Cafe Di Stasio — Restaurant in Melbourne

In Melbourne to see my family, I thought I’d take advantage of the lunch offer and take them to this restaurant which I remember as being great when we visited many years ago. Well...how thoroughly disappointing! When I made the reservation, I mentioned that three of us would be dining and bringing a new baby in a pram. The person on the phone was quite nice and said that wouldn’t be a problem. When we arrived, the waiter showed us to a table in a very cramped area that would have precluded them from offering the table next to us as there was no room for anyone to access this table. When I pointed this out, he then grudgingly offered to separate the original table into a table for two and moved us to the slightly less cramped table alongside. This incredibly rude waiter then proceeded to treat me with great disdain and acted like we were privileged to be served by him. He spoke over the top of me, poured the incorrect wine and placed the wrong entree in front of me. The linguini was undercooked and not particularly hot, seemed to gave been precooked and then reheated inadequately. Also, the chicken I had for main course was incredibly salty. We opted to share the millefoglia for dessert - quite underwhelming - and coffee was lukewarm. As we had had a very ordinary experience and the waiter was so obnoxious, I elected not to tip when I paid the bill, as is my right. As I left the restaurant, the man whom I assume was the manager said ‘la misere’ as he closed the door. Charming! I will never return to this appalling restaurant and will make sure I tell all my Melbourne friends and acquaintances to avoid it at all costs. Rude staff, sub-standard food - no wonder they have to try to lure patrons with a lunch deal!!! Do NOT fall for this, there are much, much better Italian restaurants in Melbourne (Becco to name one) and I’m so sorry I chose a restaurant that was nearby to where my family are living, thinking it would suit with my new granddaughter (who I might add was very well behaved!). I am far from ‘la misere’ and always happy to pay for good food and tip for good service. A totally awful outing -...

We last went here a few years ago and had very fond memories,so when we had arranged a catch up with friends we decided to book Di Stasio. The Maître d was very pleasant and the evening started off just how I expected. Then our designated waiter took over.

Firstly, aperitif glassware was not cleared from the table, we were hilariously ignored when wanting to order wine when we were clearly ready when the meals were served. We then had to delay eating and call another waiter over to take the wine order.

We specifically asked whether our chosen meals needed a side of greens or potatoes, the answer was a definite and quite abrupt, No. So complete amazement when my husbands meal came. It was one, very lonely crumbed veal chop on a rather large plate. That was it. We asked if anything else was on its way and again, an abrupt “No”. We then had to order a side of greens which of course didn’t come straight away and by the time the dish arrived, he had nearly finished.

Ordering our second bottle of wine went much the same as our first, and he didn’t pour it, rather sloshed it into our glass. I could go on but think I’m getting the message across. His service was the absolute let down which ruined a lovely meal.

Our table age ranged from 40 to 71, all of us are fun, far from pretentious, world travellers and love our food and wine so I’m stumped as to why we were treated in the way we were when the bill was just shy of $1000. (Not that it should matter at all how much your spending)

If you’re unhappy in your customer service position, leave your customer service position. Oh and when your table is leaving, please at least offer to get the coats, not just move out of way so customers have to...

Ignored at the door for 5 minutes, ignored at the bar for 15 minutes until I asked for a menu. Waited 30 minutes before I got my first drink, and an hour before I got any food. I sat opposite the pass where I watched my octopus starter languish slightly to the left of the heat lamps for 10 minutes - by the time I got it the octopus was rubbery and cold. The pork polpette was delightful, as were the lamb chops, albeit slightly less rare than I would’ve liked. The Caprese salad was excellent, made with warm buffalo mozzarella and ripe, sweet tomatoes. I would’ve liked to have ordered more, but as the above three dishes took roughly an hour to receive I was more than a little eager to leave. The woman next to me helpfully told me she wasn’t sure why my food was taking so long as she got her entire meal “in about ten minutes.”

I asked for the bill, having had four starters of varying sizes (one to four bites each) over nearly two hours, and then noticed drinks on my bill I hadn’t ordered.

As good as the food was, unfortunately for the team in the kitchen, the service was so poor, lacking both generosity and competence, that the food barely stood a chance.

Full disclosure: I did send an email with my concerns to the restaurant the day after I dined there, however since it went unanswered I’ve decided to publish concerns online as a heads up to any potential diners. There are much better Italian restaurants in both St Kilda and Melbourne; some cheaper, and some more expensive, but all providing the friendliness, competence and sense of generosity Di Stasio’s is...