Donna Maria is a gem of a restaurant on the Mornington Peninsula

Flinders is a town with many fine attributes. Its quaint main street has one of Victoria's best gourmet general stores; its coastline location is enviable. But, like much of the Mornington Peninsula, it does not have many dining options, especially for such a well-to-do community. But it does have one option – and has for a few years – that would sit comfortably in any of Melbourne's inner suburbs.

Donna Maria, owned by the same group that runs Patsy's in Melbourne, Zarb & Ru in Rosebud and Bistro Elba in Sorrento, opened in 2019. Housed in a historic weatherboard shopfront on the town's main street, it has a pop-art, Italianate, homey feel with red banquettes, colourful grouped paintings on the walls and plants providing greenery.

When you settle in with a sour cherry negroni ($18) – a lovely riff that includes just enough sour cherry juice without detracting from the balance of the original gin/Campari/vermouth combination – everything seems right with the world.

The chef is Daniel Lidgard, whose work history includes Attica and Pt Leo Estate. His menu here walks an elegant line between homey Italian flavours and the kind of ambition and exactitude that his background has obviously instilled. It's the exact right tone for a restaurant that operates mainly as a neighbourhood trattoria – for date night, for family dinner – but caters just as well to visitors looking for something special.

The arancini ($18) have all the crisp and smoosh you'd expect but, with the added nutty crunch of almond and the funk of taleggio cheese, they become more than you bargained for, in the best way.

Fazzoletti ($25) – which translates as "silk handkerchiefs" – lives up to its name, the thin sheets of pasta draped in silken piles on the plate along with prawns, fried nettles, ricotta and lemon, a jumble of food that is both surprisingly light and eminently satisfying.

I thought, at first, that a pair of John Dory fillets ($45) were over-salted but, when scooped up with a mouthful of accompanying spaetzle – swathed in a shellfish butter and punctuated by pleasingly bitter cime di rapa – the dish revealed itself to be perfectly balanced.

Chianti-braised beef cheek ($40) with pappardelle and gremolata had all the warming, tender comfort you'd hope for. And a roasted lamb backstrap ($48) with bagna cauda, charred broccoli and pine nuts was a study in meaty elegance.

The very Italian-focused wine list – with local Mornington labels making Italian-style wines well represented – is fairly priced and organised beautifully.

Like almost all restaurants these days, Donna Maria is suffering from a lack of experienced staff. (In fact, The Age recently published a story about the labour shortage featuring one of Donna Maria's owners, Clinton Trevisi, talking about the impossibility of hiring at the moment.) This issue is especially acute in regional areas, where qualified hospitality staff are even harder to come by, and many restaurants – including this one – are training folk who have never worked in the industry. 

From what I witnessed, they're choosing the right people. While they may not be as slick or assured as seasoned servers, the warmth of engagement is genuine. It might take you a minute longer to get your glass of wine, but when it comes, it's delivered by someone who makes it clear they're glad you're here. 

You'll be glad, too. Donna Maria is a gem of a restaurant, particularly in an area where limited options means the most ambitious cooking happens at wineries and large resorts.

Those are lovely, but they don't take the place of a good main street restaurant, a place that's as much for the community as it is for those of us who have happily stumbled upon it while passing through.

Vibe: Homey, but stylish

Go-to dish: Fazzoletti ($25)

Drinks: Good Italian-leaning wine list and simple Italian cocktails

Cost: About $120 for two, excluding drinks

This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazine