La Camera, Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Melbourne

Update(09/08/22): A prompt response from La Camera tells me that they accept the feedback and are keen to fix what didn't work.

Paul (the restaurant manager) is confident about other dishes, so I might visit again.

Original review (07/08/22)I have done hundreds of restaurant reviews, and I am always very careful if I ever have to give a low rating to a business.

I went to La Camera with high hopes. The lady who greeted us was pleasant, professional and friendly despite being busy. I think she was the head server or the manager. The other person with glasses who served our group was very polite too, and both of these things are a good sign.

However, the food, the missing items and the grumpy man were enough to disappoint me.

Food: I ordered the Parma, so did three of my other colleagues. While the quantity was good, quality of the dish was too poor. The chicken was dry, hard and bland. Chips that came with the dish were soggy and soft. Seriously folks, you do not place chips under the meat. Neither you place them too close to the wet salad leaves.

Some of my other friends ordered veg pizza. I tasted it, and found it bland too. Sadly, their opinion wasn't much different than mine. It reflected in the large amount of the leftover pizza. (I really despise wasting food and I always finish my food. But yesterday it was so different that I left most of it.)

Did I just pay $50 for pub food?

Service: Service was mostly good, except that they forgot to bring the wine. It was served on the house after the meal was over. Well..!

Then, the guy who blatantly and too directly told us, "I'm not the mains person". Politeness and a smile are the key elements in the service business, even when you are under pressure.

Ambience: Is good. I liked the setup and decor. Do I recommend the restaurant? No. Would I...

1- My Updated Review:

I visited this restaurant again after my first visit two months ago, which had left me quite underwhelmed—especially considering the high prices and average quality at the time. However, I’m happy to say that my second experience was significantly better.

This time, I thoroughly enjoyed the chicken thigh with capsicum dish, and the fish of the day was cooked beautifully. The antipasto starter was also a great way to begin the meal. It’s clear that the management has taken steps to improve the food and overall experience, and I genuinely appreciate the effort they’ve made.

That said, I still feel the pasta dishes need more attention—particularly when it comes to showcasing the listed ingredients. The sauces lack distinct character, and the toppings could be more generous and better integrated, especially given the premium pricing.

Overall, I’m updating my review to reflect a much more satisfactory visit. Thanks to the team for the improvements—I look forward to seeing how the menu continues to evolve.

2- My old review: The experience was definitely unsatisfactory considering the high prices and average quality. friendly staff thoug. The owner's initial talk about how special their ingredients are felt misleading, as the overall experience was quite basic given the premium prices. There was barely any sausage or meat in the dishes. While the menu listed two lines of different ingredients, I didn't see any of them represented properly in the pasta;—just different sauce colors with no real distinction. For $35-$40, the taste was very average and definitely not worth it. Also, the garlic bread at the beginning felt like a distraction rather than a real addition. I don’t need free extras—I’m fine with paying a premium, but at least make it...

I will start by saying most of us on the table enjoyed our meals (I personally didn’t) and the space was comfortable and clean. We are however a bit disappointed in the overall dining experience tonight.

After all our plates were cleared, the bill was immediately placed on our table; a clear sign that we were being asked to leave. We were astonished as we had barely finished our drinks (3 of which didn’t come out until after the food and I had to prompt for them) and in fact nobody had attended to our table to check how the food was or if we needed water etc. I had also promised my 3yr old son a dessert after dinner and he was very upset as we now could not get one.

I mentioned to the lady while paying that we were disappointed we didn’t even get offered dessert. I was told that we had a limited seating time of 1.5hrs and our time was up. I mentioned that a seating time limit wasn’t mentioned when I booked nor when we entered and that it would have been nice to have a warning if they would need us to leave to take the table for someone else, but again was told I should have looked at the bottom of my booking confirmation as it states it all there. I booked over the phone and was not told anything, and when I put credit card details to confirm booking online, it also does not state anything, so I’m not sure how I’m supposed to know this information but I wasn’t going to argue it with her. I just wanted to leave.

It felt a bit cold to us and like we were being kicked out. She could have easily explained it in a courteous manner but it honestly didn’t seem like she cared about our experience and it really left the whole table a bit turned off the place. Unfortunate as most people from our table had been before and really enjoyed it, but tonight not the great...