La Cucina Melbourne — Restaurant in Melbourne

Horrible experience here. We ordered an entree and two mains. Waited over an hour for our food, chased the staff about it and they were just not apologetic at all. Had to speak with multiple staff just to even find out what’s happening with our food (she starts talking about steak which is something we didn’t even order). Finally brings our entree (arancini) and it’s completely cold inside. We ended up cancelling our order and leaving to go to a different place. As we left and were half way down the street, the server comes running after us to say he’s got a new table and will bring our food straight away (they had us seated at bar style seating with the bar stools, not an actual table despite us having a booking). I find it funny how they can now serve our food straight away after we’ve left but when we politely tried to ask how much longer it would be they said still another 20 minutes. We did end up leaving and had a much better experience somewhere else. Although we didn’t get to try the food properly, which probably would’ve been delicious considering the reason we went there was for all these amazing reviews, the least this place could’ve done was say sorry at least once for the trouble they caused. Keep in mind our booking was for 8 and by the time we waited and we found somewhere else to eat nearby it was almost 10pm which is quite late for dinner. This is not to say the food isn’t good (we obviously didn’t get to try it) but the service from pretty much all the staff was quite poor and at the end of the day we just wanted to enjoy a nice dinner. Having worked in customer service and hospo myself, I understand how busy and frustrating it can be but the service we received was honestly bad enough for me to leave...

I visited this place last Sunday night. Let me start by saying the staff were nice, friendly, and very attentive which I appreciated. The atmosphere was also great and quite ambient. We had a booking for 7:30pm. When we got there our table wasn't ready which was fine, didn't wait long for our table to get ready.

The night started off with a Capricosa and meat lover pizza which were both amazing. As we were waiting for the Fettucine Carbonara pasta and salad, I turn my head for a glimpse second and witness one of the workers grabbing food without gloves, with his right hand. I didn't think anything of it. I then see him touching his face and beard with his left hand. It gets worse when I then see him dusting off both his hands. I called the waiter over to ask if what I witnessed actually happened. She didn't deny it.

As the food came out, I felt very uncomfortable touching it after what I've just seen. The manager came over and was very attentive and understanding. He didn't charge us for the pasta and salad which I asked to return.

I insisted that the manager should raise this hygiene issue with his workers and incorporate the use of gloves when handling food. As someone who's worked in hospitality, I believe it's good practice. He totally agreed and raised this issue immediately as I was there.

I don't intend for this review to be of any way hostile towards this place but I have to speak about my experience. I am unsure if I'll ever come back to this place, I hope the manager fixes this WHS issue. Would've loved to have a better...

I want to start by highlighting the absolute standout of the night — the waitstaff. The service was truly exceptional. The girls were attentive, kind, bubbly, and genuinely went above and beyond in a busy environment. They made us feel welcome and well looked after from start to finish. 10/10 for service — they were fantastic.

Unfortunately, the food told a completely different story.

We ordered the arancini, ravioli, and tortellini. While the portion sizes were generous, everything we tried was bland and disappointing. The ravioli and tortellini tasted like pre-packaged supermarket meals — at best. The sauces were oily and lacked any real depth. Mine was meant to be a truffle and mushroom sauce, but having grown up in both Croatia and Italy, I know the taste of truffle — and this didn’t even hint at truffle oil, let alone the real thing.

To make matters worse, I nearly chipped a tooth on something hard in my ravioli — I still don’t know what it was, but I left it on the plate in disbelief. I didn’t raise it with the waitstaff because they were working so hard and doing such a great job. I didn’t want to risk them bearing the brunt of an angry kitchen for something that clearly wasn’t their fault.

And the final blow? $153 for one shared entrée, two pasta mains, and two Coronas. Outrageous, considering the quality of what we were served.

Sadly, I wouldn’t return. The service was stellar, but the food and value just didn’t come close to meeting even basic...