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Stefano’s

The unashamed exuberance of Stefano de Pieri’s cooking explains why his restaurant in the moodily atmospheric cellars of Mildura’s Grand Hotel continues to attract crowds and accolades. There’s no reinventing the culinary wheel with the five-course set menu, just a great display of skilled Italian homestyle cooking informed by an innate understanding of local and seasonal ingredients. House-made ricotta gnocchi teamed with a powerful porcini sauce is a masterclass in soft and slippery textures, while char-grilled quail served with braised lentils proves again how impressive top-quality ingredients can be when sympathetically and simply handled. There’s hearty comfort in slow-roasted beef teamed with soft polenta and a classic crème caramel, and also in a wine list that’s fond of Italian labels and varietals. Service, from a young and enthusiastic team, is spot on.