Michael Meredith’s Metita, which opened last year, is exactly the kind of restaurant one would hope to find in the largest Polynesian city in the world. The cuisine here is Pasifika, with a strong Sāmoan bent, deeply rooted in the staples of the chef’s childhood. And though this influence was subtly apparent at Meredith’s eponymous first restaurant, and then his Britomart establishment Mr Morris (also on this list), at Metita it’s the heart of the entire operation.

The space itself is an earthy-toned oasis, with handwoven panelling, timber joinery and a bustle of sculptural cylindrical lanterns overhead. On the drinks menu, you’ll find local wines flanked by French champagne, Fijian rums and suitably Sāmoan-inspired cocktails, like a gin sour with a soursop twist or a coconut-infused old fashioned. On Sundays, they serve toana‘i — a long, leisurely lunch which makes for a wonderful communal way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Renditions of Sāmoan classics appear all over the place; a keke-pua‘a-inspired bun that swaps pork for corned beef, with the option to go extra fancy and add caviar; or the panikeke, infused with delicately smoked eel. As you’d expect from a menu inspired by a part of the world dominated by the moana, a mighty portion of the menu is dedicated to seafood: oysters, green-lipped mussels, king salmon, geoduck, kingfish, tuna, squid, octopus, tuatua and snapper all make an appearance, served just so and embellished with things like finger limes, tomato jelly or fronds of sorrel. Perhaps our favourite dish on the menu is the taro — comfortingly familiar in its traditional preparation, but with the addition of spring onion and capers, it’s also, ever so slightly, rebellious.