This summer, offset your carbon footprint and travel via design as some of Australia’s best new restaurants and bars offer a sophisticated take on other cultures right here at home.

In Brisbane, the interior refresh of a much-loved Lebanese restaurant is inspired by an ancient temple compound in that country. In Melbourne, Hopper Joint draws influence from the owner/designer’s Sri Lankan heritage. And beneath an inner-Sydney alleyway, stepping down into a tiny basement bar is like teleporting to a backstreet of Tokyo.