The food in this intimate city-fringe dining room has a distinctive savour that resonates throughout the 12-course set menu. It’s the taste of creativity, grit and daring. Zoe Birch and Lachlan Gardner have built the restaurant on their terms, sourcing drinks and produce from small, sustainable suppliers for 32 guests a week.

Gardner manages front of house, serving plates, pouring wines, spinning vinyl. Meanwhile, Birch tends the fire and prepares every dish that comes from it. A bite-sized tart made from native grass flour is piled with smoke-wreathed cavolo nero and macadamia cream. Koji-crusted lion’s manes, like itty-bitty schnitties, are all crunch and umami, the offcuts brewed into potent dashi.

By the time you’re sliding a spoon into parsnip ice-cream sticky with burnt-butter caramel, Birch has shaped tomorrow’s sourdough and scoured the kitchen, ready for a new day at the hearth.

Good to know: Bookings for the next month open at 9am on the first day of the month.

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