Simone's Restaurant

Simone's is a deft mix of opposites. In a red-brick Victorian among cottage gardens it serves Italian cucina rustica jazzed up with smart modern touches. Preserved egg yolk, wild blackberry jam and pork crackling breadcrumbs take golden-skinned roasted quail into another dimension; smoked Harrietville trout, striped with dehydrated black olive and bottarga, perches on a delicate lemongrass-accented zucchini carpaccio alongside balsamic-soaked red onions. It's overcome succession wobbles following Anthony Simone taking over from his indomitable mother, Patrizia, in the kitchen - she's now an amiable presence on the floor, alongside husband George - with a renewed focus on the wide-format Italian food for which Simone's is renowned. Seasonal produce is a given - earthy pine mushrooms and chestnut cream make for a beautiful autumnal pasta of hand-rolled tagliolini - while finely sliced poached pear delicately layered with custard and a textural crumble of oats, nuts and seeds is bowl-lickingly good. Bright's star shines anew.