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Heidi Modra opened Pinotta 13 years ago, and she runs it like a general store in a small town. Locals walk by and stop for a hug, and kids draw her pictures.

When Philippa Sibley joined as chef in 2023, Pinotta entered a golden period. The service has lifted, the wine list is zippy and fun, and the food straddles provincial French and Italian.

Focaccia is made Pugliese-style with hot potato worked into the dough. Duck confit is judiciously salted and pairs with fragrant jus. Pumpkin for arancini is roasted twice to concentrate its sweetness. Tonnarelli, the long pasta, is dyed with squid ink then tumbled with nettle butter and prawns, while tiramisu is jazzed up with hazelnut sponge.

Sibley’s art adorns the walls: large, detailed depictions of oysters, artichokes and grapes that turn the everyday into the sublime.