NEL Restaurant

Nelly Robinson opened Nel in a basement bunker on Wentworth Avenue in February 2015, age 29, with $200,000 — and has run it personally for the decade since. British-born, trained from age 14 at Nigel Haworth's Michelin-starred Northcote Manor in Lancashire. The format is a 12-course degustation that changes every 15 weeks around a central concept — past menus have included Once Upon a Time, A Trip to Broadway, Native Australia, Land and Sea of NSW, Fast Food Fine Dining, the Story of Christmas. Theatrical plating, story-led service, sub-£195. Named local supplier network spans Pepe Saya cultured butter, Malfroy's Gold honey, Archie Rose, Joadja Distillery, Made By Cow. Dinner Tuesday to Saturday from 5pm; Saturday lunch (last of each month is the Test Kitchen). 2017 Gault & Millau Chef of the Year finalist; cooked for Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday in Canberra.