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Visiting Arqua feels a bit like returning to a once-stylish, now anachronistic family home. Grand, high ceilings are offset by the constricted, relatively narrow space, dominated by flying saucer-shaped chandeliers hovering between bare, ochre-yellow walls. Chef and owner Leo Pulito’s keen interest in wines is evident in the small but select wine list, composed of unusual gems. The mostly Northern Italian menu offers classics like a very good beef carpaccio, lightly dressed with olive oil and a flowery lemon juice. The kitchen shows talent but some inattention. Cuttlefish risotto with black squid ink is unusually well-blended and quirkily flavored, but the veal Milanese is bland to a fault. Desserts are universally delicious: Sorbetti is full of fresh fruit; ricotta cheesecake has an enriching egginess. — Jamal Rayyis

Beef carpaccio, $12.50; cuttlefish risotto, $22