I’d just been abalone katsu-ing and veal tartare-ing down at Cutler & Co’s revamped bar, and was wandering up Gertrude St when Basta caught my eye.

When Matt McConnell opened Casa Ciuccio in 2012 it was another McConnell piece of the Gertude St puzzle, joining brother Andrew’s fancy fine diner Cutler and his new custodianship of The Builders Arms pub.

Casa Ciuccio offered unpretentious snacks and Med-leaning bites in the spirit of Matt’s Bar Lourinha in the city – which is about to turn 11 years old and make us all feel very old.

A quiet achiever of the McConnell clan – his opening menu at Casa Ciucco served up 2016’s hottest menu trends of cooking with coals and burrata – but having added a deli and wine store next door, Matt sold the lot at the start of last year.

Its new owners faced the conundrum all buyers of goodwill face: to change the name or not?

They opted to run with the ain’t-broke model, until a few months ago and Basta, which means “enough” in Italian, was born.

And when I wandered past that night, it wasn’t just the name of the restaurant spelt out in bright lights that stopped my tracks, but the Hallmark Movie scene inside of a room filled with people eating, and laughing, and drinking wine and seemingly having a rollicking good time.

Just the type of thing that makes any restaurant lover’s heart beat that little bit faster.

And then I spied, on the menu in the window, that mozzarella in carrozza, which translates to “mozzarella in a carriage” but is basically a fried mozzarella sandwich.

I had to return.

And so I did. And it was great. Of course it was. For what is there not to love about a two fat squares of white bread stuffed with ham and cheese, crumbed and fried to a golden, molten crunch apart from, perhaps, the cost of a stent. With a good tomato chutney to the side to swipe the two halves through ($10), and you have a very good friend to a beer, of which the list here is particularly good.

Two dozen deep, there’s a nice line in local craft brews – Two Birds, Moon Dog, Hawkers – with a few German/Belgium beers joining the smashable Peroni. Though given Italy’s burgeoning craft beer scene it would be good to see some on offer. But for now, it seems co-owner Fabio Candolo is having too much fun stocking the shelves next door and the list in here with a dynamic, sharply priced range of worldly wines.

It’s a beaut document, filled with all sorts of good things. There’s a smattering of amber and orange and minimal intervention wines to keep the young guns happy; grand cru riesling and a few brunellos to keep St Vincent’s doctors in good humour, and a keen focus on interesting Aussies in between.

The shelves behind the bar are stocked with equally thoughtful spirits that form the base for a dozen classic cocktails with a twist. Get for early aperitivo hour(s) from 5-7 each night, for when spring actually springs to life, $7 spritz have warm afternoons written all over them.

In the meantime, there’s a comforting hug of pasta from head chef Piera Pagnoni (ex Rosetta) to get stuck into. Handmade by the Bologna-born la sfoglina (expert pasta maker), Piera’s signature tagliatelle al ragu is a twirl of supple egg ribbons and a rich yet bright ragu, the lot hidden under a blanket of fine grana padano. While it doesn’t knock Richmond’s Osteria La Passione off its perch ragu perch, for $24 its close to unbeatable.

A lovely mascarpone-and-trout filling plumped up agnolotti, and though the pasta was a touch hefty, its sauce of cherry tomatoes tossed in the pan with onion and finished with fresh basil worked a treat ($26).

And the plate of porchetta is like a best ever Sunday lunch – if your Sunday lunch is usually cooked on a spit.

Rubbed with peppercorns, salt and fennel inside, rolled and roasted to a glorious crackle outside, it’s simply served with a pile of homely roasted carrots and potatoes alongside. It’s a big yes from me ($28).

A soundtrack of low-key pop and swing is nicely suited to easy space that’s handsome and comfortable, and in a lovely touch of hospitality there’s directions on the website for parking nearby, but, given this is just on the edge of the city, trams trundle by the door.

Humble, honest, generous cooking; thoughtful drinks, genuinely hospitable service and with mains under $30, Basta is the type of restaurant we can never have enough of.