Luke Benchmark Restaurant & Oyster Bar

No need to shy away from The Shire when in search of a dining destination off all the usual radars; this smart-casual restaurant is run with evident love and care. The best local produce is sourced for the eclectic, modern menu and diners accommodated among 12 generously proportioned tables in an elegant room. Jillian Collins oversees front-of-house while hubby Luke mans the pans. Most punters go the famous oyster tasting-plate route but there's plenty of interest elsewhere. Sichuan and sea-salted baby calamari is fried to crispness outside and soft, sweet perfection inside, although the support-cast ingredients (wasabi peas, 'muddled' Asian herbs, soy pearls and a side of mayo) seemed a little disparate. Gum leaf-smoked ocean trout abounds in smoky eucalypt flavours and the smooth, buttery textures of flawlessly cooked oily fish, cut nicely by the sharpness of caperberries and an elegant 'cloud' (or foam) of lemon.