Well, yes, as it turned out. Ragazzi, a tiny diner on a CBD laneway, is the Italianate joint Sydneysiders didn’t know they needed, putting the focus tightly on the handcrafted pasta dishes produced by chef and co-owner Scott McComas-Williams (late of Sydney’s Movida and Bacco Osteria).

There are no secondi here to distract from the main event, but the antipasti offering is no afterthought. Kick things off with a Cantabrian anchovy curled on a chunk of sourdough slathered with chive butter, and don’t miss the impossibly light tapioca and rice cracker topped with tuna crudo sweetened with persimmon, then dither over the pasta line-up.

Will it be the pansotti parcels of scallop topped with lardo? The ravioli of Jerusalem artichoke with crisp artichoke chips drizzled in burnt honey? Hang it: it’ll have to be the spaghetti cacio e pepe – the perennial crowd-pleaser of cheesy goodness spiked with pepper.

Because Matt Swieboda and Nathaniel Hatwell (the wine gurus behind Love, Tilly Devine and Dear Sainte Éloise), are co-owners, the vino game is strong – 250-odd labels of Italian-accented drops. It all makes for a small, perfectly formed package. Ciao, Ragazzi. We’re so pleased you came.

To read our full list of reviews for NSW, head here.