Ume Restaurant

Drawing on both Australian and Japanese traditions, an echoey, marble-and-tiled former butcher's shop becomes a wonderful place to be with interesting drinks, charming service and delightfully crafted food. As your waiter will advise, construct a menu using contrasts in texture, cooking styles and intensity - balancing the lilting notes of a signature carpaccio (seared scallop, soy brown butter, sorrel, perhaps) with the silky richness of baked eggplant with dengaku miso and toasted hazelnuts. Pork belly dumplings are crunched up with puffed rice; black truffle and sesame take charred spatchcock to a whole new level of deliciousness; and a selection of autumn mushrooms, served on a log round, works wonders with grilled corn for sweetness. Dashi and red miso rice boost the umami factor, while miso with tofu and wakame is a warm, clean, final savoury note before a pretty black sesame sponge with apple riffs.