Ballarat's hottest new restaurant has just 12 seats, serves only a degustation menu, and books out within hours when reservations open on the first of every month for the following month.

Underbar owner chef Derek Boath worked with Melbourne's king of fish, Michael Bacash, in the early 2000s before heading the kitchen at Madame Sousou in Fitzroy. Wanderlust took him to Manhattan, where he spent two years as chef de partie at Michelin three-star restaurant Per Se under Thomas Keller.

Boath moved back to Melbourne with the view of opening his own place.

"The prices!' exclaims Boath. "We couldn't afford to buy a house, let alone start a business." He moved to Ballarat, where he's done both.

Underbar (pronounced oon-deh-bah) is Swedish for delicious or divine. The Nordic theme pervades the former stables, furnished with bespoke mid-century timber furniture and with a six-metre communal table where everybody sits.

The $150-a-head degustation menu changes weekly and dishes might include fresh pea cassoulet with kale and warmed-through lamb fat served with lamb jus. The wine list focuses on locals, with Mitchell Harris Sabre sparkling opened with a sabre out on the street.

It's fun, communal and speaks volumes about Ballarat's new sense of pride in local wine and produce.

3 Doveton Street North, Ballarat, underbar.com.au