Pesto’s Ristorante Italiano — Restaurant in Melbourne

A Disastrous Italian Meal After a Long Day at F1

After an exciting but exhausting day at the F1, we were really looking forward to an amazing Italian meal based on the glowing reviews. Unfortunately, what we got was one of the most disappointing dining experiences we’ve had in a long time.

It all started with a simple drink order—lemon, lime & bitters. What arrived, however, was essentially soda water with a hint of lemon, barely any lime, and absolutely no bitterness. It lacked any real flavor and set the tone for what was to come.

For appetizers, we ordered warm olives, expecting something flavorful and comforting. Instead, they arrived stone cold, straight from the fridge. Not exactly the “warm” olives we had in mind.

Next came the bruschetta, which was equally underwhelming. It arrived at room temperature, topped with pancetta instead of the expected fresh tomato mixture. There was no red onion, no olive oil, and no seasoning whatsoever—just dry bread with some pancetta thrown on top. It was bland, uninspired, and honestly, a waste of an order.

Then came the mains, and somehow, things only got worse. We ordered: • Two veal dishes • Lasagna • Penne Bolognese • Prawn & pesto linguini

The veal dishes were a joke—the portions were so small they were literally smaller than my palm. To make matters worse, one of them had a toothpick still inside it. When we pointed it out to the waitress, she casually explained that it was used to hold the veal together and the chef had simply “forgotten” to take it out. That alone was alarming, but the final insult? The veal wasn’t even hot.

The lasagna was the only dish that was remotely passable. We were told it was homemade, and while it wasn’t anything special, at least it was warm and somewhat edible.

The penne Bolognese was a disaster. It arrived at room temperature, and the sauce was thin, watery, and had an oddly sweet taste. It was more like a tomato soup with pasta floating in it rather than a rich, hearty Bolognese.

The prawn & pesto linguini was equally disappointing. While it was actually served hot (which at this point felt like a victory), it quickly became clear that the prawns were frozen, not fresh. The pasta itself wasn’t fresh either, and the pesto sauce was a runny, watery mess. Instead of a creamy, flavorful pesto coating the pasta, it was more like a thin, green soup pooling at the bottom of the plate.

By the end of the meal, we were completely let down. Every dish suffered from either a lack of flavor, poor execution, or careless mistakes. Given the positive reviews, we expected a great meal, but what we got instead was something that felt low-quality, and far from authentic Italian cuisine.

Safe to say, we won’t be...

Ate here yesterday evening with my wife and my brother and his wife who are visiting from Singapore. Owner Hitesh is a gentleman with 19 years experience in Italian restaurants, and it shows. The food was excellent. Starters were vegan polenta, lightly fried calamari and rocket salad with shaved parmesan & sliced pear. The salad was my favourite of these, being tasty and light and well-balanced. I personally found the polenta a little dry even with the sauce at the side, and my family had expectations of the calamari being more rubbery and deep-fried, so it seemed unusual to have it as a light and fresh starter, actually more fishy than rubbery. I preferred it to the usual squid rings you find in pubs and so on, but some members of the party wanted standard squid rings. Nevertheless, the main courses were definitely a win. I tried all four that we ordered, which were both kinds of risotto (shrimp and chicken), prawn pesto linguine and homemade gnocchi di patate in sage butter. The gnocchi were the winner here, but it was close. The linguine was also delicious, and I only had a mouthful of the risottos but I would probably opt for the shrimp over the chicken one. Anyway, all were sufficiently generous portions (see attached pics) and beautifully presented. The recommended wine is also in the pics and it was one step beyond. I had a Peroni beer and my wife opted for a bottle of Bundeberg ginger beer. To close it all out, we shared two desserts between the four of us, which were the chocolate mousse (this was thick and outstanding) and also an odd dessert which I think was a berry tiramisu, without coffee. I liked this a lot also, as it was sweet, fruity and creamy. All in all, the big winner was the price, with three starters, four mains and two desserts, complete with a bottle of premium wine, a beer and a ginger beer coming in at AU$210. Hitesh the owner welcomed us back, and we will surely take him up on that offer. If you are going along to try it out, tell him that Kenny sent you. Only joking, that won't get you a discount or special treatment in any way, he's met me once. Nice place, and a genuine Italian gem to find just nestled here next to St Kilda Library and across from St Kilda Town...

I don’t know what’s happened at Pestos. We’ve come a few times before and had a lovely experience with delicious food and service. Today was soooo bad. Sat down and there was a terrible smell, noticing that they were burning incense I take it that was to hide the horrible sewerage smell. Ordered the calamari and polenta chips, calamari was ok, polenta revolting, thin, over cooked. For mains I had beef lasagne, not bad but not great either, a lot of watery fluid around it. My partners main was horrible. Chicken Alfredo which presentation wise looked like plated by a 5 year old, zero taste, bland and weird watery tasteless sauce. So bad we sent it back. We also ordered garlic bread which was never served, clearly forgotten. When I paid I noticed that despite sending back my partners main they had still charged me even though we didn’t eat it. I went back and asked to be refunded. Seems to have gone down hill with different chef and front of house staff, walls filthy next to our table, a small portable heater trying to heat the place. We declined dessert and doubt we will be back. You’re a pasta restaurant. If you can’t do that well you are doomed explains why it’s Ben so empty in...