In the latest edition of Sydney restaurants and bars continuing to populate basement spaces, the guys behind Bistecca, James Bradey and Warren Burns, have opened The Gidley in the subterranean site formerly occupied by Subsolo, and it’s hit the underground running.

There’s no misstep from the urbane staff from the moment you press the buzzer to gain entry. They could’ve been here forever. In the softly lit lounge batched cocktails are poured tableside from custom bottles – it’s a bar without an actual bar – perhaps negroni for two if you’re feeling dainty. The handsome fitout sees the dining room concealed behind a closed door. Admission reveals an intimate room with plush booths upholstered in chartreuse velvet, wood panelling and discreet sconce lighting. Everyone looks good here.

The vibe is London supper club meets New York steak house and, like Bistecca, the focus is indeed steak, though here bookended with steak-house classics. House-made bagels, a gift to start, are transported to the table threaded on sticks. A rotund crab cake arrives in a salmon-pink pool of crab-head mayo with a deep bisque flavour, and a benchmark prawn cocktail is updated with the addition of crunchy fried and spiced prawn heads.

Black Angus is served three ways: chargrilled on the bone, as a standing prime rib roast, cut thick or thin, and as a spinalis steak, a cut, we’re told, that’s usually removed from the cap. The latter may sound clinical but it’s luxe and luscious, all juicy flesh and caramelised crust, served with your choice of three sauces such as confit garlic mustard.

The tight menu still has room for non-steak offerings, among them whole flounder filleted tableside, while the likes of mac ’n’ cheese and a robust Waldorf salad among the sides are almost meals in themselves.

The seam of old-world charm here is mirrored in a wine list weighted towards great European regions, along with gracious touches like sweets in the powder rooms.

Some may be alarmed by the request to part with their phones. It’s all about better enjoying the experience, they say, and it is certainly one to savour.