Subcontinental, Sydney, Australia

Restaurateur Sam Christie has extended the premises of his popular long-running Thai hotspot, Longrain, to launch a contemporary Indian restaurant. Located in the building’s basement, Subcontinental’s roughly painted brick walls are framed by leather booths with pops of colour coming from red and yellow painted bentwood chairs. Chef Victor Khung hails from Kolkata, but has taken inspiration from the entire region for the menu. Not to be missed is the pani puri (light-as-a-feather shells stuffed with spicy chickpeas and potatoes and topped up with tamarind water just before serving), an orange and mint salad with burrata, and the Bengali curry of king prawns.