Farro Pizzeria Thornbury — Restaurant in Melbourne

Bizarre lighting, reminiscent of a dusty Ute filled with todays Facebook market place hoard. Holding each assortment up to the ceiling, top rung of the ladder; waiting for mother’s decision on the arrangement. Staring up at the mishmash of lamp shades and iron I felt like a child in their crib reaching towards the mobile. The warm hug of air as you push heavy doors, bursting into a lullaby of conversation and laughter; it envelops you completely. The smell of carefully crafted sauces and freshly brewed espresso, the lady who sits next table over is wearing sandalwood perfume. Her shirt is crinkled silk and the walls are pasted with greenery and delicately drawn. As your cheeks turn pink and your jacket finds itself hanging to the back of your seat, it’s time to decide what would be best to eat. You didn’t arrive here out of hunger, a simple recommendation from a friend and a desire for a place to go. As you toss between gnocchis you realise sharing is the only option, a second opinion tells you the lemon pesto must be the champion; as does the growing murmurs of your stomach. Nothing to drink tonight but water, although a wine would have been nice, no dessert today but the hot chocolate in bed will suffice. (Yet the tiramisu sounds divine). The waitress is attentive, with a smile so warm that it puts the heater to shame. You’ve chosen your meal and my goodness did you choose well. The divinity of each bite awoke a hunger you didn’t realise you had. It rose up from your stomach and flowed down to your spoon, causing each bite to increase in size. But you mustn’t, you couldn’t. The flavours of your meal are those that have earned a certain patience. A certain savouring of the softness this handmade gnocchi brings and the sweetness of the basil it’s blanketed in. As the chef tucked each ball in I think he must have whispered dreams, for no regular ingredients could become something this sublime. You decided to add the mozzarella this evening, and the pistachios thanked you for inviting their friend. Such a simple decadence was found this night, such a simple harmony was sung. With each note and each silence being chosen with love, each ingredient must have been...

First reviewed in 2021:( 2022 review posted below this one/ 2022, 2nd review as below) Recently visited Farro after our long lockdown. This was actually the last place we ate at before lockdown and the first place to eat out when restrictions eased and we felt comfortable going out. First coming to Farro back in approx 2010 and revisiting after nearly 10 years, its still pleasantly the same, but in a comforting and reassuring way. We had only ever ordered pizzas but on pre lockdown had a gnocchi, texture great, but alittle salty for out palettes but still nice. My stock standard is always the Funghi pizza. Although all those years ago there was a more of a selection of mushrooms, including enokis, possibly from memory, sliced king oyster and swiss browns, the king and enokis they are no longer present but the taste is still the same due to the truffle oil used and still yummy to eat. Other favourite being Prosciutto and Margherita pizzas which are fab too and never fail to please us. The Spelt flour is awesome and so much nicer that regular flour. Cost is for us quite high as a low to middle income, so Farro is always a treat for us.

ADDITIONAL Review, as of Jan '22. Ordered takeaway from counter when opened. Order of three pizza, Margarita, Prosciutto and Vegan Ortolana; ready in 15 minutes. All enjoyed however some of the lettuce on Prosciutto pizza was alittle old, yellowed. Didn't see this until got home. Vegan Ortolana was yummy but alittle more attention could be spent on evenly spreading the grouped toppings/ ingredients. Alittle oily for my liking but flavour of ingredients was nice. See pics attached.

Additional review as of March '22 Ordered Ortolana and Margherita once again and an order of the Arancini which is a 2 piece order. Pizzas good as per usual, photos attached so you can see consistency or difference. Quite disappointed in the Arancini. Although size wise they are the normal/acceptable but for the price of $9 they are abit steep, would think they could have been abit larger then, however...

I’ve held off on writing this review, hoping the situation would be resolved, but it seems no one at Farro Pizzeria Thornbury is willing to reply to my emails or return my calls.

We received a gift card for Christmas, which listed Farro as one of the participating restaurants. Excited to try it out (we hadn’t heard of the restaurant before), we decided to dine there. Unfortunately, the experience was disappointing from start to finish.

We ordered pasta, but my partner immediately noticed a dead fly in the dish (we have photo proof). While the staff replaced the meal promptly, which we appreciated, it left us uneasy. We decided to move on and focus on enjoying the rest of our meal.

Next, the pizza we ordered arrived with no sauce. Confused, we asked about it and were compensated with dips instead. While it was a nice gesture, it felt like an odd solution for what should have been a straightforward dish.

The real issue came when it was time to pay. We presented the gift card, but the staff seemed unaware of its validity. They awkwardly served other customers before returning to us, ultimately deciding that we should pay upfront, and they would refund us the amount once they sorted it out. We were told the owner would call us the next day.

That call never came. After following up, we were brushed off with an explanation that the gift card isn’t associated with them, despite the restaurant being clearly listed on the provider’s website. We emailed screenshots as requested, but a week later, we’re still chasing them for a resolution.

What’s most frustrating is that we wouldn’t have chosen this restaurant if it hadn’t been listed on the gift card. The lack of communication and accountability has soured what could have been an opportunity for us to become regular customers.

While the staff’s initial attempts to address our concerns were appreciated, the ongoing lack of resolution and communication leaves me disappointed. I hope they take this feedback seriously and improve their processes...