Before Peter Gilmore’s snow egg at Quay, before Neil Perry’s Wagyu cheeseburger at Rockpool Bar & Grill and before any other dish that’s ever received city-wide praise and hysteria, there was Tetsuya Wakuda’s confit ocean trout with kombu, celery salad and roe.

Since opening Tetsuya’s in 1989, the chef and restaurateur’s name has become so ingrained in our gastronomic lexicon that if you haven’t been lucky enough to eat at Tetsuya’s, you’ll have surely heard from someone who has. For a long while, Tetsuya’s struck a soaring benchmark for fine dining in this town.

Set in a tranquil Japanese house a step back from the chug of Kent Street, the quiet dining room overlooks a peaceful, Japanese-style garden and bubbling pond.

The grand eight-course degustation (plus petit fours and other small additions) showcases impeccably sourced, pristine produce, seafood being the absolute star. Tetsuya’s flavours are clean and precise – nothing is added purely for garnish or colour.

Each dish feels purposeful and considered, as do the accompanying Australian and New Zealand wines, many created exclusively for the chef by some of Australia’s premier winemakers such as Curly Flat in the Macedon Ranges and Margaret River’s Pierro.