Chef Neil Perry's swansong restaurant is one of his most personal ventures. Margaret feels very much like a family affair. Step inside and Perry’s daughter, manager Josephine Perry Clift, might be the first to greet you. Look towards the open kitchen, and you’ll spot executive chef Richard Purdue on the pass, who began working alongside Perry over 30 years ago as an apprentice at Rockpool. The menu is pure Perry: Mediterranean and Asian flavours refracted through a contemporary Australian lens, bolstered by namechecked produce that’s some of the finest in the land.
Pro tip: Scan the cocktail list, and you’ll discover the perfect Martini was “quintessential” to Margaret, Perry’s late mother, after whom the restaurant is named. Seems only fitting, then, to start with one.