Friendly service with authentic Italian staff! Great Food…read moreand Good Coffee! The owners of Sapori d'Abruzzo 861 have taken over the old Il Portobello restaurant site in Essendon. They have fully renovated the restaurant to make it more open & spacious. This does cause a bit of noise when there are a lot of patrons, but the friendly service & great food definitely make up for it! The menu has traditional Abruzzo meals to enjoy and a good wine selection for accompaniment. All in all it is definitely worth a try with a friend, partner or large group of friends. There is also a large function space upstairs to enjoy!

I've been going to Little Thai Kitchen for at least 3 years now, and it is one of the Inner North…read moreWest's best kept secrets! The food is absolutely delicious - especially the duck curry! The restaurant itself is pretty and cosy, although it's a bit out of the way (unless you like hanging out in Buckley Street). That said, the food is good and very well priced. They also do takeaway. It's a nice place to go on a date (if you're single) or to go with your partner (if you have one). I highly recommend it.

A hidden gem in a quiet part of Essendon. The food is cooked with the heartfelt care that comes…read morewith genuine respect for tradition. Larb ped yang is loaded with crumbly twice baked rice that lightly coats a perfectly seasoned and cooked duck breast. Pork Pad Cha is a symphony of sweet basil, kaffir lime leaf and fresh peppercorns. The pork fillet is sliced to a thin streak and arrives on a sizzling hot plate. Taro custard served warm is a perfect closer especially for the knee high crowd.

This restaurant we found by accident, its was the best accident ever…read more Thai Herbs is a busy little hub of walk in, take away and booked tables. As quick as a table empties it fills. I recommend booking in advance. The food is very fresh and true Thai. They don't tone down the spice and use a range of fresh herbs to add flavor, each dish offers Vegetable, Chicken, Beef and Seafood options. Prices range from $10-20 for a main, and under $10 for appetizers and dessert. Rice is very fresh and not gluggy at all. I recommend you upgrade to coconut rice for the extra $1. Its BYO Wine, they sell spirits and soft drinks. NOTE: $3 corkage is not advertised but is added for BYO wine. Don't be afraid to ask for your take-away containers to take your left overs home, they're happy to oblige. The only negatives I can give for this business is I would have turned down the brightness, just a little bit. With 13 lights in this tiny restaurant it is a bit bright - and glass water jugs instead of the cheap plastic, for a more finished feel.

I have been to there second restaurant located in Heidelberg just off bell street. Food is amazing…read moreand fantastic service. It has become our regular.

Let's be straight here - I love this pub. I guess it simply has a lot to do with it sitting on the…read morebanks of the Maribyrnong River, and for me, a pub on the banks of a river is always going to be a pretty good pub, if only for the views. Actually, it is quite a nice river as well, but as for the pub, well the pub is nothing short of fantastic. Even without the river (which would take a point off by the way), it has a great beer garden, and there is also a pretty awesome selection of beers. This is definitely one of those pubs you could really relax in.

A rating of 1 is extremely generous…read more This place ruined my birthday dinner. I booked a table for 20 people for a Sunday night dinner (during the phone conversation no information was given about the specifics of the venue, including the dress code) and upon arriving at the venue, some of my guests were not allowed to go in because they were "too casual" (they had hoodies and zip up jackets) while people with thongs and shorts wondered freely inside the venue. I was informed by a security guard to call anglers tavern and ask to speak to a manager. I did. I called and was told the manager was not available to talk to until the next day (even though he was inside that night) I asked to speak to another manager and was told no. What kind of venue that is customer service denies a customer the right to entry then denies them the right to speak to a manager? Absolutely horrid. Not only were the security guards rude and arrogant, so were the other staff we dealt with in this short amount of time. I had to relocate my party (at the very last minute) to another venue because why would I spend money on a place that has no understanding of the basic concept of respect and has no consideration for customer satisfaction. Avoid at all costs.

One word for this place- ahhhmazing! prosciutto entree,…read morefreshly cut for your delight right before your eyes with their meat cutter. The steak is as delicious as expected. Not cheap but good for an indulgent treat.

If you're a steak lover, this is the place to be. I've…read morerecommended many friends to Esca, all would agree best place for steak. Ps if you order the house chips as a side for your steak, let it cool down. I'm talking a good 5 minutes, it is hot. Many mouths have been warned and ignored, you won't find fresh chips like this. They taste amazing servied with cloves of freshly baked cloves of garlic.

I went here originally for a birthday dinner with family. I wasn't expecting much to be completely…read morehonest but was pleasantly surprised! The wait staff were fine, the food was amazing both delicious and great value, and we were able to take home the left over pizza we couldn't eat. I went back again in the same week, for lunch. Their specials are amazing! Pizza and house wine for $9.90 from memory - can't beat that! Really relaxed vibe, heaps of outdoor seating with heaters and definitely worth checking out.

If I could leave no stars for Pacinos I would. Using the…read morePacinos website I placed an order for $325.00 to be delivered to my home on a Wednesday night (for a birthday dinner). The order was placed at 3.30pm for delivery between 6.25pm-6.45pm. At 6.50pm I called Pacinos to check in as to whether the food was far away (we had kids waiting for food). I was told the food was waiting to be collected and had been ready at 6.30pm. I explained that I had ordered the food earlier in the day and was waiting for delivery. The manager, said that they don't do delivery. I explained that I had ordered from THEIR website where they offer free delivery for orders over $100. The manager said that the website had nothing to do with them and that I needed to come and get the food. Again I explained that I had used the Pacinos website - not a third party for the order, and they were responsible for delivering the food, as per their website. The manager asked if I wanted him to come to my house, hold a candle above his head and sing Happy Birthday to me. I asked to speak to the owner. The manger said the owner was overseas and 'good luck' trying to contact them. My husband and I decided to go to the store to get the food and show him the confirmation email screen shots confirming the delivery. On our way we received a call from an Uber driver saying the food was on its way. The food arrived at 7.25pm and was stone cold. Overall, a terrible, rude experience from Pacinos.

Have been coming here for years and haven't been disappointed in any of my visits. Friendly staff…read moreand great food!

Wow I Can't believe this place hasn't been rated yet! I've just moved to the area from living in…read moreJapan 19 years (e.g., the best customer service in the world) and am having a hard time adjusting to the terrible customer service in Australia. However this place is an exception! I've been there like 5 times in 2 weeks (can't get enough of their awesome chicken and veggie pies and vanilla slices!) and every time I've been there it's been perfect. Staff are so warm and friendly, and if you're in a hurry you're in luck- there are allot of staff working and you can get your order within a minute! Parking both out the front and across the street. The shop is really clean, and perhaps slightly off topic (!) but having not lived in Melbourne for almost 2 decades it's been strange to always have immigrants when I go and eat who have trouble communicating in English...this place is not so! It seems to be family owned and operated which I love...good old fashioned service......almost impossible to find thesedays! Can't recommend this place enough!

Good food - nice atmosphere…read more The food was really fresh and prepared well. Coffee was well made. It was a very comfortable place to eat.

Amazing food and service! We had the little sister breakfast and it was delicious - everything was…read morewell done and the ambience was wonderful for an early morning brunch. I would definitely recommend stopping by if you are in the area.

Delicious ramen & gyoza My husband ordered a tonkotsu chashu…read moreramen and I ordered the gyoza for lunch. The ramen was excellent - the broth was very rich and porky and the toppings (soft boiled egg, bamboo shoots, nori, bean sprouts and spring onions) were super tasty. The gyoza were excellent too - super thin skins with a moist tasty filling.

Decent Ramen spot if you don't mind crowded spaces and a bit of a wait. Service was very good ,…read moreEverything tasted fresh , and I would say the tonkutsu ramen was dine in a classic style. I personally was surprised to see all of the Asian influence in Australia. If you are looking for great Ramen and don't mind a bit of a wait, this place is worth it for sure.