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The harbour. The soft jazz. The far-reaching cellar. The watchful waiters that never leave a water glass half empty. At the head of the Overseas Passenger Terminal, Quay is Sydney’s flagship fine diner, and Peter Gilmore is a master of restrained plating and studies in texture.

The tasting menu happens to be bloody delicious too, beginning with an ink-black seaweed tart filled with whipped creme fraiche and briny oscietra caviar, and reaching a climax at the White Coral – aerated white-chocolate mousse, apple granita, frozen pomelo flesh and feijoa ice-cream. Zip. Zap. Crunch. Boom. Meanwhile, tapioca is thickened with confit egg yolk and sea urchin butter to enhance the crisp flavour of marron, and bone marrow enriches the dough for cavatelli, a canvas for sweet mud crab, koji butter, and purple-on-white “pin-striped” peanuts.

There are few overblown adjectives that haven’t been used for Quay. Stunning. Heavenly. Sublime. Somehow, here, they don’t feel overblown at all.