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Forever busy and turning tables, this slice of neo-Melbournalia presents every visitor with a welcome gift: complimentary focaccia, bronzed and herb-flecked. Once standard restaurant practice, now a rarity, it’s a signal to drop your guard and ease into solicitous hospitality.

Ten-year-old Tipo’s justly known for its pasta, including mafaldine ribbons woven through ragged chunks of wagyu ragu, each piece with its own juicy character. But only a fool would skip entrees like salty, decadent stracciatella that was born to wallow in spicy grape puree and saffron oil.

New ideas are also worth trying. Rigatoni with nettle sauce gets pep from fermented capsicum puree and a rubble of dehydrated ricotta and fried capers. Once split, a stacked dessert reveals a cross-section of lip-puckering apple compote, nutty whey caramel and ricotta cheesecake whipped to whimsical new heights. Italo wine picks are on-point, with prices that’ll keep them flowing.