Joe's of Mentone — Restaurant in Melbourne

Best dining experience ever!!!

I’ve only been to this place twice. The first was a quick takeaway and the second was a dine in on Valentine’s Day (loved the pizza so much I had to come back).

When we arrived the second time we noticed a lady at the front making fettuccine FROM SCRATCH and decided we HAD to try that pasta. It was phenomenal!! Also I love cheese-less garlic pizzas if they’re done right (not many places make it without cheese and those that do usually make it too dry or too oily imho), these guys made them perfectly each time! Probably the best garlic pizza I’ve had. On V Day they served it to us shaped like a heart, which I thought was an awesome touch

The decorations around the store are really fun to admire, they’ve got all sorts of things on display and no matter who you are you’re guaranteed to see a few things that bring back nostalgic memories. It really sets a good atmosphere and makes eating in very enjoyable

We also tried their cocktails, I highly recommend the Kermit!!!

Other than that the thing that struck me the most was that both times we went there all the staff seemed genuinely happy to be there. The fella who I think is Joe (but I didn’t actually catch his name so not sure) was super happy and excited, you could tell this is a guy who really loves what he does. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a restaurant where the people working were that happy. It’s worth going if only to experience it for yourself

Cannot recommend this place enough and will...

My partner and I went there for take away and we didn't like it. The saddest part was the service. The old nonna was trying to help in the kitchen and the kitchen hands were ignoring her, then I saw her passing cheese to his son( a bald man?) while he was cooking pasta and she by mistake almost drop the bowl of cheese. It was a mutual fault but the cook got upset at her and pushed her hand away aggressively and told her off and she got embarrassed and walked away. No one said anything. I felt bad for the lady as it was an accident and she got pushed :( - by the way she walked away, it seemed that this was normal behaviour.

About the food, well we got a "real" carbonara and a pizza (they didn't have prosciutto so we ended up with ham), but the food was really bad. The eggy carbonara was curdled from being overcooked and I can see the pieces of white and yellow egg like if it wasn't well whisked. The pasta was extremely dried and it was all a chunk of stuck pasta. The pizza was doughy and didn't have a good flavour either... Unfortunately we didn't even want to eat it and had to throw it away.

The restaurant was pretty busy, a very small kitchen and looked old but quirky. Many places felt sticky like it wasn't well cleaned. I liked the decorations but that was it. They took 40min for our order to be ready. We really wanted to try this place as it looks nice from the outside and the note said freshly made pasta, old authentic recipes but we ended up very...

A Mentone institution, fun decor and family vibe. Food could do with an update to stay relevant - Melb food scene too competitive to remain complacent and unchanged menu for decades. 3 star review because not great, not poor, just average and acceptable for a quick and easy last-minute feed with the family or friends. There is a good loyal customer base... here are some suggestions to future proof your business and keep them coming back, particularly the discerning trend-conscious instagram-food-imaging young ones...

Add some modern twists to pizza range - copy ideas from crust or capers Purge the old-school thing where pizzas are overloaded with that horrible shredded salty ham from the bag Add more flavour and seasoning to pasta sauces better range of wines, and update those small cheap wine glasses which are unappealing to drink from Virtually no deserts to choose from, and the few that are there are supermarket style quality Add gluten free... not for me, but this is now a huge market that can’t be ignored Add another veggo option or two while you’re at it Lose one row of tables to provide more space for people getting in and out of their chairs,...