Review Il Viale - Brisbane

We lasted 5 minutes at this place before we left. The service here is terrible. They do not have a host, instead a stressed out cranky waitress who can't even remember to give you a menu. We saw many frustrated diners with empty plates with no end in sight. It's really a shame because the food smells wonderful but the front of house staff need to be churned for those more appropriately trained.

The food was lovely, I had the ravioli. I would recommend booking an indoor seating area, however, as we were sat underneath a tree so kept having tiny leaves falling in our food & drink. It wasn’t that busy when we were there but there was only 1 waitress for the majority of the time, so it made service a bit slow.

Authentic Italian cuisine very evidently cooked with pride and passion. Delicious meal , great choice of Italian wines, attentive service...would absolutely come again. Have been to many good Italian restaurants in Sydney and Griffith, NSW.This in one of our top 3.

Absolutely amazing tasting pasta. 5* in taste, however the serving size was a tiny bit small, left us still hungry after finishing. Has bumped the overall rating down to a 4, but still very very nice!

Had dinner with my parents last Friday night. Its very clear their waitresses are overworked and stressed, cause they seemed rushed in taking our orders. I ordered the spaghetti bog. For $29, it was appalling. Tasteless, bland and very dry. Tasted like it was frozen. My parents ordered specialised pastas and they were great. But a spaghetti bog should have been easily flavoursome. I passed on feedback at the end towards a nice, blond waitress. She took it on board and apologised, but I am not confident feedback went back to the chef.

Enjoyed the lovely lunch. Can never go wrong with pasta.

Exceptional service and the food is fantastic .. Thursday night, restaurant full but service didn’t faultier… we were outside on a table of 10 and wanted for nothing… wonderful experience.. ❤️🍷

The food was delicious and the service was excellent! I absolutely love the lights and outside area of plants and the big tree. Highly recommended!!

We use to go here on a very regular basis. We left the area but whenever we are in Brisbane we always meet and eat there. We have recommended so many people to go.

My husband & I went to this restaurant with two friends at 8.45pm Saturday night. I explained that just my husband and I would be eating as our friends had already been to dinner and had joined us unexpectedly. The waitress said this was fine and offered us an indoor table in their restaurant which was half empty. She explained that only pastas were available. My husband and I were okay with this and ordered their signature seafood pasta and a pizza bread. We also shared two bottles of wine which we brought with us. The meal came and after eating we were handed a bill with a $27 corkage charge. When we queried this, the waitress abruptly told us that we'd been charged $8 corkage for those not eating and $3 for those eating. So not only without notice were our friends being charged $8 (would have been nice for them to mention at the time that we arrived and I explained only my husband and I were eating) my husband and I were charged as one of us not eating because we'd only technically ordered one main and one entree. We live only meters away in Graceville so had we been made aware of this heinous corkage charge we would have simply done takeaway but figured we might as well eat there as the restaurant was half empty, it's not like we were taking tables from paying customers. It left a really bad taste in our mouths and we will never return to Il Viale which is a shame as up until this experience we frequently went and ate their seafood pasta. From now on we'll be going to Toco Italiano on Oxley Road - the service and atmosphere is much better, nice enough to make up for not being BYO.

My wife and I have been going to Il Viale for a number of years now; it is our favourite Italian restaurant. Yesterday we hosted for the second time a luncheon function for the Brisbane Food and Wine Club. 41 attended for a 3 course lunch. It was superb! Probably the best function we have had in years. The food was excellent. Starting with a very generous antipasto and a choice of 3 mains, scaloppine, fish of the day and Il Cartoccio (a shell fish dish) and followed up with Paolo's tiramisu. The menu could not have been bettered or faulted. Getting hot dishes to 41 people all at the same time is a challenge for any chef. Paolo rose to the occasion as we would have expected. Treat yourself, you won't be disappointed.

My wife and I went here for "date night" last Friday night. The staff were friendly and polite. My wife ordered the Agollotti Aragosta - pasta filled with lobster. She found it absolutely delicious however when asking the waiter about it he tried to steer her to other dishes quite forcefully.🤔 kind of weird as she was only asking what type of sauce it came with.<br/>I ordered the Filetto Rosso - eye fillet with red wine jus medium rare. Sadly it came out of the kitchen well done. I sent it back and the next one came out as ordred however they had not seasoned the meat and it was a different jus to the first one. It was bland and a disappointment.<br/>I would like to try here again and order straight Italian as my wife enjoyed hers.

Beautiful Italian food cooked and served by beautiful Italian people. A favourite for lunch and nothing is too hard. Ask for what you feel like. The marinara linguine is authenticity and no corners are cut. Lovely thank you

Tucked away between a veterinary practice and pool shop in suburban Brisbane you’ll find one of Brisbane’s best kept secrets – Il Viale Ristorante Italiano.<br/><br/>Meaning ‘the avenue’ in Italian, Il Viale sits fittingly on Honour Avenue in Graceville and serves up delicious traditional dishes lovingly prepared by chef/owner Paolo Pinci.<br/><br/>The chef’s daily specials board is nearly as long as the menu itself and always has two or three dishes that tempt me, but without fail I always end up ordering the Ravioli Giallorosso, which I rate as one of Brisbane’s top five Italian dishes.<br/><br/>On this most recent occasion, my good friend and I both enjoy the Ravioli Giallorosso and we shared the Bruschetta al Pomodoro, the Funghi Saltati and the Spinaci.<br/><br/>The Ravioli Giallorosso ($26.00) are filled with ricotta cheese and spinach and finished with a tomato and cream sauce. These handmade pillows of perfection never disappoint and rate 4.5-5.0 out of 5.<br/><br/>The Bruschetta al Pomodoro ($10.50) begins with Pane Della Casa, which is piled high with fresh diced tomato, seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, basil, garlic and salt. This was a delightful dish and there was more than enough to share. The Bruschetta rated 4.0 out of 5.<br/><br/>The Funghi Saltati ($9.50) are mushrooms, sautéed in olive oil, garlic and parsley, while the Spinaci ($9.50) is baby spinach sautéed in olive oil, garlic and lemon. Both make wonderful accompaniments to the Ravioli.<br/><br/>Il Viale do a thriving dinner business, but over six lunches in recent years I have never seen them with more than three or four tables occupied during lunch service. <br/><br/>I assure you that if Il Viale were located in the CBD or at South Bank they would have queues out the door waiting to feast on their delicious homemade pastas. <br/><br/>I highly recommend Il Viale – well done, Chef Pinci!<br/><br/>*****<br/>July 2016<br/>Rated 4.0 out of 5<br/><br/>Good Italian in the heart of Graceville. I've been to Il Viale four times and have always enjoyed myself.  The waitstaff is friendly and accommodating.  The specials board is ridiculously long (they really should print it and hand a paper copy to the table), but the food is very good.  My personal favorite is the spinach and ricotta ravioli in cream sauce.  I order a side of spinach and add this to the dish as well.  The Penne Pomodoro and Caprese are both very nice.  Lots of options for vegetarians and carnivores, so this is an easy choice when we are trying to keep peace.<br/><br/>NOTE: We turned some friends onto Il Viale a few weeks ago and they loved it.  They went three times in two weeks!

I was taken here by surprise by my fiancé. I had no idea what to expect and the restaurant looked small and it was full of people. Nicki was the only staff member on floor and she looked snowed under but the excellent service we received from her was also warm and lovely. <br/><br/>When the food arrived, I was blown away by it. <br/>My partner had the veal tortellini and I ordered the sand crab spaghetti. They were beyond all expectations! I've always been apprehensive about ordering seafood at restaurants because they are either not fresh or soaked in agents to keep them "fresher". My crab tasted like the meat had just been torn off the crab and it was tender sweet juicy wonderful deliciousness! <br/><br/>My partners pasta was freshly made, velvety and bathed in a heavenly sauce. This is exactly what Italian restaurants should have been serving all along and I'm so glad I've found this wonderful little place now! <br/>We will most definitely frequent this restaurant again and again!

Gnocchi and ribs - made in heaven and melts in your mouth. Book a table to avoided disappointment because it is definitely a local favourite. Portions are big, so come hungry! Not the cheapest but won't break the bank either.

Friendly staff and a cosy atmosphere. BYO wine. Food was quite nice but nothing exceptional. Probably wouldn't rush to go back but a pleasant evening.

Nice causal Italian restaurant with friendly staff. The pasta was nice; not overly powerful flavours like some Italian restaurants. Specials menu board had just as many items to choose from as the main menu. Would come back for dine in or takeaway but is a little expensive. Serving sizes are decent as well.

Very average Italian - the overpriced wine was probably the best part of the experience. Ordered the arancini balls and bruschetta as an entree and after having eaten that decided not to order mains

Had a spectacularly good night. Food was amazing! So refreshing to go to an Italian Restaurant that does not serve pizzas. The specials board so extensive none of our party ordered off the main menu. Looking forward to going again.

The family's go to Italian place. Great tasting pasta dishes. Wife's favourite is the cartoccio. The daughter usually orders the agnolotti. I try a new pasta dish everytime I go and have only been disappointed once in around 10 visits. And it was because the pasta was not al dente that one time.<br/><br/>Caution though, you need patience when you visit. Il Viale can become very busy and service slows down quite a bit. Also, there are times that they serve other tables first even if they ordered after you. Seems there is a need to get the ordering system a little more organised. Drinks are also sometimes forgotten to be delivered so be ready to remind the staff.<br/><br/>Also, I find it a bit funny that their specials board have stayed 90% the same during our different visits. Having a single board, being carried around to each table, might be their way of controlling traffic in the kitchen, i.e. slow down orders in the queue. I think it might be better to just make some of the "specials" part of the menu so customers can order quicker. But add more sous chefs in the kitchen to have a quicker turn over.<br/><br/>Still, if you are lucky enough to visit Il Viale during a low volume period, you will enjoy a quality meal.

We made a booking for a family dinner (2 adults and 2 kids) at this restaurant at 6.30pm on a Saturday.  Arrived at the restaurant at 6.29pm.  It wasn't busy when we arrived however, we were only seated 10 minutes later despite the staff passing us by several times.  We were given our menus straight away, however, no one came to take our order at least for drinks.  We were seated right next to the bar, right by the entrance to the entrance, therefore I DON'T believe they didn't notice us.  After waiting for another 15 minutes after being seated I walked up to the bar and asked "we made a reservation at 6.30pm, it's now 5 minutes to 7pm, is anyone coming to take our order?".  One of the waiting staff comes around 5 minutes after my enquiry and takes our order for both drinks and meals.  We were getting quite hungry by this time so we figured we'd order the meals straight away.  Plus, the kids were getting quite fidgety.  At 7.15pm (45 minutes after arrival) we were served our drinks.  The restaurant eventually got busier as the night went on and new diners were being accompanied to seats and been given menus and served drinks.  The kids were ravenous by this time. It was 7.45pm, and one of the waiting staff came over and said the food is 5 minutes away.  We waited another 15 minutes.  At 8pm, to our total dismay, the table next to us which had a group of 5 adults (whom also arrived 20 minutes after us) got their mains served.  By this time we have had it.  My husband walked up to the bar and asked how long we have to wait for our food to be served?  The waiter who told us "it was 5 minutes away" (15 minutes ago) apologised and said he forgot our order and it was in his pocket till now and that he only just now gave it in.  Then the manager/chef (person in charge) overheard this conversation and walked up to us and said in a very Unapologetic and rude manner, "look! we are human, we make mistakes, go sit down and your food will be served".  After waiting for 1 and half hours for food, which never arrived, this was the last straw!! I asked the lady at the bar, how much we owe them for drinks? She refused to take money.  I left $30 cash on the table and said "this is for the drinks, we are leaving!!" and walked out with my family. <br/>I just wanted to give everyone who reads the reviews for this restaurant an exact run down on the events that happened that night so you can make up your own mind.  We are not completely unreasonable diners, we do understand that the restaurants are busy and things don't always run on time.  But the complete lack of professionalism is what I couldn't understand and tolerate.  I wish I could've written a review on the food but unfortunately, the food never arrived even after waiting for 1.5 hours.  I just hope that they read this review and realise that they either need to increase their staff on busy nights or stop taking new reservations beyond their capable limits.  And also improve their attitude a bit!!   Needless to say we won't be back again to find out if they've improved.  Extremely disappointing end to a family night out!!!!

The hours are incorrect, both on this site and the business storefront. It is listed as 11:30a-Late, yet at 3:30p it was closed and a worker came out and told us they did not open until 5:30.

Sorry but I cannot agree with the reviews on this restaurant. The spaghetti was good but the ravioli was still frozen in the centre. The prawns were very expensive for 4 prawns and tasted bitter. Not impressed.

We have dined here twice in the past fortnight. The first time it was incredibly busy and this was reflected in the wait times. I had the linguini with prawns and it was spectacular, hubby had the seafood pasta in a bag and he was also blown away by it. <br/>When we went again and were not quite as impressed, I had the sand crab spaghetti, it was good but just needed a little something else, maybe some zing (capers, lemon or more parsley) and hubby had the ragu gnocchi which was not very good - the gnocchi was nice but the ragu was less than impressive with little tough bits of meat in it. <br/>We also shared the caramel pear cake dessert, it was gorgeous, except for the strawberry icecream topping (festive addition considering it was Xmas eve?) that soaked into the lovely cake and icecream.<br/><br/>The service is very nice - warm with Italian staff who know their stuff. It is really nice to sit outside under the tree with the fairy lights.<br/><br/>We will try again in the near future.

Pleasant restaurant, but a bit cold when placed near the open door in early spring at night. Standing menu is classic and simple. The specials board is mind bogglingly vast! We were a bit overwhelmed by the board which was balanced on a chair next to our table. <br/><br/>Entrees were a bit ho-hum; prawns with chilli weren't spicy at all and were probably frozen prawns. We think the mains lobster was also frozen and a bit overcooked in a creamy rich sauce; spaghetti vongole on the other hand was lovely!<br/><br/>Pretty sure the tiramisu was commercial stuff, good quality, but commercial. <br/><br/>On balance, the food was generally pleasant but not great; I feel like we paid too much for what we got.

Cost $120 for two adults and a 5 yr old so it was a bit pricey. This included 3 glasses of wine.<br/>The children's menu s very restricted and what was the worst part of the whole experience. Unless your children eat anything and everything, you're better to include them in an adults meal.<br/>kids option is a chicken schinitzel with potato wedges, a ham and cheese pizza, or pene pasta with a plain tomato sauce, clearly needs improving.<br/>The waitress was very nice, but I don't think attending patrons in skin tight stone wash jeans is good enough quite frankly.

Great Italian restaurant. Delicious food, good service. Always busy. Will be back.

Delicious!. Been here for lunch a few times. Delicious food. Great service. Nice Location. A bit pricey is my only little complaint :)

Charming place but service needs improving. I was part of a party of six at Il Viale on a Saturday night. The restaurant is across the road from Graceville train station and near the old Regent Theatre. Seating is split between two indoor rooms and a large footpath dining area. Decor is fairly nondescript and I would describe the setting as gentile suburban. <br/><br/>To be fair, we were told on booking there was a large party that night. And it showed. We waited 20-30 minutes to receive menus, and several requests for these went unanswered. Meals took almost two hours to arrive. We were catching up with old friends so had plenty to talk about to keep ourselves entertained, but everyone was starving and at least two bottles of wine had gone down before the food arrived!<br/><br/>On the plus side, the menu was extensive - including a large specials board - and the produce of good quality. Not the best Italian food I've eaten in Brisbane, and not cheap at $30+ for a main, but fresh and nicely done. <br/><br/>However, the service was a major let down. We had one course and were there for nearly 3 1/2 hours. For such an experienced restauranteur, as the owner is, he should put on more staff on busy nights and change the floor management style - one person took every table's order, causing unnecessary and unreasonable delays. <br/><br/>So, plenty to recommend Il Viale but definitely room for improvement.

Beautiful dinner. We had our anniversary dinner in the front courtyard and were delighted with the service and the food. Zucchini flowers and fantastic kalamari for entree followed by beautifully cooked barramundi and chicken asti (in white wine). The service was attentive and corkage was reasonable for our BYO wine. A very pleasant experience.

Great, Authentic, Honest Italian Food!. The best Italian Restaurant! Delicious, generous and full of flavour! - My husband loves the Antipasto for two - which is our entrée every time and I love the Sand crab spaghetti and the Spaghetti Cartocio (meaning 'present' because it comes wrapped up in paper as a present!). Make sure you are hungry because all the dishes are generous.<br/>The Osso buco (veal shank) is also a good dish that Paolo makes in Winter. The prices could be high for some but it's good value for money. We've been coming back to Paolo's for the past 3 years for special occasions because we know we won't be disappointed!

THE BEST YET. Recently moved from Sydney and hadnt found a proper real authentic Italian restaurant yet (and I'm Italian myself), until tonight. We were recommended here by a friend and was not disappointed. The service from when we walked in you could not fault, right until we left. Will recommend to other people, and we will now be regulars! Thank you!

Nice!. This place gets very busy - so the food delivery can be slow. Plus a little pricey! Nice creative dishes but make sure you have time to enjoy properly.

Disappointed with this restaurant. Wife and I ordered the spaghetti pescatore which was described as prawns meat, fish cutlet, in spaghetti with garlic wine and tomato sauce. Tasty enough but no fish cutlet or garlic.<br/>Sister in law ordered a gorganzola pizza with walnut and pear. No pear on the pizza. It was taken away redone this time with pear a lots of mozzarella and a burnt base.<br/>Will not be going back.

Good food at good price. Noisy but restaurant full. Limited wine selection but you can byo. A bright light in suburban dining.

Went to il viale this week an wasn't very impressed - waitress ordered the wrong meal for a person in my party even after we confirmed it 3 times, and no apology just attitude as if to say we were wrong. The sauces used had very Asian inspired flavours and was a disappointment as Italians ourselves that this restaurant doesn't carry a full authentic Italian feel or flavour. Overall way over priced for what is served and shall never go there again - $30 for a pasta that wasn't even fabulous. !

Authentic Naples Italiano Cuisine!. I had dinner at Il Viale last night with a friend and was excited to try it as I had heard it was good hearty food. I was not let down! The food was fantastic - packed with flavour. The sauces were traditional on the pastas (not heavy with sauce like a lot of fake Italian restaurants do). Everyone who was working spoke Italian with thick accents - this is always a good sign. I enjoyed a delicious italian red wine with my meal and ordered their famous seafood pasta special (comes wrapped in baking paper as it has been cooked as a parcel in the oven with the seafood). The prices were average to what typical good suburban restaurants cost now, this is just the reality of what good food costs these days and I don't mind paying if the taste is right and the portion sizes are big - which is exactly what Il Viale offers! I will be taking my Italian mum and nonna back to try this little gem of authentic Naples Italiano cuisine!

Good for suburban fare. Bruschetta special (entree) was really lovely, but the veal with prawns for main was very disappointing. Couldn't eat the prawns - texture and taste all wrong! Otherwise, delightful service and a relaxed suburban Friday night ambience. Prices too expensive this far from the CBD.

OUR ITALIAN RESTAURANT. Paolo our proprietor delivers to us delicious food whether it is fresh seafood or Pasta dishes. Every mouthful of every dish I ordered tastes delicious. What is hard is sometimes you get stuck on the one or two favourites and don't get to experience that every dish on the menu is a new potential favourite!

Great night out. This restaurant is great. The food is perfect, relaxed environment, fair prices!!

High quality Italian with good service. Value for money. Enjoyable experience. 8/10

Beautiful food!! Best Italian in Brisbane. Try the mud crab linguine

Best restaurant for Kids. We have been here twice already and booked again tonight - they are so patient and fun with our kids (3 and 7), the food is amazing and consistently delicious - portions are huge!. No wonder they are booked out all the time. Worth the visit. Stunning.

Best Italian Ever. We're a young family so we eat early and it was great that Il Viale opened at 5:30pm for dinner. We'd had some takeaway pizza and pasta from the restaurant before and it has always been excellent, but at each pickup the "specials" menu beaconed.<br/>If you like Italian and Seafood, then this is the restaurant for you. We're a Seafood family and so we started our meal with the Antipasto il mare. It was simple and light and both children loved it. The lightly fired calamari was so perfectly soft that even our 1yo was able to eat it without any trouble.<br/>For mains we had pasta.<br/>My daughter had the children's Penne. She is a pasta fanatic and thought it was the best she had ever had (our 1yo shared and loved it too).<br/>My wife had the spaghetti with clams, white wine and chilli; and I had the spaghetti crab with tomato and chilli. The Sticks Pinot complimented the meal perfectly.<br/><br/>The food was perfect, the atmosphere was relaxed and it was the first time that as a family we decided that we'd all enjoyed a restaurant.<br/><br/>We will be back.<br/><br/><br/>P.S the waiter was good too :)

Awful service, awful food. We were a group of diners, two of whom, were vegetarian. The vegetarians requested a vegetarian funghi mushroom fettuccine dish (for mains). When the dish came out, not only were there minimal mushrooms in the dish, we also found several pieces of chopped up meat. Although disappointed with the findings of the meat inside, we returned the dish to the waiter, and expected that that be the end of that situation. Surprisingly, however, the waiter returned and stated that the chef was "confident" that he did not put meat in the dish and suggested that the meat was put into the dish on OUR own accord, because the three other dinners had ordered dishes with meat in them!! This was such an insulting comment! <br/><br/>Not only was the chef and/or waiter RUDE, but the rest of the main dishes (special oysters; veal ravioli (tasted like packet produce that you can buy from Woolies); and the rocket pizza (base was soggy) did not accord with the price you pay.

Can not go wrong with the specials! Go with the specials menu and you won't be disappointed. Wine list is a little hit and miss but this is a great local restaurant. Go often and enjoy!

We had an excellent dinner at Il Viale on a busy night and it was fantastic! We could not fault our meals - the bruschetta was fresh and light; ditto the calamari (on par with Beccofino at New Farm); and the scallopini and spaghetti specials were delicious. It was a little bit pricey but not out of keeping with the rest of the neighbourhood and the serving sizes were sufficient. Overall, we had a wonderful dining experience and wouldn't hesitate to recommend Il Viale to others.

Very Nice - Will be back :). Decided to go on a Wednesday night at short notice to celebrate a special occasion. We were lucky to get a table for 2, they were very busy. Though seated quickly, it did take some time for orders to be taken. Brushetta entree came out very fast and was fresh and delicious. There was quite a wait between ending entree and having mains delivered, however they were also delicious and were of a generous serving size, if a little expensive for pasta dishes. As they were so busy it did get rather warm inside the restaurant, the waiters were happy for us to move outside for fresh air. It was some time before our dessert order was taken (we may have been forgotten outside?), though it was delivered quickly. Very tasty pear and caramel pudding.<br/>Overall - very nice dining experience, will go back. Great food and wine, atmosphere, very friendly staff. To the management I would recommend an extra employee for busy nights to avoid long waits for customers.

Overpriced, but good food. Food is amazing.. especially the bruschetta. Super overpriced though!

Our dining experience at this overpriced-for-what-you-get establishment was not enjoyable. After perusing the menu and glimpsing what other diners had been served, it was <br/>deduced that side orders were a necessity, as a meagre helping of meat sloppily topped with sauce wouldn't satisfy even a small appetite. Our meals eventually came and we duly waited for the accompanying sides. A few minutes later we thought we'd better ask when they might be brought out. The waitress offered nothing but lame excuses and certainly no apology and it was obvious the order hadn't been lodged. By the time the undercooked beans/carrots and oven-baked wedges out of a frozen food packet arrived, the meals were stone cold. To add insult to injury, my veal was practically raw, with a grisly slimey texture which made me want to throw up. Do yourself a favour and avoid this joint. We certainly won't be back.

Bellisimo. Chef Paolo has done it again . Graceville is now the location for the best Italian in Town. There is never a compromise on Flavour or Freshness . His Duck Ragu was to die for. The antipasta selection is second to none. Together with wait staff Alberto and Luca they add to the full Italian experience .