Aussie chef Daniel Mulligan brought his experience with Sardinian food to the Welcome Hotel in Rozelle, where they renamed the restaurant Ajo (“let’s go” in Sardinian).

The wine list is well-structured and practical, but the highlight is truly the food. Mulligan’s swordfish belly is served with bright, golden pickled beets, his fregola and Queensland spanner crab is accentuated by edible flowers and a succulent, deboned spatchcock is smoked for two hours, rolled in seed and dijon mustard and seared. The best of the desserts is an Eton mess of strawberries, pistachios and meringue.

Must eat: The spatchcock