Itali.co

Sex sells; so does pizza. Put them together and hello Itali.co, a slick'n'low-lit pizzeria run by Remo Nicolini. His shtick? ''Pizza is sexy'', ''Fish is sexy, too!'' and the menu instructs you to ''Eat pizza with your hands … you'll look sexier'', which is probably a kind way of telling non-Italians not to use a knife and fork.

It's all a bit of light-hearted fairy dust on top of a serious, quality undertaking that goes to the brink of fine dining while keeping true to its informal pizzeria roots. In the kitchen is Piero Roldo (ex-Da Noi), who collaborated with Nicolini on a menu that pilfers benchmarks from all over Italy, and arancini and meatballs are amid the handmade beetroot ravioli and chargrilled wagyu.

The $55,000 Marana is a wood-fired oven with a rotating stone base and gas back-up, so when the wood dies down, the gas kicks in, maintaining even heat without losing the smoky flavour. It's a fast, hot cook at 400 degrees, with excellent results - crusts that are light, airy and chewy all at once, bases that are thin and crispy, and top-notch toppings.

The Friuli pizza is an almost fondue-esque combo of tangy squacquerone cheese and fior di latte. Juicy San Daniele prosciutto, hanging in the fridge of cured meats, is sliced fresh-to-order and added at the end, along with cherry tomatoes and basil for that ''red, white and green'' Italian tradition. A sweet zigzag of balsamic reduction balances the savoury.

Calamari Shabu Shabu, billed as ''amazing'' on the menu, is as written. The calamari is boiled, then plunged into ice-cold water, the thermal shock halting the cooking process, so it's semi-raw with a brilliant texture. It's in a moat of rosy pink tomato coulis, seasoned with cracked pepper, herbs and olive powder. For the squid ink tagliolini, Roldo extracts the ink himself, a process that Nicolini has seen him do only once. He adds onion, sage, a few tentacles, and then ''cook, cook, cook'' and blend. The ink is used to make the long strands of tagliolini, tossed with Portarlington mussels, snapper, prawns, calamari and half a Moreton Bay bug. It's well priced at $29.90 and big enough to share.

If you're eating as a family, kids are sorted with spiced, hand-cut chips with romesco sauce. Al dente penne or spaghettini bolognese works well, the parmesan grated at the table, and the arancini are big winners - golden crumbed balls of crunch with a saffrony rice, pea and lamb ragu inside and a stringy, hot ball of mozzarella at the core. There's handmade ice-cream for afters.

Itali.co is a spunky place, like its siblings Itali.co in Sorrento and NSP in the Docklands. As a passer-by, it's easy to look inside the wraparound windows and wish you, too, were sitting at the oak tables with a glass of wine. Inside, it's toasty warm, cosy, despite its modern sharpness, and soundproofing muffles the rambunctious restaurant clatter.

I like this place, I like it a lot. As for pizza being sexy? Enough already, get a room.

Do … check out Monday nights, when all pizzas are $12.
Don't … want to eat in? Pick up takeaway and stay tuned for home delivery.
Dish … squid ink tagliolini.
Vibe … share, drink, eat, relax.
Prices … share plates, $8-$28.50; pizzas and pastas, $14.50-$29.90; desserts, $9.50-$16.90.

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