Loading Zone started with the perfect idea – to bring a bit of the Melbourne-style of laneway dining to Canberra. With a booming inner-city scene, the timing was perfect. So, in April 2013 – after two years of leaping bureaucratic hurdles – Loading Zone was born.

One of the unique aspects to Loading Zone is the setting of a different price for take-away and for dining-in (effectively standing v sitting). Anyone who has experienced the piazzas of Italy will be familiar with this concept and, while it can be frustrating for the unwary traveller, here it’s a novel touch that lends an air of authenticity.

Highlights from the blackboard menu include the Antipasto Plate – perfect for picking through at either lunch or Friday after work. Moreover, it’s a great accompaniment to a glass of wine and a chat with a friend. The delicious ribbons of marinated zucchini, capsicum and green beans present a variety of colours and flavours, and the cured meats are sliced so thin as to almost melt in your mouth.

A great option for vegetarians is the Eggplant Parmigiana. The layers of cheese and thinly sliced eggplant are soft and creamy with a lovely mouth-feel, and the sugo offers excellent balance. It’s a perfect lunchtime snack, and one that will make it safely to the office in a takeaway container.

Pulled pork is a favourite on menus across town, but here it receives the Italian treatment through Roasted Capsicum filled with pulled pork and ricotta. The pulled pork is slow cooked, allowing the strands of meat to be easily separated. Stirred through the sauce, it sits beautifully in the crisp – though warm – half of red capsicum. Crunchy and creamy at the same time, it’s filling though refreshing through the combination of sauce and sweet capsicum.

For a real treat, try the Grilled Tuna Steak. Set on a bed of chickpeas and fregola (an Israeli version of cous-cous) it looks almost like bubbling ocean foam rising up around the fish. The grill imparts some lovely caramelised scorch-marks on the flesh, while still maintaining a delicate pink interior. The result? Topped with artichoke and some pesto, the tuna pulls apart easily with a fork, and remains succulent and fresh on the palate. It’s delightful.

To finish, there is a wide variety of pastries – as well as selections from the blackboard (poached pear in red wine along with vanilla ice-cream is certainly a tempting option).

Coffee is available from 7.00am until late in the afternoon, and Friday nights bring some live music and after-work drinks. On Saturday, you can enjoy brunch all day, with a lunch menu available from 12.00pm.

Click here to read more about Loading Zone