It’s all about the snacks. Lots of ’em, and fast. A one-bite flavour-bomb of deep-fried mashed potato topped with fresh truffle shavings, say, or a tartlet filled with sweet potato and caramelised onion under fine curls of comte cheese.

A fat wedge of focaccia, baked in the restaurant’s historic wood-fired oven, is made to run through a dish of house-made ricotta, pickled zucchini and basil oil. Yup, chef Will Cowan-Lunn can cook. And it’s a pleasure to eat in Ates’ cosy dining room, with its terracotta walls and open kitchen.

Food is mostly designed to share and heavily skewed to vegetables, with a few meat dishes here and there (hello, roast duck and caramelised grapes). A wood-fired head of cauliflower smothered in curry leaf butter and sweetened with currants is all richness and savour. Could there be a little more reprieve from the deeply roasted buttery brown things? Sure. Does a barely set Bilpin honey panna cotta make up for it? Absolutely.

Good to know: Keen for a pre-dinner drink? Frankie and Mo’s is just up the street, pouring natural wine and shaking margaritas.

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