Ventuno 21 — Restaurant in Melbourne

Pizzas tasted great, staff seemed to wear a friendly face and people in the kitchen came across very friendly. The service experience was just not what anyone should pay money for

1. The place said it was open until 11:30pm on google, they had a chalk board placed at the entrance that said it’s open from 7:30pm until LATE but we walked in at 8:30pm and were made to feel unwelcome from the start.

2. We got told to order soon since the kitchen was closing and chef leaving shortly. Neither of which seemed to have happened when we finished.

3. Felt rushed since they started packing up at around 9:15 and closing windows, blinds, setting up tables for next day etc. my wife felt really uncomfortable with all the packing up around us when we had just started eating.

4. There was another guy who walked in at 9:15pm and wait staff avoided eye contact with him whilst smirking to themselves and then waited for him to walk in and he clearly struggled to get anyone’s attention - it’s like the wait staff were hoping he’d go away. Finally when he mustered courage and asked them if they served beer - they said they’re closed which seemed like a blatant lie.

Just seemed like they’re selective with the kind of crowd they prefer...

I took my 6 year old twins and my mum (grandma) for dinner last night.

We ordered the Arancini special and garlic pizza to start with. The size of the garlic pizza is huge and oh so delicious!

My mum and I both ordered the same dish, Chilli Crab & Prawn Linguine and it was so full of flavour!

My daughter had the kids Spag Bol and my son had Nuggets & chips. Their meals were the same size as our mains! And the Spag Bol is one of the best I've tasted. I'd be inclined to go back and order the kids meal, hahaha (obviously I wouldn't).

To end, we ordered a Tiramisu and Sticky Date Pudding. I thought the kids would enjoy the Sticky Date, but they smashed through the Tiramisu.... Not many kids like espresso flavour, but they devoured this!!

All in all it was a very delicious dinner. And we had happy hour whilst we...

An impromptu Tuesday dinner turned into a wonderful dining experience. The antipasto was delicious with the Baba ganoush and the beautiful warm olives flavoured with bay and cloves and warm bread. The wagyu shoulder Ragu with parpadelle was fulfilling and tasty and the crab and prawn angel hair was perfectly cooked and balanced in terms of chilli. The chocolate crème brûlée with torched marshmallow and raspberry sorbet was delicious and the Nutella calzone was a light dough with a bucket of Nutella; in short a decadent delight. But on top of the fantastic food, the staff were so warm, welcoming and attentive it was a real...