Alatonero — Restaurant in Melbourne

Went for the first time with a group of friends and would honestly never go back. The manager was the most arrogant man I have ever met and spoke so rudely, it was an embarrassment to the restaurant. If this was my restaurant I would not have him working for me. The manager was expecting a group of 9 to be squished on a table of 6 in a 33 degree day. When then asked if we split into two groups where can we sit, we were told you can’t and to leave. Restaurant probably lost about $500+ from this experience. He also then said he “had enough” of some of our customers due to their anaphylactic allergies which it’s disgusting in this day and age. Some of the younger staff members were also telling him to calm down as they did not agree with his behaviour. Unfortunantly won’t be back and will be sharing my experience with others.

Follow-up Response: If we’re going to clarify details, let me also provide other customers with more context to your points raised before deciding to eat here in the future.

We joined without as booking as when we called to book we were told we only do walk-ins. The table is not a table of 10. There were 3 seats on the horizontal sides which makes it a table of 6. 1 person can be added to each short side making it a table of 8 max. We never told the staff we had 2 booking or that “we’re hot and want to spread out”. We informed your manager we were happy to split into 2 groups on smaller tables if you needed your table of “8” and requesting 9 people to squish onto the table of 6-8 on a 33 day is unreasonable. The phone call was not 15 minutes and nowhere near close. It was a total of 3 minutes, I have provided a screenshot of the call log, although I’m sure you’ll also be able to double check this on your phone bill. Being a mother that has children that can die from nut allergies, I don’t believe this is an unreasonable request to understand how you handle food in your kitchen for the safety of her kids and your customers. The majority of your staff were actually really friendly and lovely, of which a number of them actually apologised on behalf of your managers behaviour as they too didn’t agree with his...

It was our first time visiting. Overall, it was on par with most other restaurants these days. The food was nice, our cocktail was made perfect, the service was standard—nothing exceptional—and the atmosphere was fine, although it was extremely loud.

Negatives: • No salt and pepper on the tables: Salt really elevates lamb and chicken, but it was far too busy to try and flag down a server to ask for it. • Tight spacing: The tables were packed in, making it very difficult to move around without asking people to get up. • Tip request at the register: This is not customary in Australia and, in my opinion, shouldn’t be prompted during payment. If you’ve been to the United States, you’ll know the service there is of a different standard because staff rely on tips. What we experienced didn’t come close to that level of service. The servers were friendly, and I don’t fault them personally, but they simply don’t have that training—or perhaps it’s not part of the business policy. They did bring the food, but that’s the bare minimum. If you want tips, service needs to be exceptional.

Tips are not about “supporting” a business; that’s why menu prices are already high. Tips should reflect the quality of service. The owner himself processed my payment, and he didn’t even ask how our meal was or make any effort to engage in conversation—he simply took the money. Combined with the lack of salt, the average service, and the absence of a proper farewell, when the screen prompted me to leave a tip, I declined. I imagine many people feel pressured to tap “yes” simply because it’s put in front of them, but I wouldn’t recommend doing so in this case.

We travelled an hour to get there, but I’m unlikely to return unless I happen to be in the area. That said, it’s worth trying if you’re in the mood for Greek food, the food...

My fiance, Dan, and I were lucky to have Alatonero host our engagement celebrations last year with a theme of mediterranean coastal elegance.

Dan & I want to say a tremendous thank you to Jacqui, and each of your staff and chefs for making our engagement celebrations on 11 Nov 2023 the best night of our lives. As Greek/Italian heritage ourselves, and being a wedding photography we have high expectations and your team exceeded it! The venue reminded me of my families village in Lefkada and the atmosphere was so warm.

You went above & beyond for us, making sure we had an excellent time. The food was excellent as always, the personalised cocktails delicious, the drinks flowing, every one so kind and delightful to be around. All of our family and friends have said that was the best celebration that they have ever been to (and thought we were getting married ha!). We are so incredibly grateful for allowing us to make our dream engagement decor come true, and it was honestly even better than expected. It looked magical and brings tears to my eyes thinking about how gorgeous it all was!

Not only that but thank you to your staff the following day for giving us lots of time to clean up and then a beautiful lunch the next day and more drinks! We felt so special.

And of course Jacqui thank you so much for answering all my many questions, emails on sizing, food requirements, styling, timing and just being incredible on the night and dancing with us!!

We could not recommend...