Universal Restaurant — Restaurant in Melbourne

ORDERED (OCT 2024): 🥖 Garlic bread: Crunchy ciabatta bread with real garlic butter ($12.00) grilled mozzarella cheese ($4.00) 🍗 Universal chicken schnitzel ($17.90)

It was $30.40 for my portion!

REVIEW: ❤ The garlic bread is perfect to split between 4 people. We had enough for 2 slices each. The ciabatta is crunchy, as promised, which makes it so satisfying to bite in to!

🤤 Universal still has the best mushroom sauce I've ever had. 🍄💕 It tastes amazing with the chicken schnitzel that's too big for me to finish by myself. It's fantastic value for money. I would still recommend Universal. If you line up before 6:30pm, you can get in relatively easily! If after... be prepared to wait. ORDERED (2023): 🧀  Cheese Doughnuts: That's Amore Cheese air-dried mozzarella, crispy, fried & gooey on the inside ($14.00) 🍝 Entree Penne Bolognese: Traditional homemade beef sauce ($15.90) 🐓  Universal Chicken Schnitzel: Handmade chicken breast schnitzel, served with our special mushroom sauce, served with Universal's beer battered chips & italian slaw ($28.00)

REVIEW: Universal is truly an iconic restaurant in the Melbourne scene.

I've tried numerous restaurants for their mushroom sauce, but none compares to the mushroom sauce with the Universal Chicken Schnitzel. The mushroom sauce is decadent, slightly sweet and savoury with that iconic mushroom earthy taste. It's truly unbeatable and I have quarterly dreams about it!!

Everything else is okay, but the Universal chicken schnitzel is a MUST order. Big crumbled chicken breast that's great to either try to eat on your own... or split between two. We tried to be ambitious and split all the food, but we couldn't finish the pasta. Even the entree size is generous!

Great portions, great flavours, great quality. It's hard to beat what...

I've been a regular at Universal Restaurant for over ten years, and boy, has it grown! It's pretty incredible how much this place has expanded, but one thing hasn't changed a bit: the crazy long wait time. My partner and I got there at 5pm, and there was already a queue forming outside!

We ordered our old favorite, the universal chicken schnitzel, a new dish - the grilled salmon with risotto, and a special apple pie milkshake. I've gotta be honest, the food took a while to come out. But the milkshake? Totally worth it. It was like sipping on a liquid apple pie, seriously good stuff, although it did cost $12, which seemed a bit steep.

Now, the schnitzel. It's been consistently good over the years, but I noticed a few changes since my last visit about 6 months ago. The price, for starters, has gone up. Not surprising, but still, a bummer. The chips were different too, but the biggest letdown was the coleslaw. It was nothing like the good old coleslaw they used to serve - this new one was kinda low quality and too sour for my liking. It's a real shame because the chicken-chips-coleslaw combo was what made this dish a winner. Now, the chicken is the only part I really look forward to.

The salmon dish was alright, although it was served a bit too cold for my taste. We sent it back to the kitchen, and it came out hot and tasted quite good.

All in all, it's hard to ignore the fact that Universal Restaurant is still a big hit in the area, despite a bunch of not-so-good reviews. But for me, it's getting harder to recommend this place. The prices keep going up, and it feels like they're cutting corners by swapping the chips and coleslaw for cheaper alternatives. It just doesn't feel like the same old Universal Restaurant that I fell in love with. But, hey, that milkshake though - still a...

📍 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗹 ⭑.ᐟ

❤︎ 𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗱-𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱: craving for something warm, cheesy, and sharable ❤︎ 𝗙𝗮𝘃 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗵: the chicken parmigiana—crispy schnitzel meets melty cheese ❤︎ 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿: besties hangout or anyone needing a comforting, giant plate of joy ❤︎ 𝗩𝗶𝗯𝗲: casual, homey, crowded but feels like a good sign

ꫂ ၴႅၴ

As soon as we walked in, the first thing I noticed was… the queue. It was long! But instead of turning away, I felt even more curious—if people are willing to wait, it must be worth it, right?

We ended up ordering the Universal Chicken Parmigiana and I’m so glad we did. It came out as a huge crispy schnitzel layered with tangy Napolitana sauce and loads of melty mozzarella cheese. The chicken was juicy inside, golden and crunchy outside. I took the first bite and just went “mmm”—you know that type of food where you don’t need to talk for a bit because you’re too focused on how good it is?

The chips were thick-cut and seasoned just right, and the Italian slaw surprised me—in the best way. I’m usually not into slaw, but this one was creamy and refreshing enough to balance the richness of the main dish. I didn’t leave a single shred behind 😋

Honestly, the portion is massive. I shared this with a friend and we were both full and happy. It’s the kind of dish you’d want on a slightly chilly day, or when you’re feeling a little homesick and just need some crispy, cheesy, deep-fried love on a plate.

ⴵ 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲: around 30 minutes (busy but still felt fast!) 𐀪 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗱: crowded with diners, lots of groups ☼ 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱: Friday dinner ‎𐂐 𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿: Universal Chicken Parmigiana (served with seasoned chips & Italian slaw)

𝗪𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻? Definitely—next time I’ll come with an empty stomach and a friend to share the...