For all its praise – including props as the highest-ranking Aussie in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, further fanning its global status as a destination diner – this humble powerhouse revels in exacting technique and eclectic ingredients as much as it does in being playful and tongue in cheek.

No cutlery needed for the opening snacks. Presented in a retro tin, steamed Vegemite scrolls deserve their own food truck, while An Imperfect History of Ripponlea is an ode to the suburb’s indigenous, English and Jewish heritage in three painstakingly created, two-bite tarts.

Over 17 or so courses, there are also carrots slow-smoked for 12 hours to chewy deliciousness, marron tail steeped in seaweed butter to jiggle from the shell, and the sweetest, freshest spanner crab and macadamia sauce to daub wattle-seed bread.

The sitting includes a welcome sojourn to the Ben Shewry souva bar out back for a bespoke beer and a charcoal-warmed flatbread stacked with lamb off the spit.

Do splash out and run the bookings gauntlet for a special occasion, and come for a unique showcase of native and rare ingredients, the stories behind the dishes explained by honed staff, and, above all, the fun factor.

Must-eat dish: An Imperfect History of Ripponlea