Unica Cucina E Caffe — Restaurant in Melbourne

This is an average establishment that believes it is acceptable to severely overcharge for their dishes whilst having sub-standard service. Five pieces of ravioli for $42, a $49 eye fillet with no choice of sauce or preference of preparation, AND a $61 marinara is not standard anywhere, so why is it accepted here? Even highly regarded Italian restaurants in Melbourne do not dare to charge these prices unless the quality, flavour, and presentation is matched to the amount charged. The menu on the website and menu photos provided by patrons have not been updated in years so it cannot be helped if you stumble upon this place, decide to dine in, and be jumpscared by the price difference between the online menu/s and the actual menu.

These dishes weren't outstanding or pointing towards any direction of justifying the cost, and is not discernible from supermarket sauce in a jar (given that the pastas are drowning in sauce, that's most of what we ended up consuming from the dishes). Also the bread is also dense. Insanely dense. The slices were borderline bricks and was only edible paired our excess amounts of pasta sauce.

Additionally, the 'plates' used -- if you can even call them that, are absolutely ridiculous. I understand the concept of plating to improve the presentation and in some cases, provide a sense of class within an unassuming environment. But if I wanted to, I could've bathed my fat dog on the pasta bowl and left her to roll around on the equally ridiculously large plate used for the steak. I peered down on my ravioli bowl like a princess looking down into a well just to be met with 5 pieces of sauce drowned pasta. Also your employees are having trouble serving the dishes and taking them away due to its ridiculousness. Do you not care for them, or are the very least, embarrassed for them? Disappointing and insanely unnecessary.

Lastly, the service was lackluster. I can understand that the waiters and waitresses are young, and the lack of service can be linked towards inadequate training from the owner/s, but isn't it standard to be greeted at the door and to be greeted out after paying? All we received were the servers, who were all situated at the bar and chatting amongst themselves, looking at each other as we walked in and none of them took the initiative to greet us. At exit, we didn't even hear a single thank you or have a good night. Just silence and not even a glance at us. You can still be a casual and laid-back presenting establishment, but your service should not be next to non-existent.

Most positive reviews seem to be biased as they are from acquaintances who know the owner/s directly. However, if you are a visitor to the area and do not reside within the Mornington Peninsula, like a majority of the traffic in the area, you will find yourself waiting for inevitable disappointment if you choose to dine in this restaurant. There are better establishments to dine at, are worth your money, or at the very least, their price and quality are synonymous with each other.

TLDR; ♥︎ Overpriced for mediocre and inadequate amounts of food. ♥︎ High price did not equal quantity or quality from both food and service. Cannot charge this much if neither the food or quality service doesn't hit. ♥︎ Ridiculous attempt at plating dishes, could bathe a baby in it. ♥︎Service is barely there, training is reflected on the attitude of the owner/s. ♥︎ Craving good Italian food within the Mornington Peninsula? Go somewhere else. Not good or worth it, and the only thing Italian resembling here are the names of the dishes and the...

Just dined and incredibly disappointed. We were greeted well. Our drink order was promptly taken as was the dinner order. We ordered a cocktail, wine and for the main dishes we ordered linguine marinara and upgraded a calamari entree to a main serve. The cocktail spritz had no hint of Prosecco in either the taste nor the bubble. The food arrived in a timely manner to our table but could not be served together like tables around us who also were disgruntled about that fact. It was a 10-minute delay between both meals. My husband, upon seeing the ridiculous salad bowl that the linguine marinara was being served in, requested a smaller serving bowl to make It easier to consume. He was told there were no other bowls as it was a Maxwell Williams bowl so that when he dined at the restaurant, he could eat from his own dinnerware brand. Maxwell Williams wasn't in the restaurant. The menu description showed: Traditionally made Linguine, Blue Swimmer Crab, Australian King Prawn, Prawn Cutlets, Calamari, Locally sourced Mussels, Clam Meat, Mussel Meat in a Seafood Bisque. $61.00 Disappointingly it was filled with mainly pasta and sloppy sauce with some seafood that included four prawns. Not even close to value for money. The calamari that was $18.50 as an entree and upgraded to a main was semolina battered which fell apart upon putting a fork in it so that all the coating was left on the plate. This revealed paper thin rings of calamari that were barely tasted. The salad that was promised in the upgrade came in a smaller bowl, (interesting after being told the restaurant had no smaller bowels) and no mixed gourmet leaves as Michelle, the owner, herself promised but was purely iceberg lettuce and four pieces of tomato. For the pleasure of this unsatisfying upgrade, they charged a further $20 on the dish. Upon us trying to give feedback to the owner, Michelle, she had little interest in what we had to say and just wanted us to pay and leave. Interestingly, they sent an email post our dinner visit requesting feedback. Something they had no interest in face-to-face. So Michelle, here is my feedback.. Lift your game on the food, be honest about what you intend to serve, charge appropriately rather than trying to simply make profit and put climate control into your restaurant as it was disgustingly hot on a muggy night without any aircon. Allow your customer to actually speak to you when they wish to discuss the meal and give feedback rather than seeking it in an email . The common thread in your reviews echos mine including your arrogance and rudeness towards customers . Fair to say we will not be back and hopefully my review warns others before they waste money and experience similar...

After being recommended dine at to Unica Cucina E Caffe and its famous seafood pasta it is unfortunate to have to share this experience.

We had a table of 6. Settling in, we had to ask for menu's. They gave us two menus - for 6 people.

We ordered a serve of bread and 4 slices arrive. So we had to share 4 slices of bread among 6 people. Is it so hard to count the heads on a table? If two additional half slices of bread are going to send you bust then you're in the wrong business.

Not a good start.

We ordered starter plates that were well presented however lacking in flavour and over cooked. And expensive.

But the non-eventful evening was just getting started .....

We waited an hour and a half for our main course. No apology or explanation. "We're busy" is not an excuse. By then it was approaching 10pm and we'd lost our appetite an hour ago.

When the main meals finally arrived - their so called 'famous pasta marinara' was, well, I'll get right to the point, ordinary, bland, boring and over priced. Talk about a let down.

By the way, we come from Italian backgrounds and know how to create an awesome pasta marinara. It's not rocket science. But this was just plain awful.

Two of the staff were friendly, while another couldn't care less. Wait staff can only work within the environment set by the owner and chef. I could see the staff were stressed and trying to do their best. The fish rots from the head.

The seating was uncomfortable - wooden benches with no back support. As we get older so too our bodies need support - especially when you're waiting an hour and a half for a main course.

One of our group ordered a short black which turned out to be just a few drops of coffee. Seriously - you could almost count the drops. Jokingly, he asked for something that he could drink and not see disappear as it travelled from the bottom of the cup to the rim.

Our group of 6 all shared a similar view. The restaurant under delivered, was over priced, impersonal, and promoted itself way out of its league.

In fairness, I've read the good reviews so maybe we copped a bad night. But bad it was - a forgetful and uncomfortable dining experience. A real disappointment.

I do not enjoy writing reviews that aren't positive, but I cannot in good faith recommend...