It’s been three years since Anton and Stefan Forte first opened Restaurant Hubert, yet each time we push through the timber paneled doors and step inside the post-war-style parlour, it feels like the very first time. Follow the sound of jazz through to the Beatrix Dining Room, one of seven spaces throughout the subterranean venue, and you’ll find the stage set for romance, quite literally, with a performance space fringed by crimson curtains, a baby grand piano and a vintage chrome mic. When there’s no band swinging, you’ll get the gentle crooning of Frank Sinatra against the warm crackle of a gramophone. Meanwhile, candlelit tables for two make easy work for anyone planning a special evening.

The classic French menu, created by Dan Pepperell, reads like a first edition Larousse Gastronomique. Gorge on cheese malakoff, fried Gruyère domes slathered with Dijon mustard and pickle slices, and gnocchi Parisienne, which shows up its Italian neighbours with a lacy parmesan lid that shatters like brûlée.

Make it a double date, invite the in-laws – whatever it takes to gain access to the larger sharing dishes, which include a chicken fricassée in bread sauce, or a kilo of côte de boeuf. No amount of willpower will save you from the dessert menu. The crème caramel is a picture of composure, draped in a bitter caramel gown that pools at its feet like the latest in French fashion. Wines range from old school establishment to nouvelle vague, while aperitifs are made with pastis, a cloudy aniseed liqueur from the provinces down south.