Clifton Hotel — Restaurant in Melbourne

Quite disappointed. 1st world problems but hey, compared to the benchmark set here in Melbourne for quality, once the hype dies down, the food and service won’t keep the masses coming back. I hope I’m wrong.

On arrival my wife and I stood there whilst a ‘leader’ of the staff conducted a meeting with 8-10 waiters receiving instructions. After 5 mins a nice young Asian gentleman greeted us in Italian. How authentic! Anyway he was super pleasant and took us to our seats although we had to work our way through the wait staff meeting which was still in progress.

Our table was wonky and turned like a lazy susan. We requested sparkling water. The water was warm. We didn’t complain.

We ordered calamari as entree. Delicious! Smallish serving size even for an entree but the quality was there.

Mains were Cotoletta (crumbed chicken with slaw) and Fettuccine al Ragù Bolognese w Parmesan. Cotoletta - good serving size but tasteless. If it had Parmesan in the crumb I’d be shocked. Needs an option for a sauce and not just tomato and cheese topping which is offered for an extra $8! Ouch! Fettuccine - so small I immediately thought of what I’d be having from McDonald’s on the way home. I had to ask for Parmesan. If it was in the sauce I stand corrected however I couldn’t see or taste it.

Drinks were ok. Great northern schooner was ice cold, as was the glass of Pinot Grigio. The cocktail - a dirty Italian martini was in such a small glass the alcohol was like turpentine.

The wait staff.. in the openness of the main restaurant there were 7-8 young Asians making authentic Italian food. I get that it’s Kew and every new place bought is from overseas but the image for an Italian restaurant is strange.

We had an Italian waiter who was wonderful, and a lovely young lady who also helped, and our friend who greeted us who also tended to our table. 3 wait staff!! I think Italian man was sort of mentoring others etc which is fine however we were asked if everything was ok at least a dozen times! It’s a bit annoying after every mouthful for someone to come and ask you.

No dessert menu offered so we up and left. We went to pay, said my booking name and they were completely lost. Where were you sitting? What was the name again? Then had 3 separate staff ask the same questions.

Ambience - hot, stuffy, tables too close to each other and couldn’t wait to get some fresh air upon leaving.

Sorry for the above however I’d love to love Puttanesca however it’s far short of the mark. I think I’ll grab a pizza and a beer from the front bar next week and see...

"Missed Marks and Muted Flavors: A Lackluster Evening at Puttanesca Osteria"

I recently visited Puttanesca Osteria with a group of friends, and unfortunately, the experience left much to be desired. Despite making a reservation for 8:30 pm, we weren't seated until 8:45 pm, and there was no acknowledgment of the delay. This initial inconvenience set the tone for what turned out to be a disappointing evening.

We were particularly drawn to the pub for its lasagna night, which was the main reason for our visit. However, upon finally being seated, we were informed that the lasagna night offer was only available at the bar – a fact that was not communicated in their advertisements. This lack of transparency was frustrating, to say the least.

Three of us decided to order the lasagna regardless, hoping for a redeeming factor. Unfortunately, the dish fell far short of expectations. It could be described as nothing more than pasta with a mere hint of bolognese sauce – disappointingly devoid of the rich and flavorful combination one would anticipate from a lasagna. Equally lackluster was the puttanesca pasta another friend ordered, resembling something akin to canned spaghetti and lacking any noteworthy taste.

On a slightly positive note, our final guest opted for a pizza, which provided some relief in comparison to the other mains. However, it's disheartening that even the better option was merely satisfactory, considering the culinary letdowns experienced by the rest of the group.

The side salads and starters were perhaps the highlights of the meal, managing to salvage a portion of the dining experience. Additionally, the wine and beer selections were commendable, offering a range of options that pleased our palates.

Unfortunately, the subpar service further compounded the issues of the evening. With poor communication regarding the table delay and the unmentioned bar-only lasagna offer, the service left much to be desired.

Overall, Puttanesca Osteria fell short of expectations on multiple fronts. While the wine, beer, and some appetizers showed promise, they couldn't overshadow the disappointment brought on by bland and poorly executed main dishes, lack of transparency about menu offerings, and subpar service. Given this experience, I cannot wholeheartedly recommend this establishment. I would advise exploring other local options to ensure a more satisfying...

Look, I get it. Its Kew, it's Guy Grossi, and we all want it to be great. I, want it to be great! But, the thing is it's not great. Its ok.... just, ok.

This place has been open for three weeks and we've eaten here twice. I don't think that we will make it for a third time. From a very limited choice of wines by the glass, to a noisy and cramped unpleasant ambience, on both occasions we just wanted to leave and felt relieved once we had.

The menu is a bit scattered making it difficult to create a balanced meal, but the worst part was that of the six courses that we ordered over the two visits, most were served luke warm. Not sure whether there is a long delay between the kitchen and the table, but heated plates would definitely help. I sent my main course of Papa's slow cooked chunky lamb back because it was barely warm and as a result quite dry. I'm sure that if it was piping hot it could have been "melt in your mouth", but I'll never know because after 15 minutes the same dish was returned just slightly hotter and I didn't have the energy to finish it.

My partner's meatballs with spaghetti was disappointingly underwhelming and also not as hot as she would like. She said that she has had just as good at a shopping mall food court.

The tuna crocchettes we had as entree were good, as was the pizza on our first visit - but there is a plethora of places these days that also do good wood fired pizzas! Mamma's lasagne sounded promising, but turned out to be no better than you what you get from any average pizza/pasta joint - and it was only just warm!

We really wanted to like this place (hence giving it a second chance) but I'm afraid...