Proof that inspiration can strike at any time, a pasta bar about to open a second branch in the CBD came about when its owner looked at how Subway runs its sandwich shops.

Mondo di Pasta founder Prem Rasineni had a site in Balaclava on a busy strip of eateries that was crying out for an Italian restaurant. But the kitchen was tiny. At the Subway shop next door he saw people customising every aspect of their sandwich, from bread to spreads, leading him to the idea of a pasta bar with the same level of flexibility.

“With us you can play around, you won’t get bored. Eat with us every day of the month, you can have 30 different things,” says Rasineni, a chef of 24 years.

At the new restaurant inside QV Melbourne shopping centre, customers will be able to choose their sauce from more than a dozen, pick a pasta shape (spaghetti, penne, casarecce, fettucine, or the more expensive gnocchi or ravioli) and then add on extras, from chilli oil or cherry tomatoes ($2) to meatballs ($6 for two).

“I always worked in the city and saw that at dinner, there’s a lot of Asian fast-food or takeaway joints, but you don’t have this kind of pasta in five-kilometre radius,” Rasineni says.

Aside from the lure of a totally customisable menu, Mondo di Pasta’s other big selling point is pastas (such as bolognese and aglio e olio) that start from $14.90. There are about eight core sauces, while others – such as pork and veal ragu – change with the seasons.

Dried pasta is bought in, but shapes such as gnocchi and ravioli are made in-house, as are all the sauces, snacks (such as hot-honey chicken wings) and desserts (including tiramisu). The menu is simple, which means small kitchens are no problem.

The Balaclava venue, which opened in February, goes through 60 kilograms of bolognese each week. The spicy vodka sauce – a retro dish that’s been revived thanks to celebs like Gigi Hadid posting recipes – is equally popular.

On a recent Tuesday night, the Balaclava venue did 200 takeaway orders versus 60 dine-in customers. It’s this volume – and self-service ordering via QR code or at counter – that Rasineni says keep prices low.

The CBD store is just around the corner from a new location of Five Guys, the US burger chain that boasts 250,000 variations on its burgers via 15 customisable toppings. Five Guys also famously claims that it doesn’t use freezers, makes its patties by hand and serves hand-cut fries. Together with Mondo di Pasta, it’s a further sign of Australia’s fast-food landscape shifting towards the likes of Grill’d and Guzman y Gomez, where higher quality meets choice and speed.

Mondo di Pasta’s city venue is still under construction but, like Balaclava, it will have emerald green and timber features, with 69 seats and the same menu.

A third location is coming to Thornbury in 2025, and talks are under way with other shopping centres.

Open from December 18: Sun-Wed 11am-8pm, 11am-10pm Thu-Sat

QV Melbourne, corner Swanston and Lonsdale streets, Melbourne, mondodipasta.com.au