It’s all about wine, dine and rollicking good times at Pretty Little, which is, just as it says on the tin, pretty little.

This diminutive diner offers cosy communal seating for just 16 along a single oak table that runs the length of the room where, after that bottle of Heathcote shiraz, you might find your next-door neighbours turning into your new best friends. That’s due in no small part to co-owner and host Mike Byard who does laps of the room pouring worldly wines from a tight list and ferrying plates and making sure everyone’s having a good time.

Chef Josep Espuga works the small open kitchen turning out a daily-changing line up of creative, wine-friendly fare. Chicken mousse might come studded with potato crisps and roasted chicken skin for the year’s most decadent dip, while terrifically sharp pickled veg on a cloud of sheep’s yoghurt is an equally confident opening act. Seared swordfish wrapped in its cured belly and glazed with honey is a fantastically inventive dish of fish, though confit sweet potato topped with bottarga offers simple sweet-salty pleasures.

A cosy lounge out back – with turntable upon which retro tunes are spun – completes the dinner-party vibe.

Must Eat Dish: Seared and cured swordfish