The Restaurant Pendolino

Follow the cedar balustrades to the second floor of this 19th-century building and you'll find Pendolino, where the designer lamps are dimly low - an ambient setting that will keep first dates and the environment happy. What shines is the food. The table olive oils (blood orange, lemon and classic fruttato allegro) are utter flavour bursts, while house-made bread (rosemary and garlic; fennel-infused rye and walnut; not-so-plain plain) are purpose-built for soaking up these robust drops. With an on-site olive oil store, no wonder the quality is so palate-impressing. Also great is smart service and an excellent menu, from a lighter-scale yellowfin tuna salad in tonnato dressing to a heavy-hitting Gippsland lamb, slow-cooked with grilled polenta. Hand-made pasta (such as three-cheese ravioli with spinach, burnt butter and sage) and brilliant desserts (goat's curd bavarese with strawberry consomme and salad) are worth your attention, too.