delicious.100: Ezard is one of Melbourne’s best restaurants.

TEAGE Ezard is the quiet achiever of Melbourne’s fine dining scene. And his city restaurant Ezard has never looked brighter.

Ezard’s chocolate sphere dessert. Pictures: Rebecca Michael.

TEAGE Ezard is the quiet achiever of Melbourne’s fine dining scene.

Seventeen years after he opened his eponymous restaurant in the Adelphi basement, he remains something of a mystery man. But on the food front, Ezard has never looked brighter.

Ezard in Flinders Lane.

With young gun chef Jarrod Di Blasi working the stoves, the cooking here is more elegant and adventurous. The Asian leaning “Australian freestyle’’ of early days has given way to a more rounded repertoire best enjoyed as an eight-course tasting menu.

You start with Ezard’s mystically good Japanese-inspired oyster shooter — given a tofu spin on the vegetarian menu — before surrendering to a steamed scallop dumpling (in a hot and sour broth), a funky salad of black fig and air-dried beef, and Chinese-style duck breast sparked with feral black bean flavours.

Japanese oyster shooter.

Chinese duck breast with an Asian herb salad.

Di Blasi seals the deal with a dazzling dessert, a sphere of dark chocolate whose flavour and artful composition summarises everything we like about his approach.

The drinks list here is as finely curated as ever, the cocktails especially good. Our only caveat is the service, which was not as poised and intuitive as it might be. Not at these prices.

Must eat dish: dark chocolate sphere, chocolate cream, toasted coconut

Ezard

187 Flinders Lane, city.

Ph: 9639 6811

ezard.com.au

Cuisine: contemporary

Chefs: Teage Ezard, Jarrod Di Blasi

Price: more than $80 a person for two courses, food only

Bookings: yes

Open: Mon-Fri noon-2.30pm, Mon-Sat 6pm-10.30pm

Instagram: @ezardmelbourne

This restaurant was ranked the 26th best restaurant in Victoria in the 2016 edition of the delicious.100.