Berry has long been a sweet stop for southbound revelers (hello doughnut van), but with the neighbourhood bistro from John Evans (previously of 3 Weeds and Bistro CBD) and wife and former food editor Sonia Greig, there’s now a good reason to stay for lunch.

The light-filled, bustling dining room sings with chatter. There’s the bar to the back with bottles of local and further-flung drops lining the wall. Service is relaxed and knowledgeable, and you’ll feel like an old friend making a welcome return almost as soon as you walk in the door.

We start with local Berry sourdough, which is served with olive oil infused in-house with parmesan, garlic and thyme, and Ortiz anchovies, which arrive in their tray with a small pot of chilli jam, slices of toast and a wedge of lemon. Pickled baby vegetables from Buena Vista Farm are served with salad cream and are playfully nostalgic, eliciting smiles as tiny carrots, corn and radish are dunked into the classic condiment.

Moving to more substantial dishes, a decent-sized bowl of orecchiette is tossed with pine nuts, olives and chilli, pangrattato balancing the texture of the smooth ricotta that serves as the dish’s crown. Shaved cabbage salad lands at the table on a bed of smoked eggplant yoghurt, with roasted baby carrot, chickpeas, almonds, toasted buckwheat and beautiful burrata on top; it’s a wonderful merger of wholesome flavours.

The uncomplicated but truly happiness-inducing experience at South On Albany speaks volumes for the level of regional restaurants in Australia right now.

Must eat dish: Roasted baby carrot, chickpea and shaved cabbage salad