For a card-carrying member of the British Empire, Australia gives the mother country few culinary nods. There are pub menus with bangers and mash, but in handsome city restaurants where red wine comes chilled, you’re looking hard for the suet.

Then along comes Reed House, which sneaks beef fat into its pie of the day and eccles cake into its dessert list. The latter is yours for smearing with stilton blue direct from Nottinghamshire. Lamb rump’s barnyard earthiness is amplified by roasted nubs of Jerusalem artichoke and creamed nettle.

Gooey Scotch egg dabbed with mushroom ketchup tastes like a full English, and you can even add a builder’s tea – but it’s spiked with Mount Gay rum in a clarified milk punch. It’s all very Brit-pack, but the wine list brings it back home with exciting young producers from Nagambie, Heathcote and beyond.

Best for: Your friends and family who like comfort food and service that’s just as unpretentious.

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