Its special appearance advertises an in-season addition to the regular menu. A few moments earlier, a gilded trolley of caviar was deftly wheeled by, and before that, one of Champagne. If you’re looking for a taste of old-world opulence, it’s here in this Italian fine-diner.

Servers greet with a polite “Buonasera”, a roving sommelier offers notes about the restrained wine list and the chef’s selection of starters comes in four bite-sized morsels to be eaten in a particular order. Mains are the usual elevated Italian affair: more significant meat and fish dishes, and then pasta, such as the signature corzetti (a Roman coin-shaped pasta that must be individually shaped by hand) in a blond duck bolognese, and pillows of ricotta gnocchi in a tomato and veal ragu.

Desserts follow a similar predictable-but-lovely path: the eponymous Pendolino Classic Nougat Semifreddo, for instance, made with candied almonds. There are no big surprises, other than the occasional addition of saltbush, sea succulents, or glinting silver leaf atop a dessert. But then again, that’s not what you come here for.

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