Grazia Restaurant — Restaurant in Melbourne

I am absolutely appalled by the experience we had at this so-called Italian restaurant. My parents-in-law had booked a table to celebrate their wedding anniversary—a milestone that should have been met with hospitality and professionalism. Instead, we encountered one of the most shockingly unprofessional and outright rude staff members we have ever come across.

From the moment we arrived, the waiter was passive-aggressive and condescending. He informed us that the previous party had been late, causing a delay in seating us—something completely beyond our control. Rather than handling the situation with grace, he took it upon himself to make unnecessary, pointed comments toward my in-laws.

Then, in a bizarre and hostile escalation, he started gaslighting them, falsely claiming that two members of our party were not present, as if that was even relevant. His entire demeanor was aggressive, and at one point, he was breathing down my father-in-law’s neck. As if that wasn’t enough, he then got right up in my brother-in-law’s face, exuding pure hostility and an unacceptable attitude.

I have never in my years of dining out in Melbourne encountered a waiter this disgustingly unprofessional. His behavior was beyond inappropriate—it was appalling. He then went so far as to fabricate a claim that my father-in-law had made an obscene gesture toward him, clearly as a way to cover up his own shocking conduct. It genuinely felt as though he was deliberately escalating the situation so he could have an excuse to write us up and make us leave—simply because he didn’t want to deal with us. Rather than trying to resolve the situation professionally, he leaned into aggression, acting as though we were the problem when, in reality, he was the one who had been inappropriate from the start.

At one point, we even tried to request another waiter to serve us, hoping to salvage the evening. However, by that point, the damage had already been done. The experience had been completely tainted, and it was clear we were no longer welcome. With my mother-in-law in tears on what was supposed to be her anniversary celebration, we made the decision to leave rather than continue enduring such an appalling display of unprofessionalism.

And to make matters even worse—there was no attempt at any kind of compensation for the fact that we were not seated at our table on time. Regardless of the circumstances, this is a hospitality venue, and hospitality was entirely absent. A simple gesture, whether a drink or an apology, would have at least shown some level of professionalism. Instead, we were met with hostility and indifference.

My family used to own a restaurant in the CBD, and never—absolutely never—would we have tolerated this level of unprofessionalism from an employee. This is not a nightclub or a bar; it is supposed to be a respectable Italian restaurant in Malvern. Yet, thanks to this waiter’s passive-aggressive, condescending, and gaslighting tactics, it felt anything but.

To say this was the worst dining experience we have ever had would be an understatement. If management allows this type of behavior from their staff, I would strongly advise others to take their business elsewhere.

The worst dining experience for the place that I never even...

Booked for 5 at 5:15. A super early dinner and 15 minutes after open, so it was not very busy on the Tuesday night walking in. However, mid meal and end of meal 6:30-7:30 time - it’s prime time so highly recommend booking.

As soon as you walk in - Immediate points for aesthetic and cleanliness. What a beautiful spot. Gorgeous big windows for natural lighting, and generally just so pretty - it’s very inviting and welcoming. Heaps of seating, deceptively big with upstairs seating. Heaps of groups can sit.

Food wise, we had the calamari fritti - both versions (ala joe and plain). The ala joe isn’t that spicy - on a scale of 1-10 it’s very very mild so definitely the lower end. It tasted great though and reminded me of a sour chilli sauce. The plain calamari was crispy and as you’d expect. Fresh. We got a side of fries - standard. Our friend had the pizza zucco and she said it was very well made, fresh ingredients, perfect dough. Not pictured - the duck my friend ordered (who said it was amazing!) this one took a bit of time but it was well worth the wait. I also ordered a sweet mocktail to go with my meal - it was the Lychee Cranberry one. Easy to down, it’s delicious!

Dessert - we ordered a Bombe Alaska, Tiramisu Clasico, and the gelato (3 different scoops). The Bombe Alaska is almost too pretty to eat! The meringue is so soft and went so well with the lemon inside. The tiramisu was perfect - not an overbearing amount of alcohol (if any - it was mainly in the syrupy part of the chocolate), coffee flavour was on point. For the gelato the selection of flavours depends on what they have available - tonight it was a caramelised chocolate, blueberry and strawberry. And wow the flavours of all 3 were incredible. Rank 1 was the chocolate for sure. Such a rich flavour. Overall the food was very much a hit.

A comment on service - 3 of us had arrived and walked in on time, 1 of our friends could no longer make it, and the other friend was late. They had been clear with us they needed the table back by a certain time. This was fine - staff were very gracious with us giving us additional time at the end even after paying for the bill. At times waiter presence was a bit “overbearing” - for instance, we had arrived and were just chatting; waiting a bit before we ordered. There were about 3 waiters just hovering around us (as we were the only table upstairs) so we felt we needed to order quickly and felt a bit awkward. The hovering was evident throughout our meal but I understand it is a process to ensure our night continues to run smoothly and they get their table back on time for the next reservation. This was a very minor observation and not really a complaint - all staff were generally well meaning, friendly, attentive and up for a chat.

Overall, I’d be back. It was a really great experience - good food, great atmosphere, generally...

Picture this, it is almost 10pm on a Tuesday night. While most other places are closing or have closed, this little restaurant in the suburbs is still buzzing with customers walking in. What is even more impressive is that they only opened in May. Within 2 months, there has been enough word of mouth that everybody is coming here.

The waiter said that the Pappardelle was their specialty. Unfortunately the Pappardelle was only available with lobster. Since both of us are allergic to crustaceans, we could not order it. There were no other pappardelle options. I saw the Pappardelle being served and it looked incredible. I would definitely order this if I could eat it.

The Vitello Tonnato entree was delicious, but rather small for $22.

The Porchetta was amazing. Slightly charred, slightly smoky, perfectly seasoned, rich, crispy crackling. It is served with a poached apple which provides some welcome mild acidity and sweetness. The celeriac puree and what I presume is a gremolata rounds it off. It was really the star of the dinner. There is nothing I can say or suggest to make this better.

The Tartufo (mushroom with truffle sauce) pizza was good, but not amazing. It lacks the smokiness that you get from other woodfired pizza places. As you can see from the photo, it is rather pale. I would have preferred a bit more char. The dough itself was nicely fermented with the delicious sweet aroma of yeast and fresh bread.

The Bombe Alaska did not have the drama of being flambeed at the table, and the meringue was a bit too sweet. There is a little sliver of dried lemon on top which is intensely sour. The way to eat it is to take little bites of the lemon and a slice of the Alaska, they go wonderfully well together. The semifreddo itself had a gorgeous lemon perfume. My partner and I shared the dish, and she ate her half of the dried lemon in one go. She found it too sweet, but I found it was balanced if it was eaten with a bit of the dried lemon. To avoid mistakes like this, I suggest the chef dice the lemon and sprinkle it on top.

The Sfingi Siciliani (donuts) was another brilliant dish, although still a bit too sweet. Take a look at the photo, the only other flaw was that it was a bit dense.

The restaurant is new and shiny, and beautifully renovated. Staff were friendly and helpful, although our waiter should have spent more time looking at the table at people trying to get his attention rather than standing around and looking everywhere else except the tables. He walked past us 3 times, passing just 30cm behind me, and did not see me waving at him.

The bill came to $122 for 1 entree, 2 mains, and 2 desserts. I consider that extremely reasonable for food of this quality and in a restaurant as beautiful as this - hence 5 stars. I have given small suggestions for improvement. Will...