Ben Shewry, who grew up in New Zealand, wasn’t the first non-Aboriginal chef to grasp the potential of native ingredients. What’s set him apart is his sensitivity in sourcing and using this produce, which he employs to both to connect guests with this country and share moments from his own life. Attica's degustations are unusual, world-recognised and utterly captivating. We’re blessed to have a restaurant of this calibre in Melbourne.

Running a multi-course degustation menu requires a lot of long-term planning and refinement – unless you're Ides' chef-owner Pete Gunn. While certain dishes, such as his famous Black Box dessert, do recur, he likes to be spontaneous. You never know what you’re going to get, which is part of what makes this intimate room such a thrilling place to eat.

There are a lot of noisy dining rooms on this list. Minamishima's hushed, reverent atmosphere is better suited to the awe-inspiring knife skills of owner-chef Koichi Minamishima and a few trusted offsiders. They work with both local seafood and fish flown direct from Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo to produce peerless sushi, sashimi and more. Every meal here follows the omakase format, a “chef’s choice” degustation that changes daily based on what’s fresh and best.

At this laneway diner young gun chef Khanh Nguyen takes the flavours and spices of Asia’s Sunda region – a catch-all that includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and other nations attached to the tectonic plate of the same name – and remixes them as thoughtful, nuanced, high-definition dishes on an á la carte menu. Creations like the Vegemite roti add an unmistakeable local accent.

Khanh Nguyen’s second restaurant takes everything that made Sunda great, and dials up the theatre. It’s bigger, moodier and more suited to big occasions. Again, though, a visit here is about Asian flavours remixed in creative, surprising ways, like this Bunnings-inspired duck sausage in bread or a pate en croute filled with banh mi flavours.

Is it a wine bar or a restaurant? No one has ever been able to answer this satisfactorily. What we can say is that this industry favourite is equally good for pre-dinner drinks, big special occasion dinners and spontaneous nightcaps. Chef and co-owner Dave Verheul does extraordinary things with his ferocious redgum-fired oven. And the wine-loving floor staff, including business partner Christian McCabe, will guide you through the list with wit and sensitivity.

Restaurants don't get any more personal than this 25-seater from chef Julian Hills, who created all the plates himself. On top of them, he combines rigorous European technique with native ingredients and Eastern philosophy for dishes such as smoked blue mackerel marinated in honey and white soy, then aged for a week in beeswax. Experience it all over four, five or eight courses, with optional pre-drinks at the drop-in Navi Lounge.

New York’s steakhouses have a look and taste, yes, but they’re also a feeling – a certain swagger, and celebration of culinary excess. Grill Americano has it nailed like nowhere in else in town. Grab a seat at the colossal 14-metre marble bar, let the white-jacketed staff bring you a signature highball Americano (with a segment of chocolate-coated mandarin), then tear into a Josper-grilled T-bone the size of a Frisbee. The handmade pastas and sides are equally superb.

This seaside institution, founded in 1989, has never lost its shine. Current executive chef Jason Staudt continues to do magical things with blindingly fresh seafood; sommelier Wil Martin has the crisp whites and perfumed light reds to match; the tablecloths are resolutely starchy; and that sparkling view is as magnificent as ever. We can think of no better spot for a long lunch.

Italian is Melbourne's most widespread and essential cuisine. It's not at all fancy, but Tipo nonetheless manages to stand out from the enormous pack. Years down the track, it's still beset by queues of people keen to get a taste of its simple yet meticulously assembled pastas. Arrive early – very early – if you don't have a booking.

The follow-up to Tipo 00 stretches beyond the pasta-bar concept to deliver meat and seafood dishes that are merely Italian-ish, in a slightly more buttoned-up environment. But like Tipo, its subtle culinary innovations and familiar yet attentive service push the experience beyond expectations.

Drinks nerds from all over the city gravitate towards compact Bar Liberty and its list of unusual wines, beers and spirits. It's the kind of place where you might discover a mind-blowing French whisky, Croatian natural wine or wild-fermented local cider. The smart menu, nominally a long list of bar snacks, is enough for many dinners over.