Gwen, Maude, Peppina, Audrey. A new generation of chefs are naming their restaurants after their biggest fan – grandma. The latest addition to the family is Jane, a slick new Surry Hills diner by acclaimed chef Tristan Rosier.

Rosier named his first restaurant Arthur, after his grandfather. He’s now followed up with Jane, in what may well be an elaborate attempt to keep the peace. Both diners are conveniently located on Bourke Street in Surry Hills, just a two-minute mobility scooter ride from each other.

While Arthur is the more formal of the two, offering a set menu with matching wines, Jane is more of a good-times gal. She welcomes walk-ins and serves up elegant, yet unfussed fare suited to a more casual style of dining.

The stunning new restaurant is no plain Jane either. Luchetti Krelle, the design studio behind The Butler and Hotel Centennial, has created a sleek retro-inspired brasserie, with corduroy banquettes and polished dark timber dining tables using materials from Jane’s 1970s home.

Central to the dining room is a marble bar adorned with flower tiles, where you can order a mint slice cocktail by former Bulletin Place and Re bartender, Evan Stroeve.  A second dining room out the back is lined with tables of two like a speed-dating session, complete with dimmed dome scones that set the scene for romance.

In the kitchen, Rosier is joined by head chef Victoria Scriven, who has stepped up from her former role of sous chef at Arthur. Their menu specialises in modern Australian plates, with a focus on native ingredients and ethically sourced produce.

The menu is beautifully handwritten by Jane herself – with all the elegant loops and tails of the age – although you might need your reading glasses. If you can’t make anything out, we suggest you just start with the Moreton Bay bugs, which come swimming in a tarragon beurre blanc like little lobster thermidor. There’s just one per serve, so you won’t ruin your appetite. Follow up with the panisse, a crispy chickpea fritter, topped with wild boar ‘nduja and parmesan custard with a curly parsley garnish. It’s a cheffy version of the classic gran snack of cheese, salami and crackers.

Rosier has done a switche-roo on the steak tartare, trading up the beef for kangaroo, and adding bush tomatoes for earthy zing. It’s topped with super fine French fries, piled high like bonfire sticks.

Grandma may not pick favourites, but we do – ours is the native curry. It’s made from sustainably-farmed Murray cod from Griffith, bathed in a rich, aromatic sauce of lemon myrtle, mountain pepper, pepper berry and roasted macadamia that sings of the bush.

If you eat all your savoury courses, then you can have dessert. We’re absolutely smitten with Jane’s pink cake, inspired by the real Jane’s famous sponge with bright pink icing – although Rosier’s version is a little more fiddly. There’s fluffy sponge, but also layers of meringue, macerated strawberries and soft folds of bay leaf cream, topped with candied rosella flowers and clusters of ruby chocolate. It’s definitely pink and extremely delicious, like a native pavlova with sweet-tart berry and hibiscus flavours.

The wine list, curated by Arthur and Jane sommelier Kyle Reno Lenci focuses on small, cult producers with 80 options by the bottle and 25 by the glass. Keep with the theme and try Brave New Wine’s Dreamworld Riesling, an experimental sipper from Western Australia made from Riesling wild fermented with bush botanicals. Cocktails are ranked from lightest to richest, starting with an Australiano, an Americano made from local Australian liqueurs, and finishing with the Aussiest of dessert cocktails, a mint slice spiked with St Agnes brandy, chocolate and native mint.

No booking? No worries. Just like at your own grandmother’s house, you can turn up unannounced. Jane welcomes walk-ins with open arms.

Related review: Arthur by Tristan Rosier is a glimpse at where Australian restaurants are heading