Threatened by a Degani onslaught – a bakery franchise setting up next door late last year – the little Italian cafe and wine bar Tre Bicchieri (Italian for ‘three glasses’) is as settled on this Rathdowne Street strip as neighbouring Gerald’s Bar.

Don’t come for the service – though the staff do well doubling as cooks and waiters to prepare breakfast items and baked items in the tiniest of kitchens where everything is made to order. Try paninis with prosciutto or Mediterranean vegies, asiago cheese and rocket come squished between soft, flaky bread and a specials board rotates warming soups, salads and antipasto platters to complement your coffee or tumbler of wine.

The dark wooden interior creates a sombre mood out-back but sky-high bookcases display a cellar-like wine collection and pantry items to take home like jams, chutneys and homemade muesli.

Mid week is relaxed but come the weekends the ladies here at Tre Bicchieri are on overdrive when the red leather chairs downstairs are full and the street-side tables overflow. While a takeaway might suffice, the pastries left on wire oven racks on the counter will taunt you while you order and pay at the counter.