Review Ventuno21 - Black Rock

As frequent diners at Cerebus Beach House we’ve been looking forward to tasting the delights of their sister restaurant Ventuno 21. Well what an absolute disappointment this has been. Nothing special about the food at all. Very ordinary and certainly not traditional Italian. It’s more of a pizza joint/cafe than restaurant. Happy Hour was not that happy with prices reduced from $20 to $15 plus served in cheap chunky water glasses. We will stick with going to the Cerebus BH in future.

An impromptu Tuesday dinner turned into a wonderful dining experience. The antipasto was delicious with the Baba ganoush and the beautiful warm olives flavoured with bay and cloves and warm bread. The wagyu shoulder Ragu with parpadelle was fulfilling and tasty and the crab and prawn angel hair was perfectly cooked and balanced in terms of chilli. The chocolate crème brûlée with torched marshmallow and raspberry sorbet was delicious and the Nutella calzone was a light dough with a bucket of Nutella; in short a decadent delight. But on top of the fantastic food, the staff were so warm, welcoming and attentive it was a real pleasure. Thank you!

service is amazing and the food is unmatched anywhere else

Great atmosphere, fantastic service and yummy food.

Had a really good experience here, service was really good and attentive. Food came out quickly. The San daniele pizza was phenomenal, ragu was spot on and the waitresses were only too happy to bring extra parmesan, chili oil and even truffle oil out - well done guys

We have just dined on a takeout meal from Ventuno21. We ordered the Calamari, with Wild Rocket with a superb Saffron Aioli, the Barramundi with Vegetables, and the Tagliatelle with braised beef Wagyu. I can honestly say that it was just as delicious and as well presented as it would have been had we dined in. We can also really recommend the Tiramisu which is very decadent and the pizzas are always really good. Thank you Chef for a beautiful dinner.

Great authentic Italian. The wood fired pizzas are amazing. Great specials. Desert options are enough to satisfy any sweet tooth. I'll definitely be returning to try the other dishes. And the best part of this little place is the excellent friendly service. Well done! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽🤩🤩🤩🤩

Awful service. Staff run around whilst I stand there for 10 min waiting to be seated. Inside only had two tables seated with customers so they weren't busy and certainly didn't seem understaffed.

The Mushroom pasta to die for. To full to try dessert all of us totally enjoyed our food. Small menu but all the better for it. Very high quality food. Packed out 3 days after opening. Book early.

Absolutely love this place, food amazing and caters for the whole family even us gluten free people!!! Amazing service ��

Warm and welcoming. Beautiful wood fire pizza. Felt like I was back in Italy eating pizza. My daughter really enjoyed her gluten free one.

What a fantastic meal we had tonight! A great atmosphere, really busy and bustling but very attentive service from Jamie and his team. 3 excellent, generously sized wood fired pizzas for the family and some delicious deserts to finish off. Outstanding value and guaranteeing repeat business! Well done guys.

We visited in the first few nights of opening and had super delicious meals - homemade gnocchi, puttanesca pasta and a pizza. The food was excellent and the service was attentive. Loved it and we will be back soon!!

We have had the good fortune of dining at Ventuno several times since their opening and already can't get enough. Amazing service, a menu that rises above and beyond your traditional Italian kitchen alongside a welcome addition to Black Rock. The hospitality of Erica, Jamie and their team brings back personable eating out. Dining here will always be a pleasure.

Beautiful wood fired pizza! Can’t wait to try the rest of the food. Thank you, the family were very happy!

Erica and Jamie have done a fantastic job in bringing the highest quality, family friendly Italian restaurant to Black Rock. Brilliant atmosphere, superb service.

Great service, amazing food and very kid friendly - we will definitely be regulars !! Thanks Erica and Jamie for a welcome addition to black rock village

Yummy food and a fun atmosphere. You will definitely bump into your friends here.

Great pizza, great service!

We returned back to Ventuno 21 last night after a while. The quality in the food has definitely improved and was really good. We had a Diavola pizza and the pea & rocket salad and were impressed. The staff were on top of their game and were always available and polite, give them a try.

We have visited this restaurant before but on this occasion the food was not that good. <br/><br/>I ordered the Casseolet. While this was tasty the portion size was huge. It was enough for 2. <br/><br/>My partner ordered the Wagu Paperdelle but unfortunately he was sick with food poisoning when we got home. During the meal he mentioned that it was a bit off<br/><br/>

I am a big fan of Cerberus Beach House so was excited to try Ventuno 21 on the recommendation of friends. It was busy for a Saturday night, although we’d booked well in advance 5 of us were seated on a table for 4 with an extra chair placed at the end, in the aisle. Not ideal when this was the closest table to the door. Still, ambience was good and it was an enjoyable place to be be. <br/>Service was a bit sloppy, extra unordered drinks arrived - not once, but twice. A $10 ‘elderflower’ mocktail had no hint of elderflower and tasted more like soda water and mint. Starters - mushroom bruschetta and trout arancini were nice. Risotto was enthusiastically recommended to me over the gnocchi special and sadly was the most disappointing meal I’ve had in years and years. The restaurant was good enough to take it off the bill, but that, and the pastas ordered, needed improvement. Pizzas looked really good but we didn’t order any. chocolate torte was nice paired with pistachio gelati. I left uninspired and disappointed - since I really love Cerberus I’ll be happy to give it another chance one day but there’s a lot of room for improvement.

Pizzas tasted great, staff seemed to wear a friendly face and people in the kitchen came across very friendly. The service experience was just not what anyone should pay money for <br/><br/>1) The place said it was open until 11:30pm on google, they had a chalk board placed at the entrance that said it’s open from 7:30pm until LATE but we walked in at 8:30pm and were made to feel unwelcome from the start. <br/> <br/>2) We got told to order soon since the kitchen was closing and chef leaving shortly. Neither of which seemed to have happened when we finished. <br/><br/>3) Felt rushed since they started packing up at around 9:15 and closing windows, blinds, setting up tables for next day etc. my wife felt really uncomfortable with all the packing up around us when we had just started eating. <br/><br/>4) There was another guy who walked in at 9:15pm and wait staff avoided eye contact with him whilst smirking to themselves and then waited for him to walk in and he clearly struggled to get anyone’s attention - it’s like the wait staff were hoping he’d go away. Finally when he mustered courage and asked them if they served beer - they said they’re closed which seemed like a blatant lie. <br/><br/>Just seemed like they’re selective with the kind of crowd they prefer visiting their restaurant.

Great Staff - Which is always a bonus. We had Arancini & Bruschetta for Starters - Nice and flavoursome. Unfortunately that's where it ended for me - Clams with Linguini & Chilli - this dish was screaming out for some seasoning & heat  - it was bland and to be honest no chilli in sight - They should also bring a bowl for the Clam shells - or they may have just forgot.  My biggest concern is that Ventuno 21 classes itself as an Italian Restaurant - If that's the case invest in a coffee Machine. I could not believe that when we asked we were told "Sorry we don't do coffee" Needless to say - Dessert was enjoyed elsewhere & close by -

Was excited to experience the new venture after many positive reviews and the tasty Cerberus restaurant. We were seated here on a busy Friday night and for a table of five we felt like we were on a table for 3. The person on the end had to keep getting up every time someone entered the restaurant so they could fit past, and after asking for some help we were politely ignored. The food was good but nothing to go racing back to. <br/>There are many of this Italian style restaurant in the area so happy to try elsewhere before a second go here.

Good small eatery with good potential. The emphasis on the pizza is more about quality ingredientsand is all hand crafted. The flavor from the wood fire pizza oven is something to treat yourself to if you haven't tried it before. Salmon tartare, fish special and gnocchi were presented well and tasty. <br/>Everyone we spoke to was super friendly, will be returning with friends for pizza and drinks in the summer!

friendly bar and food staff.<br/>incredibly quick service of food.<br/>amazing food- calzone and puttanesca spaghetti very tasty, polenta and ox cheek chips a genuine surprise and the chocolate fondant and vanilla panna cotta out of this world.<br/><br/>great atmosphere, not dirt cheap prices but genuinely good value for the quality and quantity you receive. will return !