He famously took degustation dining to Clayton’s local bowl-o, but it’s now Armadale’s High St where Clinton McIver has hung out the shingle for his first solo-grown up adventure. And Amaru is just that, where within the stylishly simple, elegant and intimate 30-seater you’ll be served a celebration of Australia across a dozen-odd courses that might begin with a wallaby dumpling, travel across quiveringly fresh, translucent marron served with parmesan-softened sunflower seeds, and end with a showstopping mozzarella ice cream finished with olive oil and olive dust. It’s cooking that’s considered and restrained and outrageously tasty.

A focus on indigenous ingredients and low-miles produce never comes across as a tub-thumping mission statement, while a low-waste philosophy informs the menu to excellent effect. Service, from McIver’s partner Ali Rolim Correa, is as gracefully welcoming and patently proud as you’d expect from a first-time owner-operator duo, while the tight cellar shows respect to masters while nodding to the new. This is a vision of Australian dining that’s exciting, enlivening, and — importantly — especially delicious.

Must eat dish: mozzarella ice cream with olive oil