The creators of buzzy mod-Asian venues Tokyo Tina, Hanoi Hannah and more plan to open a sixth restaurant this spring – and this time they’ll spotlight Italian cuisine.

Located in Windsor, Commune Group’s favourite neighbourhood, Studio Amaro will be an Italian all-rounder split over two levels, with a fun-loving attitude courtesy of a below-ground cocktail bar, regular DJs, and a greatest-hits approach to Italian dining.

“Melbourne and Italian food have gone hand in hand for a long time,” says co-owner Simon Blacher. “There are loads of Asian restaurants in Windsor, but it’s under-serviced by casual Italian places.”

Putting aside the conventional antipasti-primi-secondi format, Amaro will be about whole-table ordering. There’ll be an extensive antipasti line-up, four or five pasta dishes, large wood-grilled mains such as whole chicken or fish plus a focaccia recipe the team is “working triple-time on”, Blacher says.

Chef Daniel Migliaccio has worked at Hanoi Hannah in Elsternwick for three years but has an Italian Australian background (his father comes from Naples and his mother from Abruzzo) and experience cooking at Grossi venues.

“I love the simplicity and produce-driven focus of Italian food, flavours that are a part of the world I have grown up in,” Migliaccio says.

A large open kitchen and extensive bar will front a 100-seat dining room with high ceilings, plenty of natural light and a fitout that takes cues from mid-century design and the 1970s. Bergman & Co (Poodle, Chancery Lane, The Royal Oak) will work with speckled granite, yellow corduroy and recycled timber.

Occupying a new corner-hugging building in Chapel Street, the venue was the first Blacher has been involved in from the ground up. He’s been able to create his ideal space for socialising, with a 60-person basement bar that will function as a holding pen for dinner bookings but switch up a gear later in the evening with weekly music residencies.

“Music will be just as important as food and drink,” Blacher says. “I want it to hit the mark as a place for people to come and have a good time, not just a dining destination for special occasions.”

Studio Amaro is expected to open in late August or early September.

168 Chapel Street, Windsor, studioamaro.com.au