Universal Italian Restaurant & Function Venue Carlton, Melbourne

Universal Italian Restaurant & Function Venue Details

Universal Italian Restaurant & Function Venue Address

139-141 Lygon St
Carlton VIC 3053
Map
Universal Italian Restaurant & Function Venue Website

Universal Italian Restaurant & Function Venue Contact Info

Phone (03) 9347 4393

Cuisines

Italian, Pizza, Steak House

Chef

Alfredo Mercuri

Prices

Average Meal Price $25 - based on one entree & main course only
Entrees $8.50
Mains $13.00-$19.90
Desserts $8.50

Rooms & Capacity

A La Carte Restaurant
Casual Dining Restaurant
Seating Capacity 100

Private Function & Events Venue
Private dining room with large balcony
Seating Capacity 65
Standing Capacity 65

Hours

Lunch
Mon to Sun 10:30am - 5pm
Dinner
Mon to Sun 5pm - 11:30pm

Specialties

1kg angus rump steak
Home Desserts

Overview of Universal Italian Restaurant & Function Venue

Established in 1969 Universal Italian Restaurant & Function Venue has flourished to become one of Melbourne's leading casual dinning restaurants & first rate function & events venue.

User Reviews of Universal Italian Restaurant & Function Venue, Carlton

Page: 1 2 Next

Displaying: 1 - 10 of 18 reviews

5 Average

Food 5 Ambience 4 Service 6 Value 5

Whenever in town I find it a must to head up to Lygon St and experience the entertainment of restauranters selling their food to passers-by and offering deals to suck people in. I would be lying if I said I hadn't been hooked in by a bottle of very cheap wine or a free entree before only to experience some pretty average meals. In fact I love taking anyone new to Melbourne there to get a first hand view of it all.

After reading many pleasant reviews on this site, I decided to take the guess work out of play and book in.

Staff were pleasant and relatively prompt but they appeared very busy so not much in the way of warmth. We were a table of two squeezed in next to a table of approx 15 to 20 young people celebrating a birthday. It was pretty loud as you would imagine so that deterred from the experience a bit but that's just the way the cookie crumbles.

Food wise - Not bad. Portion sizes are large. We had arancini balls and buffalo wings as shared starters and I was starting to feel the pinch after them. Mains we had the gnocchi with beef ragout and the home made meatballs with angel hair pasta. I enjoyed them but certainly no wow factor.

Apr 11, 2012

Kcorslee
82

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 6 Service 8 Value 10

Is the food the "best italian food ever"? No. Is the service the most amazing ever? No. Is the ambience amazing? No.

But - more importantly, this place "does as described." The food is exactly what it says it will be, the service is pleasant and the prices are exceptionally reasonable. In what, for the unwary traveller, can be the overwhelming and sometimes confusing Lygon Street, Universal is a gem of fresh and delicious food that won't break the bank.

Jul 14, 2011

MissyKatie
4

4.5 Below Average

Food 6 Ambience 6 Service 1 Value 5

Went there for the second time, when the table was ready, there were 5 people coming in and they let them have a table. Disappointing customer service. Food is average.

Dec 22, 2010

dan3
1

9 Highly Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 10 Value 10

I have visited this place many times, and always keep going back due to the very attentive staff, well priced meals and well priced menu, definitely a guarantee if visiting Lygon street, as it won't break your budget and you will have a great dinner out!

Apr 05, 2010

atlancia
4

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 9

I have been going here for over 20 years. I have been to a lot of other pizza joints in Lygon but have always come back to Universal. This place used to feature on Hey Hey its Saturday when they were in the old shop. Keep up the good work.

Nov 06, 2009

Jetset
6

6.5 Recommended

Food 7 Ambience 5 Service 6 Value 8

This place is cheap if you order a special. Eg the $13 steak or the $10 parma. My friend got the chefs special salad and it looked amazing. My other friend got a 500g steak which was massive although a little undercooked. Still the food was pretty good.

This would be somewhere you would hang out with friends and is not as busy as the other section of lygon so you won't have people bumping into your chairs if you sit outside. Service wasn't that great as a few times we had to go up to them to get an extra order and to pay the bill but otherwise was a pleasant experience.

Aug 13, 2009

msjojo
20

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 7 Service 9 Value 9

I travel to Melbourne on a regular basis. Always here at least once. More often than not twice.

Food is basic, plentiful, good quality and inexpensive.

The $13 steak may be 300g but so tasty!

Three course meal with drinks for around $50 is great value. Their platters are divine.

May 08, 2009

kdhakl
1

5.8 Average

Food 3 Ambience 5 Service 8 Value 7

We went to this restaurant based on the recommendations posted here. So I feel obliged to correct them, so others don't suffer the same fate. The food we had at Universal was disappointed. We ordered pizzas and salad. Alarm bells rang when my hawaiian came out covered with shredded ham and drowning in pineapple. The base tasted fried. My wife's magharita was worse, tasteless with too much cheese and no herbs. And the salad suffered from overuse of a cheap balsamic vinegar. This may sound harsh but there is no excuse for bad pizza on Lygon street. On the plus side the service was fantastic.

Apr 18, 2009