Fleet

“We adore looking after guests. Being as small as we are allows us to spend time with our diners and create an individual experience. We choose to limit our days of trade and take six weeks’ annual leave to ensure we all maintain our love and passion for the job.”

Local steamed mud crab with courgette ribbons, shrimp butter, finger lime pearls, and shaved bunya nut; confit pig’s head with pickled shaved cauliflower, smoked bonito bone sauce, and local capers; and spelt liquorice ice cream with fried onion, dandelion, and shiso.

With just fourteen seats, Fleet is so small that co-owner Astrid McCormack says it often feels like hosting one big dinner party.

This personal touch extends to being on first-name terms with local suppliers, such as John from Picone Exotics, Palisa from Boon Luck Farm and Noel from Brunswick Seed Oysters – all only minutes away from the restaurant. Chickens come from Georgina at Brooklet Springs Farm, and “Potato Mike” supplies spuds and pineapples.

In-house, Fleet makes sodas and shrubs from finger lime and other native plants and offers sparkling water on tap. As ever, it’s the little things that count, like making the transition to pure beeswax candles, which, as Astrid McCormack says are “better for us, our guests, and the earth”.

“If this is where modern dining is going, we’re coming too.”

goodfood.com.au