Stanley Street,Sydney’s original Little Italy,has long peddled rowdy spaghetti joints and colourful boozers. Sagra,tucked inside a brick terrace,stands out among the red sauce fold with a less-is-more style of hospitality.

Marble tabletops,chalk-white walls and pendant lights add a modern flavour to classic accents such as oak barrels,bentwood chairs and flickering candles. It’s certainly a cosy little place to hunker down with tiramisu.

The tried-and-true are finessed with respect for ingredients,including honey-flecked zucchini flowers filled with molten pecorino,and folds of pappardelle slicked with long-flavoured pork ragu.

Displays of red,white and green are strictly relegated to the plate,such as stracciatella with flourishes of emerald mint oil and perfectly ripe peach wedges. A juicy Tuscan from the all-Italian wine list is all the “Viva Italia!” we need.

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Eastern Suburbs

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