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    Waiters Restaurant

    3.6 (20 reviews)
    Open 12:00 pm - 2:30 PM, 6:00 PM - 11:30 PM

    Waiters Restaurant Photos

    WAITERS RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Loud
    Good for groups

    Recommended Reviews - Waiters Restaurant

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    Chicken parmiagana
    Chris L.

    It was a Friday night and we'd been to a few bars in the CBD, and then decided to get something to eat. We were taken to The Waiters Club by a Melbourne friend who said it was an "open secret" of Melbourne. We went up some stairs to a full restaurant with 1960s budget decor and newspaper clippings from over the years on the walls mentioning the restaurant and including photos of the founder and his son (who's now the owner). We were served by the owner and told it would be a few minutes wait for a table as one group was just finishing. We ordered the 3 mains from the chalk board with no prices, along with a bottle of red wine, a garlic bread and a bottle of Peroni. We decided to stick with the classic "Australian-Italian" dishes like chicken parmigiana, as that's probably what they did best. The food wasn't too bad, but nothing special, although the portion sizes were good. The total for everything came to $90, which I think is a little on the high side for what it was. Not too bad overall, but I think The Waters Club is something more of a Melbourne institution that's living off it's name and history rather anywhere to go for an good Italian dinner.

    Enter via the dark stairs...
    Hope M.

    Got the late night boozey-starvings? Want to stuff your face with pasta and drink wine out of hard-to-knock-over tumblers? Yes? Then head to The Waiters Club to be among like-minded individuals. Conveniently located upstairs on Meyers Place among a glut of bars, The Waiters Club does for Italian food what Supper Inn does for Chinese. It's all function, not style, the menu has the standards with serving sizes that are value for money. Don't come here if you want to be fawned on by the staff - they churn the food out pretty quickly, and the tables are packed in so tightly that by the end of your visit you may have trouble getting out again. You can pick which pasta you want with your sauce - which is good if you've got a spot of OCD like me and prefer to have linguine marinara instead of spaghetti. Oh - and although it's not explicit on the menu, they do both wine and tomato based marinara sauces - just ask. Honestly, I have no idea about the other menu items since I always go for the marinara, but I've never heard anyone complain. It's pasta - how can it be bad?!

    Vanessa R.

    Like Pellegrini's, the Waiters Club is a stalwart of the Italian food scene in this town. Formerly known as the Italian Waiters Club way back in the late 1940s when it first opened, this was the late night hangout of Italian and Spanish waiters who would congregate here after work for a game of cards and plenty of vino. It's not too different these days except that everyone else has caught on to the beauty of the Waiters Club's simple approach to hospitality. Fast and no-fuss service will see you fed a massive plate of delicious pasta and a glass of wine in no time at all. Just remember to book because this place gets very crowded, especially with crowds drifting upstairs for sustenance from the many bars below deck.

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    4 years ago

    this place is hopping- Melbourne's little secret. loved it! the food was fantastic and the staff is awesome!

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    Review Highlights - Waiters Restaurant

    We had another amazing meal at this hole in the wall restaurant in Meyers Place at the top end of Bourke Street.

    Mentioned in 2 reviews

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    Rosetta - Outside of Rosetta.

    Rosetta

    4.1(23 reviews)
    1.7 kmSouthbank
    $$$

    I have been to a few Italian restaurants and this is by far the best. The service was wonderful,…read morethe food was awesome. The entree, mains, desert they were cooked to perfection. The ambiance is beautiful. Highly recommend this place.

    Tonight was the opening night of Rosetta, the latest offering from Neil Perry of The Rockpool Group…read more-- and it was fantastic! We were the first booking, and I was the first in the door when the opened to the public -- a more complete review will follow, but, I wanted to get this into Yelp as soon as possible. The staff is a mix of Sydney Rockpool Group staff, The Waiting Room staff, as well as staff from Spice Temple and Rockpool Bar and Grill Melbourne -- and, of course, some new faces. They are still finding their way with the layout, the menu, and each other, but tonight's opening was truly a joy to behold. Pictures and more to follow, and I would give this 5 stars, but I felt that being opening night there is always something to learn and improve upon. Neil Perry was present for the evening, and was a fantastic host. Those of us who are "fans" will feel right at home. The menu is focussed, delicious, traditionally inspired, but creatively enhanced. The wine list is just right for the venue, and the desserts, well, YES PLEASE ALL OF THE ABOVE. Right, that's it for now. Really, just, wow, great start to what I truly hope will be a fantastic addition to Melbourne's foodie landscape. Great job Neil and crew, looking forward to the next visit! --- Update December 31st 2012: My wife and I have just finished our last meal of the year at Rosetta and it was the best yet. The entire meal was flawless; three hours of the best wine, food and service that you can get in Melbourne. I promised to update the review as soon as the crew had hit their stride, and boy, have they. There's a sense of flow between the staff and the location that only comes as people get to know one another and their environment. They know how to duck and weave, how to give way to patrons, to people carrying food and drink, and this "coming together" is reflected in all parts of Rosetta now. For dinner we started by sharing the Insalata di Mare - both my wife and I loved every bite, but the scampi was probably our mutual highlight here. Next, we shared one of the primi dishes: Tagliarini Neri. Described as "Hand picked warm mud crab with fresh chilli and lemon zest" the dish is likely one of the more complicated ones to prepare -- that hand picking is tedious work, and the server did say that since it's not done by machine, there may be a bit or two in the mix that isn't expected. We were more than fine with that, and in our case, no issues. The pasta was absolutely perfect and we both found ourselves using bits of bread to get as much of the lemon/oil as possible. This was probably our favourite dish at Rosetta to date. My wife went with the Maccheroni Giganti and I went with the Anatra - they slightly changed it, now it is served with braised cherries; last time we visited it was peaches and vinaigrette. I must say, I preferred it with the cherries. The skin was crispy, the flavour spectacular. We finished with some of the gelato (wow), and of course had a bottle of wine with our meal - but the experience at Rosetta has, to us, reached that level of enjoyment that is about far more than just the meal itself, it's the interaction with the staff, the way they truly seem to enjoy their jobs, and how much we look forward to going back as soon as we can.

    Photos
    Rosetta
    Rosetta - The bar at Rosetta, with a glass wall to the open kitchen behind.

    The bar at Rosetta, with a glass wall to the open kitchen behind.

    Rosetta

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    Foglia Di Fico

    Foglia Di Fico

    5.0(4 reviews)
    1.8 kmMelbourne

    This Italian gem charmed me instantly with its cozy, intimate atmosphere. It's so small with wall…read moreto wall wine. The seafood pasta was perfection--fresh, flavorful, and cooked to the ideal texture. I love a solid Italian spot, Every detail, from the friendly service to the authentic decor, made it feel like a slice of Italy in Melbourne. If you're craving heartwarming Italian food, this is the place to go.

    Vitello Tonnato 28.5 USD Raw beef skin slightly grilled,…read moresauce is tuna mayonnaise concoction, with sweet potato crisps rich in flavor, very tasty, recommended to try! Capesante 28.5 USD Scallop meat with hummus, side dishes are mushrooms and corn, the scallop meat is very big and fat, fried really tender, also sprinkled with some pomegranate garnish, very sweet and refreshing Polpo Alla Grjclia $29.50 USD Charcoal grilled octopus jio, very chewy and served with a tomato sauce and some chopped parsley Cappellacci Neri di Mare 46.5 USD Ravioli with squid ink pasta skin, filled with crab meat and shrimp puree, very delicate, sweet and juicy, topped with four to five shrimp, very tasty and recommended to try! Bistecca di Manzo 59.5 USD The steak was medium, the flavor was ok but not amazing, a little less charcoal grilled, the side dish was black truffle flavored mashed potatoes and mushrooms, the mashed potatoes tasted good Tagliatelle ai Funghi US$44.50 Mushroom spaghetti, drizzled with white truffle oil so the truffle flavor was still pretty strong, with parmesan and buffalo mozzarella, it was pretty good Tiramisu Italian food must eat dessert , tiramisu flavor is also good, the top of the blueberry is also super sweet! There are 75 U.S. dollars / 2 courses and 115 U.S. dollars / 5 courses two sets of meals to choose from, the restaurant's environment is very good atmosphere is very good, quite suitable for a date, the service attitude is not to say, the taste of the food is very good, the presentation is also very delicate, it is worth to brush the restaurant again!

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    Foglia Di Fico
    Foglia Di Fico
    Foglia Di Fico

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    Tipo 00

    Tipo 00

    4.3(76 reviews)
    0.9 kmMelbourne
    $$

    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.

    Photos
    Tipo 00 - Sitting at the Bar is so much fun !

    Sitting at the Bar is so much fun !

    Tipo 00 - Brownie Tiramisu

    Brownie Tiramisu

    Tipo 00 - Tipomisu

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    Tipomisu

    Il Pomodoro Italian Eatery

    Il Pomodoro Italian Eatery

    2.5(2 reviews)
    1.9 kmSouthbank
    $$

    A great high energy Italian food outlet at the food court in the Crown Entertainment Complex. Their…read morepizza's are of a generous serving for a great price; although they can be a little cold at times. Any of their pizzas (including the meat lovers) are great to consume on a Saturday night for a snack before eating something more substantial later. Buy your pizza, go outside and enjoy the spits of fire overlooking you with a loud hiss along the yarra. The sauce is refreshing, with an abundance of fresh toppings. A little more cheese could be great. There are moments you would like to ask if there is a microwave nearby to heat up your pizza; although the staff can and do put it in a warm conveyor like toaster to heat up your pizza for you; although the problem with that method is that the pizza becomes too crunchy. Best to order these pizza's when fresh. The cheese is just sensational then, and your pizza is also piping hot. Amen. Great food at the right time, and the service is quite pleasant as well. The staff are fast and efficient. If there is a queue (which there sometimes will be) don't worry too much about it; you will be served in no time.

    The restaurant is well placed but really not worth going to. The pasta dish I ordered was dry,…read morebland, cold and way overpriced for what was served. My other two guests made similar comments. We did request that the chef be given our feedback yet we received no acknowledgement or apology for the poor standard of food. We certainly will not be going back!

    Waiters Restaurant - italian - Updated May 2026

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