Looks can be deceiving. Curved alongside wide-stretched office tower steps, Aalia could be just another pitstop in the MLC food and booze line-up. Inside though, the beauty of spotted-gum arches, well-spaced tables and leaping kitchen flames suggest something above-ordinary may be happening. A menu leading with Persian caviar, followed by North African and Arabic mezze and mains, confirms it.

Finger-lime popping raw tuna ribbons; sticky, slippery, red-spiced eggplant; just-smoky cuttlefish with carroty harissa – this is extra-ordinary food. Crisped, pomegranate-bathed duck fanned alongside a deep-flavoured fesanjan (walnut and pomegranate stew) nails Aalia’s crisp-soft-rich trifecta. Almost transparently sliced tomato over barley and olive oil sits happily beside.

Paul Farag (a former Good Food Guide Chef of the Year, no less) has turned his Egyptian heritage into a spectacular expedition. Just forget all that office blandness outside.

Must-order: That duck, or a flaky ring of Egyptian pastry with arak meringue and banana ice-cream.

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