Bistra isn’t reinventing the bistro – and that’s the point. It trades, instead, in butter, white tablecloths and a familiar kind of good time. Petite, inviting, it’s all soft lighting and clinking glassware. The French-ish menu by chef Alex Nishizawa (ex-Attica, Bar Liberty) plays the hits with quiet confidence: Merimbula oysters, mild chicken liver pâté with onion jam, fluffy spinach and ricotta dumplings bathed in sage butter.

Steak is a specialty, but it’s rainbow trout that steals the show – tender beneath clumps of roe, with a pool of beurre blanc that warrants unapologetic plate licking. Just when you think you’ve hit peak richness, dessert resets the dial in a fragrant finale of lychee, coconut custard and lime granita. You’d be daft not to linger a little in a room this darling – you’ve just ordered a Jean-Marc Roulot apricot liqueur, after all.

Good to know: Nab the cosy window booth for peak romance and people-watching.

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