Just Open: Tipo 00

After years of high-end cooking, Andreas Papadakis has gone into business with front-of-house manager Luke Skidmore, opening CBD pasta bar Tipo 00. Papadakis was a senior chef at Vue de Monde from 2007 to 2011 and Skidmore has had stints at Northcote's Estelle, Collingwood's Saint Crispin and Merchant in the city.

Together they've opened a 42-seat dining room on Little Bourke Street focusing on house-made pasta, hence the name, which references the finely milled type 00 or doppio zero flour used in pasta-making.

With head chef Alberto Fava (ex-Merchant and Scusa Mi) supporting Papadakis in the kitchen, Tipo 00 serves several styles of pasta, including smoked spaghetti with clams, tomato and garlic, and tortellini filled with asparagus, parmesan puree and sage. The kitchen also serves a handful of starters and antipasti, such as salumi and grilled baby calamari with anchovy crumb, along with two risottos.

Papadakis says creating a more casual environment has been good, but the work is the same. "There may not be a lot of components on the plate but it's still about good produce and strong technique," he says.

They've stripped the former Chinese restaurant right back, dressing it with white walls, copper light shades, a huge white marble pass looking into the open kitchen and a clever paint job on the concrete floor to give a retro tile effect.

Tipo 00 is open for lunch Monday to Saturday and dinner Tuesday to Saturday.

Tipo 00, 361 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne, 9942 3946, tipo00.com.au