A modish ’60s deli fitout,chipper staff and shelves heaving with bright packets of Italian goodies make the Surf Coast strip mall outside melt away. Doing its best impression of a sunny Roman piazza eatery,this popular joint easily settles into aperitivo mode.

There’s a cracking sangiovese on tap,a salad of smoky grilled octopus with white anchovies and celery,and perhaps a tangle of briny sardines dressed Venetian-style with pickled shallot and raisins. Most people,though,are here for the next-level pasta. Tagliatelle comes with a light rabbit ragu studded with green olives and fragrant with bay leaves.

Choices change daily but in a smart move for a tourist town,there are plenty of crowd-pleasers whether superior rigatoni alla bolognese,or carbonara with impeccably rendered chunks of guanciale. Wrap up with gelato for grown-ups:a scoop of extra-dark chocolate with sour cherries.

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Geelong&Bellarine

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