David Ellis reviews Nipotina: It exists to assuage stresses that exist only outside its door

Review at a glance: ★★★★☆

I understand it’s not the done thing to compare restaurateurs to murderous mob bosses, given it’s rude and, well, they’re notoriously litigious. But when I think of Samyukta Nair, sometimes I hear Jack Nicholson’s mutterings in The Departed, Martin Scorsese’s Boston gangster flick. “I don’t want to be a product of my environment,” Nicholson says. “I want my environment to be a product of me.”