Cecconi’s Toorak — Restaurant in Melbourne

We dined at Cecconi’s to celebrate Valentines Day. A fine-dining price tag for a lacklustre experience.

Service To the exception of Steve who was warm and friendly, service across the board was unwelcoming. We had to wait at reception for a few minutes until we were acknowledged, despite someone clocking in for their shift right in front of us. During service, we were never asked how we were enjoying our food or if there was anything else we needed. Additionally, couples who were seated after us received their mains before us.

Food We enjoyed our entrees and mains but they did lack seasoning. Dessert was a bittersweet ending. The white chocolate sphere should never have been served. The lemon curd filling had split and curdled, resembling scrambled eggs. Also the pistachio praline was burnt and bitter, not to mention the thick sphere which was difficult to crack into. The pastry chef either knew there were issues and didn’t care, or requires further training. My white chocolate cheesecake was still frozen in the centre and lacked a distinct chocolate flavour. For a $150pp set menu, all three courses must be spot on.

At the end of the evening, we had to walk to the front of the restaurant to settle the bill because the eftpos machines couldn’t be located. Luckily, Steve gave us a friendly farewell which helped compensate for the solum service we experienced...

Came here for lunch and ordered two appetisers, a main and a dessert. The meal started with complimentary bread and the appetisers came out pretty fast. The croquette was crispy with a rich creamy potato & smoked mozzarella filling, paired with a smooth basil mayo; and the sourdough fried pizza was soft and airy with a slightly crispy exterior, topped with ricotta cheese and pork salumi tomato sauce mix; both were tasty starters. The main dish I had was the veal cotoletta served bone-in with a side of green apple & cabbage slaw. The meat was thick but very tender and the breading was nice and crispy. Flavour wise it was simple with some salt flakes and lemon. The slaw was sweet and vinegary but was not refreshing as it was oversaturated with the dressing. For dessert, the tiramisu is served with a thin chocolate shell which holds all the layers in place. It was pretty good, sweet and creamy, more chocolatey than a standard tiramisu but lacked the coffee flavour, the savoiardi sponge was soft but was barely saturated with espresso. Overall it was a decent meal, staffs were friendly but it was a bit hard to get their attention to order dessert and...

Had dinner with my daughter in law yesterday after recommendations from a foodie friend. At best, it was average. Our waitress Hadie was lovely and she was clearly not supported by the several other wait staff/managers wandering around looking important but doing little else. Oysters vinaigrette had chopped shallots that tasted off (been sitting in the vinaigrette for too long) and bits of shell in the oysters. The kingfish crudo was tasteless. In fact most of the dishes lacked seasoning and yet salt and pepper were not offered at the table. Beef ribs were ok, Moreton Bay Bugs again ok but nothing that would bring me back. Dessert: Cassata tasteless..compacted ice? Tiramisu was ok…the best is still Cucinette. I live in Toorak so Cecconi’s is local so it’s a shame it can’t be better. Toorak prices but not good enough food. Some of the best food still comes out of...