Via Fratelli — Restaurant in Melbourne

Having a partner and son with coeliacs it is always a mission to find somewhere where either won’t go home with either a bloated stomach or feeling unwell. With Via our prayers have been answered. Not only do they have gluten free options but these options are prepared on a completely seperate part of the kitchen to ensure no contamination. Boy could we tell this. Both my partner and son had a gluten free pizza which where gorgeous and crispy and the toppings where fullsome and gluttonous, and when my son could not finish his they gladly popped it in a box for us to take home. I had a beautiful chicken parma which was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. This was accompanied by golden brown crispy chips and a lovely green salad that did not have to much garnish on which is something I often find when ordering a parma. Once this was all devoured we order some desert with my son getting gelato, my partner getting panna cotta and I got the tiramisu. All where beautiful with care taking in to each one not only in the presentation but also the taste. The tiramisu was lovely and smooth to drop my spoon into and just melted in my mouth and with my partner and son both devouring their deserts and not a single grumble about how they where feeling unwell this is a golden nugget of a find. The staff where friendly and went over and above to ensure all dietary requirements where taken care of. They engaged in conversation when we offered it and left us to our meal when they could clearly see we where happy eating away. The atmosphere of the place is lovely with you feeling comfortable that you could casually walk in but also you would not feel out of place if you had dressed up for a date night (which we have every plan on doing). In summary to those reading, you would go far from wrong if you where to take some time out of your life to come and enjoy the delights of a dinning experience at Via Ftatelli. A massive thank you all staff for the experience and we will see...

I love this place. They cater really well for special dietary requirements with GF and low-FODMAP options - it’s the only Italian restaurant I can eat in. The food is always of excellent quality and cooked to perfection. The chef is always good at whipping up a menu variation and I can call in advance to ask that a serve of calamari be set aside for me without all or the usual marinade ingredients- they once advised me that I could do this when I said I had special dietary requirements and it has been fabulous. I love that they will do that. Needless to say, it has brought them a great deal of additional customers as I drag all my family and friends there. The staff also seem to stay on longer than most other restaurants I frequent which is always a good sign, and the owners are usually present, making sure that everyone is having a positive experience. The place is usually packed for dinner. There isn’t any space for kids to run around in but they do offer colouring materials and high-chairs, along with the standard kids menu. My only criticism would be that the pizza toppings are too sparse, but then that’s what traditional Italian pizza is like so I can’t really fault them for that. My other advice would be to wear layers, as it can get very toasty in the vicinity of the wood-fired oven. Especially after a couple of glasses of vino. Book a table in advance for Fri, Sat and...

Visited Via Fratelli on the way back to the city from Inverloch and was looking for a good pasta feed. Via Fratelli came up on a Google search, so decided to give it a shot - and so glad I did! The food was absolutely delicious: really tasty, flavoursome pasta in a thick, rich sauce, with a pleasing quantity of meat in the dish; a lot of places cheap out on the portion, or bulk it up with pasta, but I was so glad this restaurant was generous with the amount of meat in the dish. (Please keep this up! Customers do notice the difference and they appreciate it!)

Service was really friendly and attentive, and it was obvious both the co-owner, Jonathan, and the head chef of the restaurant take a lot of pride in the quality of the food they serve, and are genuine happy to receive good feedback which, in this case, was totally well-deserved. I noticed they have a wood fire oven in there too, so will be keen to pop back again soon and try one of their pizzas.

If you're anywhere near Malvern East, or passing by, and fancy a really tasty, hearty pasta or pizza meal, I can highly recommend giving Via Fratelli a shot - there's a good chance you'll be...