It wasn’t so long ago that the Royal Hotel in Bondi was on the rough side. Never mind watching Ultimate Fighting Championship on the screens – it was live in the front bar. Now owned by Merivale, it’s been given a spring clean and houses the hospitality group’s latest Italian restaurant, Totti’s.

The Royal is a nautical mile from its colourful past, but pleasingly the pub itself has lost none of its drinking man’s atmos. Totti’s is set in an airy room at the back with the patina of an osteria – all exposed beams and stripped-back white walls. Outside in the sprawling courtyard it’s more Mediterranean garden party with a pair of olive trees arching over the central tables. It’s lovely.

So too is the service – the right mix of proficient and friendly. You may not know many wines on the drinks list, but the prices aren’t hard to swallow. The real hook here, though, is the food. With two proven chefs at the helm – Mike Eggert (of Pinbone) and Khan Danis (late of Rockpool) – it’s next-level pub grub with wonderful attention to detail in well-defined and delicious dishes.

Burrata teamed with rockmelon and mortadella is a good place to start – you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better rendition Down Under. Diced prawn and toothsome casarecce, meanwhile, get a big umami hit from a potent prawn sauce, and fillets of King George whiting and garfish are gently warmed until the proteins are just set and the skin shimmers. Served with a wedge of lemon, it’s heaven on a plate.

Feeling carnivorous? Give the 300- gram pork schnitzel a crack – topped with shaved parmesan, fried capers and sage leaves, it’s a winner.

A cherry, frangipane and nectarine tart is a bit under par compared with all that went before, but it’s as colourful as the pub’s past. And it seems the newlook Royal, aided and abetted by Totti’s, has an equally bright future for all the right reasons.