Scugnizzo Ristorante — Restaurant in Melbourne

Scugnizzo is our go to place whether it be for a romantic dinner or a group dinner with friends or work colleagues. We have been here many times and the food is always exquisite, the staff are absolutely amazing, led by the friendliest, most professional maitre d' we have ever had the pleasure of meeting. The ambience of the place is fantastic, with exposed brick, original art works, classical table settings, all creating a warm cosy feel. As a bonus, a pleasurable dining experience here, comes at a suprisingly reasonable cost. In fact, it is not much more than an outing at most of Melbournes trendy pubs! The meals on offer range from traditional pizzas, calamari, soup, anti pasto, pastas, through to more fine dining meals such as fish, rabbit, duck, ragu, and my favourite, char grilled steak. In fact, I can easily say that their char grilled steak would be my 'death row last meal'! There is also a great drinks list including a large array red and white wines, craft beers, ciders, spirits, cocktails and mocktails. I would describe Scugnizzo as a cross between Italian fine dining, with a relaxed atmosphere. We always walk away from Scugnizzo with full bellies and a smile on our faces. We have already booked our next outing at Scugnizzo. On a numbers scale, this is our 10/10 restaurant every single time. Thanks once again, to all the chefs, the maitre d', waiters and bar staff at Scugnizzo for another pleasurable evening. Kind regards, Duncan,Jenni...

I was seeking one truly authentic italian meal whilst visiting Melbourne. The reviews here looked great, so we booked in. The complimentary bread, drinks, and waitstaff were great. I ordered the crab pasta. The parcels were filled with crab, spring onion, and a few other ingredients. Unfortunately, after one bite, I had to put the fork down. It had such an overpowering, fishy taste that I was unable to eat it. Coming from coastal northern WA, I eat crab very regularly, and the only time I have tasted a flavour like this has been when tinned crab was used. So I asked the waitperson if they knew if it was fresh or tinned crab. She wasn't sure, so she went and asked the chef. Next minute, one hot-headed, cranky chef came out with a raised voice, clearly insulted I had questioned his food. Saying a whole heap of things to me that I didn't quite take in because I was so shocked at his behaviour. He walked away, only to return to show me some frozen examples of the pasta. As if this somehow proved the crab was fresh and not tinned... but of course, it proved nothing. However, it did achieve making the table feel terribly uncomfortable and we left immediately. Maybe it was fresh crab, and someone dropped a bottle of fish sauce in there, or maybe it was tinned crab.. we won't ever know. What I know, though, is the chef's behaviour was well out of line, and we won't...

Talk about a #hiddengem - like literally hidden in a laneway with only a small orange sign to identify its location and very little online presence.

With a warm and cozy atmosphere, it was a true homely experience (albeit the paper table cloths of which I wasn't really a fan).

It's a limited menu done well, offering delicious classics focusing on pizza, pasta and daily blackboard specials. The staff were attentive and who doesn't love complimentary deep fried pizza balls to get the birthday party started?!

I came for the Ziti Alla Genovese but I fell in love with the Crochette Di Lasagna and together they made the perfect combination of pastas.

The Caprese salad was exactly that but executed well. The Pork Belly was delicious and perfectly crunchy even if a touch on the more expensive side of dishes for much less than the serving sizes of other dishes.

The Tiramisu Al Limoncello was a delicious take on an Italian staple and if for nothing else, you must come to try it (and those warm dough balls..)!! Seriously Instagram worthy - if you could taste it...