The minute you walk in the door for bite you are treated just like family just great pastaread more

I found out about Donninis by accident…read more I was walking down the road and sipping on a takeaway coffee and managed to spill it down my front. Embarrassed I stumbled into the next store and asked for a wet tissue. As I was mopping off the coffee I took in my surroundings and discovered a beautiful pasta store. Cabinets filled with delicate artisan pasta of all different colours and sizes are laid out in front of you. Tubs of sauces from creamy carbonara and mushroom to Italian based classics like Napolitano and Bolognese. I felt obliged to buy something because the little lady behind the counter had been so helpful. I ended up spending about $25 there and left with two serves of handmade angel hair pasta, a tub of Napolitano sauce and a chunk of parmigiano cheese. When I got home I followed her instructions and only cooked the pasta for a minute in boiling water, then I gently heated the sauce and tossed through the soft pasta. I added the cheese and had a try. It was delicious. The sauce didn't overwhelm the pasta and the cheese added a delicious rich flavour. Needless to say, I'll be going back soon.

What an amazing restaurant! The moment we walked in the door we were treated as VIPs. Lena was our…read morehostess and was amazing. Her suggestion on the dishes was excellent, the quality of the food was so fresh that we watched the chefs shuck the oysters as they were ordered. Lena also suggest a new drink "Apple pie" which was tasty and went with the dish I ordered. Every staff member spoke to us and even though they were flat out, they gave us plenty of time to order and also have a chat. The restaurant was spotlessly clean and beautifully designed. A great variety on the menu. I will be going back and telling all my friends about it. Thank you for making our night out a very pleasant one.

Awesome experience all round from the time we entered. Exceptional staff that are attentive and…read moreinformative from start to finish. The mussel entree was interesting and delicious. Gnocchi like velvet and squid ink prawn pasta to die for. Great drinks list. Best place in Hawthorn. Will be back.

My partner is Italian, so I have developed quite a high standard for pizza ;) I quite enjoyed the…read moremargherita pizza. Dough was really nice, not too crispy and nicely chewy. Only bummer was the price. Unfortunately, that seems to be a trend for all decent Italian style pizzas here.

Mother Dough is a fabulous restaurant. The owner is friendly and likes to please. The staff are…read moreaccomodating and helpful.The food is delicious and very fresh.My husband & I like the food so much that we also like to introduce our friends to this restaurant. We have never been disappointed. Ruth L

I have to admit that this pub was actually pretty awesome. Okay, I have been here in the past, and…read morea part of me couldn't help but think that I wasn't really all that impressed. Well, it turned out that I must have been thinking of someplace else because it turned out that this place was great. Well, great because of the really friendly service I got, the great selection of beers, and a rather pleasant beer garden out the back. Yep, I'd certainly have no problems coming here again.

Great dining experience in Richmond. Liam and Loyd were our waiters. Food was fantastic brown…read morebutter gnocchi was amazing. They have a good wine menu and food was not over priced. One of my favorite meals in Melbourne

Italian. Melbourne. This is your place. We found this place…read morethrough another review website because we weren't happy with the mixed reviews of Italian places in Prahran/Toorak area. Well, wow. Step straight back in to the 80s on this beautiful family-run restaurant. Chalkboard and all. Little dough nuggets to dip in olive oil and balsamic to start. And the pasta was just unbelievable. I had the tagliatelle with butter, sage and Parmesan and it was magical. Best meal of the trip at that point. And friendly staff, warm and homely feel and quick service. Forget your trendy menus, fancy fit outs and super cool staff, I just want good food and good service. Check it out.

Located in the exclusive Toorak Village, Fiorini's is one of my favourite Italian restaurants to…read moredine. It is actually my second favourite Italian restaurant, the number one you will never get out of me and is my little secret but the number two I am more than happy to share. I love the warm pizza dough dipped in olive oil and balsamic to tantalise the taste buds before I devour a perfectly well done pizza without having to ask for it well done. Although everything on the menu sounds great I have only tried the pizza because well its pizza.

If you're in Camberwell and in need of some exciting and authentic Italian flavours look no further…read morethan Italy 1. I particularly love the beetroot salad as a starter ($18.50), which is served with goats cheese, watercress and fig vincotto. It's very light and the sharpness of the beetroot is cut with the creamy cheese. For a hearty main I recommend the gnocchi with braised lamb shoulder and green olive and tomato ragu ($29). This is melt-in-your-mouth soft and so rich, its perfect accompanied with a bottle of red. Italy 1 boasts a decent wine list, and it's always worth consulting with the maître de about which drop to choose. Make sure you've got room for dessert - my favourite is the lemon tart with yoghurt sorbet ($14). The great thing about Italy 1 is that there are so many options and each one is beautiful. Be sure to book well in advance, it may be a small restaurant but it's in high demand.

Lovely restaurant, a 4.2. Nice exterior and interior. Long and not so wide a space inside but it…read morefeels good and the space has been cleverly used. It feels warm and welcoming as does the service which was wonderful tonight. We were warmly greeted on arrival and the warmth lasted throughout the evening. The food was delightful. Every entree was wonderful including the peppers and the arancini. The scallops though were nothing short of a triumph. My barramundi for main was lovely. There were lots of nods for the other mains. The osso bucco looked particularly good. I would have ordered it had it been winter. One last comment. Finally a restaurant that serves decent sized sides. The two salad sides we had were spectacular (seriously). They were large, excellently composed and immensely satisfying. We left really happy. This is a lovely restaurant and it deserves to do very well.

Buttery toasty carbs combined with oozy melty cheese - what's not to love??!? There must be some…read morebiological jackpot that is triggered when you combine these two: match made in heaven! Instant drool fest ensues. This lovely little cart in the middle of Prahran market had quite a gathering of cheese lovers gathered around. Not hard to see why! Choose from 3 grilled cheese toasties (Fondue, pimento and American), raclette (meat or vego specials of the day) or on the weekend the special pasta tossed in the giant cheese wheel before serving. Opted for the fondue grilled cheese toasty ($11): oozy and garlicky, instant cholesterol booster. Added a little chilli oil to mine and it really took it to another level of amazing. Also got a raclette ($13)- vegie one for the day was with Shitake mushrooms and potatoes. DELICIOUS!!! Arteries must be congealing but totally worth it. Pimp up your cheesy goodness with the selection of hot sauces or chilli oil to your liking. Also: payment by card accepted - a definite PLUS given so many food stalls in the market are cash only. Definitely worth a visit, and will be coming back soon!!!

By far the best cheese toasties in Melbourne. Far from ordinary maker and monger make their own…read morecheese making this an artisanal experience. The American, The flaming Ruben and Pimento are all favourites of mine. A guilty pleasure, you won't be disappointed, a cheese lovers heaven

The other yelpers are right, it's the same menu for the last 20 years. Zero innovation and nothing…read moresuperb. The back is family friendly (because it's loud as hell) and they have BYO so a good place to get loud and rowdy. Prices a little on the high side. Food is solid but nothing is amazing. I tried 6 different things and nothing blew my skirt up. Service, contrary to other reviews was excellent but we are regulars. Place is always busy.

I went to Rossini's because I've been before and it was good (not great, just good). The one thing…read moreI especially love about this place, is that they'll basically let you create your own pasta dish. They're accommodating for sure when it comes to alterations and substitutions. Anyhoo ... Though we'd made a reservation a couple of days ahead, we were still "shoved" into the back room, where there was so much noise (not their fault for all the loud kids running around and screaming, but the acoustics in here are really bad), and no atmosphere. The staff barely cracked a smile, and seemed as if they wished to be anywhere else but here. Having said that, after ordering, the food came out promptly, and as requested. I ordered the Caprese Salad, which was nice, but I've definitely tasted better elsewhere. It lacked the basil taste I've come to love. Presentation was great, and the mozzarella was good, but the overall flavour was far more bland than I'm used to. Price was reasonable for size of the portion. For my main, I ordered a gnocchi with salmon and avocado. I've ordered it before and was really craving it. It was horrible. Filled with things I didn't order (like onion and other greens), and lacking a decent sauce. It was more oil than cream sauce and it literally made me feel ill. We didn't stay for dessert, so we paid the overpriced bill, and were met at the counter with an apathetic staff member who looked like she'd just tasted my main dish and disliked it as much as I did. With so many other good Italian restaurants in Melbourne, I do not see the need to rush back here again. I prefer to go somewhere with a warmer atmosphere (and better parking, too).

Two words: MASSIVE SERVINGS…read more Came here for Fathers' Day under the impression that I was coming in for some 'Sicilian Barbeque' - I don't know, I wasn't the one doing the booking, but I thought it would be sausages and salamis, prosciuttos and the like, all grilled over the BBQ in new and fantastic ways. While I wasn't quite right, I was far from disappointed! Mister Bianco has that cool, relaxed kinda atmosphere that defines Melbourne Cafes and restaurants, with funky interior design covered in old wine bottles and fun paintings. As it was Fathers' Day, we had a special Set Menu - and, to my surprise, we didn't pick one meal option from each section (appetiser/main/dessert kinda deal) but were served EVERYTHING ON THERE. There was So. Much. Food. The presentation of it all was spectacular - that current trend of plunging syringes and droppers full of sauce into your food is so much fun! The entrees in particular were awesome, coming out hot and fresh - but the staff seemed exhausted by the midday flood of customers by the time we got there. By the end of the entrees, we were all full. That's how much food there was. We had 3 courses left. Was this how we were going to die? We thought so, but we weren't sad about it! Had to take the pasta to-go - the two serves on pasta we were given was enough to feed us for two dinners - forget it being a mid-way point! Mains were nice, but the beef was a little chewy and cool by the time it got to the table, and the chicken was the same - and damn, there was way, WAY too much chicken on that plate. Delicious chicken, sure, but for 6 people, 10 enormous chunks of bird was just too much. Dessert was a blessing. The gelato was amazing, as were the chocolate-filled doughnuts, and those cool little cream filled pastries were super crunchy and sweet. Lovely stuff, man. Overall, they really need to re-think how much food they out on a plate. We seated six people, and there was MORE than enough food for TWELVE. There was so much. I'm not getting my point across. It would also be nice if there was less of a wait between each meal - I think we actually sat down for about 3.5 hours all up, which is a bit ridiculous. We didn't want to wait 40 minutes for each course to arrive - it didn't build anticipation, it left us bored and a little impatient. But the food WAS spectacular, especially in presentation. Would consider coming back for more, but only when there isn't a set menu.

All the other restaurants in Kew need to be worried…read more Mister Bianco is the new kid on the block, and judging by the food and the enthusiasm from clientele I witnessed, they are here to stay. Serving southern Italian food Mister Bianco has some truly delicious dishes. When I last went I selected a few options from the menu as Mister Bianco, like so many joints these days, heavily emphasizes on sharing. We got the calamari with fennel and salsa verde ($15), the wagu meatballs ($13 for 4), and the braised beef cheeks in red wine with polenta ($28). Not one of these items was disappointing. Each was fresh and simple was an emphasis on the subtleties of flavours. We didn't drink unfortunately, but the wine menu looked promising. I'm planning to go back and explore this a little more, and also try something new on the menu (I was very tempted by the slow cooked duck and thyme tortellini).