Va Penne — Restaurant in Melbourne

ORDERED (Dec 2023): Va Penne Summer Menu 🐟 Carpaccio di Tonno: Tuna, cucumber, dill & citrus vinaigrette ($20.00) 🍝 Rigatoni: Lamb shoulder Peroni based, black olives, rosemary & Pecorino ($27.00) 🍝 [Special] Fettucine with pancetta and artichokes ($27.00)

It was $37.00pp between two people!

REVIEW: 😴 It was quiet for Saturday lunch service, which made it perfect to have the staff's dedicated attention. They are lovely and personable, with banter (particularly the blonde gentleman with glasses) that kept the atmosphere light.

👍 Food portions are generous and as flavourful as I remember. Va Penne aren't shy with their ingredients, with the lamb incredibly soft and an absolute flavour bomb. The dish gave me the heartiness that I was looking for.🥩 🥬 My partner had cooked artichokes for the first time, and loved the way it was cooked. 'Similar to a potato' he thinks. 🍞 I really enjoyed the crispy flatbread that came as part of the bread basket. It was little snappy bites of salted happiness that was simple, but so good. Although it's a full proper restaurant, it has a beautiful home cooked touch that can't be ignored. Presentation matched the casual vibes as well!

Va Penne still remains a place worth visiting. ORDERED (2 years ago): Va Penne Winter Menu 🍝 Pappardelle Funghi: portobello, porcini, shallots & grana padano ($26.00) 🍕 Carciofi pizza: artichoke, fontina, black olive & rosemary ($20.00)

REVIEW: Iconic red fluoro logo which can be seen miles away. It's a beckoning for you to come and experience the best Italian food you'll have that week. We had the vegetarian options, and although I was a doubter of artichoke in pizza... I've now been converted. The Pappardelle Funghi had the perfect amount of earthy, savoury mushrooms and al dente pasta. A match made in heaven.

Incredibly worthwhile, visit Va Penne as soon...

We had no booking (party of 3), we understood we would be lucky to be sat at all seeing as they seemed pretty busy and we were greeted by both the bartender and a waitress. She offered us a table out front or a possible table out back but she'd have to go check, we said out back sounded nice and she went off to see if there was a table for us. The bartender missed this interaction and announced to us after the lady had left that he only had spots for us at the bar. I responded that the other lady was checking for a table out back and he abruptly barked at me much louder and seemingly annoyed that they only had seats at the bar and that they weren't seating any more people out back. I can only assume he didn't actually listen to the words I was saying and that he must have thought I was complaining about being sat at the bar. We didn't argue and sat at the bar right as the other lady returned and announced that she did indeed have a table for us out back. I told her we had been instructed to sit at the bar. She seemed a little confused but we were sat now so that was done. The attitude and way I had been spoken to by the bartender ruined for me what was meant to be a nice night out with some friends who were visiting from interstate, I couldn't enjoy myself sitting at the bar opposite him after such a rude interaction. For what would have otherwise been a simple miscommunication it was a very uncomfortable time and I will not be going back. It's a shame as the food was great and the lady who waited us most of the night was...

A few days ago me and my partner went there for dinner, and we had a truly weird experience, we ordered a pizza and a pasta, after 40 minutes the waitress comes to our table to offer drinks, and we ask about the food, we had movie tickets and we were worried about the time. She says the food will be right there. Almost 15 minutes go by and no food. So I go up to her and say that we’ll only have the pizza because we need to leave in 10 minutes, she tries to get me to take the pasta on a takeaway container (to the movies) and after I say that we’re only having the pizza she becomes really short and quite rude towards us. When the pizza finally arrives we eat it in 5 minutes (It was really good), and when I first ask for the check she ignored us. My partner went to the waiters stations to pay for the bill, and tried to have friendly banter like ‘Thank you, have a good night’ and the waitress doesn’t acknowledge him speaking to her. Super weird experience in a place that at first seemed great...