Itali.co Sorrento — Restaurant in Melbourne

I came into italico on Friday the 25th of April for a 6:30pm reservation with my Fiance. Upon arrival I was greeted by a young lady who said that our reservation was booked at 6:15pm, when this was not discussed over the phone. However, no harm done, we were promptly seated by the young lady, and served our meals after the confusion and to my knowledge, that was that. Yet I was wrong, as it was made very obvious to my partner and I that our presence was not welcome due to two staff members standing behind the bar openly discussing the interaction, pointing slightly, staring at my table and describing the very mild encounter to the other waitress, causing both of them to look at us in an unkind and unwelcoming manner. The girl with the long red hair, half up and half down and the older balding man were the two talking behind the bar, initiated by the older man. Had this happened prior to us receiving our food, I would not have stayed.

It was clear that there was some bad mouthing going on, as the heavily balding man with a receding hairline was openly making a spectacle within eyeshot of me and my partner, where he stood behind the bar and made no attempt at discretion for his poor actions. This was evident as after I had seen this occur, he belittled a chef within view of customers, silenced her, walked off on her mid-explanation and did not let her speak.

After all this, we were too put off to stay any longer, so we got up to leave and I see this same man smirking at me and my partner, pointing and ushering another waiter to come give us our bill. This was not the standard practice, as others were getting up to pay without a bill handed to them, and as I saw him do this, his grin was quickly wiped off his face and he walked off to let the other waiter handle payment. Keep in mind, we had just, and I mean just, finished our last bites of food before this attempt at being forced this bill, however due to us being so uncomfortable by his treatment alone, we were on our way.

I do not do Google reviews as I am a firm believer in everybody having bad moments, however, this experience was so bad that I had to say something. I had heard pretty awful things about this place, but I figured I should give it the benefit of the doubt. I was wrong. Despite all this, kudos to the poor chefs as our meals were wonderful, but the atmosphere and the discomfort caused by this man alone was enough for me to leave this review and reside to the fact that I had to say something. I am seriously disappointed and disheartened that a place like this is in the heart of Sorrento. A beautiful view accompanied by...

I used to love coming down to Itali.co when up at the beach! Not anymore… The service and management was atrocious and completely ruined the ambiance and class that Italico once had. After having a whole glass of beer (including the glass) spilt on my hair and down my back by a waitress, I was shocked at the staff and managements response. While mistakes do happen and I was completely understanding of this, it was the response in which I was not. As the waitress simply said to me with “oh, sorry about that, I’ll get another beer”, I was handed a bunch of napkins while the restaurant stared at me. Being left to wipe the floor myself after drying my own clothes, hair and skin, the waitress disappeared and no management returned. (The napkins we used to clean the floor remained here for the whole dining experience). When I preceded to ask another waitress to speak to management, nobody came. Flagging down the manager ourselves, I was met with blunt, dismissive and unapologetic “okay”s and “I’ll be back in a minute”. After waiting another 20 minutes for him to return, I sought the manager out for the third time, looking to settle our bill. With my clothes stained, my hair and clothes soaked and my night ruined, I expected food to be removed from my bill. My pasta was taken off and I was told to take it as he won’t budge on doing any better. Alcohol and a pizza that I ordered (and didn’t really eat due to feeling uncomfortable and upset) were left for me to pay. I was made to feel like an inconvenience and baby, while I was humiliated and my...

UNACCEPTABLE EXPERIENCE - DISRESPECTFUL AND DISCRIMINATORY BEHAVIOIR- 19-April-2025 at 6pm

The place was nearly empty— I politely asked for a table for four, and the girl at the front desk instantly asked, “Do you have a booking?” We said no, and without any explanation or courtesy, she replied, “We’re fully booked.” I asked if we could sit outside since that was completely empty too, but she dismissed us again with attitude, repeating “fully booked” like we hadn’t heard her the first time. She didn’t offer any explanation—just cold, condescending behavior that made us feel unwelcome. Honestly, I got the impression it was because of my skin colour.

Right then, I called the restaurant while standing inside, and the person on the phone said, “Yes, walk-ins are fine, you can sit outside.” When I confronted the girl, she had no response—no apology, no explanation—just silence. It was humiliating. Only after I pushed the issue, someone else—likely a manager—stepped in, and we were suddenly “allowed” to sit outside. Felt like they were covering up her behavior instead of owning it. The food was average they even mixed up our order with the table next to us, service was a disgrace. No one should have to feel looked down upon because of their skin. Absolutely unacceptable, sad to see it...