I feel compelled to order oily fish if it’s on a menu, and you should too. Particularly sardines, a fish much maligned in our culture – it’s delicate and requires supreme handling, but boy is it worth it.

High-fat, with an abundance of omega-3 and vitamin D, sardines have a robust sesame nuttiness which means they take on those big Mediterranean flavours. Plus, they are absolutely spectacular when pan-fried.

When I first glance at the menu of Otto Brisbane, sibling to Sydney’s powerhouse at Woolloomooloo wharf, chef Will Cowper’s butterflied sardines with fennel, muscatels and brioche crumb jumps off the page. Gently seared and singing a sweet serenade of Italy, they’re sensational.

Simplicity. Reliability. Consistency. They’re not words most of us use when recommending a restaurant, but they are vital to the success of all. We get so caught up in the ‘wow’ of the greatest gastronomic destinations that we sometimes forget what brings us back to many establishments.

Otto Brisbane has all three locked in. It’s not trying to challenge the culinary gods, it’s looking to appease them. And satisfy with a capital ‘S’, it does.

Owned by Fink Group (Quay, Bennelong, Firedoor, Otto Sydney) and overlooking the Brisbane River and Story Bridge, it feels more contemporary Australian with an Italian kiss, than an Italian restaurant per se. But, in this instance, that’s a good thing.

Blonde timber and crisp linen bathe in natural light beneath mauve chandeliers that twirl like skirts. The waitstaff shimmy and sway from table to table, spruiking specials and serving sommelier Alan Hunter’s diner’s delight of Italian-style wines that will comfort some and challenge others in equal measure.

It may be north of the original Otto, but in the kitchen Cowper has taken the menu to southern Italy, rather than mimic the northern fascination of Sydney’s ristorante.

His food relies on the backbone of Italian technique delivered in the cuisine’s trademark art of simplicity on the plate.

Half a lemon rests against two crisp-skinned Humpty Doo Barramundi fillets – the flesh soft and unaffected by direct heat. A side of salsa verde with white anchovy adds zing to the fish’s clean, savoury, almost autumnal avour.

Shaved pecorino crowns long strands of spaghettini lathered in a rich smoked ham hock carbonara. It’s lick-the-bowl-clean territory good. A large, fried potato wafer shades perfectly pinkish spatchcock wrapped in pancetta before a refreshing fennel granita, lemon sorbet, custard and crumble settles the bill.

There is much to be said about the evolution of Brisbane’s dining scene, but Otto proves that evolving well is as much about maintaining the tried and true, ever-reliable aspects of great restaurants past as it is about enhancing the culinary landscape.