A chef from Lecce, a pizza bar in Collingwood.

Alessio Albano is from Lecce, the baroque city at the centre of Salento, the peninsula that forms the heel of Italy's boot. Before The Code he was head chef at DOC Carlton. He opened The Code during Melbourne's lockdowns, in a quiet art-deco building on Langridge Street, to cook the food he knows best.

The kitchen runs on la cucina povera, "the poor kitchen": the southern-Italian habit of making a few excellent ingredients do all the work. In practice that means San Marzano tomatoes and Parmigiano Reggiano from Italy with no substitutes, produce bought at the market, pasta made in-house, and a menu that follows the seasons.

The pizza is Puglia-style: thinner and crisper than the Neapolitan pizza many Melbourne pizzerias make, with a lighter crumb, and built for a few good toppings rather than a heavy load. There are red pizzas (rosse, on San Marzano tomato) and white ones (bianche, no tomato). If you want the long version, read what Puglia-style pizza is.

The room is relaxed and unpretentious, two minutes' walk from Smith Street. The staff come up in review after review, and that's the point: good ingredients, made properly, served by people who are glad you came.