Canberra Centre may have had a glow-up, but even so, stepping into Compa feels a world away. Matt Moran’s Italian-ish steakhouse has wine bottles lining the windows of the contemporary dining room and floor-to-ceiling curtains allowing brief glimpses of the city lights, while on the plate it’s all elegance and refinement.

Briny Sydney rock oysters from Merimbula paired with white balsamic mignonette, say, or al dente mushroom and ricotta agnolotti, simply glossed with a sage butter sauce. That’s for starters, anyway. Come main course, the elegance gives way to heft by way of an admirable beef program. Pick the grain-fed Gippsland scotch fillet and it’ll arrive handsomely crusted, well-rested and juicy with precision seasoning.

Boldness and spice from a local red (try the Ravensworth Wines shiraz-viognier) is a great shout to match the richness. A tart raspberry semifreddo is a fitting finale – bright, light and like Compa itself, just a little refreshing.

Good to know: There’s an impressive line-up of steaks served on the bone, from dry-aged sirloin, through to a 1-kilo pasture-fed bistecca.

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