Just Open: Rosa's Canteen, Melbourne CBD

We've seen her Sicilian Kitchen, now enter Rosa's Canteen, which opened Monday overlooking 500 Bourke Street's rear courtyard and the detailed 19th-century majesty of the Supreme Court building.

The second-storey perch and street views recall Rosa Mitchell's original Journal Canteen, though this L-shaped place is sharper-looking, with tables and banquette seating up against large, louvred windows.

As you'd expect, simple Italian classics are coming from the kitchen, headed by Braedan Cleave (ex Rosetta, Rosa's Kitchen). There's antipasti of locally made salumi plates or a fritter of the day.

Pastas, like spaghetti carbonara, are "done properly, no cream", says Mitchell.

The classic hits keep coming with dishes like rich lamb ragout with twists of casareccia, and mains like veal saltimbocca.

Between lunch and dinner service, from 3pm to 5.30pm, a few dishes will still be available: something from the grill and a salad of the day, maybe bursting with tomatoes from Rosa's garden.

But the coffee and cannoli could spark impromptu out-of-office meetings throughout the day.

Rosa's Canteen is open Mon-Fri noon-10pm, serving lunch until 3pm, and dinner from 5.30pm.

Rosa's Canteen, rear 500 Bourke Street (enter via Thomson Street), Melbourne, rosas-kitchen.com

Email eat@rosascanteen.com.au for bookings, until the phone line is connected.