Carlucci's Restaurant — Restaurant in Melbourne

SAD I have to write this review.

We have been going here for YEARS.

The past few times has been so disappointing. we have provided feedback several times but does not make a difference.

This recent time we went, we provided feedback again in hope to make a difference: Scollopini was dry - came with salad instead of veggies (although rectified eventually when we got service). Marinara so dismal. No flavour - needs more salt, garlic, and lemon at the bare minimum.

We provided this feedback and were told we had to order more garlic specifically because they are “not allowed to serve more”. Ridiculous. Any Italian (or other) would be disgusted by this. Additionally the marinara linguini I ordered had pieces of shell throughout it and random pieces of penne. We were sadly disregarded when providing this feedback - we were not looking for a discount all I asked was for the feedback to be fed back to the kitchen (which I’ve requested before). If it wasn’t for the salt, chilli flakes, chilli oil, and extra cheese provided on the table I would have sent this dish back as totally inedible. Still with the additions, the meals was tasteless and underwhelming with the unappealing and unappreciated surprises of broken shell bits, different pasta, and closed mussels.

Carlucci’s - I really hope you can acknowledge and accept this feedback now that this has been made public as direct feedback to the restaurant has obviously gone nowhere. This is not adequate italian food. If what you are aiming for is a cheap spot for unauthentic Italian food, then continue exactly as you are. If not - you need take on the feedback and make some basic changes to make your restaurant from a flop to great once again, as it was...

Went on a random Tuesday night,it was still packed! This place definitely serves portions and flavour that is worth the price. We ordered : Garlic cheese pizza ( just tasted cheesy on some very soft bread) 3.5/5 Arancini balls- loved the crumb and the sauce -4.5/5 Lamb kebab platter -had a nice salad, a generous portion of fries and 2 pieces of bread- can easily feed two people. I'm not a meat lover so I'm not rating this one. Carbonara pasta with Linguine- creamy , well cooked pasta . 3.8/5 Creme brulee- had more of a custard flavour and was warm on the inside which I didn't like personally, nice crack with the torched sugar 3/5. Tiramisu - was delicious, nicely soaked lady fingers, light and creamy filling 4/5.

This place was nice, the food was nice and some of the staff were helpful. Let me elaborate, although it was a Tuesday they were swarmed around 7pm, I'm unsure if they were understaffed or just poor management. Our order was taken by a young girl, she was helpful. When we were served by another person,he just kept trying to quickly place the food on the table, almost as if he were tossing it. It was difficult if you wanted to add something on, for dessert I had to go to the counter and even then they took around 20 minutes to serve. I'm unsure if this is a normal occurrence in this place, however that just reduced the overall dining experience which is reflected in my rating.

I still think everyone should go for affordable, tasty italian food.Fingers crossed with the customer service. Fyi: there's lots of parking at the back of the place, don't bother driving around the front...

This is a delayed review, as my experience took place about a month ago.

Long story short, I went out with my family for dinner and i ordered the C.A.M pasta. I was about one third into it when I discovered a long piece of hair at the base of the plate mixed in with the sauce. I sent the plate back with the waitress and she asked if I wanted anything else, in which I replied no as I was completely put off eating. I went to pay for the bill and they had charged me for the pasta in which I had found a hair in!!! When I queried it, they had to consult the manager in which he replied, as I had already eaten a third of it they couldn't do anything about it!!!! I was happy to pay a reduced price for my plate as i suggested however they insisted on charging me full price!!!!

I called through the next day and got some poor excuse from the same manager and told me next time I come in he will fix it up! I'm sorry but why should I have to go in another time so he can fix what should have been attended to on the night? To get such poor customer service is very disappointing considering I have been going to Carluccis for the last 20+ years! I have not and will not be going there again. Food and customer service is slowly fading away at what used to be a great cafe/restaurant!!!

P.S. Be cautious at the fees they charge for card payments. Savings cards and credit cards are charged at the same fee (savings should be a lower fee) I had pulled them up twice and they had...