Vineria Luisa joins Cibaria in Manly and Summer Hill’s Postina Osteria in Alessandro and Anna Pavoni’s rapidly growing portfolio (see also, Ormeggio at The Spit and a’Mare at Crown).

It’s inside Enmore Road’s old pink-and-purple Marie-Louise Salon, with a bar downstairs and a low-lit dining room above. The full menu is available in both areas, which are equally tight-packed but still comfortable, and decorated with frilly lampshades, pastels and fresh flowers.

Almost every table orders head chef Gianmarco Pardini’s “best ever lasagne” with seven layers of pasta, bechamel and ragu made with pork, veal and beef cooked overnight into a dark and glossy shade of burgundy. Crostini slathered in robust chicken liver pâté is punctuated by marmalade and chopped hazelnuts. Cacio e pepe risotto is fashioned into little aranicini-style footballs filled with mozzarella.

The kitchen also braises chicken giblets, heart and liver in a rich and herby tomato sauce until they break down and transform into something deep and magical; better together, but each component distinct and clinging to fat strands of tonnarelli.

Vegetarians, meanwhile, are well served across the board, but a spinach-green spatzle native to Italy’s Trentino-Alto Adige region is the go-to. Chalk up another hit for Sydney’s most dynamic dining strip.

Good to know: The bar is a great pre-theatre knees-up, with an Australian and Italian wine list and well-crafted cocktails.

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