A tasting experience at Segreto, though, is not just about the food; diners can sit around the open kitchen while Lelli cooks and talks, and we find it interesting and entertaining. We enjoyed a Calabrese menu starting with golden fried sardines topped with sweet and sour red onions which are marinated in home-made vinegar and served with home-made bread. The warm sardines and cold onions is a light start and it definitely awakens the taste buds. We also liked the Faella Bucatini pasta, with sardine sauce, tossed with a home-made mix of Mediterranean herbs of mint, thyme, fennel and anise crumbles with aged sheep’s milk cheese.

My favourite dish of the evening was the rigatoni ragout, a recipe from his grandma, made with pork belly, neck and beef, Parmesan, egg plant and mozzarella. The pasta is an artisanal rigatoni for Naples; it is shorter and fatter than the usual rigatoni pasta. The dish really delivered in terms of its rich flavour and texture. It was homey and filling, and there was a fight for seconds from the group we were with. The meat dish was also a winner - pork ribs, olives, peppers, red wine and cheese. For dessert, we had a Cabrese favourite - chinulilli made with figs, chutney, almond and bitter orange sauce. After which, Lelli treated us to his special espresso with almonds and a coffee liqueur.