Sopes were the signature dish at Maiz, back when it was a market stall. Five years later, the thick corn tortillas, upturned at the sides, have become more fine-dining than food truck – dark, tender shells filled with quivering corn espuma and spanner crab, for example. A delicate balance of earth and sea. It’s a testament to how far owner-chef Juan Carlos Negrete’s cooking has come.

Channelling the understated cool of modern Mexico with relaxed service, desert projections and lino art exhibitions, Maiz serves Mexican cuisine unlike anywhere else in Sydney: confit fennel-filled tetelas, lush green with epazote oil and pepita mole; taquitos al pastor, brightened with fermented pineapple glaze; and cacao brownies served with creamy rum-spiked eggnog and the sweet, lingering heat of poblano mole (the same chillies you’ll find, in syrup form, in a must-try mezcalita de jamaica).

Good to know: Everything on the menu happens to be gluten-free.

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