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Gambino, a sleek restaurant and bar that stretches over two levels (including a rooftop), stands out in Glen Waverley with its arancini and squid ink linguine. Chef Adrian Li (La Madonna) adds his unorthodox spin to many dishes, but there are still crowd-favourites such as calamari fritti, and sourdough focaccia to be loaded with antipasti.

The most head-turning dish might be the bistecca al pepe, combining two unlikely influences: steak diane and xiao long bao dumplings. Eye fillet comes to the table topped with a single raviolo that releases 100 millilitres of mushroom sauce when pierced. To make it, mushroom gravy is set with gelatin in a pasta parcel, ready to liquefy when simmered.

It’s not all bells and whistles. The crescentina, a fried-dough sandwich from Modena in northern Italy, is pure, button-pushing delight. Little pucks of pizza dough are filled with crisped mortadella, smoked mozzarella and pickled green tomato.

A crudo of ruby-red tuna is overlaid with spice-cured prawns, the textures sublime but the chilli whack slightly overwhelming the lovely seafood. Tortellini are filled with chive-spiked goat’s curd and settled in a buttery emulsion with roasted pumpkin and parmesan cream, a vegetarian dish that’s classic and refined.

For dessert, the bombe Alaska is excellent; the sweetness of the meringue casing and sponge base offset by a lemon-sorbet core and a semifreddo layer infused with finger lime. Flambeed at the table, it’s a spiky ball of joy.