Mummucc’

Every hour feels like aperitivo hour at this fun-loving, Italian-accented local favourite.

In a landscape ever-more crowded with places that straddle the fence between bar and restaurant, Mummucc’ stands tall as one of the genre’s finest. Indeed, everything at this vaguely retro and endlessly inviting 60-seater unfolds so effortlessly that it’s easy to take the thoughtfulness behind it all for granted. Here, even the simplest things – a bowl of crunchy salted broad beans or a well-measured vermouth and soda – don’t sidestep the finer details.

Chef Matt McDonald flies solo in the kitchen, achieving more with his two hands than some other teams might with five times the manpower. A humble dish of crisp baby cucumbers and Ortiz anchovies lolling in creamy tarator nails the minimalist Mediterranean brief with river mint and wattleseed adding native interest around the edges. Slender ribbons of flash-cooked local squid follow suit, given colourful contrast from peas, broad beans, lemon zest and salted egg yolk.

Chef Matt McDonald flies solo in the kitchen, achieving more with his two hands than some other teams might with five times the manpower.

There’s a similar aptitude for acid and texture at work on the 50-strong Italo-Aussie wine list that shines a light on new-wave makers. Before you know it, a glass and a snack will morph into a bottle, a meal and even maybe a pizza from sibling Monsterella next door. Plan accordingly.