If the world were ever ending, we’d head straight to Indu. This sub-continental bunker in the middle of Sydney’s CBD would be easily missed by zombies, and once inside, there’s enough food to last a lifetime. 

In the bar area, an office-set sips on gin and tonics and pulls apart pre-loaded hoppers with lacy edges and yolks that pop bright yellow. The restaurant space is cavernous, with various nooks to settle into, from semi-private arched rooms of stone, to turquoise and gold three-quarter-moon booths with trees planted in-between. 

The food, with its Sri Lankan and southern Indian bent, comes fast and furious from the dosa bar and main kitchen at the back. Caramel-sweet turmeric bread comes with a fennel-infused butter and snow-like fresh coconut sambol the colour of clementines. It’s a bit like cake at dinnertime, and we’re ok with it. The moju, tender pickled eggplant, is a hot mess of flavour: the sweet-saucy vegetable sharpened with green chilli and pistachio. A side of Brussels sprouts and curry leaves, meanwhile, fried so crisp they shatter, adds great bitterness to otherwise rich, coconut-based curries. Perhaps a creamy fish curry with thick wands of okra, say, or a chocolatey beef-cheek number with sticky marrow bones. You’ll need more of the paratha, a buttery fried bread. 

From the old-school rock’n’roll playlist, relaxed service and fragrant heat from the kitchen, Indu helps you leave your cares at the door. 

Must eat dish: Eggplant moju