Cinque Terre Chadstone — Restaurant in Melbourne

Overrated. I had high hopes for this joint considering it was quite new and around The Social Quarter section of Chadstone.

Bookings are essential as any Italian restaurant gets super busy - so do yourself a favour and book.

I honestly felt like the lady who led us to our table was wonderful, but we were assigned a different waitress for the actual dining experience. She either didn’t have enough experience or was assigned too many tables for her sections, because after she took our orders, she literally didn’t ever come back to ask for anything, top up our waters etc. We were shoved into the very back corner so we felt like we were forgotten about, and pretty much no other waiter was around that section to fill up or check in.

If you’re not going to have the means to top up people’s waters (which I totally understand isn’t always possible when it’s busy), then just give the tables a jug of water instead of gatekeeping it. A different guy ended up coming by and noticed our glasses were empty and filled it up.

The entree was stunning, the bresaola pizza. Came out quick and fresh from the wood-fired pizza. After that, we thought we were in for a treat. Unfortunately, it took an hour and a half for our mains to arrive. One of them was definitely waiting on the pass for too long and was a bit cold. But when you had a booking at 7:00 and it was 8:45 by the time you started eating, you obviously can’t be bothered complaining for a re-heat because you’re so hungry by then. The gnocchi wasn’t too bad, but the spaghetti and ravioli dish (wish I could give you guys the proper names but the menu on the restaurant’s website is not the same menu we ordered from that night; probably needs an update), were bland and not moreish at all. Really small portions compared to the monster price tags. Lygon Street does it better.

I want to give this restaurant the benefit of the doubt, but if you’re going to make me wait an hour and a half for food, it should be much better than what I received. Try it out for yourselves, it may have just been a rough night for the staff/cooks when I went, but be cautious and don’t go in expecting too much. Hoping they improve as it would be great to have an Italian joint like that so...

I arrived at the restaurant and told the woman my reservation name, she was eating and pointed into the restaurant and said “you can’t miss her, go straight through there”. I wondered around the restaurant for a few minutes and finally found my friend who was around 2 corners and very easy to miss. We sat down and waited for about 20 minutes for anybody to come over and take our order, even for drinks. When they finally came, we ordered and our drinks and 2 of our meals came. We were a party of 3. After about 10 minutes without the other meal arriving, I asked a waitress to check on my pizza. She went off to check. The original waitress came back and confirmed what I had ordered, and 5 minutes later the manager came to our table to inform us that the kitchen was closed and they wouldn’t be bringing my meal. My 2 friends were nearly finished their dinners. I was very confused and politely said “I’m not sure what you want me to say, we’ve come out for dinner and my meal has been missed, and you’re just not going to serve me?”. She responded again that the kitchen was closed and she was sorry but there was nothing she could do and said she would discount the other meals. We were pretty stunned and I asked if she could please check if they’d make me my order as it was just a pizza. After refusing again and more push back from us, she went to ask the kitchen again. She came back and called out a few meters from our table “they will make the pizza” and walked off. It was honestly such a bizarre situation, we weren’t sure what to say or do. It was clear that they wanted to pack up and leave and we were a hinderance to them. The original waitress came back 5 minutes later with the pizza and apologised profusely. I told her it was fine, mistakes happen, as my real issue was the way the night had been handled. I ordered a glass of wine that was given to me on the house, and she apologised again. We didn’t hear from any other staff or the manager again. We were charged the full bill. Food was fine, overpriced for the experience and what you get. Truly a...

Don’t know what the negative reviews are about - every time I’ve come here I’ve had a great experience with food and staff/service.

Love love love their Fior Di Latte focaccia and their Bruschetta focaccia (pictured). The base is cooked really well - yet to have a soggy or undercooked base. For mains I have had the squid ink pasta on a different occasion, and the spaghetti (pictured). Of the two, the squid ink pasta was my preference but I enjoyed the crab in my spag and it elevated the flavours I’m used to in a spag! Would have loved some cheese on it though. My parents had the porterhouse and the lamb shoulder ragu. Mum loved the ragu but said it was a bit salty. We requested a lemon wedge to mask the saltiness a bit, and it made the dish taste better for her. Dad requested a medium rare steak and it was cooked to perfection. Flavour wise dad loved the fried sage sprinkled on top of the steak.

Dessert wise we had the lemon tart and the tiramisu. Oh my god. The tiramisu - no alc - was to die for. So creamy and rich! I wish the serving was bigger. Lemon tart is just the right amount of sour and sweet. The base is a bit hard to cut into but overall it all tastes great together.

Service wise - they definitely get busy. We arrived at 12:30ish - they open at 12, and a lot of patrons were already seated for lunch! That said, despite the busyness - they will always come to you if you signal.

Bonus points and high praises to their bar man Josh, as we got an Amaretto Sour and Espresso Martini which were respectively perfect. Dad had never tried an Amaretto Sour before and he loved the passionfruit with the alcohol. My espresso martini was smooth, rich, and strong - really tasty. Service was great from all staff - special mention to Emma for her attention to detail and bubbly nature!

Price wise - yes it’s pricey and there are weekend surcharges. But you’re dining in Chadstone, you know staff are getting paid right, and it’s pitched as a spot which mimics fine dining. I’ll be back...