An amazing little place! The ambiance was quiet and romantic! The service is great and the food was…read morefabulous! We had the Capricciosa napilitono pizza -San marzano tomato's, ham, anchovies and olives! Yum!! Also had the Rucola Salad- rocket, grana, carmalized pear, and vincotto. The perfect place for a lovely dinner!

Great honest Italian food made with love. Generous and delicious antipasti platters with gorgeous…read morecured meats. Not all dishes I tried was a raging success but the truffle risotto with smoked ducked was spot on and my mackerel dish was cooked to perfection with a nice crispy skin. This is a little gem of a place that can be found at the wrong of the city serving great values Italian food. They've only been opened for dinner on Saturday nights for a year and with the friendly prompt serving I am sure they will have many more. Loved the extra touch of the chef bringing and explaining some of the dishes too.

My buddy and I felt like lobster so we googled a random lobster restaurant and found this, I do not…read moreregret coming here because it was delicious and I highly recommend you try it out.

Last month my friend and I dined in for a late dinner at Lobster Cave and it was nothing short of…read moreimpressive. From the moment we arrived to the second we left the staff were impeccable and went out of their way to make sure we were well looked after. The professionalism of each and every staff member was faultless. We started with a grainy garlic bread which was accompanied with a capsicum dip, feta cheese and olives which was the perfect start to our meal. Our drinks (the lychee and blueberry mojito and Asahi) were delivered promptly and were refreshingly delightful. Our entrees which were the beer battered scallops with sweet chilli dipping sauce and the Sicilian black mussels, came out quickly and were presented beautifully. The scallops were cooked exquisitely and melted in your mouth. The dipping sauce was the ideal accoutrement. The mussels were lovely and fresh. The portion sizes were quite large so after finishing the entree plus garlic bread we were beginning to get quite full so hoped that our main courses wouldn't come out too quickly. Luckily, they gave us a bit of time between finishing the entree to bringing out our mains, which were the Aged black Angus steak topped with prawns and a gnocchi gratin and broccolini on the side and the scampi fettuccine. Both mains were above and beyond value for money and unfortunately we could only eat half of what was on our plates as the sizes are very generous. A nice touch was at the end of our meals was we were given a complimentary shot of Bailey's, sugar cookies with a hazelnut filling and chocolates. This has now become a favourite, so much so that we will be coming back next weekend to try the seafood with lobster platter and cocktail degustation :)

Yummy souvlaki's made by real greeks! Crusty little place but awesome flavours! Would recommend…read morethe Lamb souvlaki or the Hamburger with the lot deal! They also serve alcohol! Beer, Wine and Spirits. What a great spot!

Tutto Bene which means okay is more than an okay restaurant. Located on level one of Southgate…read moreShopping Complex, it is situated facing the Yarra River. Hence, you can bask in the sun when seated outdoors or sit inside to escape the winds of Melbourne. They offer a $40 set menu which includes two course (starter and plat principal) and a glass of wine (red or white) or a coffee. My friend got the two-course menu while I decided to go for squid ink calamari risotto. We were provided with complimentary delicious sourdough bread with olive oil and olives. Staff are friendly but slow. Though our drinks came out quickly - my coffee was very bitter and strong but acidic tasting, our food took forever to come out - and it was a lunchtime and the restaurant was only one-third full. The stuffed calamari with risotto looked like a polish dumpling with a fresh basil flavour and was quite salty. The potato gnocchi had a beautiful rosemary flavour, a subtle sweetness, and the truffle and mushrooms only added to the flavour. However, the winner was the calamari risotto - just the right amount of kick to it with freshly chopped chilli and chilli oil, beautifully separated risotto rice (not the mushy rice you get in some restaurants) and small bits of calamari. It could definitely do with more calamari which was barely there. The food was well salted and flavoured. Portion sizes are small compared to most pasta places so best to get a starter if you're very hungry. Would definitely come back to try other dishes.

A wonderful experience!! The venue overlooking busy Southbank and the Yarra River is a great place…read moreto watch the world go by!! My friend had the lunch special of the day - a delicious beetroot risotto- the colour of which was a divine shade of pink. This was great value at $ dollars which included a glass of wine! I selected from the starters. The carrot arancini came looking spectacular , in the shape of s carrot with its own carrot greenery and sitting in a bed of creamy mashed carrot. My other choice was watermelon wrapped squares wrapped in prosciutto. The presentation was divine looking almost too good to eat. The choice of wine was a Seville Rose from the Yarra Valley which was the perfect accompaniment to our lunchtime food choices. Attentive staff were friendly and the service provided was excellent. Can thoroughly recommend this venue.

We walked past Guy Grossi's Ombra several nights ago on it's opening eve and were charmed by their…read morefriendly staff. So when it came to choosing a venue for a Friday night dinner date, we thought: Ombra! Positives: The wait staff are abundant and helpful, checking in with us regularly (almost a little too much); the pizza bases were delicious; the locations is great. Negatives: We understand that the concept for Ombra is 'salumi bar,' in that you order a pizza base and add sides from the salumi / condimenti menu as accoutrements. Which is fine, except that when you furnish a full pizza, you ended up paying approximately $50. For instance, my boyfriend selected the margherita base ($16.50) with 50 grams of salumi nobile ($25 for six rice-paper thin slices) and melanzane sotto aceto (pickled eggplant, $10) as additions. We weren't looking for an enormous meal, but the pizza was smaller than a regular dinner plate. Paying $50 for a pizza, no matter how excellent it tastes, is extortion. We'll be heading back to D.O.C. next time we're hankering for a pizza, where the pizza is decently priced (the most expensive is $22.50), bigger and better.

This place has so much going for it. Great service, a lovely warm interior, terrific location and…read moreoh yes... the food and wine. The wine list is one of the most interesting I've read in months. I love the descriptions and that there's lots of curious new things on there to try. The depiction of "unusual" wines with a little glass symbol is helpful. Look for three glasses and you can be sure your tastebuds are in for an adventure. Plenty is available by the glass, or a smaller 100ml "ombre" size which is great if you want to explore a few styles. Of course, if it's a warm day you need to start with an Aperol Spritz or a Bellini - both served in a tumbler and perfect for quick drinking. The food is simple and focuses on terrific produce cooked in traditional ways. House cured meats are superb - get a selection of three for $18 and pair with any of the pickled items. The window as you walk in displays the daily specials - there may be arrancini or little fried pastry things. Take advice from the staff who are happy to help you put together a progression of plates depending on your appetite. The intercostals served up on a buttery bun are rich and decadent. Sharing one isn't such a bad idea, especially if you want to make room for the likes of smoked cod, tuna stuffed pickled peppers or chunky polenta chips. Pray your stomach can handle all that and still make room for pizza, because it would be a shame to miss it. The base is thin, the topping sparse enough so your slice doesn't go soggy but generous enough so you can taste what's going on. You can stop here for a glass and a small bite or relax for hours and work your way through the menu at a leisurely place. Both options are excellent ideas in my book.

The food and wine at Trattoria Emilia was delicious and the meals are prepared in a very gourmet,…read moreauthentic Italian manner. I enjoyed the Kingfish main course and pitashio Cremeo dessert. The service was excellent as well. The restaurant is in a refurbished garage building in an alley off of Little Collins.

Consensus of this group of 11-outstanding. Service was done so smoothly with great humor and…read morefriendliness. We started with antipasto and moved on to main dish. The salad was great as well and we had with antipasto which was a good choice as the mixed group meant it was a bit of a challenge to make everyone happy (mostly vegan, Keto, and gluten free). Barramundi was awesome and the risotto also was a popular favorite in our group. I had plain pasta with red sauce and they brought me peppers to make it spicy which was awesome as they were in olive oil so I used them and then olive oil over the pasta and it was delicious. The other mention is the duck -which, for my friend, was perfectly fine with great flavor and a rich sauce. The bread to start was amazing with the olive oil that felt like freshly made. Best olive oil I had ever had. I recommend this charming spot very highly!

My aunt took us here to eat after we landed in Melbourne and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed…read moreit. I have always heard that italian restaurant always have that family environment and this is the first time I have experienced it. The owner was actively talking to everyone and super engaging. He was funny as well. The other waiters and waitresses we're also nice and friendly. We ordered a variety of dishes to share: Squid ink pasta with seafood - my favorite, the pasta was cooked perfectly, it had the right flavoring, and it was balanced. Carbonara - pretty standard, good portion Grilled meat platter - filled with ribs, chicken, sausages, lamb and a meatball - meat was good, cooked perfectly, tender and flavorful Lamb plate - really good, the lamb was not gamey, it was tender and the gravy that came with it was good. Margherita pizza and garlic/cheese pizza - not my favorite, too thin for me. They threw in a complimentary tiramisu for us as well after the owner knew we were visiting from America. The tiramisu was super moist and you can taste the coffee flavor in it. Overall, very good Italian restaurant, I would go back for sure.

By far one of the best squid ink pastas in town. Excellent friendly and attentive service !! Will…read moredefinitely come back to try other items on the menu

We were looking for a restaurant that was less touristy than many of the others along the laneways,…read moreand we came upon Tipo 00 so we made a reservation. We're glad we did! Here's what we noticed: - It was difficult to get a reservation at prime dinner hour, so we opted for a 3:30 PM late lunch/early dinner which worked out perfectly for our schedule. - The place overall has a great vibe, good music, and it is pretty small. - There were some really interesting drinks and good wines to choose from...we went with wine since we had other plans later that evening. - We decided to start with the salad with pear and honey, and then my wife and I split both the black squid ink pasta, and the special pasta that had Moreton Bay Bugs. The salad was incredible perfectly dressed... Having it first gave us away as Americans for sure, but it was perfect. The squid ink pasta was every bit as good as everyone said in reviews, and so was the special pasta. - Service was great, not overbearing. They even brought us some extra bread so we could sop up the sauce from our pasta. Bottom line: There are so many great restaurants in Melbourne and Tipo 00 is right up there and should be on your "to try list".

Sat at the bar and enjoyed wine, complementary focaccia, an appetizer of fried zucchini flowers,…read morethe tortellini for our entree then their house brownie tiramisu for dessert. Delicious meal from start to finish, excellent service and one of the best Italian meals we've had. Highly recommend.