A new restaurant with an old floor. Dario Manca likes the thought of that.

“It has seen so much,” the Italian-born Manca says. “A friend of mine was like, ‘Maybe you need to redo the floor,’ and I was like, ‘A patch here and a patch there, maybe.’ But it tells a story, so we decided to keep it.”

Chef Manca (formerly Rosmarino, Za Za Ta) is talking about Attimi, an Italian fine diner that he will unveil in Paddington on September 6. It’s one of the most anticipated restaurant openings of the spring, but it occupies a storied, heritage-listed spot at 224 Given Terrace best known as the original home of classic French restaurant Montrachet.

In more recent years it was NOTA, Sebastiaan de Kort and Kevin Docherty’s popular European eatery.

“It’s important to acknowledge the past,” Manca says. “It’s good a reminder that we have something people in Paddington know very well. It’s a milestone in terms of hospitality.”

Attimi is very different to Montrachet or NOTA, though. It’s also very different to most of the “roughly 180” Italians restaurants that already exist in and around Brisbane. Inspired by the Michelin-starred eateries of his home country, this cosy 28-seater is serving a fine-dining degustation menu on weekends, and a la carte during the week.

“It feels like the right time for this concept in Brisbane,” he says. “People are now more knowledgeable about Italian food.”

Attimi’s degustation runs Friday and Saturday nights and comes in two flavours: a “quick Italian tour” $145 option and a more extensive $195 menu that lists 12 courses but might involve anywhere up to 18 different plates and snacks.

The shorter menu includes rosemary carasau bread with smoked stracciatella, anchovies and pickled tomatoes, a filo confit garlic tart with goats cheese cream, and tagliolini arrabbiata with n’duja, oregano, South Australian mussels, blue cheese cream and bread crumb.

The longer menu throws in dishes such as a fish crisp with ricotta and tarama, white sardines, a house-made preserved lemon gel and oregano, savoury cannoli with beef tartare, cornichons, stracciatella and a bagna cauda mayo, Mooloolaba king prawn and mascarpone cappelletti with a bisque sauce, buffalo stracciatella and basil oil, and a seven-score Tajima wagyu sirloin with fermented honey, pickled mushrooms and red wine jus.

Each dish takes its inspiration from a different Italian region, whether it be Tuscany, Sardinia, Emilia-Romagna or Sicily.

During the week a la carte kicks in, with the menu largely compiled from the greatest hits (or variations thereof) from the degustation, with a clutch of extra dishes thrown in for good measure.

For drinks, there’s a relatively concise 80-bottle list of mostly Italian wines, and classic and signature cocktails.

As for the space itself, Manca’s friend and experienced home interior designer Danny Zullo has cleverly set it apart from Montrachet and NOTA before it by cutting back the bar and installing arched shelving in front of the venue’s exposed bricks, as well as powder-coated aluminium shelving at the front and rear of the venue that’s been stacked with wine and other Italian goods. The space is classy and intimate without being stuffy.

“There’s a nice community around here, and I think it’s going to be great,” Manca says. “We’re not expecting to explode in a second. We just want to do it consistently and achieve our goals consistently.”

Attimi will open on Friday, September 6.

Open Tue-Thu, 5.30pm-10pm, Fri-Sat 12pm-2.30pm 5.30pm-10pm

224 Given Terrace, Paddington

attimi.com.au