Melbourne's Matcha Mylkbar team opens Mark & Vinny's in Sydney

Sydney, would you like your pasta blue or red? Mark & Vinny's opens this week on the slopes on Surry Hills, the northern outpost from the team behind Melbourne's Matcha Mylkbar, the venue famed for changing the colour code down south with its blue algae latte.

Mark Filippelli, who along with co-owner Vince Pizzinga, make up the Mark and Vinny in the restaurant's moniker, says they aren't trying to be colour fadists.

Indeed, you can get your hands on a plate of straight-up wheat pasta at Mark & Vinny's, but if your mood is a little more blue, the aqua spirulina tagliatelle with crab might be more your go.

Gluten avoiders might head for the zucchini turned into linguine, and there is a charcoal-dusted carbonara made with Matcha's famed vegan 'egg'.

Filippelli is a fan of the US take on the vegan movement. "I lived in the States for six months and saw how powerful plant-based food is. They're clever, they don't push it, but you just happen to find yourself in a restaurant that's plant-based," he says.

Mark & Vinny's has a foot in both camps, with meat and seafood options, while catering to stricter dietary requirements. Filippelli says the "Nutella" ravioli on the dessert menu is "really more no-tella", made from a vegan paste.

The spritz bar also has some cute cocktails, including a chamomile and prosecco-based creation called We Thought Mum Was Drinking Tea.

Open Mon-Sat 6pm-10pm.

GO8 38-52 Waterloo Street, Surry Hills, 02 9007 7789, markandvinnys.com.