For six years, Hamish Goonetilleke has dreamt of opening an aperitivo bar in the heart of Melbourne. So when the space next to his blues bar, Beneath Driver Lane, became available earlier this year, he pounced.

Before long, he’d darted across Italy on a three-week research trip, stopping in Bologna, Reggio Calabria, Milan, Ferrara, and of course, Turin – the birthplace of aperitivo in the 1700s – gathering ideas for Torino Aperitivo, which taps into the Italian ritual of eating small bites with a drink in the early evening.

“Research is key. Also, I’m big on nostalgia,” says Goonetilleke, who having gutted the building (formerly craft beer bar Penny Blue), installed a sweeping bar topped with mint-green Brazilian quartz and a Tuscan “water” feature that gushes negroni from a gaping mouth. The venue, which opens on Thursday, October 26, seats 75 inside and about 20 in the narrow lane outside.

“We like to come up with something that is a bit unique. And there’s a bit of theatre in the way we greet our customers,” he says. “They’re going to feel like they’ve been transported out of Melbourne and taken to another world.”

According to Goonatilleke, the bar will take apertivo to the next level, sending out small bites gratis with a first drink order between 2 and 6pm.

Chef David Rios plans to switch up the menu every week or two. He’s keen on “fancy” rustic dishes and is working on a baked cheesecake made with gorgonzola. Other bites include steak tartare with Italian passionfruit and black garlic, gnocchi fritti and poached eggs with melted cheese.

Rios hopes Melburnians will embrace the apertivo tradition. “It’s not dinner, but please don’t call it a snack. Everyone loves free things and if it’s free food, why not?”

The drinks list includes a range of negronis, spritzes and 10 signature cocktails, including a zingy grappa-based number that bar manager Mark Brooks has concocted, featuring pickled raspberries, carraway, lemon peel and thyme, stirred down with rosé and vermouth. For wine drinkers, there are 40 reds and 40 whites made with Italian and Australian grapes – but no champagne.

However, there’s one element that Goonetilleke noted on his travels through Italy that he’s refused to adopt – the traditional aperitivo bar soundtrack, something he describes as “just terrible.” Instead, he promises a “funk, soul, old-school, groovin’ afternoon playlist transitioning to a vibing atmosphere at night”.

Open Tue-Sat 2pm to midnight from October 26.

Shop 2, Driver Lane, Melbourne, torinoaperitivo.com.au