Brae, Halcyon House, Wildflower Como and Automata - the full package

Dine out without the hassle of going home afterwards. Here are the nation’s best restaurant-accommodation combos.

Brae, in regional Victoria, now has accommodation to complement its world-famous restaurant.

It is a proven fact that a comfortable bed, in a nice room, within crawling distance of your dining table improves digestion. This is because you are relaxed. No driving home, no smelly taxi, no sitters requiring late-night negotiation/transport. And if you can package an ­exceptional meal with wonderful, character-charged accommodation, so much the better.

Here are some of our newest — and best — rooms with both a view and a brilliant menu.

Brae restaurant and accommodation at Birregurra.

1. Brae/Brae Suites, ­Birregurra, Victoria. Western Victoria’s internationally famous restaurant-as-country-idyll just got a lot more … idyllic. A terrace of six impressive ­suites is in a manner that fits both the look of the restaurant and its locavore ethos perfectly. They’re built “with sustainability in mind, using recycled materials, solar energy, harvested rainwater and a worm farm waste water system, resulting in a building with zero net emissions”. Beyond the feel-good are fixtures and fittings of the highest standard, clever architecture, bucolic views and a savvy little vinyl collection to go with one of the finest in-room breakfasts in the land. Nothing at Brae has been done with cost-cutting in mind, and it truly shows. The restaurant is quite nice, too.

Paper Daisy at Halcyon House, Cabarita NSW.

2. Paper Daisy at Halcyon House, Cabarita Beach, NSW. We are big fans of this repurposed 1960s Cabarita Beach motel, now turning tricks for the more affluent coastal traveller wanting style and beach-side substance. First, it’s a great showcase for chef Ben Devlin, truly one of the finest and cleverest young chefs working outside a capital in this country. His inventive local menu is fun, ­informal, surprising … and the Palm Springs-meets-surf culture restaurant and terrace is a complete tonic. Second, the location. What a beach, and so ridiculously close. And finally, of course, is the hotel itself, framing an indulgent swimming pool. With beautiful fixtures and fittings, lovely fabrics and furnishings, these old motel units have been turned into sunny, hedonistic play pens. Just the place to hit the hay after a brilliant dinner downstairs.

Wildflower at Como, Perth.

3. Wildflower/Como The Treasury, Perth, WA. The West is its own thing, and ­expressing it through the medium of a sophisticated restaurant has never been done this well. Chef Jed Gerrard’s menu, produce, cooking methods … they all channel this vast western state. Intelligently. Of course it helps that he has the technique, and ideas, to carry it off at this level. And when you’ve had your last glass of wine looking at the Swan, and are maybe still thinking about that raw scallop dish, the ridiculously lovely Como is downstairs. What a brilliant job they have done restoring this old structure, creating rooms with ­ele­gance and sophistication without a whiff of fustiness. The materials and workmanship are at a level you’ll rarely see in a commercial building. And when you wake up next day … You’ve got coffee and papers at Telegram, breakfast at Post, lunch at Petition and dinner at Long Chim — all in-house.

Automata, Chippendale, Sydney.

4. Automata at The Old Clare, Chippendale, NSW. Three years ago, The Old Clare was a rundown inner-city boozer … and Kensington Street? Nothing, really. Throw in a pile of dough, some inspiring ideas and a smart entrepreneur and you have … a whole new precinct. The pub now has one of the best front bars and — knitting two old buildings — a quirky boutique hotel that combines stylish accommodation with some really unusual pre-­existing architectural fixtures and fittings. Like the old white ­enamel urinal in the CUB Suite. Wacky. And it is literally upstairs from one of Sydney’s most exciting new restaurants, Automata. Not to mention Kensington Street Social and Silvereye. But it’s ­Automata you want to check out first, home of chef Clayton Wells and his Japan-inspired ­savoury/umami-laden dishes. It’s a place we dig deeply. And you can probably do a handy little meal/­accomm deal.