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Reviews by Food Cop
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
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L'Osteria, Fitzroy North, VIC
L'Osteria
Vegetarian Friendly, Italian, Pizza Restaurant
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| Overall |
 
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Recommended |
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Food 8 |
Ambience 8 |
Service 8 |
Value 9 |
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This was one of the only Pizza Restaurants open on a Monday night. We were hoping to go to I Carusi in Brunswick, Woodstock Cafe down the road, or L' Uccellino in Yarraville. All which had excellent reviews, but were all closed. As part of our mission to find the best pizza in Melbourne, we only had to go with the next best choice.
As we arrived at the front of L'Osteria, the chalkboard read "Best Pizza in Melbourne". It was comfortable to know that they may be good enough to make that claim. It was time for them to substantiate that statement. We were greeted by a beautiful and well mannered waitress, which always deserves extra points (especially on a Monday). Service 8/10.
As I sat down, I noticed I was leaning on leather padding. I looked around and thought "Now THIS is what I wanted. Something Italian!". Wood and leather, and I noticed the traditional lanterns that illuminated our dining area. I was only hoping for good pizza, so the decor was just a bonus. Beats trying out a good pizza and a loud pub. Ambience 8/10.
I believe the most simplest dishes are the hardest to make. We all chose one large pizza each, and I had to go for the Margherita. Most places can't even get that right believe it or not. It was spot on. Thin soft base. Not too cheesy. Just enough sauce. Perfect. Tried out one with "The lot" and that was very good compared to the ones I usually have where one ingredient dominates another.
Also liked three we ordered with Italian Sausage, which had a nice flavour. The waitress recommended the house wine which was for once not out of a cask. Had the Tiramisu and ice cream for dessert. Didn't look like the stock standard ones ordered from a cake store. Stole a spoonful of Sticky Date Pudding and Choc Mousse from mates and they were divine (Not necessarily my mates, but the dessert). Food 8/10.
Decent sized QUALITY pizzas. The Margherita would have been about $15 for a large. Same price you would pay for a large from a little fast food joint in the burbs. There were five of us and it came to just over $35 each for 6 pizzas, a few soft drinks and a few wines and dessert. Value 9/10.
Verdict, Good for a quiet night out for pizzas. Have yet to try the pasta there but the pizzas there are exceptional. Best in Melbourne? We'll see after a few more.
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30 September 2008
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Melbourne Hwaro Korean Barbecue, Melbourne, VIC
Melbourne Hwaro Korean Barbecue
Korean Restaurant
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
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| Overall |
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Recommended |
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Food 8 |
Ambience 8 |
Service 8 |
Value 9 |
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By far one of the best group dinners I've had the last few years. The enigma has had me in suspense for weeks. No website. Few reviews. Mainly word of mouth marketing. I had to scour the internet for websites and found some pictures that made me drool.
Food- The Kim Chi is unforgettable. Best I've tasted, although I've only been to Melbourne korean restaurants. We ordered the 3 meat marinade banquet consisting of pork belly, scotch fillet, and chicken breast. The meat is laid out on the hot barbecue and attended to regularly. We accompanied the meat with a pork kimchi soup, in which we ordered a second round. Korean Cass beer complimented the variety of kimchi side dishes.
Ambience- Layout was great. Spacious, without needing to bump into other patrons (as you would in some Asian restaurants where 50 is crammed into a 30 seater joint). Very lively which suited the atmosphere.
Service- very concise. No-bull straight to the point service. The waiter/s didn't even seem like he spoke much English, however, delivered great service whenever needed. One thing I'm surprised the previous reviewer did not point out was the Bell stuck on the table. The bell is to be rung whenever service is required, which made the experience unique.
Value- After all the BBQ meat, soup, kim chi, and two rounds of beer, it came to less than $33 each. Great value.
Differentiation- Look out for its superb Kim Chi dishes and use the service bell as much as you can. I hear their Sojo on the alcohol menu is quite nice. Will try next time.
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18 February 2008
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Nobu, Southbank, VIC
Nobu
Japanese Restaurant
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| Overall |
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Below Average |
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Food 8 |
Ambience 2 |
Service 3 |
Value 2 |
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Simple quick review. Since there are so many helpful reviews, I thought I'd collaborate a few points together for those who are thinking of going to Nobu. These are points I found helpful.
1. Nobu is an over-priced restaurant you would want to try out at least once.
2. Food - Very fresh, otherwise ordinary. Go for the signature dishes.
3. Ambience - Decor is nice but nothing exceptional. Very dark and very loud. Sounds more like Degraves St rather than a $110 per-head Japanese Restaurant.
4. Service - Waited 25 minutes for our table (even though we booking for a 2 hour time slot). Waitresses spoke from a script.
5. Value - $110 for an 8-course set menu. Value is definitely not there. But remember you're not really there for value.
6. Throw-away chopsticks? Come on.
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09 January 2008
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Bearbrass, Southbank, VIC
Bearbrass
Modern Australian, Pizza, Vegetarian Friendly Restaurant
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| Overall |
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Not Recommended |
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Food 2 |
Ambience 3 |
Service 1 |
Value 2 |
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I went there for a work Christmas lunch. Upon arrival, the waitress had to ask how many people we had when we had clearly made a booking. Not that the boss turned around to count the heads but we ended up walking towards our table, crammed against the wall where the inner seats were too high, and the outer seats were in the way of people walking back and forth, causing people to bump into my chair while I was trying my best to enjoy my food. Came within 1 minute to take orders for drinks, but had a standard menu on the table instead of a menu with the choices of different dishes as part of the package.
A few clever suggestions would have been helpful from the manager. Pre-ordering would have saved a lot more time, and for those who liked neither of the choices for the entree, could have ordered one anyway and allow the rest to share seeing it was part of the deal anyway. Not overly complicated recommendations.
I went for the $48 festive package. Included were Turkish bread and dips, Cajun calamari with aioli, 250g Scotch fillet steak with root vegetable pave, and apple crumble with ice cream. No complaints with the Turkish bread or the entree. Asked for a beer I couldn’t even pronounce, and asked which country it came from. But the waitress decided to guess rather than walk two steps back and ask the bartender.
Finally, the main course. One of my favourites. Steak! Being a steak man, I would have plenty to comment on. I asked for medium rare, and it came out almost well done. I knew I should have asked for rare, seeing how inexperienced the worked looked. But it shouldn’t be my job to order something else, hoping to get what I want. Took a while to come out, and I ordered a water by this stage. Steak was very dry. Very small serving considering the veggies were made into a size of a 10 stack pancake. Greens on the side which did not go with either portion of the meal. I was struggled to finish it as it was that bad.
Then it was dessert. Apple crumbles with ice cream. We were told the package did not include coffee or tea, which then later was confirmed that it was. Minor mistakes such as this should be intolerable. I ordered a green tea, the waitress came out with a herbal tea with honey, only to discover that it was green tea however the girl "assumed" it was herbal because she saw the packet of honey with it. I did not order honey.
Good - Nice venue to attend with a group of people as it faces the water and would be good in summer. Decor is average but staffs look friendly and welcoming. We received three smiles when walking in.
Bad - Downfall are the inexperienced staff. They are very young and very informal. I did not get my water. Waitress bumped into my chair a few times (I shouldn’t have to move my chair in more than I have to, although I did to show some common courtesy). Waitresses walked past a number of times and did not clear the table until it was fairly full. Where is the manager? If he/she was around, something should have been said. Two other colleagues did not get their steak cooked to their liking. However, only one requested a new one. I couldn't be bothered as it was during our lunch hour.
Verdict
Food - awful
Ambience - Below average. Had nowhere to look in front of me besides the bottom of empty wine bottles.
Service - They tried, but too inexperienced and lacked guidance.
Value - $48 for calamari that was nice, crap steak, melted ice-cream and apple crumble and drinks were not included in that price.
If you ever want a feed, go next door to the food court. Better variety and you'll pay a 5th of the price for lunch.
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13 December 2007
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Yu-u, Melbourne, VIC
Yu-u
Japanese Restaurant
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| Overall |
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Highly Recommended |
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Food 9 |
Ambience 10 |
Service 9 |
Value 9 |
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Great location. The secrecy of this little eatery makes it somewhat exclusive. If you bring a friend he/she would usually begin the dining experience with the question "How the hell did you find this place?" $16 set lunches have yet to let me down so far. As me and a friend kicked off our shoes to enter the private room, we came out to find that the waiter rearranged it nicely. Not only that, there was a shoe horn waiting beside the footwear.
The Japanese greeting enhanced its authenticity of the culture, rather than being served by Malaysian overseas students working for a Chinese boss. But then again, alot of Italian restaurants have Chinese chefs so that really doesn't matter as long as the food is nice. However, knowing that does add value to the experience. Overall it is highly recommended. Just take a look at its ratings. Bookings essential.
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18 October 2007
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Cafe Lalibela, Footscray, VIC
Cafe Lalibela
African, Vegetarian Friendly Restaurant
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| Overall |
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Recommended |
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Food 7 |
Ambience 8 |
Service 6 |
Value 8 |
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Heard too many good reviews about this establishment. However my expectations exceeded what they had to offer. Perhaps it was the fact that they held the title for The Age Cheap Eats "world dish of the year".
Upon seating there was not much explanation as to what we should be expecting. Ordered four dishes between four. Two meat dishes and two vegetarian. As the meal came out on a large metal plate the dishes were poured onto the layers of fresh bread, be prepared to get your hands dirty, which is half the fun. I thought we had the choice between bread and rice (or both), but then again we didn't request any. Service wasn't great, but wasn't bad either. I had beer bottles all over the table (thumbs up for $5 Ethiopian beer) but we got what we wanted whenever we asked for it. Ambience and decor were pleasant.
Overall it's a nice place for a quiet dinner with a few people to get the best value out of it. Minus the beer it averaged out to be $12.50 a pop including five cans of soft drinks. Will definitely go back and try out other dishes, but this time will request for some recommendations.
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16 October 2007
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Moroccan Soup Bar, Fitzroy North, VIC
Moroccan Soup Bar
Vegetarian Friendly, Moroccan Restaurant
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| Overall |
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Highly Recommended |
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Food 10 |
Ambience 9 |
Service 8 |
Value 10 |
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Upon arrival the waiter explained how the menu worked and enquired about allergies. Food came quick and service was prompt. Bookings essential as this is easily the busiest eatery on St Georges Road. Dish of the day: Chickpea bake. Highly recommended.
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16 October 2007
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
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