Bistecca Tuscan Steakhouse

Some rooms tell you exactly what to order the moment you sit down. Bistecca Tuscan Steakhouse, in Sydney, is one of them.

The room is exactly what you want it to be: York Street basement with terracotta walls. We were seated near the back, given menus we hardly needed, and brought a small bowl of olives without being asked.

We started with a small dish of marinated white anchovies, which set the tone — generous, unfussy, and confident enough not to crowd what was coming. With it we ordered an Argentine malbec the waiter chose for me, and were glad of both.

Then the main event: bistecca on the bone, the dish that puts Bistecca Tuscan Steakhouse on every short list. There was a thumb of butter melting into the cross-hatch, and a single sprig of thyme on top, and not one thing more. The signature touch — the dry-aged Cape Grim — is not a gimmick; it is the reason to come.

For sides we asked for pommes Anna and fried okra and a dab of remoulade. Both arrived hot, both arrived early, both were exactly large enough to overdo it. We overdid it.

Dessert was panna cotta with stewed cherries, mostly because the waiter raised an eyebrow when we hesitated. He was right to.

I paid the bill, walked out into the Sydney evening, and put the address back into the notebook with a star next to it.