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There are plenty of noteworthy elements to Sincero, but we’ll get to the bacon-and-egg dessert, seaweed spaghetti and miniature cocktails shortly. I want to start with the auditory experience.

In this mostly full, 40-seat restaurant, I can not only hear myself think, I can easily focus on my dining companion as she stage-whispers an anecdote that’s as delicious as the oysters I’m slurping.

Restaurant acoustics don’t get much attention in the trade, but diners frequently choose restaurants based on their ability to have a conversation and go home without ringing ears, a sore throat from shouting and a tired brain from straining to hear.

Quieter restaurants surely help with staff retention, too. Loud noise increases stress and anxiety. When noise is attenuated, there are multiple benefits, including easing the back pain that develops in waiters forced to constantly stoop to hear customers.

Of course, we want a little buzz and appropriate music, too – a harmonious tonal balance that suits the style of restaurant. With all that in mind, let’s give Sincero a quiet clap for its lovely acoustics – thanks largely to coffered ceiling panels made from recycled plastic bottles – then nod our heads in time to the Italian music drifting from the sound system.

In this mostly full 40-seater, I can not only hear myself think, I can easily focus on my dining companion as she stage-whispers a delicious anecdote.

Leading Australian designer Pascale Gomes-McNabb (Stokehouse, Sydney’s King Clarence) is responsible for the interior of this Melbourne-meets-Milan restaurant. The entrance is surprising: the front door looks into the kitchen, and you’re as likely to be greeted by the sight of chef Mirco Speri searing a skewer over charcoal as by one of the impeccably attired waiters.

The seating area is to the left; marble, timber and velvet make it feel rich, clubby and timeless, with accents in pink and green caressed by soft lighting. The first-floor toilet is accessed by a steep staircase that won’t suit everyone, but there’s also a gorgeous private salon up there with a round table and a feeling of fun waiting to happen.

This is the second venue from the team that also has Buono, a four-year-old Italian restaurant in bayside Parkdale on a shopping strip that’s been savagely disrupted by a level-crossing removal. No doubt the skyrail and public spaces underneath will be great once they’re finished, but the small-business struggle is real while works are underway.

With hours reduced, founders Cinzia Buono, Fabio Magliano and Daniele Ruffolo decided to give their staff something else to do, so they opened upmarket, aspirational Sincero.

It’s a charming place with complex and sometimes high-concept Italian food that defies broader trends towards simplicity. There’s no doubt, however, that the experienced team (ex-Thirty Eight Chairs in South Yarra) knows what it’s doing. Everything is intentional, careful, accomplished.

Let’s talk about that bacon dessert, a signature that’s made its way from Buono. The Ovetto Alla Carbonara ($18) looks like a fried egg with bacon, but it’s made with sugared guanciale, an “egg white” crafted from white chocolate and a “yolk” that’s built with a marsala sabayon. It’s a fun play on the sweet, salty, creamy and crunchy and I’ll defend its right to exist any day of the week.

The “bruschetta” ($24) isn’t quite the bread with toppings you might expect, but more a composed arrangement of salt-baked beetroot, grilled mandarin and lemon mascarpone with a finger of toast leaning on it. The flavour balance is perfect.

There’s a braised dish they do at Buono with octopus, chickpeas and pork sausage. Here, the same ingredients are fancied into an octopus skewer ($13) that’s topped with crisp chickpeas and laid over garlicky sausage puree. I wish upcycling was always so tasty.

Deep, umami-seafood flavours are amped up in the shellfish pasta ($47): the spaghetti dough is laced with powdered nori and wakame so it’s jade green. It’s tossed with sweet Moreton Bay bug meat and roasted fennel and daubed with blood orange gel. The gel starts to look a bit busy, but you can’t argue with the complementary flavours.

Sincero is an apt name for this place: the hospitality feels utterly heartfelt. The Italian drinks offering is wonderful: the team imports directly so there’s good value on premium wines, such as barolo.

The cocktails are excellent, and I love that they’re offered in two sizes. As a driver who loves a spritz to start and a wine with my food, I feel absolutely seen by this detail – or perhaps I should just say heard.

This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazine