“The restaurant building, constructed from reused shipping containers, was conceived to have a light footprint and to blend into the landscape rather than impose itself upon it. All water used in and around the restaurant is harvested rainwater. Olive oil, milk, meats, fruits, and seafood are all sourced locally, as are our artisanal gins and beers, and, of course, our wines. Creating great fine dining is not the sole preserve of urban centres; regional restaurants are equally capable of delivering superb dining experiences.”

Baby beetroots with acidulated chocolate, liquorice sponge, and cumin-spiced yoghurt; charcoal maltagliati pasta with chargrilled asparagus sauce and truffled Parmesan; and triple-cream brie cheesecake with rhubarb compote and mandarin sorbet.

In a win for regional dining, Tom Jack moved from urban Brisbane to rural McLaren Vale in 2018 to become the inaugural chef at the Mitolo family’s superbly styled $3.5-million restaurant. He immediately rooted his menu in the surrounding hills and vales, citing local beetroot, suckling pig, Port Lincoln kingfish, and the massively underrated local mulloway as the stars of his flexible à la carte and set menus.

The four jet-black glass and steel shipping containers around which the restaurant is built set the scene for the understated drama of his cooking. Flavours and textures are complex but always coherent, with sommelier Patrick White bringing food and wine together in his usual seamless fashion.