Stokehouse

Stokehouse doesn't need its Melbourne credentials. It occupies a beautiful site, almost floating on the river, and its designers have paid homage to the allures of the water: every table has a view and it's hard not to feel like a Lord surveying his aquatic domain from your Stokehouse chair. It's a slick restaurant with an experienced team on both sides of the pass; the kitchen peddling a menu that prizes honest produce (and, not surprisingly it's the produce-driven meals that speak the loudest) over fanfare, and the service impeccable. The menu ranges from the neat simplicity of lemon and dill-battered whiting (which arrived with chips) to the likes of barbecue marron with brown butter and roast garlic. While it might not scale inspirational heights it is certainly well executed, immaculately presented and fitting for a venue that will undoubtedly attract the hordes.