Two things are assured from a meal at Rosa’s – a warm welcome to start and some of the city’s best cannoli to finish. 

In between there’s plenty to keep loving at Rosa Mitchell’s cossetted CBD sanctuary of home-style Italian cooking and hospitality, where name-checked, local ingredients loom large. 

Pasta is a must, especially the rigatoni in a chunky ragu with nubs of pork and fennel sausage. Or branch out into mains, such as the duck leg, all crispy skinned and fork-tender meat on the bone, on a brothy bed of rib-sticking pearl barley and chestnuts. 

Let charming staff guide you through fare-friendly wines and Italian desserts, but really, after a hearty session here, a chocolate cannoli is the perfect full stop.

Must Eat Dish: Rigatoni with pork and fennel ragu