It’s a tick of approval for the Italian owner-operator of Marta Osteria at Rushcutters Bay.

“The Roman people keep coming back and almost cry, thinking they’re back home,” he told Wentworth Courier when we visited on Friday night.

“I had 15 tables of Romans come through last night … they feel at home.”

With the aim of bringing the streets of Rome to the neighbourhood of Rushcutters Bay, Marta opened last month in the space where Popolo traded for five years.

Carnevale has shifted the focus from southern Italy to his home country’s capital, where he lived for 10 years.

Every detail of the restaurant – from its menu and drinks list to the design – has been chosen to reflect the attitude of the famous city’s eateries.

For Carnevale, it’s a labour of love.

“My family owns a butcher shop, so I grew up as a butcher in the south of Italy,” he said.

“I learnt the trade and then I moved to Rome.

“But in the meantime I had cousins and uncles who’ve always been in restaurants, so I’ve had my foot in the kitchen since I was a young boy.”

He drew on his Roman experience for Marta’s recipes and traditional settimana romana — a weekly calendar of daily specials — served under the stewardship of head chef Christuan Jordaan.

Favourite dishes include suppli (crumbed and fried rice, mince and mozzarella croquettes); carciofo alla giudia (fried globe artichokes); de’fiori (buffalo mozzarella, zucchini flowers, anchovies); grana padano (wood-fired Roman pizza); and crostata di ricotta e visciole (baked ricotta sour cherry tart).

It’s a great place if you have a big appetite as the portions are quite large.

The wine list focuses on winemakers from Rome’s surrounds and central Italy, including some personally sourced by Carnevale.

And for those who miss the former Popolo restaurant, it has only gone into temporary retirement and will reopen at a new CBD location later next year.

“When we envisioned Marta, we honed in on that Roman piazza feeling where everybody knows everybody,” Carnevale said. “We were looking at sites in the city for Marta, but our concept kept bringing us back to Rushcutters Bay.

“It became an obvious fit.”