Keen observers of Sydney’s dining scene will have noticed one thing: grills are everywhere. At many, you don’t even need to glance at the menu to guess that it’ll offer caviar service, a spin on tartare, pasta, then stuff from the wood grill. So what sets The Grill, the headline act of a triple stack of venues at the old MLC Centre, apart?

First, it’s how culinary director Joel Bickford hits familiar tropes but varies them to keep things novel. Surf and turf equals butter-poached yabbies plated with pillowy sweetbreads and pickled gooseberries. Tartare combines two cuts of beef, then hits them with oyster cream and shiso.

A sense of excitement and opulence in the wine service, high-gloss finishes and larger plates striking a balance between technical (quail pie) and hefty (whole flounder topped with school prawns) seal it: this is a grand symbol of the CBD’s next phase, rendered in full colour.

Good to know: Pre-drinks? Snacks? Something more casual? The downstairs wine bar and rooftop yakitori bar have it all.

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