Il Solito Posto — Restaurant in Melbourne

My 25 year love affair with this place has ended today. The most atrocious service ever. when I turned up at 11.45 to book for between 1 and 1.30 I was met with “why don’t you go away and come back when you’re ready to eat”!! I told him my feet were killing after shopping and I wanted some drinks while I waited for my partner (who was visiting a friend in hospital) i was polite and sat at the window so wasn’t in anyone’s way. I wasn’t asked for a drink order or shown a wine menu. The girl at the bar was rude and didn’t give me a menu so I had to explain to her I didn’t want to drink $20 to $30 a glass wine I wanted to pay no more than $15 as I wanted a few glasses and was having some food. It was Tuesday lunch not a Friday night. I had to repeatedly go to the bar to order as everyone that came in (no bookings either) was shown to a table and waited on. I was ignored. Then despite sitting there for over an hour was not shown to a table at 1.15 despite booking. We were offered the worst table in the house that everyone else had rejected at the bottom of the steps as you walk in, then begrudgingly squeezed in to the other side. You would think they would treat couples better as wer tend to book for anniversaries and birthdays and special events, but all they seem to care about now are the hoards of rowdy corporates. Then they got busy serving everyone else apart from us. A literally 1mm slick and of oil but no bread/balsamic was dumped on the table. Was forced to ask for the bread after half an hour. An assortment of bits of ends of loafs was smacked down. Still no balsamic and not enough oil. Then we waited and waited to try and get them to take out orders. The rude dude was trying to get us to have everything served at once! The table was clearly not big enough for entree, mains and wine glasses and I didn’t want it all at once. Took ages to get entree Then waited and waited for mains, the place emptied. A girl seated next to us who had just showed up was served immediately and her food turned up within 5 mins. They kept saying it would turn up soon I told them they had 5 mins and I’d be leaving. Then when it did they turn up it was dumped down and I had to send my partner up to beg for some Parmesan for on my seafood linguini only to be snottily told that they don’t normally put it onto seafood linguini! Like I was some sort of heathen for asking for it. It was bland without it. The bench seat was loose and kept moving so I was disturbing the girl sat next to me. It ruined my day. We live in south Gippsland so had been looking forward to that lunch for weeks as something to cheer us up after visiting a dying friend. I’ve spent thousands at that place since 1998 and you used to be treated with respect and kindness at all times, not like something that’s been walked in on someone’s foot. The food isn’t what it used to be and the atmosphere is horrible now. I...

ORDERED (AUG 2025): 🍅 Insalata Caprese: fresh tomato, capers, basil, buffalo mozzarella & balsamic ($24.00) 🍝 Gnocchi: house made potato gnocchi with gorgonzola, walnuts, caramelised pear & sage ($38.00 main) 🍝 Pasta Special: Casarecce: broccoli puree, roasted broccoli, garlic, chilli & pinenut ($38.00 main) 🥗 Rocket Salad, grana, pear and balsamic vinaigrette ($13.00) 🥔 Italian fried potatoes, rosemary, garlic ($13.00)

It was $63.12 for my portion here.

REVIEW: 📖 We made a booking at Il Solito Posto. 1 year on, the pasta doesn't quite hit the same, but it was a high bar to meet. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the different pasta offerings that goes beyond the typical (lol @beef bolognese). 💛 The gnocchi was noticeably pillowy. I was a bit nervous about the gorgonzola because I usually find it quite strong, but it appeared to be cooked out... so I think it added to the overall creaminess of the sauce.

Service was friendly! They asked if we had any theatre shows so they could time themselves - and I appreciate this forward attentiveness. 🎭

We also definitely over ordered. Could've gone without one side imo 😆. ORDERED (2024): 🍞 Pane: Oven toasted herb bread ($6.00) 🍝 Pasta special: Tagliatelle, pine nuts, mushroom & pancetta ($25 - $35) 🧃 Pineapple juice ($5.00)

I paid $60.00 for my portion!

REVIEW: ♥ Fantastic pasta. I'm talking about the perfect consistency where the tagliatelle was al dente, pine nuts to add texture, mushrooms (my weakness) and pancetta to add some savouriness. It was the pasta from my dreams - filled with a variety of textures and flavours that felt like a hug. Very sad it's not on their regular menu! 😢 Portion was generous, on a plate seemed twice the size of my head. 🤣 I did also notice a lot of oil pooling at the bottom of my plate after I finished, which did leave me with a bit of guilt. But it's too good!!

🤗 Service was friendly, even though we were tucked in a corner downstairs. We didn't feel forgotten where we had our water topped up regularly.

💡 The yellow lighting provides a casual atmosphere and the diners are primarily in their suits/office wear. I can see why this place is beloved - my friend loves Il Solito Posto's consistency and their continued high standard of food.

Location is great too - close to Parliament, Flinders Street station and the tram stop. 🚊 I would recommend Il Solito Posto if you're looking for Italian food in...

Excellent food, Service and Wine for decent price. My wife and I went to Il Solito Posto upon recommendation from a colleague and we loved it. We returned a few months later and we loved it again. The place is divided into a bistro style and a restaurant section (bistro is for walk-in I think, restaurant would required booking most of times). The restaurant atmosphere is great, with a 'cellar room' feeling. Our waiter was really friendly, knowledgeable and knew when he was needed and when he was not (I don't like being disturbed every two minutes to see if eveything is fine, if I need more water, etc), showing real professionallism in what he did (Waiters too often make or break your experience). The menu is excellent and the quality of the food is suprisingly not over reflected in the average price (Excellent food and reasonable price). I would recommend this place to anyone who likes good, tasty, Italian food without all the 'fioriture' that are added in too many places to simply 'vamp up' the dish and the bill! Excellent wine list as well. Highly recommended if you want to take your better half out for a nice dinner.

10/11/12 My wife and I returned for a casual Friday night dinner to Il Solito Posto last night and once again were very impressed (4 out of 4 experience were great). This time we sat in the 'Bistro' area and were very well looked after from the moment we walked in. We had to wait at the bar for a table, while enjoying a nice glass of Chenin Blanc, but before we knew it we were seated confortably and enjoyed perfectly cooked (REAL AL DENTE!) linguini Frutti di Mare, Rigatoni Porc Bolognese, herb bread, whitebaite and oozing dark chocolate cake. We have tried other Italian in the city (la Bottega, Florentino's etc) but really, nothing compares with Il Solito Posto for the food, the atmosphere, the service and the price. If you are thinking about,...