• First look: Takam 2.0 brings Filipino food forward with native ingredients and a star team. It’s a new era for the Darlo diner, which has a refreshed fit-out and cocktail menu (but the signature coal-roasted lemongrass chook isn’t going anywhere).

• First look: Ama goes from pop-up to permanent. Its family-recipe beef noodle soup – found in Thailand’s Chinatowns – are in Surry Hills. There’s also salapao (steamed buns), golden fried bean curd rolls and jok (Thai congee).

• A top Korean chef brings Michelin pedigree to Sydney at Allta. The open kitchen operates in near silence, with incredible precision. And the 15-course Korean degustation is a knock-out from the very first dish.

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• First look: Leading Italian chef Alessandro Pavoni is driving the menu at Postino Osteria. Visit this Summer Hill joint for “real deal” Abruzzo pasta, and meatballs so juicy they don’t need sauce.

• “We’re over the hump”: after a false start, Neil Perry opens Bobbie’s in Double Bay, his first “real bar”. It serves a fluffy Garibaldi, and has slick service and New York charm.

• For owner Matteo Margiotta, Pino’s Vino e Cucina is a dream come true. The Cronulla restaurant takes you straight to the Puglian seaside, with house-made pastas and decadent seafood platters.

• First look: char is the star at Izakaya Kushi, the new yakitori house on the northern beaches. Opt for skewers of Wagyu, or a tsukune (Japanese chicken meatballs) with a dippable onsen tamago (a low-temperature boiled egg).

• After four years moody steakhouse The Cut has reopened in The Rocks. The restaurant has Rockpool DNA and a slow-cooked prime rib that’s cut at your table. There’s also a Gibson served with an oyster on the side.

• First look: Fabbrica has a strong hand. Its pasta pros return to the inner west, and now it’s holding a pair of Kings. There’s silky cacio e pepe, a Mapo collab and big bar energy.

• First look: Kariton Sorbetes trips west with its second NSW store, bringing its lauded scoops to its local community. It’s also serving a new flavour based on a viral chocolate bar.

Additional reporting by Dan Cunningham, Lucy Bell Bird, Raine Cabral Laysico, Monique Foy, Caitlin Hall and Pilar Mitchell.