Made in Casa

When an Italian chef tells you spaghetti carbonara isn’t a dish, it’s a religion, you better be ready to take their food seriously. Evocative, modern Italian art hangs on the walls and fringed lampshades glow above each table at Annapaola D’Alessio and Valerio Violetti’s smart Toorak Village salon; a palpable house pride that portends good times on the plate.

Eggplant parmigiana is halved, fried and striped with Napoli sauce, cheese and basil for a dressed-up version of the classic. Calamaro is stuffed with parsley-flecked breadcrumbs, coddled in cream sauce and draped with fennel slices that emphasise its slender furls. Al dente noodles tangle with clams in a spaghetti vongole topped with shaved bottarga and fermented garlic; huge flavours, huge joy.

The hero dish is the bistecca fritta, a crumbed T-bone steak pan-fried in clarified butter, finished in the oven, then carved tableside by a begloved waiter channelling the drama of a Roman venator. This is food deeply and respectfully anchored in the old country, rendered with skill and a dash of daring.

Must order: Bistecca fritta.

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.