It’s being touted as the ‘Niland effect’. A young chef who not only changed the way we think about seafood also has us eagerly eating all the unfamiliar wobbly bits of species most of us hadn’t heard of. No matter how you box and dice it, Josh Niland is a superstar of seafood. An innate understanding of its cooking has him leagues ahead of many chefs, but it’s his dedication to sourcing, and ageing, produce and exploring new culinary methods that has us hooked. The best part is, it’s damn delicious, too.

His tiny bistro on busy Oxford Street, Paddington, is on the crest of the Niland wave, so you might want to book in advance – but it will be worth the wait. Service is friendly, the wine list lovingly local and the room boisterous, if not a little in awe.

Start with a selection of up to 10 oysters from varying estuaries and an assortment of ages. Then snack on Albany bar cod taramasalata with Living Earth Farm organic radishes, before hitting the entrees. House-made XO coats stunningly soft Terrigal wild kingfish throats on toast, while pickles and rye bread accompany Exmouth bass grouper head and smoked belly terrine that’s delightfully light. Then a bed of barbecued eggplant with harissa and curry leaves hosts softly steamed line-caught Bowen coral trout, and a wonderfully sweet and nutty butterflied Port Albert yellow-eye mullet benefits from an umami-rich burnt tomato and marjoram sauce. The seafood is simply spectacular, but so is the dessert, especially Niland’s famous lemon tart – silky, zesty, there really is nothing like it.