Walking into Ode on a chilly Sydney evening is a little like falling in love. Everything glows warm and orange. From the moment you sit down, you get a sense that the owners, chef Ben Abiad, designer Benedict Maurice and managers Jerome Wallcroft and Jeremy Moyle, are a family. They work the door, the floor and the charcoal grill behind the bar. They set tables with cutlery and linen napkins you might find at Nonna’s, before decanting crunchy orange wines or filling carafes with juicy Syrah from the Barossa’s Sparrow & Vine. It’s familiar and free-spirited. And boy could they teach Sydney a thing or two about how to create a restaurant playlist.

Start with an Ode staple: bronzed and bouncy focaccia, crunchy with sea salt and heady with rosemary. It’s a great vessel for glistening red peppers, cured anchovies and capers, say, or plump burrata with chilli oil. House-made pasta is a must – perhaps ’nduja spiced spaghetti with mussels, or a ragù of pork shoulder, clinging to tripolini and sharpened by green olives.

Like something to go with the one dessert on the menu? If it’s a chocolate mousse with honeycomb crumble, expect a citrusy amaro, poured from a two-litre bottle behind the bar, and set down with a smile. Ode’s Italian-leaning menu is not exactly groundbreaking, but then, it’s not meant to be. It’s a lesson in simple and uncomplicated wine bar food, done with heart.

Must eat dish: Pasta, pasta, pasta