The dish: Tennis ace Lleyton Hewitt shares his favourite foods and restaurants

Former world No. 1 Australian tennis champion and Channel 9 TV commentator Lleyton Hewitt splits his time between Sydney and a holiday mansion in the Bahamas, where he, wife Bec and their three children, Mia, Ava and Cruz, were based between 2009-2016 before returning to Australia.

The Bondi Sands skincare ambassador, who is also accompanying son Cruz around the world, competing in junior tennis tournaments, says carbohydrates and sushi rate highly in their household. He admits Bec is the one behind all the healthy dishes the family eats together, from Mexican DIY kits to acai bowls and pasta classics. Yet ice-cream is the one thing they all love in common.

EATING IN

Go-to dish at home

Bec does most of the home cooking. I love her spaghetti bolognese and she makes a fantastic lentil pasta dish, too. With our son Cruz focused on becoming an athlete, and my athletic past, it's really important some meals are pasta-focused – you definitely need the carbs when you compete and play hard. As a family, we love Mexican dishes and it's a great way to bring fussy eaters together. Bec organises tacos and burritos and everyone fills them according to their taste.

My guilty pleasure

I love a coffee frappuccino from Starbucks and the odd Picnic chocolate bar.

Best kitchen wisdom I cling to

I loving cooking on the barbecue and making a burger. The best wisdom is to make sure you have marinated your meats. I love using red wine on meats. Anything smoky barbecue flavoured is hard to beat. A spicy chipotle sauce also rates highly in our house.

I like to make a simple steak burger for Cruz and I – and I'll always add jalapenos. I like to throw marinated chicken fillets on the barbie and serve them with hand-cut fries or crunchy roast potatoes.

EATING OUT

My favourite hometown restaurant (and go-to dish)

I grew up in Adelaide, so when I go back there, you'll find us at Thai Orchid at Henley Beach. It's fantastic. I have come to know the owner well, and they always look after us. We always order the chilli barramundi and it's hard to go past the satay chicken as well.

A Japanese restaurant, Shiki, is another family favourite. I love how clean Japanese food is and makes you feel. We opt for the teppanyaki that is cooked in front of you – always a family winner, as is the fillet beef and sushi.

My favourite hometown cafes (and go-to dish)

We live in Sydney now and have a few favourite spots. For a casual eatery and something very wholesome and healthy I always go to Girdlers. You'll mostly find them on the northern beaches in Dee Why and Manly. I always order the acai bowl topped with almond flakes and banana and eat their smashed avocado on toast, too.

In Bondi you'll find us at Totti's. I love the sharing-plate style of dining. There are so many small side dishes you can order that are packed with flavour, from the wood-fired bread that is served in a large, pillowy, circular shape and ready to tear and share, to the roasted corn fregola and chilli. The salumi is also great quality – a personal favourite is the 18-month prosciutto. The roast potatoes with rosemary and garlic is another excellent choice.

When I'm in Melbourne, you'll find me at Acai Brothers in Prahran. They're a franchise business and I'll always order their mango acai bowl with coconut yoghurt. Serotonin Eatery in Burnley also makes amazing acai bowls. They're healthy and I'm a bit of a nut for them.

What is your favourite place to eat in Australia, and any special food memories here you have?

It would have to be Koko at Crown Melbourne. It's been our favourite Japanese restaurant in Melbourne every time we visit for the Australian Open. I love the outlook and private rooms overlooking the Yarra and the city views. It was almost like my dining room when I made the AO finals in 2005. I got to know the chefs well and they'd cook for us no matter what time it was after a match. The superstition goes that if you dined there the night before you won a game, you'd go back for the entire tournament.

Another favourite place to dine as a family and with Bec is a'Mare at Crown Sydney. The seafood is fantastic, and it's where the pasta with pesto is a big hit with the family.

ON THE ROAD

What's your favourite food city and why and fave dishes and why?

Different places appeal to me for different reasons. Paris is a favourite of mine. A top Indian spot recommended to us by some Indian players is Annapurna – from butter chicken to tandoori, it's delicious. We also recently ate at Giuse Trattoria Paris. A few popular dishes we enjoyed were the bruschetta salentina, calamari fritti, and pomodoro and stracciatella.

We have a home in the Bahamas and lived there for eight years – it's so close to Europe and America, and when we had our second child it became too hard to fly back to Australia with the kids. A restaurant we love is Social House Sushi & Grill in Nassau – Asian fusion and some of the best sushi I have ever had. It's on the ocean and it's so fresh. Cleo Mediterraneo is a regular go-to restaurant within Baha Mar, a 400-hectare resort.

Where do you stay when you're there and why?

In the Bahamas we have our own place, but when in Paris we stay at Hotel du Collectionneur, which is close to Roland Garros Stadium.