamb ribs with macadamia, tamarind, green peppercorns and betel leaf is incredibly tasty – interesting without being pretentious. Pumpkin roasted with nettle and tamari, with cabbage, pickled shiitake, sesame and roasted cabbage broth is a picture of control and restraint, and it was hard to understand how the deep flavour of the broth had not come from a meaty source, but rather from the cabbage. Leaves from the garden with horseradish and radish left us begging for the recipe for the horseradish dressing, and the golden spuds with dashi and nori salt and creme fraiche are next-level umami.

Pumpkin cake with salsify creme brulee and pumpkin-seed toffee is just brilliant. The ‘creme brulee’ is deconstructed: the salsify a custard that sits next to the pumpkin cake, and the pumpkin-seed toffee a tuille-like structure that replaces the traditional flame-licked top of a brulee. It’s genius, though perhaps the pumpkin could have had an element of spice.

The wine list is carefully considered, and we left wishing St. Isidore was a little closer to Sydney. Then again, that would likely take away some of its charm.