Sydney’s Bridge Street is as busy a bag of bees, but once you pass through the double doors at The Bridge Room, the buzz of the city is replaced by the comfortable hum of happy diners in a space of earthy, effortless luxury. Is there a restaurant at the pointy end that sums up Australia better than the Bridge Room?

This is a very serious restaurant that makes you feel as comfortable as a cat on a mat, but takes you on a magic carpet ride of extraordinary culinary expressions. Yep, Ross and Sunny Lusted’s vision of a restaurant circa 2017 is astounding. It’s a designer’s dream (no surprises there considering Ross’ art-school days and his love of designing Japanese Raku-inspired plateware). The sun-drenched Scandinavian-inspired dining space befits the 1930s corner spot where French parquetry floors, wide-bottomed mid-century Portuguese chairs, succulents and felt placemats at each table set the scene.

Service smartly walks the fine line between contemporary casual and a seriously sophisticated, and Lusted’s food puts produce front and centre with food that appears simple on the plate, but of course, that’s the trickery of staggeringly precise technique. Using the gentle, delicate heat of the robata grill, Lusted accentuates each ingredient to let it tell it’s own tale.

Pork Caramel adds a deep, sweet edge to delicate spanner crab that’s given a citrus exclamation courtesy of finger lime. Duck egg cream and lightly grilled enoki let textural, raw sheets of wagyu shine. Candied mustard fruits and walnut cream make great bedfellows for robata-grilled New England lamb, and Lusted’s infamous whipped black sesame sorbet with melon and puffed black rice makes a strong case for must-order.

If Bridge Room isn’t the best restaurant in the CBD right now, it’s certainly close to it.

Must eat dish: Whipped black sesame, toasted sesame powder, melon, puffed black rice, coconut sugar
Instagram: @thebridgeroom