La Bella Cellar is easy to walk past none the wiser. A pretty white-brick entryway framed by mosaic tiles is your clue that you’ve come to the right place. Step through the cellar door (literally) and into the tiny dining room framed by Venetian rendered walls. Although the term ‘fine dining’ can conjure notions of stuffiness, let’s get one thing clear – La Bella Cellar is the antithesis of that. Spirited and lively, the cavernous space reverberates with music and animated conversations. Logan (Justin Lane, Garden Kitchen & Bar and La Luna Dining), who helms the front of house, personally presides over the booze list, which opens with a clutch of signature cocktails such as a peanut butter espresso martini (laced with peanut butter whisky), and the dramatic Hazy Hibiscus, which arrives at your table under a smokey cloche. Wine lovers will be tempted with a selection of drops from Australia, Italy and France, while those who prefer spirits are equally as well catered for with a selection of vodka, gin, tequila, rum, whisky and bourbon. When it comes to the menu, La Bella Cellar’s new culinary direction is spearheaded by hatted-chef Raffaele. The succinct offering spans the globe, with light bites of K’Gari spanner crab and caviar sitting pretty next to tuna yakitori bathed in a soy-mirin glaze and Jamaican-inspired jerk chicken with corn zabaglione and roast okra. The beef short ribs with burnt-butter gnocchi has been an early stand-out, which is not at all surprising when you discover they’ve been braised for 12-hours, taken off the bone, pressed overnight and reconstructed back on the bone. What you’re left with, Raff tells us, is pure beef rib with no mess. Underpinning (almost) the entire menu is a natural lumpwood charcoal hibachi, which infuses the fare with a seductive hint of smokiness. The menu is entirely seasonal, so there will always be something new and exciting to try.

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