Good Times

Good Times co-owner Bryce Ritchie says the idea for his late-night pasta spot came together in just 72 hours. He sat down with co-owners Sean McMeekin, Jeremy Hines and Colin Mala and a pencil and paper. They wrote a down what they did and didn’t like about hospitality and the restaurant industry. Good Times is the product of those lists.

Inside, mismatched wooden tables are covered in large sheets of butcher’s paper. On each there is a candle in an old bottle, wax dripping down the sides, and a latte glass full of pencils. As the night goes on and the 75-capacity space fills up, each table becomes covered in drawings. They range from amateurish and vulgar to genuinely impressive, from portraits to poems and comics. On the stereo you’ll hear a mix that might include 1930s Indonesian pop, or old-school American blues.

Dishes are affordable, and there’ll always be a $9 pasta. A classic puttanesca is rich with tomato, chilli, garlic, capers and (optional) anchovies; three-cheese ravioli is pan-fried with sage and butter; amatriciana is heavy with smoky bacon; and fresh South Australian pipis come with mussels and a white wine and garlic sauce.

There might also be prosciutto and homemade grissini for snacking, perfect with a $9 Negroni or carafe of wine. For dessert, it's classics like tartufo (Italian ice-cream from Calabria) with Kahlua and fresh strawberries. Out the back there’s a courtyard vegetable garden where you can roast marshmallows over an open fire.