Pan & Vine

Brothers Luke and Anthony Savas are behind this pizza and wine bar beside cafe Rustic Gourmet at the base of a five-storey office and apartment building.

Both brothers learned their pizza-making skills at West Beach Pizza Bar. Pan & Vine’s non-sourdough pizza base is cooked in gas-heated, stone-base pizza oven.

Three-day-proved dough takes six or seven minutes to cook (unlike the faster cooking time of Neapolitan-style pies). The result is thin, relatively crisp and with slightly burnt edges.

Broccolini, spinach and broccoli rabe top the “Verde”. And their answer to Meatlovers is called “Nino’s” after their smallgoods supplier. For dessert there’s rocky-road calzone.

Stuffed peppers are a not-pizza standout. There’ll always be one red-sauce and one white-sauce pasta, too.

Easy-drinking drops come from Hustle & Vine, Alpha Box & Dice and Palmetto. $12 Negronis blend Bombay Sapphire gin, Cinzano Rosso vermouth and Campari. The Bitta Margarita is an Italian spin on the Mexican classic that throws Campari in the mix with tequila, Cointreau and lime juice.

Bottle-green tiles and potted plants contrast ironbark bench tops and caged shelving (in which Pan & Vine’s logo is laser-cut). There’s also a flashing neon sign and on the walls vintage aperitivo-brand prints that have been converted to tiles. Sit among it all or grab a pizza to go.