L’enoteca

As my partner and I went on the last night that they were opened before they closed their doors, it was a little bit disappointing as they made menu changes due to not having the ingredients. The food still tasted good but wish that they had cheese to put on top of the meatballs so it would of melted as they put it in the oven.
Sad that the owners decided to close the doors but excited to see what new place opens up soon :)

Visited this charming neighbourhood restaurant on a wet and windy night — the perfect setting for Italian food. We started off with the calamari which was really tasty but very expensive for the serving size.
The pasta special of the day is tagliatelle with peas, broad beans, prawns and chilli oil ($ 30.00). Immediately when I sample a taste I can tell that not only is the pasta perfectly al dente, it’s also made in-​house. It’s soft with a little bite, well seasoned and cut into even ribbons.
I order the homemade potato gnocchi with gorgonzola cream and pistachios ($ 25.00). It’s tasty and moorish, working well with the rich gorgonzola cream sauce, herbs and crumbs of pistachio nuts. It’s always a risk ordering something that has a cheese sauce because it often can overpower and become sickening.
We decide to skip dessert as we’re feeling quite full and the desserts on offer are a bit too pricey in our personal opinion for what they are.

My friends and I (group of 8) visited this restaurant last night. Boy, was it a night to remember — but not in a good way!
Décor: good setting. Good atmosphere. Lightning was not too dark nor too bright.
Food: Delicious! Oddly enough they did not have garlic bread. Quite expensive though. More info below.
Price: Expensive. Not worth it even for the level of genuine Italian food.
Customer Service: Questionable. They were friendly, but do not known how to take orders or getting my butter (more info below)
PROBLEMS!
– It took them a long time to cook the entrée and dinner. We were starving and it felt like the chef was just taking his time.
– The food came did not come out all at once but in weird order (one came out first, the other 10 minutes later and another 10 minutes later). This was bad because our friends were so hungry and see and smell other dishes.
– One of my friend ordered pasta and it arrive a little uncooked. When she told the staff, the chef came out and said it’s normal for the pasta to taste under cook (really?) and when she told him pasta at pastacup was better, he find it an insult (well, maybe he shouldn’t give under cook food to the customers then?). He (finally) agreed to recook.
– While everyone was eating their dinner and almost finish, one of my friend was still waiting for his. Turns out the dish was never written down! He was hungry, tired and annoyed. Didn’t wait to wait another hr for the food, he and his gf left for maccas run! That’s how bad it was!
– Since there was no garlic bread on the menu, I ordered bread and asked for butter. I finally got the butter after asking for it 4 times and 1 hr after I got the bread.
– When I complained about the situation to the waiters, they were understanding. From what I understand, they have lost a supervisor not too long ago so the members well working without guidance of what to do. I have worked in a restaurant before and think a waiting staff without a supervisor is like a band without the conductor. So I was being understanding… But then the chef came out and acted like a d*ck. He was really rude and just started telling the staff members off. Really unprofessional.
IN SUMMARY:
If you want your money’s worth, food to be brought out in timely manner and good work atmosphere, then avoid this place. The food was good but overpriced. If the chef was the boss, then you just know their management needs to be readjusted. To be honest, even if the place was good (which it was not) I would not come back to a restaurant that has a rude chef shouting over his team like the way he was.

Service was great food was not. Ravioli sauce and filling was nice but pasta hard. Rabbit was pretty good. Duck was dry. Wouldn’t recommend this restaurant at all as it was quite expensive and you did not get what you paid for at all.

Fine Dining without the hefty price tag!
I am in love with this restaurant, it puts every other Italian resturant on the vic park strip to shame.
The interior… wow! Everything from the chandeliers, intimate setting, marble top round tables for groups, black walls and dim lighting set the mood in this cosy restaurant.
The service we got was fantastic, the order of our meals was timed efficiently and all the staff were so lovely and still very professional. We had a young girl serve us with short hair who was a credit to the restaurant owners, we wanted to take her home with us!
Now onto the best part — the food! We ordered an entrée to share of slow cooked octopus in a chilli sauce with home made bread… wowzers! Octopus for me can be a bit hit and miss and I hate it when it’s over cooked and chewy but this melted in your mouth.
I ordered one of the specials of the day, a swordfish fillet served with asparagus and a tomato salsa style sauce smeared artisically on the plate on what was like a fritter/​arancini ball with bits of melted cheese inside. omg yum! My boyfriend ordered the home made pasta served with seafood. I tried some of this and it was delicuious, not heavey at all the sauce was full of flavour and everything cooked to perfection.
All up for entrée, two mains, a glass of wine and beer cost around $ 110.00, worth every cent!
So impressed with our experience here I couldn’t fault one single thing. I’ll be back over and over again, thankyou l’enoteca!

Husband and I came here a few months after it opened as a mid-​week treat. We had been eager to try it because we knew it was run by the same people who own Zucchero across the road, and their food is always amazing.
We ordered a drink each, and just mains, as we weren’t having a big night. The waitress kept referring to the sparkling wine as «Champagne» when it clearly wasn’t, but I guess that’s typical of inexperienced staff.
I ordered the vegetarian pasta which arrived fairly quickly. Unfortunately, the vegetables which made up the ragu were grossly large and almost inedible due to their size. Needing to cut your pasta sauce before you eat it is not a good sign! It was also quite bland, seriously lacking in seasoning, and I wasn’t offered pepper nor parmesan (had to ask).
Given it was early days, and by several other rave review, I can forgive their errors and will give them another go in the future.
Stay tuned…

Yummy. Please book ahead as this restaurant gets very busy.
Ordered the arancini as an entrée. What a generous serve! 8 balls. My poor mom and I were so overwhelmed after we nearly threw in our napkins and surrendered. I’m not a big fan of arancini but this was a treat, nice and cheesy. Thankfully this Arancini serving did not have icky gross undercooked rice so it was a pleaser especially paired with aioli sauce. Mmmmmm.
My mom ordered the crab and prawn chili linguine which I happily helped myself too. Strong taste of crab (which I liked) but would have really loved to see some nice chunky pieces of crab. Nevertheless I did like the dish though it was a little oily.
I had the special of the day, a porchetta which was a pork with absolute cracker of crackling and a serve of radicchio and i think a serve of gremolata or some green thingy on the side. It was GIGANTIC. I could barely finish a third before surrendering. Happily the waitress at our table made sure to pack our leftovers while we waited for our dessert.
The chocolate cake was… decadence. Velvety smooth chocolate with hazelnut and i think a vanilla ice-​cream on the side was a great way to end the night.
The restaurant had a nice relaxed ambience but it did get a little noisy once the restaurant started to fill up. L’enoteca is also one of those horrible places who belieces that diners don’t like to see what they’re placing into their mouths during dinner. Dislike! Also I’m not sure what the arrangement of their waiting is but we did have to wait for a refill of our water a few times. While not a deal breaker it was a little annoying to watch other tables have their waters topped up while I sat anxiously on the edge of my seat waiting for our glasses to be filled up.

What a great place! The wait staff was very helpful, everything was quality from service, food too wine.
Love the wine list, so many European wines to select from.
Beef cheeks ravioli was delicious! Servings were quite significant. We ordered meats balls for entrée and out came a dish of 5 meatballs big enough for a main serving.
The front area of the venue was noisy and lit up, if u prefer quiet and intimate ask for atable in the back area where the lighting is dimmed and intimate.
Will def return for more! Other items on menue sounded great which were sold out when we arrived.

Oh boy, another yum place to write about. We came here for a girls night out the other week and venturing away from the Mount Lawley area is a pretty big deal for all us northern snobs. Let me tell you however, this place was well worth my trip over the river.
The service is just outstanding, the staff are very friendly and informative and like to give their honest opinions on food and wine — a refreshing change. The décor is quite dark and makes for a cosy atmosphere — I really liked the imposing reproduction of the Mona Lisa in what looked like more of a private dining area for a larger group.
Their tapas style menu was extremely hard to choose from; we ended up going with the mushroom arancini balls and meatballs. Our mains were out of this world; I chose the parpardelle with rabbit ragout and the other dish of the day was the home-​made ravioli with beef cheek filling and tomato sugo.

Warm Little Italian!
This little gem on the corner of Albany Highway and Mackie Street is a hidden wonder. The atmosphere inside is quiet intimate and private. Most tables cater for a maximum of 4 people with one table the exception at the back capable of seating 8 people.
Me and Susan started off with the Pork/​Rabbit/​Pistachio terrine with balsamic onions and crisp bread. This was as good as any terrine I have had anywhere else if not better. Hence the lack of photo. It was gone by the time the thought came to mind.
For mains we decided on the Prawn and Crab Linguine and the Pappardelle with Rabbit Ragu. I found the Linguine to be very light but also full of flavor and Susan seemed to take to hers also. We matched these with a glass of wine each also.
For dessert we decided on a special that night being a lemon and lime tart with strawberries, orange and fresh whipped cream. One word here: AMAZING.
A great meal with great service and a bill that was quite reasonable. I think it totaled $ 101.50 all up for 1 entrée, 2 * mains, 2 * glass of wine and 1 dessert.
An enjoyable experience and more options on the menu that leave me curious enough to want to come back.