Grossi Florentino

One of the city’s occasion-dining institutions, this is where Old Melbourne gathers under chandeliers to revel in the grandeur of one of the city’s great dining rooms and Guy Grossi’s excellent Italian food. Grossi’s style is more inventive than the formal surrounds might suggest: the Russian lobster salad, for example, is not part of the classical Italian canon, but with its accompaniment of horseradish cream, peas and pickled shallots, it’s a lively winner. Fans of speck will enjoy it wrapped around bright Queensland prawns, or with juicy rabbit atop a setting of black cabbage, fennel and warming agrodolce. The chocolate soufflé, presented in a copper pot with Campari and orange ice-cream, is a showstopper. You get what you pay (a lot) for: the wait-staff is close to flawless. The Grill and the Cellar Bar offer simpler, less expensive Italian fare under the same roof. A fine institution.