It's the windows that make you fall in love here.

Yes, Joey Campanaro's menu features American contemporary comfort food that is easy on the palate - straight up flavours, classic dishes and not too much trickiness. Yes, the service is warm and personal, helped along by the tiny space and the close seating. And the sense of being in your foodie uncle's dining room, complete with lofty pressed-tin ceiling, is delightful.

But those windows! Two sides of the room are open to the village streetscape. Tall multi-paned windows give an old-world feel, and the view onto the little corner with its apartments and trees and neat flowered sidewalks makes you feel you're taking a little country holiday in the city.

That appeal is strong enough to have seen The Little Owl chosen as the setting for the fictional restaurant in the big-budget 2007 rom-com No Reservations.

Perch at the bar and fantasise about running a convivial restaurant like this, then wander off home without having to do the dishes or tackle the accounts.