Chef/co-owner Phil Marchant’s approach to food is one of innovation and imagination, the contemporary cuisine understated in description leaving plenty of room for surprises. Take a dish of “burnt cucumbers”, really a single fruit, roasted over fire and pickled to face-scrunching sourness, split into four and served with a creamy house-made soft cheese to balance the tang.

Or perhaps flame-blackened cabbage covertly laced with chicken sausage that appears as just a plain wedge of the vegetable. Then there’s melting potato agnolotti, veiled with the thinnest slice of guanciale so it almost dissolves into porky butter.

It all pairs easily with wines from the versatile and balanced list of predominantly Australian, French and Italian bottles, while a clutch of house cocktails offers a bit of fun. A fine dining-level of service completes the offering, but don’t think that comes with pretension. Instead it’s just a young and enthusiastic team cooking what they love and serving it with heartfelt passion.

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