Ten years in the business is no small feat, and EXP. has done it the long way; moving, adding a bakery-cafe, then going on all-in fine-dining. Slowly, suddenly, it’s become the most exciting restaurant in the Hunter, the whole show sharpened to a fine point.

It starts with snacks: pie-tee cases piped full of beetroot and sour cream shipping orbs of salmon roe; wagyu tartare tart overloaded with chives. But there’s high-grade technique and pops of intense and surprising flavours all through the tasting menu.

Take the duck, the breast smoked and glazed in honey, the leg stuffed into nasturtium, the fat whipped into a hollandaise. Or figs caramelised like black garlic then baked into pudding sauced with apple-miso butterscotch. The wine list is confident enough to look outside the postcode, while still backing emerging and established locals. Want to know where the Hunter is headed? It’s right here.

Best for: Top-tier Hunter Valley tasting menu, with soul

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.