Few restaurants have evolved like Bentley Restaurant & Bar. Opening in 2006 in a former dive bar in Surry Hills, it struck a chord with a new culinary groupie. A kaleidoscope of unusual ingredients matched with wines that played unfamiliar riffs helped set a precedent to expect the unexpected.

It moved to the CBD without losing that chutzpah and offered a serious yet left-of-centre dining experience. Co-owners chef Brent Savage and sommelier Nick Hildebrandt have continually searched for a balance between boundary breaking and making us feel right at home.

And the latest incarnation is perhaps their most satisfying. After a recent refresh the space doesn’t feel all that different. Yes, the bar has gone from thoroughfare to a destination in its own right and the dining room benefits from new lighting and black brush strokes that creep across the white ceiling.

The always-approachable wine panache of Hildebrandt is ever present, but something is different on the plate. The clean, less complicated dishes are more rooted in stellar ingredients. There’s no stage dive.

This is beautiful ego-free cooking, and it makes for wonderful eating. Camel’s milk curd tempers curls of shaved watermelon radish and plum. The twang of muntrie relish and fun of fermented saltbush make great allies of pastrami, while sliced and diced kingfish benefits from sweet Cape gooseberries. Exquisite snapper thrives on the interplay of pickled pumpkin and pepita, and at dessert freeze-dried and fresh pineapple, olive oil ice-cream, caramelised lactose and a pineapple beer reduction deliver an almost posh cheesecake moment.

The Bentley boys’ willingness to let go of the restraints of a decade of expectation has resulted in a far more enticing experience – one that could have them knocking on the door of Australia’s best.