Cheap Eats: Same-same but cheaper

Vue de Monde ($$$$$)

Shannon Bennett serves insanely complex and theatrical degustations. Smashing liquid-nitrogen frozen herbs at altitude is one of the most dramatic dining experiences in town.

Estelle Bar & Kitchen ($$)

For $50/$70/$90, Ryan Flaherty dishes up 3/5/7 courses of molecular wizz-bangery in a ’50s-style diner. Get your serve of milk-poached cod with fragrant foams before they realise how much they could charge.

Embrasse ($$$)

French chef Nic Poleart is an artist, turning out flower-strewn dishes like sweetbreads: those creamy little organs, smoked, caramelised and nestled in a forest of foraged herbs and ’shrooms.

Bistro Flor ($)

Bistro Flor turns on the confit duck and gooey brie at a price-point you can’t question, with all the chocolate-hued woods and chalkboards you need to make believe you’re in Gay Paree.

Movida ($$)

Rock star tapas in a soft-lit bodega, with the best Spanish vino. Expect to drop $4-$15 every time you open your mouth to rich, fatty slips of air-dried wagyu paired with poached egg and truffle foam.

El Burro ($)

On Mondays tapas cost $8 a plate, so get some ‘Barthelona’ charm for cheap. Sweet meatballs, crisp shelled arancini and a teetering mound of patatas bravas (the original spicy fries) will do it.

Grossi Florentino ($$$$)

At chef Guy Grossi’s ristorante they charge your glass with a sacrificial drop from the bottle. The rituals are impressive, the room is lavishly decked out with tapestries, and your lobster ravioli entrée costs $48.

Cellar Bar ($)

Meanwhile, downstairs, butler-like discretion gives way to a little Italian braggadocio, and the pumpkin tortellini topple with natural ease onto the plate. Slop your sauce onto the table at will!