Pieces of graffiti cover every wall of the narrow laneway. Some of it incorporates profanity in large lettering, perhaps as a warning to the comfortable denizens of suburbia that they should keep their distance. To the meek and the clerical, it's a confronting admonishment that they're not in Kansas any more and that they won't live long in this noir underworld, far removed from the safety of their carefully manicured gardens. Just like Bogie as Sam Spade, I pull up the collar of my trench coat and pull down the brim of my fedora as I stride along the rough pathway to the bar, where I expect that my snitch will be waiting for me. I run my fingers across the Luger that I'm carrying in my pocket as insurance against the miscreants that I expect to encounter on these mean streets.

Except of course it wasn't like that at all. Yes, there's graffiti everywhere as you can see, but it's mostly neat and orderly; more fresco than feral. Indeed, on the day that we were there one Bridezilla and her entourage were using the lane as a backdrop for her wedding photos and as you can see here tourists are more than comfortable exploring the area. I don't own a fedora (though I do have a hat remarkably similar to those worn by Jack Palance as well as an NCIS baseball cap), and I was in fact wearing a leather jacket. And the bar wasn't exactly a bar (though it had one), but really a tapas bar and restaurant called Movida.

Should you go there? It's not cheap (find me a place in any CBD that is, and which won't subsequently require the use of a stomach pump) but it has an interesting array of dishes to try. (We shan't mention the chocolate fondant on offer for dessert. Oh, OK, we will, but there are plenty of specifically Spanish dishes to choose from.) The service is extremely good, and the atmosphere comfortable and relaxed. It's also easy to get to from Flinders Street station. I do recommend it if you happen to be down that way.

Oh, and I know what I said about not commonly using my Galaxy S II 'phone as a camera, but in this case we were heading to the theatre immediately afterwards and I didn't think that the presence of a 40D would be appreciated. Consequently I made do with what I had, which is the Galaxy.