Lipari Cafe Bar Restaurant — Restaurant in Victoria

LIPARI – 10 Union Street, Geelong

Simply satisfying

Sometimes all you are looking for is a good hearty feed, especially after a very cold evening at the footy. We went searching after the game on Saturday night for a bite to eat somewhere we had not been before. My partner had been strolling around Geelong earlier in the day and notice a couple of eateries in a lane, which turned out to be Union Street.

That was where we headed and made the choice to dine at Lipari. I would describe it as a pasta bar. That is the main feature of the menu. Basically you choose one of a dozen or more sauces and pair it with your choice of pastas which includes ravioli and gnocchi as options. There are lasagnas as well but that is about it in terms of main meals.

You can’t really go wrong with a comfortable setting, some pasta, a rich sauce and some parmesan. We did begin with some olive oil and balsamic served with fresh bread. I love dipping the bread and soaking up the oil and vinegar.

My partner went with gnocchi and I chose the penne but, we both went with the Zingara sauce. Capsicum, mushroom, olives & onion with a tomato base and it was delicious. There was plenty of it. I opted for the main size which is very generous and even I couldn’t quite finish it all. Perhaps the entrée size is enough. At least then dessert may have been a consideration.

Lipari really is simplicity. It’s not silver service, it’s comfortable and friendly and the food is exactly what you expect, plenty of good pasta served with lots of flavoursome sauce.

Prices are good, there are plenty of options to mix and match your pasta desires. A relaxed atmosphere and a friendly team. Tick tick tick.

After a game this is a...

Food smelt great when walking by one day so went tonight with my husband. Had a nice glass of red wine. Food took quite a while to come but it was relatively busy. Pasta dish was pretty average in taste but I ordered the entree size and it was a HUGE portion. Obviously I couldn't eat it all, even when my husband ate quite a bit we still had about half left. The restaurant refused to give us a take away container to take the leftovers home. This is despite the fact the restaurant does take away food and had a mountain of take away containers in the kitchen I could see from where I was sitting. I asked the waitress If they preferred to just chuck away that much food in the bin - turns out that's their policy! Given the portion sizes they must have a ridiculous amount of food waste! What a silly policy! Husband had the cannelloni - must say it was below average too. Side...

For an Italian pasta restaurant, I expected fresh pasta and sauces, which was not the case. I got the marinara which used frozen chewy seafood with a basic sauce that I could make at home. 2 stars as my partners cabonara was pretty good. The Napolitana sauce tastes the same as a store bought one (maybe store sauce is getting better?) Service staff were unfriendly and didn't really seem to know what they were doing, or just didn't care. We waited 40mins for our entree of just Garlic Bread which again, tasted the same as store bought, no fresh garlic used. Portions are WAY too big. Rather high quality food in smaller amounts.

It is a very disappointing experience when you pay for food at a specialty restaurant that you can make better at home. I recommend going to a pub for a...