Reliability and consistency are not words we always consider when recommending a restaurant, but they’re vital to every dining experience. Often we get so caught up in a yearning to be wowed, we forget what brings us back to many establishments.

Otto Brisbane is the archetypal example of consistency and reliability. Food that isn’t challenging convention, but rather respecting the building blocks of great Italian cuisine within the context of contemporary Australian dining. Owned by the Fink Group (Quay, Bennelong, Firedoor, Otto Sydney) and overlooking the Brisbane River and Story Bridge, it’s the sibling to the Woolloomooloo stalwart of the same name.

Blond woods and crisp linen bathe in natural light beneath mauve chandeliers that twirl like skirts as waitstaff pirouette from table to table spruiking the daily specials. Sommelier Alan Hunter’s Italian-styled wines will challenge some and comfort others, but work beautifully with chef Will Cowper’s tilt at Southern Italian cuisine where a certain sophistication in simplicity shines through. Crisp-skinned Humpty Doo barramundi fillets arrive with a side of salsa verde with white anchovy to deliver zing to the fish’s autumnal flavour. Long strands of spaghettini are lathered in rich smoked ham hock carbonara and crowned by shaved pecorino. Fried potato wafer shades blushing spatchcock wrapped in pancetta before a fennel granita and lemon sorbet settles the bill.

Otto proves that evolution is as much about maintaining the tried and true as it is about enhancing the culinary landscape.

Must-eat dish: Spaghettini – long, thin pasta, smoked ham hock carbonara, pecorino