Just Open: Beer, Wine and Calzone, Melbourne CBD

Brother Thomas cafe owner Jerome Dadon has opened a pizza shop called Beer, Wine and Calzone above live music venue Bird's Basement, opposite Flagstaff station in the city's law district.

He's teamed up with his father, Albert Dadon, who owns the site where all three venues are located, on the ground floor of a tower of serviced apartments. Dadon senior is also building a six-star hotel next door, with an ETA of 2018.

Italian import Marino Maffi has taken time out of his role as a lecturer at the Accademia Italiana della Pizza (yes, there's really a pizza university – in Milan) to run the kitchen.

Maffi brought an 80-year-old yeast starter with him, which forms the base, literally, of a menu dominated by thin-crust pizzas and calzones (dough pockets stuffed with the likes of porcini mushrooms, asparagus, taleggio cheese and truffle oil). The ingredients are mostly imported from Italy, and the pies cooked in a high-tech electric oven.

Snacky starters stick to the carbohydrate theme – think cheesy arancini balls – and a sticky dessert calzone features ingredient-of-the-moment Nutella with banana and custard.

The space is functional: a modern fitout with long communal tables, polished terrazzo flooring, bar-style seating and an order-at-the-counter vibe. Takeaway trade gets a good run during the day, and at night live jazz is streamed in from Bird's Basement below.

Open daily noon-midnight.

350 William Street, Melbourne, 133 292 259, beerwineandcalzone.com