Criniti's Carlton — Restaurant in Melbourne

I have been to Crinitis Carlton many times and believed it was fabulous. When a family member was looking for a venue to celebrate an 18th birthday dinner we all agreed Crinitis would be perfect. We couldn't have been more wrong. Apart from waiting 25 minutes when we arrived to be seated as they were not ready for us, the room they shoved us in (15 people) was so small and was without any air-conditioning. In addition to our 15 people, another 10 people were seated in this room. The other people on the smaller table of 6 were moved to a different location after they complained however we were flatly told they had no room in the restaurant to relocate us therefore we were stuck in the sauna. The guests did not enjoy themselves, we had to remove clothing, my brother in law had to go to the car to find different clothing for his daughter as she was too hot and at this point was feeling unwell and nauseated. The rest of us were sweating and trying to fan ourselves with the menus! My nearly 80 year old father didn't get his food, we raised this issue with 2 different staff members who honestly couldnt care less and after 45 minutes no one bothered to tell us where his food was. We were also referred to a third manager who was a young lady and told us she was the head manager. She was extremely rude and unprofessional. Some comments she made were "what do you want me to do about it, I just started", "how is this my fault, I didn't know they were going to put you in this room". She was not trained to deal with frustrated customers nor did she know how to listen to complaints. She was extremely defensive, kept interrupting and only cared about how the situation was making her feel without consideration or care for 15 people undressing themselves in the sauna they call a dining room and my father not receiving his food to which she said they would not pack in takeaway containers and he would have to eat it when they gave it to him...rearly 1 hour later! She later said to me that she wanted to show empathy however the other lady (my sister) wouldn't stop talking.

The food was sub par, many of us didn't finish the meal as the room was extremely uncomfortable to sit in, kept going outside to cool off. The best they could do was give us ice to cool ourselves. One manager Christopher agreed to 50% off the total bill, and to have my father's meal packed for take away, so thank you to Christopher for taking the time to hear us and provide somewhat of a resolution for the horrible experience we all had. There was also the party waitress for our group, she was so good and went over and beyond to help us as much as she could.

I have never experienced such an aweful dinning experience in all my life. I don't recommend this venue for large groups. If it wasn't my nephews 18th birthday dinner we all would have walked out...

Popped in for a late night pizza fix on Good Friday. As is the common theme of all my visits service is lacking. Someone at the front asked us if we wanted a table and then just disappeared leaving us to navigate that ourselves. Another staff member came up and apologised and said she would seat us which was more like it.

Delicious margherita and yummy chips. Public holiday surcharge which is to be expected but quite warm in the restaurant which wasn’t the greatest

Further update Went back to Crinitis tonight against everyone’s better judgement but my own, they had not had a pleasant experience last time but vowed to give it one more shot. We definitely enjoyed ourselves on this occasion. I stuck with my tried and true gnocchi pesto and it did not disappoint. I’m not sure they are necessarily coverts but there were no complaints (thankfully as it was my restaurant pick). I just think you can’t beat it from an atmosphere perspective

Update We dined at Criniti’s following a film at cinema nova which was most convenient. The place was absolutely packed but we managed to get a spot in the back. The space here is huge and our area was really funkily decorated (even the bathrooms are all decked out).

The serves are definitely generous and reflect that Italian hospitality you expect of a restaurant near lygon st. Authenticity is a key component of their offerings with all the competition nearby. There is around ten varieties of pasta available and they are all handmade daily which is impressive.

There is also something like twenty different types of sauce to select from so you are definitely spoilt for choice which is why I probably almost always stick with pesto gnocchi- it’s delicious. The only fault was it’s no longer in the entertainment book

Original review I've been to Criniti's on numerous occasions in Sydney and after years of rumours that they were going to extend into Melbourne finally the Carlton branch arrived. Boy was I disappointed. The staff are actually horrendous, like beyond rude.

Dishes we ordered never arrived, water was requested multiple times and failed to make an appearance and the waiter we had was completely unapologetic. Zero farks given.

In saying that on this occasion I loved my gnocchi but others I was dining with were quite unimpressed. The menu appears to have expanded and they seem to have lost the execution with so many things on offer rather than focusing and specialising in fewer dishes. Three of the four I was with said they would not return so I think that's...

I am absolutely FURIOUS with the experience we had at your restaurant on Valentine’s Day. We made a reservation two weeks ago, and when we arrived on time, we were seated at the worst table by the door with constant foot traffic. There were plenty of open tables, and every couple that arrived after us was seated in a much better spot. When I asked the waiter if we could move, he told me no, and when I expressed my disappointment, he said he’d get the manager.

The manager was no help at all. I explained that we had a booking, and yet we were seated in this awful spot, while others who came after us got better tables. He refused to move us and claimed those tables were reserved for others with bookings. I told him again that we had a reservation, and it was completely unfair. The manager was incredibly arrogant and dismissive. I even told him to cancel our order and we would leave, at which point he finally decided to offer help, but not once did he apologise for the situation.

After another 10 minutes of waiting, we were finally moved to another table. But guess what? Not a single waiter or waitress came to check on us after we were moved. We sat there for 40 minutes eating cold, tasteless food. If you claim to be an Italian restaurant, how do you mess up pizza and pasta that badly?

The entire time we were seated at our new table, three tables remained empty and were never filled. So what’s the big deal? Why couldn’t we have been seated at one of those?

When we got up to pay, the man behind the counter apologised on the manager’s behalf, but it was too little, too late. This was the worst experience I’ve ever had at a restaurant. The staff were rude, unprofessional, and clearly didn’t know what they were doing. I will NEVER return, and I will make sure no one I know ever steps foot in that place. This was absolutely...