The long lunch is alive and well at Ursula’s. In a sleepy pocket of Paddington, the white-clothed tables of this corner terrace bistro fill early with locals who treat lunch like it’s their nine-to-five job. With high-pile carpet and marigold-hued walls, it’s the kind of place you might expect to serve finger sandwiches or poached fish – and they do.

But here, the egg salad is pressed between two brown-butter tuiles, and perch is glossed in a sweet and sticky Thai-style stock, heaped with watercress, persimmon matchsticks and green chilli. Owner-chef Phil Wood is precise about flavour and technique, integrating Asian ingredients into modern bistro classics in a way that feels natural, effortless and entirely his own.

If you don’t have to be anywhere, linger over the impressive list of grower champagne, or split the tangy sheep’s yoghurt panna cotta studded with jewel-like figs – it’s big enough for two.

Must order: Moreton Bay bug pasta with crustacean butter.

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