Italian food is a strange concept in Melbourne. You have the strip on Lygon Street that has just…read morebecome this bogan infested tourist trap whereby restaurants charge way too much for fuck all and the quality is largely shit. Then you've got all these solid Pellegrini's and Tiamo type joints that serve stoic, no frills Italian at reasonable prices but they ain't nothing special. Then you have the more fancy end. La Taverna would like to occupy the fancy end but their food is more Pellegrini's (which is not a bad thing). The trouble is, you know you can get solid Italian food with zero fuss at these other places, whereas La Taverna is all about the table cloths and cutlery and shit. So, if being a bit pampered while eating some pretty decent Italian classics is your bag, then La Taverna may well be for you. Me, I prefer to be largely ignored and dished up a quick meal with no fuss when I eat Italian. Am I a freak?

Great atmosphere however, thought I was in an Mexican restaurant because of the decor, ha. Waited…read morefor quite a bit maybe 30 minutes for food but were greatly pleased with the outcome. Pizzas were great and very big for one person! The prices were fair compared to other Italian restaurants on Lygon. Even the pasta was splendid and a great sized portion. Will be coming back!! 2/6/17: Back again for great pizza. They do s roaring takeaway trade that slows the kitchen a lot. Get there very early or later for faster service. Great food however!!

Ordered pizza via Menulog, it did arrive earlier than the expected time but it came burnt to a…read morecrisp around the crust and the base was so so thin. Pizza wasn't cut either. Also ordered a large chips and got a small handful of stale and cold chips. Would rather have waited an extra half hour for good quality food. Very disappointing meal.

I have been here twice for dining and once for take away. Food quality and quantity is well worth…read morethe price paid. Their eggplant fries are fantastic. Amazing to eat during the colder months. Their takeaway was so well packed and ready to go on time. Negatives Servers always seem to be in a rush. Some soft music for a better ambience.

Ready to satisfy that pizza craving without the added pizza guilt? Get your butt to The Moor's…read moreHead. What they save in calories and carbs, they serve you in taste. From the pictures, it does look like this is a canoe pizza creation. But fear not, it's all an optical illusion that anyone can tackle. No tomato sauce, no cheese, no traditional shape? Must be inauthentic. Which is exactly what Moor's Head call their boat shaped pizzas. I was trying to have a meat-free weekend, so from the "inauthentic" pizza side of the menu, I was in between the Istanbuli, the Shams of Tabriz and the Omar Sharif which all caught my eye. I ruled out Omar, he had three cheeses going on that I wasn't ready to commit to. With the hint that the Istanbuli was their most popular, I went with the masses. Oh my was it good. It's a refreshing change from what you thought you knew about pizza. On pide (Turkish bread) there was pumpkin, spinach, caramelised onion, tahini yoghurt, dukkah and parsley. Altogether it was yum, filled with taste. Because the two of us shared one pide, or inauthentic pizza, we wanted to try something on the sweeter side. The Jamil came to us in it's cute triangle shape. It was stuffed with ricotta and honey with walnuts to add some crunch and a helping of nougat ice cream right on top that melts it's way into the dessert as you eat it. I left with a light-no regrets feeling, already contemplating my next visit.

Amazing and different Pizzas with ultra friendly staff. The…read moreMoorshead can be quite busy and rightly so, the food is great. Thornbury is definitely the place where all of these cool little eateries are popping up. The food has a middle eastern twist to it and it is a welcome surprise. They serve different types of beers too. Get yourself northside and book yourself a table at this place, there will be no regrets.

Like any successful pizza recipe, Pizza Meine Liebe keeps things simple but well constructed. This…read moretiny 40 seater restaurant takes it's pizza seriously. Their dough is freshly made, soft and crispy at the same time. They use good cheeses and great toppings. In fact the only thing you could really fault with their pizza is the fact that they aren't perfectly round. Understandably Pizza Meine Liebe is always busy and it is a very small venue. So it can be quite difficult to get a seat at times. They do take bookings, however. Their pizzas aren't exactly cheap at $12-16 for a 10 inch base and $17-$22 for a 12 inch base. But it really is an example of paying for quality with Meine Liebe. You certainly won't be left dissapointed with the quality and flavour fo your pizza. They also are a BYO venue with a $4 corkage charge per person.

Nice little quaint local 'hip' pizza restaurant. My friends and I ordered the Capricciosa ( this…read morewas my favourite with the prosciutto) Streisand and a bolognaise calzone. I would recommend if you are not looking for your run of the mill pizza joint these pizzas are hip and yummy.

Service fast and polite Food was good…read more Ambiance nice cosy but on a nice day you can sit outside

Eh... so the backstory is that this place was recently seen in the headlines for winning…read more"Australia's best pizza" at the annual Campionato Mondiale Della Pizza (Pizza World Championship) in Parma, Italy. According to the news, the head pizza chef, Mr. Serpa won the award for his margherita pizza. Going here became one of those, let's try the "best pizza in Australia" things. As you do. But they've got some rules in place: 1- There is no take away. 2- Limited number of reservations. 3- If you are waiting for a table, you gotta wait outside, on the footpath. Cause they are only licensed for 25 people at any one time. Lastly 4- They're open from Monday to Saturday 5:30pm to 11pm. After getting though the rules and reading some not so great Google reviews on the service, we were prepared for a pizza tasting venture. Word to the wise: If you can get here early, around six, you'll probably be set for getting a table. It's really just a small place. And it's in the most random street, in the middle of the burbs, where you'd expect a milk bar to be. Now, you probably want to know if it was the best pizza I think I've ever had. My answer would be no. Pizza is a tough thing to crown, it varies and usually always makes me happy. I ordered the salsiccia e cipolla, which is mozzarella, sausage and onion, with no tomato on a thin crust. Yes, it was tasty. But, the sausage itself wasn't adding much of a muchness to the pizza, in fact the onions were spread out enough for it to be just a onion pizza. This one was really crispy on the crust, almost like a flat bread being wood fired. Because it was thin based and not heavy on toppings, it was a light meal. It left plenty of room for guilt with their sweets, I mean, why wouldn't you. The chocolate mousse was good but I would've preferred it to be more fluffy and whipped, and the chocolate crumble cake, to me had something off about it. Maybe next time I'll just stick to what they won an award for, which was the margherita pizza. Oh and ignore those bad raps it gets on Google reviews on service. We were greeted, and seated promptly, brought wine, and had a smooth transition throughout our meal with pleasant service.

Local legends, old school Italian at its very BEST!! Absolutely hands down the best food & service…read morearound .....the quality & portion size is EPIC!! I genuinely can't recommend them enough, do yourself a favour!

We popped in here when hungry and craving a lasagne (nothing else would hit the spot) - so we got a…read moretakeaway lasagna and greek salad. The lasagna was the nicest Ive ever eaten and the greek salad was huge!!!! It was as big as a dinner plate (and this is in a takeaway container). The other thing I really liked was the cakes they had at the front - there was one called a "Flourless cake" yet it had a flower on top of it! Someone else pointed out that it was a "Flower - less cake" (ie less cake than flower/flour). The lady who served me was lovely and very friendly. I bought 3 cakes - the flourless, the vanilla slice and the caramal slice - all of which were very nice! All in all a great takeaway meal - and I would certainly eat here! A while ago I had tried their hot chocolate and it was good too!

Absolutely fantastic food. Brilliant pizzas with soft and light bases and perfect amount of…read moretoppings. The service from the waitstaff was phenomenal. Definitely loved this place. Not too expensive, perfectly priced. Would recommend 100%

Worst risotto I have ever attempted to eat. After a couple of tries I gave up. Nobody else at the…read moretable could stomach it either. Service however was good and the kids enjoyed their pizza

Sometimes all you need is a pizza, a bottle of wine and a good movie on the couch to round out a…read morebusy week. That's totally what I needed last Friday so we headed to I Carusi for a couple of pizzas and then headed home to fall in to sloth mode. Once upon a time this place was owned by the same people who own I Carusi II in St Kilda, but I was told that's no longer the case. The menu looks the same, with some of the old favourite toppings still there (I'm looking at you broccoli, lemon, chilli and parmesan) and a few specials available. If you're dining in, bring a bottle of vino because they welcome BYO. The pizzas themselves are good, but certainly not the best I've ever had. The base is a little on the thicker side, which means you probably can't eat as many slices as you'd like. Let's face it, I'm a guts and I love eating an entire thin-based pizza myself. With the pizzas from I Carusi, I needed to tap our after a few slices which was a shame because the toppings were tasty and I loved the overall flavour. I'll be back the next time I need a vege-out night on the couch.

Whenever someone asks where can we go for good pizza or I am to entertain a weekend visitor I…read morealways recommended I Carusi, it simply rolls off the tongue. If I was to judge solely on its Pizza this would be as good as it gets! Its first shop opened on Holmes Street Brunswick and if you blink you miss it, which I have done many times. Its exterior is not the most aesthetically pleasing but it's those who are regulars and are lovers of old school Italian 'cool' knows that rarely matters. It's all about who and what's behind the kitchen that is the real deal! Their second store appropriately named I Carusi II offers a similar lay out, same menu and similar atmosphere. Both the St Kilda Store and the Brunswick store work off a cash only basis and they prefer that you book in advance to avoid disappointment. If you get a chance to look at the menu online I recommend it as there is so much to choose from you will feel you have to give credit to everything! This is why dining in a larger group heightens the I I Carusi experience as share plates are a great way to get started followed by a mix-match array of many pizza choices. I would highly recommend the Salmone - Tomato Base, Marscapone, Smoked Salmone and Fish Roe with Dill. The Americano, Quattro Formaggi and the Speciale -Tomato, mozzarella, soppressa, roasted peppers, artichokes & olives. Who am I kidding I've tried them all... even the Margherita is amazing. Pizza is priced at around $15-20 and servings are generouse. Dessert Pizza is also a favorite with Nutella calzone and white chocolate and peach! Yum.