400 Gradi Eastland — Restaurant in Melbourne

We booked the Valentine’s Day set menu. We were seated directly in front of the entry point to the kitchen, which has no door. We were therefore able to see the dirty floor etc. We were also able to hear the loud kitchen noise eg thrown plates etc. We were also witness to the chaos at the pass, with things falling etc. Definitely, in my opinion, the worst table in the restaurant.

I should have read the menu properly but only did so when I was seated. The first oddity, one main to share. The second oddity, very little options for those who don’t eat pork in terms of starter/antipasti and entree.

When we eventually had the opportunity to order, we said that we don’t eat pork. The waitress was friendly and said that they could do a vegetarian board for starter and our options for entrees were effectively cheese and pepper pasta and cheese pizza… I asked if we could order one of the other pasta dishes without the pork, but was unable. In any event, we carried on.

Our table was eventually served an antipasti platter brimming with pork by another waitress. I said that we don’t eat pork, as advised to the other waitress and also noted on the booking form (which clearly goes unread). She said she didn’t think it was pork, but she’d check… it was pork. We were then asked if we wanted the vegetarian option. I said yes, as advised to the other waitress. We then received what was effectively the same antipasto bored less the pork, on a smaller plate… The takeaway… if you don’t eat pork, you get even less value for the same amount of money.

Anyway, 45 minutes after being seated, my drink still hadn’t arrived. We followed up and were told the bar was busy, but the waitress would check. I don’t believe she checked - as I saw her get a bottle of water for our table and come back with no pitstops - but she returned to say the drink was on its way… of course it was, but maybe in 2 hours…

The table beside us had been waiting since before we arrived and after we left to be acknowledged/ have their unfinished entrees cleared (which had solidified)/ have main served. I overheard them saying ‘give it 5 more minutes’ etc, but could also see their patience was running out.

Having seen that, we didn’t want to waste our time anymore and asked a staff member if we could give our table to walk ins and pay for what we’d eaten. She was kind and understanding and said that we could leave and we didn’t have to pay for the first and only thing we ate - the only decent thing to come of the night.

We then left and ate elsewhere with more variety, and less chaos. Having already read some new reviews about the level of service and quality of mains last night, we’re so glad we did.

Understand it was busy, but if you’re not equipped to cater for that many people in a timely and attentive way, I highly recommend that you don’t allow that many tables...

Let’s start with the good stuff ❤️

Food was delicious. We were a table of 3, and ordered a variety of starters, mains and sides. Plus cocktails.

The bread was delicious, golden and well flavoured. Exactly what we wanted. We could have gone 2 more. This paired with the warm olives was delicious!!

For mains we had the gnocchi, mushroom pappardelle, and seafood linguini. ✨ winners: seafood linguini and gnocchi. Generous seafood, perfectly seasoned. And just sooo delicious. Gnocchi was just as you’d expect. 👌🏽 ‼️ fail: mushroom pappardelle. So gluggy, and dense, not enough mushroom flavour and given the minimal amount in the dish. This was not a surprise. Big downer was that there was no meal check- so we couldn’t rectify this.

Frankly the service was lacking, with the exception of one girl who had excellent energy, but sadly, she couldn’t win it for the whole team.

The sides were fabulous. Everything was delicious, well portioned and vey moreish! I highly recommend the zucchini.

Cocktails are small, but delicious. I’m not a big drinker so for me they were strong enough. My guests felt otherwise.

Feedback‼️

We had a booking for a birthday, and the booking process was easy enough via the online system. In the evening of, we were unable to reach the venue via their booking line to let them know we’d be 15 min late. Which was a little problematic, but resolved in the end. Just something to note. But we understood as it was a weekend.

The venue itself was quite a lot bigger than we expected, therefore it was very very loud. Again, maybe just an us issue as it was a little overwhelming and made it difficult to hear one another at times.

The biggest downfall was the service. Zero personality, no follow up, and just no care. I don’t want servers to be on me all the time. But follow up after our meals would have been nice, especially when we had some concerns. After we placed our initial drinks orders, none asked if we’d like to reorder, or if we’d like dessert. Paying took far longer than needed too. To give the been fit of the doubt, It seems this may have been due to some issues with other patrons happening at the time, but we waited 25 min and then finally asked for the bill. Our tables still full of dirty plates etc. it’s just the little things, you know??

Overall, despite the shitty service and lack of atmosphere, for the bread and sides, plus the seafood linguini, I would return. But I would go in, knowing the service is lack luster. Putting it...

We ate at Gradi Eastland on Saturday of the Easter weekend. Overall, we will definitely not be returning as it simply is not worth it.

We went as a family of 4, with two young kids and had made reservations in advance. The table we were seated in was small and cramped. Almost rubbing shoulders with neighbouring tables and no room at all for phones or keys. Every time food was bought to the table, it was reshuffle time. Quite uncomfortable.

Overall, the food was OK. Can’t complain on the qulity. However, if you’re happy to spend a small fortune for what is fairly basic Italian food in a fairly cramped and noisy environment with below average service, then go for it.

We ate around 10 slices of salami, a few slices of prosciutto, a couple of small cubes of parmesan, and a small amount of buffalo mozzarella. All purchased stuff, no cooking required. This “platter” cost us $43 and was gone in 2 minutes.

Kids ate spaghetti Bolognese and drank water. That’s all they had. We had gnocchi (small portion), veal, one desert, a small bowl of olives, and 3 glasses of red wine each. The wine glasses had no pour line markers and the pours were less than generous and very inconsistent depending on waiter. The pours were no more than 100ml and I am certain we didn’t even get through a bottle. We should have complained, but we were there to relax and enjoy so decided not to.

We were then presented with a $295 bill(!) and I almost fell off my chair. Apart from trying to charge us $75 for two bowls of spaghetti Bolognese for the kids (we were told they were “kids meals”), they had charged us 10% extra for everything because of being a “public holiday”. No indication of this on reservation, on the menu, when we were seated, or ordering our meals. I felt this was outrageous.

I complained on certain items and the bill was reduced to $245.

I don’t understand how people think it is OK to charge over $30 for a plate of basic spaghetti (pasta was actually overcooked) or over $40 for a small quantity of basic antipasto that simply requires it to be cut up and served on a plate.

Overall, this was not a nice dining experience and I was left with the bitter taste of being ripped off which is all I will be remembering of...