The Butler restaurant - Sydney, Australia

Already responsible for a number of hot venues – Bondi Hardware and the Botanist among them – Hamish Watts and Ben Carroll of Applejack Hospitality have taken a former much-loved Italian restaurant and given it a French colonial makeover. Pale wood and wicker cane, leather banquettes and pots of bamboo are the perfect foil for walls blooming with botanical paintings. Chef James Privett’s menu too, takes Gallic cues as well as a Caribbean influence, with steak frites, Creole spiced lamb ribs and roasted snapper with heritage carrots and eel butter. Views of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney Tower and the sparkling CBD skyline, are best enjoyed from the terrace, with a glass of petit Chablis and some salted cod croquettes.