Elio Italian Family Bistro — Restaurant in Melbourne

So myself and my partner this evening stumbled upon this 'family-run' Italian restaurant by complete accident, we very well almost went to one of their competitors just down the road, but by chance they were closed, so we ended up coming here.

Upon walking in the atmosphere was definitely friendly and inviting, you have the old Italian man making pizzas on the left, and the big classically Italian bar right in front of you.

The serving staff are all impeccably mannered and well presented, and we were shown to our table with prompt and courteous service.

The menu is an acceptable size without being too much and too little, and probably this restaurant's big redeeming quality, the prices are reasonable, in fact, I can't quite communicate in digital means how reasonable these prices are, the menu is available online, go and have a look, I'm sure even you will be surprised by how reasonable their prices are.

We ordered our food, I had the Fungi and my partner had the bolognese, she made no alterations to her dish while I requested my pasta "al dente."

What seemed like maybe 10 minutes passed and our dishes arrived at our table, I remember remarking that it seemed oddly quick.

Now we, unfortunately, get to the slightly negative aspect of our experience, my pasta dish, the Fungi was by all reasonable means acceptable, especially when you take into consideration the price, but it was also largely bland, and even though it has bacon tossed through, I didn't feel quite added enough to the dish, once again perfectly acceptable for the price we paid, but if this was at a higher-end Italian restaurant I might have felt a bit more put out.

My partner's bolognese was, however, a bit of a different story, the pasta was....overcooked, she complained that the sauce tasted as it had come from a can, tasted a bit 'tinny', and despite being a classical Italian dish had absolutely no traces of garlic whatsoever, what I can say with absolute certainty is that the sauce was most definitely NOT homemade.

While we were eating, one of the other dining parties must have been having several birthday's at their table as happy birthday was sung in its totality three times, this obviously isn't a reflection on the restaurant itself, but it's definitely worth mentioning in regards to our personal experience.

Overall, I think our general dining experience warrants a 4/5, it wasn't by any means a bad dining experience, the food was acceptable for the price point, but I probably should stress that the food is in absolutely no way comparable to some of the more well-known Italian dining establishments around Melbourne, and to be fair it would probably be a bit unfair to try and make that comparison.

Overall definitely worth the money, I probably wouldn't hurry back there next time I had a craving for Italian, but at a pinch, they would get my money again.

Food quality - 3/5 Price - 5/5 Service - 5/5 Atmosphere -...

Worst ever experience! Had ordered lasagna and pizza..also ordered mineral water but was given sparkling water..then got lasagna with a really huge black and hard chunk part..it was so thick,hard and black that I couldn't recognized what exactly it was.I've seen burnt edges of lasagna but seems totally different not even close from the one I just ordered at this restaurant..wild thought it was something that was accidentally cooked in it..so curious about it so asked the waiter and he said that that it maybe burnt edges on the corner side of the pan..so told him ok fine..then just nicely asked him to get me small normal mineral water and told him especifically not the sparkling water and get me the bill as well..and he said ok ..but had waited like for so long but didn't get my water and bill..So just went to the counter and he was there and said he forgot..so told him just give me the bill.. When I checked the bill I was charged 2 mineral water, told him how could he charged me 2 when he didn't give the 2nd one. He said the normal mineral water was not available..He then called someone by the name of Michael to reissue the bill.. told them that I'm not paying for the 1st water as well 'coz when i tasted it's sparkling or soda water which was not my order. Michael was in his rude voice and told me that I already sipped on it. he even said I could have just mentioned water only which I thought if I said so I will be given a tap water only. He was ro rude so I said I also got the burnt lasagna..and he then became agitated and told me so many things like I'm just there to eat not to complain..Omg! Is he for real! Told him ask his waiter or I could show him as well what I'm saying but he was cutting me off when I'm talking. The waiter remained quite and didn't speak a word..So told Michael ok I can pay whatever..but he continued in his agitated voice saying he will show me his kitchen..that I can't just say any complaints blah blah blah..Really! I just said I got burnt lasagna and he made it sounded like I'm making up stories to complain or whatever. He was so rude so I when the waiter gave my change I took off while Michael keep on yelling he will show me his kitchen..So unprofessional! I guess that happens sometimes when you come to a small solely managed private restaurant which doesn't want to admit faults and mistakes. The waiter was polite but Michael was so unbelievably rude and very unprofessional. Never ever come back to this...

I order delivery from Elio's once a week. My order is generally the same as i like the pizza. I am glad the old delivery driver has not been around lately as he was rude and would demand to park in my carport if it was raining when delivering a pizza. I would often meet him at his car to collect my pizza and i would be greeted with a woft of smoke from him smoking on the way whilst my food was in his car. He would then provide me with my pizza but it would sometimes have the toppings of slid on the pizza as he got it out of his car side ways to get it past the door as was too lazy to open the door properly. Further to this, wait times for deliveries is getting longer and longer. 2 times ago the completely forgot my order and an hour later I called and they said it will be there soon (no apology) however supplied a free garlic bread that i must say was very ordinary and did not end up eating as the taste was not nice at all. It is always a challenge to pay over the phone, the girl who used to be on the phone about 2 months ago was fantastic and would even remember me and my order however the new girl has issues even doing small things like using the eftpos machine. I often am required to read my card number to them more than 3 times as she keeps having "machine errors". I ate in the restaurant once also with a friend and tried the lasagna, it was cold in the middle so when I advised i had been put off my meal and that i would just have some bread, the insisted to reheat it for me. I had a few more mouth fulls but as i had told them, i was put off my meal and therefore not wanting it so i left it uneaten, paid and left.

I am satisfied with the pizza they provide however the service, delivery times and drivers could do with a little improvement.

It is a shame as this restaurant has great potential but staff who come across as not really wanting...