Principio is Italian for ‘beginning’, and the meal begins with a greeting from the cheerful couple that makes you feel right at home. The chef’s specialities are his hand-rolled pasta and charcoal-grilled delicacies. To evoke a sense of journeying, prix fixe menus feature pasta dishes from different regions of Italy. Charcoal-grilled aged pork and shorthorn beef are seasoned simply with salt and pepper. The intimate scale of the restaurant keeps the couple in close proximity, fostering a sense of comfortable familiarity.