Nowhere is Queensland’s regional food awakening more evident than at McGregor Terrace Food Project in Stanthorpe. Country hospitality meets metro flair in this spiffing French provincial bistro set in an old general store and butcher shop. It has its own vegetable garden – complete with a bee hive – and you won’t be stung too badly by the prices either.

The kitchen team doesn’t have to go far for chunks of honeycomb to serve with an entree of grilled spiced figs, feta, rocket and walnuts, while a prawn salad harmoniously blends grilled haloumi and shaved fennel with watermelon and freekeh.

Most of the produce is sourced locally, including charred wagyu rump and braised brisket, which arrives together, served alongside butternut pumpkin and baby carrots from the garden.

Desserts are a classic affair – blackberry and mango curd tart festooned with a dollop of lovely condensed milk ice cream, anyone?

Interestingly, it’s a BYO in the heart of Queensland’s Granite Belt wine district. But with more than 30 cellar doors at its doorstep, diners have plenty of reds and whites to choose from.

McGregor Terrace is a small family restaurant, owned and operated by Lou and Ben Lanyon, who have cooked at high-end restaurants around Australia including the historic North Gregory Hotel in Winton and South Australia’s Southern Ocean Lodge, and it shows.

Must-eat dish: The wagyu rump with braised brisket
Instagram: @mcgregor_terrace_food_project