Nine years seem to have disappeared in the blink of an eye. Over that time Bloodwood has been the beating heart of the Newtown culinary community. Sure, it’s still nestled among the cheap, cheerful and sometimes downright dreadful of King Street’s dining strip, but the restaurant led a new wave of wonderful smart eateries in the ’hood – hello Continental Deli, Hartsyard, Stanbuli, Osteria di Russo and Russo – by making a virtue of casual without cutting corners on quality.

Owned by Claire van Vuuren and Mitch Grady, Bloodwood has matured into quite a magnificent beast and the slender split-level space is always pumping with locals and visitors to the inner west alike. The wine list is compact but courageous, the beer offering more diverse than most pubs and the cocktails have put the local bars on notice (try the mandarin and star anise gin and tonic).

Van Vuuren has always taken a global tack with the menu by fusing the Middle East, Europe and Asia using Australia’s best produce, and now it seems she has truly hit her stride, with dishes that are adventurous yet familiar, confident yet comforting.

Macadamia and poppy seeds add earthiness to raw kingfish given a lively kick with jalapeño and lime. Pickled currants, chillies, parsley and pistachio add punch to grinningly good chargrilled black garlic pork. An ensemble of green and red tomatoes, asparagus, basil and caraway comes together nicely with creamy fior di latte, while sugar snaps and winter melon temper sumptuous Mooloolaba king prawns lathered in burnt miso butter. Ooph.

And, sure, the Bloodwood trifle is a solid sweetheart, but the lemon curd with almond, cucumber and ginger gets the blood pumping and leaves me keen to experience Bloodwood’s next decade.