Chris Smith has a soft spot for a small Italian restaurant, Buon Ricordo, nestled in the back streets of Paddington in the inner-city.

But he certainly isn’t the only one.

The restaurant, which has been operating for over three decades, has hosted Hollywood superstars, politicians and media moguls alike.

The hidden gem is particularly famous for its truffled egg fettuccine.

But they don’t do takeaways. Not even when Tom Cruise is requesting them.

The restaurant’s outgoing owner and head chef, Armando Percuoco, tells Chris Smith about the bizarre encounter.

“He (Tom Cruise) was doing a movie here in Australia and he was down in Double Bay. He used to come quite often.

“I looked after him because he was very nice. Now, I don’t know if it was him or his PA (personal assistant)…  he rings me one day and said, ‘Mr Tom Cruise, he wants you to do the food for his airplane, he has to come back to America.’

“I said, ‘I’m terribly sorry I’m not a takeaway shop!'”

Click PLAY below for the full story

Armando tells Chris his restaurant is getting a refurbishment, with his long serving head chef taking over the keys.

He says bucking trends and sticking to tradition has been the answer to their success.

“The trendy restaurants go out the window in no time.

“When you have a classic restaurant, and you nurture your customer, you look after you customer… then you stay a long time in the business.”