You may have to crane your head around to look at the menu, scrawled on massive blackboards across two walls, but if you forget your glasses, no worries — the knowledgeable staff here can run through every element, including the daily specials that never make their way to the board. This could be a truffled tagliatelle or octopus salad entrée, or maybe some slow-cooked, hearty beef cheeks on a cold winter night. If you come here often enough, though, you’ll happily find yourself familiar with those Engine Room favourites that would cause a small riot if they were ever taken off, like the steak frites or churros con chocolate, a delightful dessert — fried balls of doughy, cinnamony, sugary goodness dipped into thick chocolate.

Co-owners Natalia Schamroth and Carl Koppenhagen have poured themselves into this old post office in Northcote Point for over 15 years. It’s lovely to sink into the buttery lighting, quiet buzz and long, generous dining room that envelopes diners into its soft, homey ambience — which seems to work equally well for a casual, I-forgot-to-cook midweek dinner or a special milestone meal. The food, too, transcends those categories, with tried-and-tested bistro classics like pork schnitzel or duck confit elevated to the best versions those dishes can be. But nothing’s fussy — instead it is, perfectly, the kind of food you want to dig right into.