This year brought us a few quality seafood restaurants, and there are arguably none better than Saint Peter. Owner and chef Josh Niland is an alumni of one of the planet’s best fish cooks – Stephen Hodges – and it’s clear he’s absorbed every single detail from the master.

The tiny dining room has diners elbow to elbow in a boisterous bistro setting with a view into one of the smallest kitchens in Sydney. Watch the team deliver considered, simple dishes with whatever sustainable catch of the day they get their hands on.

Shimmering sand whiting gets a grassy, aniseed undercurrent from green asparagus and fennel. Highly under-rated albacore tuna receives a sweet and sour kiss, and wild kingfish is served raw with its own roe.

Native saltbush is fantastic with grilled calamari, while the butter of the sea, urchin roe, is undoubtedly the best brunch in Sydney right now when served on house-made crumpets. Simple parsley lets fillets of Australian herring reveal their oily, savoury side and the ash roasted onions work beautifully with the wild barramundi.

Must eat: Sea urchin with crumpets