Balla

From the waiter's cheerful greeting and graceful explanation of the menu to the swish decor and predominantly Italian wine list, Balla delivers a Star performance. Harbourside views, huge windows that operate electronically, a striking, geometric, aqua-hued ceiling and mosaic pillars are the backdrop for comfort food of the finest sort. Wood-fired whole baby snapper, served with salsa verde and salmoriglio, is so subtly smoked that it seems sacrilegious to add the herb sauces. Strozzapreti pasta with king prawns and asparagus sings of the sea (it's supposedly named after gluttonous priests who ate it so fast they choked) and delivers a pleasant chilli-garlic after-kick. Fork-soft minute steak smacks of the wood-fired grill, which undercuts the intensity of the accompanying grana and pickled zucchini. For a grand finale, a classic zuccotto is a sponge mound speckled with glace fruit, chocolate, ricotta, mascarpone and alcohol-plumped cherries.