APPOINTMENT EATING

To ensure you have a flavourpacked 2022, LEE TRAN LAM rounds up 22 of the most intriguing new dining experiences to mark in your diary.

- LEE TRAN LAM

1 Nagesh Seethiah cooks scallops in ghee over charcoal and serves them with fermented green mango at Manzé, Melbourne’s first Mauritian wine bar. His menu reflects the island’s Asian, French and African influences. Enjoy prawn samosas, lamb with masala and vegan vindaye with Mauritian beer, spiced rum or something great from Moira Tithra’s wine list, which showcases underrepresented producers. manze.com.au

2 Sommelier Bridget Raffal co-founded Women and Revolution to promote female winemakers. Plot a trip and visit one of her recommended producers: Irina Santiago-Brown (Inkwell Wines, McLaren Vale, South Australia), who creates bright, minimal intervention drops; Shashi Singh (Avani, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria), who “makes beautiful shiraz”; Charlotte Hardy (Charlotte Dalton, Port Elliot, South Australia), “her barrel-fermented semillon is a particular favourite of mine”; or Tessa Brown (Vignerons Schmölzer & Brown, Beechworth, Victoria), who runs the winery with Jeremy Schmölzer – “they are producing some of Australia’s best riesling.” womenandrevolution.com.au

3 At Arkhé in Adelaide, Jake Kellie’s menu is fire-focused: even the sorbet is made from grilled strawberries. It’s served tableside with fizzy elderflower kombucha and elderflower cultured cream. The dessert is inspired by the wild flowers Kellie would see in the Adelaide Hills. arkhe.com.au

4 Chefs Jo Barrett and Matt Stone have left Future Food System to join Byron Bay’s Harvest team, but Joost Bakker’s ambitious Melbourne house (which generates its own food) is still open. Tour the mushroom wall, rooftop garden and other sustainable features. There are planned chef collaborations, too. futurefoodsystem.com