Via Campanella Cucina & Bar — Restaurant in Melbourne

Last night I went out for dinner with two girlfriends to Via Campalina in Glenhuntly Road Elsternwick . The staff were attentive and very patient as we had some catch up talking to do before we ordered. The food was generous and delicious, my two friends ordered gluten free pasta dishes with slight changes to the dish and nothing was too much for the kitchen, changes to the dish was met with no problems rather than a hissy fit. All the dishes were delicious and beautifully presented. We shared a sticky date pudding with ice-cream on the side. Every request was met with a smile. As there were three of us we talked and talked, we noticed we were the last people in the restaurant, the staff left and the owner stayed back. It was after ten but unlike other places that virtually push you out the door when the kitchen is closed, we felt welcomed and stayed a while longer. We would all highly recommend Via Campalina for their delicious food, outstanding customer service. A good night out...

We were recommended to go here, but unfortunately, the restaurant was a big disappointment. The food was quite nice in the end but the service was terrible. When we arrived with our two little kid in tow at 6pm, there was only one other party in the place. However, it took over 1.5 hours to get our food. Unacceptable. A comedy of errors was only made worse by the manager being completely uninterested in solving the problem. It seemed everyone in the place was having the same issues too. The manager didn't even come over to our table to apologise nor offer any recompense for the wait. After finally getting our food, which was ok (not amazing), we ordered simple icecream for desert for the kids which never came as well as one coffee. We maintained our humour through the entire palava but it was hard to believe such a stylish place delivered such poor service. On a positive note, the waitresses were trying their best and probably just need a good manager to train them properly. Not...

Happened to notice the restaurant whilst doing our grocery shopping and were impressed by the look of the interior so made a reservation for the following evening. The waiters seemed incredibly green and the kitchen staff were clearly experiencing some issues as seemingly half the menu (both wine and food) were unavailable to order! Perhaps don’t have such an extensive menu or let people know before they deliberate on their choices

We had the calamari for a shared entree which was tasty enough and I ordered the house made pesto gnocchi and found it enjoyable though a little odd that I wasn’t offered cheese or pepper etc which is pretty standard when you are served a pasta dish. Others at the table weren’t as impressed and the food was incredibly slow to arrive. Based on the experience we won’t be in a hurry to return but the venue definitely has a lovely atmosphere (though clientele is on the...