When you’ve had it up to your ears with smears, groan at another foam and yearn for plate that you don’t have to share, make tracks to Becco.

This stylish Italian CBD stalwart remains impervious to culinary fads and stands out from the crowd by remaining true to its vision of classics delivered with class.

There’s a reason the city’s suits return time and again for the simple pleasures of chilli-dusted calamari, beef carpaccio, veal saltimbocca and tiramisu. It’s comfort writ large.

Pastas remain a highlight and Becco’s spaghetti vongole is hard to beat. Generous with juicy, fat clams and slathered in a garlic-dense sauce of butter that sings of the sweet sea, it’s a chilli-flecked, sop-the-last drop-dry delight. So, too, the perfect veal schnitzel, gloriously tender and parmesan-crumbed crunchy, it’s simplicity at its best.

The wine list is a lesson for younger players, proving you can drink well for under $50 a bottle while still saving room in the cellar for a celebratory Krug.

While the 22-year-old restaurant is looking tired in parts (nothing a lick of paint wouldn’t fix), and branded water glasses diminish the elegance of otherwise nicely set tables, Becco still delivers a masterclass in owner-operated hospitality.

Must eat dish: Spaghetti vongole