Mother Dough Restaurant & Wine Bar — Restaurant in Melbourne

I had high hopes for my dining experience at Mother Dough on Labour Day Monday night- 11/3/19. The exciting menu, overwhelming number of positive reviews and delicious looking food convinced me that this would be a wonderful night. Unfortunately, this was not to be- it was one of the worst dining out experiences I have ever had.

The evening started well- we entered the rustic, comfortable surroundings and were greeted warmly by the young man waiter who showed us to our cosy but comfortable table, which I had booked specially. Our drinks arrived promptly, but then the evening rapidly descended into disaster. We ordered a bruschetta to share for an entree, followed by 2 pasta dishes and the seafood hotpot for our mains. So we waited. And waited. And waited. After at least 45 minutes of non-communication, our waiter approached us and apologised for a problem with the kitchen and assured us that our meals should not be long. After another 20 minutes, my mother stood up and got the attention (the wait staff seemed to have disappeared into hiding) of another waitress behind the counter and asked where our food was, to be told that it was only 3 minutes away. 10 minutes later, the 2 main pasta dishes arrived, with the bruschetta nowhere in sight and the waiter replying on being asked where it was that it seemed to have been forgotten about. There was a further several minute wait for my hotpot. When my hotpot finally did arrive, it was very tasty and flavoursome, but I could not enjoy it after all that had happened. The bruschetta arrived when we had finished our mains and by that time we were not interested- my father was absolutely furious. I had been looking forward to having dessert- the oreo and white chocolate pizza sounded amazing, but I didn't want to stay a second longer in the restaurant.

I also noticed that, during our long wait, food was being picked up by Uber eats delivery people, so it was obvious that the restaurant staff gave preference to orders from Uber eats, not its dining customers in the restaurant.

I do not recommend...

Mother Dough is located very close to Hawthorn station approximately 10 min walking distance or less. Plenty of street parking spaces and easily accessible by public transport. The place looks small from outside but when you come inside, they have plenty seats available (upstairs, outdoor) - no issues to look after small / big group.

We were welcomed and served by the friendly wait staffs. The customer service was great, very attentive and friendly. We ordered Pappardelle Venison (marinated in a double malt beer, bay leaves and clove blend) for $32.00.

It's a signature Mother Dough dish as their ragu is slow cooked at low temperatures for different periods of time ranging from 16 to 23 hours a day. The meats are sourced locally from The Yarra Valley, Gippsland and The Goulburn Region. The recipe is based from the authentic Italian ragu style.

Yes, it's little bit expensive for a pasta, but it was worth of value to spend on the dish as it took long time preparation for Ragu Pasta dish. The portion was generous (meats, cheese) and the taste was fantasic. Not forget to mention that the venison had a delicate taste and the ingredients used were so fresh.

I am surprised that this restaurant has only 3.7 rating points; I reckon they deserve to have at least 4.0 or above.

If you're seeking the authenticy of Italian food with the great quality food, I'd definitely recommend this place.

It was a great experience for our first visit; We will come back to try other dishes and we hope they still retain the current standard or even better the next time we are coming.

Yay : Great quality food, fantastic customer service Nay : N/A

Service : 5.0 Taste : 4.5 Speed :...

Arancini were nice and cheesy, kinda small but made up for that in taste. Pizza was the best pizza (tutta carne) we’ve had in Melbourne. Pasta was tasty and homemade however lacking in meat (spaghetti della nonna santina) and a little on the small side for the price. The waiter and waitress were really friendly and helpful but who I imagine the owner to be made us feel slightly uncomfortable. The waitress had already taken our order, one of us had a coke zero, the other just water. The owner/manager then came over after we’d already eaten our starter to ask us if we’d like a wine or beer etc and we declined as we were being good and he replied saying it’s not good for us as we don’t make money that way, which we thought was a little unprofessional. He then came back again saying oh you didn’t order any drink with a slap on the shoulder and asked what we wanted and pushed it a couple of times after we’d already said no. A little unnecessary and left a sour taste despite the food being good. I could understand if the restaurant was heaving with queues outside and it iritated to be missing out on an extra $30 but there was us and 2 other diners in the whole place. We were also in and out in 40 minutes and just wanted a nice Valentine’s dinner in peace. If there is a minimum spend or you need to order a drink with a meal that should be clear on the menu but spending $70+ should be sufficient for an empty restaurant. That being said the food was really good but next time we’d just order takeout to avoid being made to feel...