Giovanni Pilu and Marilyn Annecchini walk into the Pullman Quay Grand hotel with a brief. What to do? What if, they said, we looked at the harbour, then took the ebb and flow of Italy’s port cities as inspiration? Napoli, Cagliari, Venezia, Genova, Palermo. Pick four dishes from each, add an (excellent) crudo bar, and cap it off with a “no burrata, no tiramisu” rule.

For some it might be a straightjacket, but for the Sardinian chef, it’s liberating. What’s more, it’s more everyday than the flagship. For antipasti, try toasts wearing a sweep of baccala mantecato (Venezia). Or mozzarella in carrozza (Napoli), the crisp cheese-filled sandwiches topped with a single anchovy. Pasta? Pick the spaghetti, sweet with spanner crab and rich with bottarga.

Rimmed porcelain keeps things humble among sweeping joinery and stone, while ripples of mascarpone echo the water outside. Can you bottle a sun-bleached summer on the Italian coastline? Flaminia can.

Good to know: Special occasion? Consider splitting the half suckling pig ($550; preorder only) between five.

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