Review Omni Restaurant - Essendon

I loved the look of this restaurant looking from the outside in. Really quaint with this fantastic light inside the door that catches your eye. Also the number of people that just look relaxed and the beautiful food in front of them. Took the plunge, in I went with four friends in tow. What a great experience from being greeted by the staff, seated, oil balsamic and bread with water poured into beautiful water glasses. Menu placed open...yes open to starters and off we went. Tapas, tapas and some more tapas. Fantastic suggestions with the tapas and wines. Mains were splendid as were the desserts. The best thing here is all staff are relaxed, knowledgeable about the wines, ingredients and smiling. We are coming back to try the breakfast and lunch menu. Thank you a good night of food, wine and smiling people.

Although the waitresses were polite, the service was not great. Most of us finished (what we could stomach) before some were even served what they ordered. The food was the worst "tapas" I've ever had. Which is why I was so surprised at how expensive each tapas dish was. Too much batter on the calamari, barely a mouthful of chorizo in the chorizo with (tasteless) olives dish, very stale bread, tough lamb skewers, potatoes which felt like they were fried from frozen... I could go on... I'm not usually one to complain, but seriously, I don't how these guys are still open. This is what happens when you only have one chef cooking for a large table of people and with a menu that has way too many dishes. This would require a lot of frozen food. The bread... I'm sure they toasted all the bread to hide the fact it was 3 days old.

Obviously recently refurbished and mostly new staff it was nice to go to a place where the manager (possibly owner?) was so careful to ensure that everything was to our liking and we were checked in on periodically. A gem for customer service and dedicated to training his staff well. We loved the chorizo and caramelized onion tapas, the steak was cooked well and wine selection not bad. The only things we hope to see next time we go is a non-dairy dessert and a vegetarian option (not just breads) in the tapas and mains. Although not a baby place we took our 9mths old at 6pm and the staff were great. Will definitely be taking friends with us next time and hopefully find a babysitter.

Booked dinner on Sat 13 Aug 16 Lovely waitresses but unfortunately extremely bad with the food and the service. 2 families with 3 kids 4yr and two 7 yr olds. First of all was told not kids menu, which is fine and then recommended to have the pizza which they took off the menu and advised the price of $15. Received a 5" pizza which looked like the 4 pack small freezer pizzas you would buy from the supermarket. When I queried about the pizza cost after receiving it, they advised the pizza based is ordered from Italy, don't think so. Ordered lemon, lime and bitters to only be told that they ran out and had to go to the shops to buy some; received our drinks after our entree. Order bruschetta for 4 entree and my partner ordered king prawns for his main. He received his entree first snd his main which were 6 raw prawns and they charged $22 for this. I could buy 1 kg of prawns for $18-20, not 6. Again when questioned, we were told they were King prawns and no one had queried it before. Well if the chef dosen't know what King prawns are, I'm a little concerned. We ordered 2 chicken parmas with speghetti and one of them with linguine pasta. My friend received her meal first and was half way through it before i received mine, after waiting for our meals for over an hour. You think because they are the same meal, would be ready the same time. Mind you we were the only customers in the Restaurant so it's not like it was a full house. Would definitely not be going back there again not recommending it to anyone. Only rated it as 1 star but even that is to high for it. There are other bad reviews but not sure if the owner/manger reads these and takes it on board as the reviews don't seem to improve. They didn't really know what they seem to have in stock even with the bottles of water. Just not good enough. Christine

Very average compared to there usal standards. Havent been to this resturant in over a year and was very dissatisfied and what i received this evening. The chicken schnitzel tapas was a frozen packect chicken. The chorizo tapas was manily olives hardly any chorizo. The marinara pasta main was small seafood was chewy & flavorless and definitely not worth $34.50. Wont be going back .....

OMG what a rip off. The prices are through the roof for very small servings. As for Spanish cuisine not an ounce of bite - very plain. We will never be back and I feel it spoiled my wife's special night Even the staff didn't seem to know what each dish was on the menu. As for the $15 coffee well that sums it up - over priced for very little

Service quick and friendly but we were extremely underwhelmed by the food. Ordered 5 tapas plates and 2 beers between two of us. Each plate was $15 or more and was tiny, and was not tasty at all. All up we spent $90 but we were still hungry and disappointed.

Good marketing. Give you a sense of quality place but provides a very limited menu. Most stuff is missing from kitchen inventory when you want to order. Also be aware of portion size. The main ingredient is often the smallest part of the dish. Paid a lot for a birthday celebration thinking support local. Wish I had gone somewhere else. Buyers be aware.

Our experience at Omni was, at this stage, the worst we have ever had. From the wait, to the price, to the parma itself, it was a massive let down. The tapas we saw on the other table did look okay, but unless there are massive changes to the way things are done there I don't see myself ever going back.

Staff was friendly but definitely not going back there again. Crazy overpriced! Every tapas dish was over $20 and was the size of my palm. For one garlic bread starter, a Parma, one tapas and one drink cost us over $63.. and the food was terrible to add to it - chips with the Parma were obviously from a packet. <br/>Do not recommend

Visited Omni tonight with my husband for the first time in many years. Used to be one of our favourites so thought we'd try it again. Sadly, we were both disappointed in our meals - lamb shank and beef medallions. Beef was overcooked and husband says the lamb was flavourless. The scallops we ordered as entree were lovely. Waitresses were nice but weren't well trained in hospitality. Not sure if the chef has changed in the last few years, but the standards have certainly changed at Omni.

Service was warm and welcoming. The two of us were the only people dining. Menu looks good but this restaurants ambition heavily out weighs the chefs ability. Budget cuts of meat that seemed like they were taken out of the freezer, nuked in the microwave then grilled were served up on top of wilted greens and rubbery diced and roasted potatoes. Absolutely no love was put into the meals.

Very disappointing, food was inedible.  Don't appreciate being served supermarket packed food, and being told its home made.  Food was over cooked, and tasteless. Our group of sent meals back due to poor quality. <br/>Service was poor, there was only 2 groups in the restaurant, continually got the tables mixed up.<br/>Its recently changed hands.............. not a good start.<br/>We observed the other group / family " just bring the bill so we get out of here "<br/>We will never go again.

Bought a Scoopon for Omni in error but thought we would give it a try. Very glad that we did. The food was delicious and the two ladies serving were excellent. Loved tge Sangria. Will definitely go again.

Singularly the worst dining experience I have ever had anywhere on the planet....and charging Mega Bucks $$$$$ 👎👎👎👎👎<br/>Do yourself a favour and dine at maccas

My review is a little mixed. I came here with a scoopon which meant the value was fantastic, but I wouldn't say the food was worth the price which was noted on the menu. My steak was tough, the chicken was processed and dry, but the churros and panacotta we had for dessert was delicious and my favourite was the entrees, we had scallops and tiger prawns. It would also be good to see them expand their mains menu which was quite limited.

One of the worst meals we have ever had. This restaurant has changed hands. Not the same for food or service. We have been here a few times and I think the new owners need to take a hard look at their menu and consider serving food that is worth the price they are charging. They will not survive so may as well close the doors soon. Ordered a 270g angus steak medium and another medium rare. The steaks came out looking like a 100 g minute steak and they wanted to charge $36.00. Absolute rip off. The service was very mediocre. Waited 1/2 hr for our entree and when asked how much longer the entree was going to be ready. We were told that it would be ready when it's ready !!!<br/>Will be giving this a very wide berth in future

Fantastic lovely place for family dinner.<br/>All tapas we had really good. Calamari salad, chicken croquettes , sizzling prawns, empanada yamm. <br/><br/>Keep it as it is.

Came here with a discount coupon. House wines were decent but only had a set choice. Entree was ok tiger prawns was a lie as small prawns came out and you can't really stuff up garlic bread. Main was interesting... On the menu was stuffed chicken breast and that is exactly how it came the chicken was so dry that it literally sucked all the moisture from your mouth and wasn't pleasant at all. The Angus beef however was really quite good. Dessert was the biscotti which came with a few sides that were ok. The churros took a while and had way too much sugar on them so it was necessary to tap off the excess and they were average also. Overall wouldn't pay normal price because it was just average but on a coupon it wasn't too bad for the price payed.

What a tough night. The server opened with a list of tapas not available, which on a Saturday night is just a wtf moment, with no hint of an apology. So we sift through what's available and go with mussels and deep fried prawns. The prawns were tough as hell and set the tone for the rest of the night. Her main was stuffed chicken, and she being an angel of forgiveness couldn't forgive how tough and dry her chicken was, and my pasta marinara was fatally marred with tough prawns, tough calamari and tough crab. Add to that the "sauce" was completely devoid of anything like Parmesan chips or chili flakes, and not even a pepper shaker at the table. At $30-35 per main and in excess of $50 per head, this was a terrible night for the cost, especially since we drove not into the city or an inner suburb, but into the absolute sticks of Essendon. I had a squiz into the kitchen on my way back from the loo and they clearly have nothing resembling a chef on staff. The staff were quite competent and gay.

Great food although a little slow with getting started with the entree. Very tasty dishes made with plenty of flavour. Had the entree of field mushrooms and another of the Tiger prawns and they were both seasoned beautifully. The Scotch fillet steak was very thin but extremely tender and a good size. The potato wedges were also very tasty. My wife had the Prawn with Penne and it was also very tasty. The dessert of Creme Catalina was nice but nothing special and the Coffee ice cream with a shot of Frangellico was a nice combination. Paying for this through Groupon voucher made it very attractive but otherwise it was probably a bit overpriced for the entree and mains of around $22 and $36 respectively.

This restaurant is something of dilemma to review . The Food is unique and incredibly good however the serves are small and the staff need to learn to think on their feet . <br/><br/>It's hard to be critical because of the quality of the food . The Tapas are magic with incredible taste and flavour . We had a selection and shared with our group of 7 people & this is were restaurant staff need to think on their feet . <br/><br/>Most of the Tapas come with three pieces . With 7 guests someone misses out as they bought the tapas out in groups of 2 . With the prices being charged , add an extra piece here and there so everybody is satisfied ..... wouldn't break the bank . <br/><br/>Oh and if you are going to serve Calamari in a salad there actually needs to be some Calamari on the plate !! <br/><br/>At approx $ 100 + ph , the margin would allow a little common sense service . <br/><br/>The wine list is good but they recommended a bottle of wine which was the last they had , again not really clever given that we had to change wines for the second bottle !<br/><br/>Let me say at this point that the staff were friendly and attentive so I am trying not to be too critical , but service needs to more than delivering food and a pleasant smile .<br/><br/>This is a good restaurant that could be a great restaurant with a little good old fashion .... Goodwill service & a small upsizing of the meal serves .<br/><br/>"Food for thought " for the management .<br/><br/>All that said still worth a try as the food is amazing but a little overpriced based on current meal sizes .

Went last night with a Groupon voucher and couldn't have been more dissapointed. Ordered tiger prawns and mussels for entree and they weren't brought out at the same time. It took over 1hour for the prawns to arrive and they were certainly not tiger prawns but 6 small packet prawns. The flavour was fine but the portion was tiny and if I had paid $22.50 for that off the tapas menu I would've been furious. We stayed optimistic and half an hour later the mussels arrived which looked good at first glance but were in fact tiny. Despite being seated at 8pm our main didn't arrive until 40mins later again and by that stage it was after 10pm and we were starving. We ordered the paella for two people. The crab was the worst I have ever had - so overlooked and reheated the meat in the legs was non-existent, and there was hardly any seafood throughout the remainder of the paella- one scollop, two prawns and a a fair number of mussels. Finally we ordered desert of trio of ice cream which was just like neopolitan icecream you buy at the supermarket (choc, vanilla and strawberry) and the serving size was small, as well as churros which were were under cooked and doughy. Having to wait so long for our meals naturally meant we ordered additional drinks and when my wine came out it was very clearly under poured to the point I ordered a stubbie next round.<br/><br/>All in all the meal voucher plus extra drinks cost us $86 and I am not even happy to part with that money for what we got, let alone had we paid as per the prices on the menu. Extremely disappointing and were clearly treated as second rate customers. We were at the restaurant for over 2.5hrs.<br/><br/>Only positive was the friendly American waitress.

I bought a Groupon voucher.. The food were in extremely tiny portions (even for tapas) and fairly average. I had the chicken breast with sweet potato mash as a main.. the chicken was so dry I struggled to eat it, and there was barely any mash to go with it. I had creme brulee for dessert.. it wasn't warm but room temperature. Environment was quite pleasant and wait staff were very good. Overall, was a very disappointing meal and waste of $69. <br/>Would not recommend.

thiI took my partner out here for dinner, i was disappointed with everything, the service was terrible, there were only 4 other dinners in the restaurant, yet we were being ignored, even when i asked to order when they finally came over we ordered the main muscles $30 as an entrée, when it finally came we got 6 each what a complete rip off, then we waited for mains for over an hour, with nothing mentioned still being ignored, when it finally came my stuffed chicken was not eatable, i could not even swallow it because it was so dry and over cooked, i ate the teaspoon of sweetpotato and garnish, and was hoping someone would ask me if everything was ok, but the looks on there faces they knew they were serving unsatisfied food, i ended up cooking when we got home, will not be back ever.

Horrendous - went there for the first time on a Groupon and had a main course of steak that would rank as one of the worst I've eaten in Melbourne. I watched with abject horror as my wafer thin steak arrived completely overcooked and grey (for the record I asked for 'medium') in the middle and then, much to my dismay, my partner (who had ordered the same except she had ordered hers well done) had the privilege of actually receiving a 'normal' size steak which was pink in the middle.<br/><br/>After raising the obvious issue of size with the wait staff I was firstly told it was due to the 'type of steak' that caused this variation (which of course is complete rubbish) and then told that because it was a Groupon there wasn't much they could do.<br/><br/>Needless to say that I will not be back as the price for the steak was nearly $40 and I would have been furious if I'd paid that for the grey sliver I received.<br/><br/>I suspect that the usual chef is on holidays as I'd heard great reviews prior but it may be better to shut the restaurant next time rather than leave it in the care of amateurs.<br/><br/>Really, really disappointing - I've attached some photos with the steak (mine and my wife's side by side so you can all get the picture.<br/><br/>In the restaurant game consistency is everything and to have two supposedly identical meals come out with such variation is unforgiveable.

Whilst the place was nicely appointed and was quite busy, I left unsatisfied. Using a groupon can be a risk (that usually pays off) but NOT this time. The entrée was tiny (even for tapas standards) glorified supermarket fare, the main was rushed and a genuine disappointment. The desert, trio of Ice cream RRP $16.50 was poor. Table service overall was very good and the quality of the food served was not the fault of table staff. While I hesitate to be overly critical, I would NOT recommend parting with your money here when there are so many better choices in the immediate area.

This is a great evening out! The food is tasty and well-cooked. My family and I were impressed. The price is on the higher side, however it is worth every dollar!!! The sangria is the best I've had in Melbourne and the tomato special is spectacular. We will be back for sure!

Went there with a voucher deal and were disappointed to find a lot of the menu wasn't included in the deal which wasn't stated on coupon. Mussel entree was nice but had to send my first steak back cause it came out well done not medium rare as I asked. They were very nice about it tho and made me my new steak quite quickly. My wife said the croquettes and churros were excellent.

While some of the tapas platters did not disappoint and were delicious (white anchovy bruschetta and mushroom with feta), the portion sizes were extremely small and they were over priced. Entree calamari came out with 4 tiny calamari strips and a handful of salad. Where was the calamari?<br/>10 people, 10 entrees and we were anxious for the mains after the tiny entrees. Everyone was hungry!<br/>We didn't get our mains until after 10pm - we waited just over 2 hours. I paid over $70 for the paella and it also was drowning in tomatoes, the seafood was rubbery and the rice was watery. The steaks that were ordered had 'store bought gravy' on them. <br/>The waiters provided a good service but overall I wouldn't be going back there. At $180 per couple - which did not included dessert or coffee, I was not satisfied and will not be returning. <br/>

Great food, prepared to a high standard and great chef in Natalie, wowed even the biggest food critics. Service fantastic. We will be back :-)

On my second visit to Omni I thought I would try something different. My friend and I ordered the set tapas menu and it did not disappoint. There was a good assortment of tapas dishes, finished off with their specialty churros. It was a great dinner.

Its not much to look at from outside, but once you get in and try the food you will be pleasantly suprised with both the service and food. Its mainly spanish food, which i personally love and this place delivers. The pickled octupus was a stand out for me personally

Had quite a pleasant dinner here. The service was impeccable and the food was well done. More of a 'fine dining' restaurant than others in the area. We thoroughly enjoyed our night and would recommend this restaurant if you're after good Mediterranean food.

Won't be back. It's really disappointing when good food is ruined by poor service. Disorganised staff, rude management and a lack of consideration for the customer unfortunately take away from this restaurant. This environment successfully ruined a quiet birthday dinner despite the tasty food. Not worth the hassle or the expensive cost attached!

Beautiful food. We love it! We had a selection of tapas, the bacala spring rolls and sizzling tiger prawns with chilli and garlic were delicious. Friendly service and a warm and cozy atmosphere. <br/>We are locals and dine out regularly but only just discovered this little Gem. <br/>We will be back soon.

We loved it. There were 5 of us to our booking the place was packed and we we're recommend to try omni. Well what a fantabulous cosy little restaurant. My friends farewell dinner was a success. We shared some tapas and a lovely bottle of Spanish red. Thanks to the lovely lady I think was Genine great choice. The tapas was Fantasic fresh and sooo tasty omg. We weren't sure if we were going to stick with the tapas all night or order seafood paella which we were recommend to try omni's signature dish. <br/>Yes the seafood paella won we could see there was paella on every table so so we ordered it. Best decision we ordered paella for 5 and it was AMAZING the seafood so fresh and the flavour was simply perfection. I can't believe this restaurant is in little Essendon what a great place we loved it and shall all be returning. Thanks to the ladies of omni who made us feel at home and so very comfortable. Thanks I will recommend to all.

Seafood paHELLa. We wanted to like this place and give it the benefit of the doubt... But we left both disappointed and angry. <br/>First there was a reservation mix up and they didn't seem to have our booking recorded. After being seated and having chosen our meals, it took the waitress a lengthy amount of time to come back and take our order. That's ok... It happens. <br/>Having attended this restaurant with four people in the past, we knew that a serving of paella for two people, alongside some tapas options, was more than enough to fill 4 adults to an almost -opening the buttons on your jeans- level!<br/>The menu specifies that paella is ordered per person with a "minimum of 2 people". We ordered 2 servings as a main to follow a few tapas options as our entree. We were told by what appeared to be the manager (an older woman) that this was not possible and that we had to order 4 servings (one per person). After a hearty debate, we stuck to our knowledge of sizes and compromised on two servings of paella and one main serving of the gnocchi on top of the tapas we had ordered. Essentially, we were not allowed to be in charge of how we would choose to share our food and were argued with over this, being told that we had to order one one main per person. It was NOT POSSIBLE to share the giant plate of paella that is 2 servings and that in order to all enjoy the paella, we had to order 1 serving each (approximately $140 and way too much food)<br/>Once we had finished our tapas, our plates were taken along with our cutlery and we were given only 3 new settings (on our table of four) for the main meals. We requested an extra plate and cutlery with the excuse of splitting the gnocchi. The waitress walked past the plates and cutlery and walked over to the manager for a conversation. We eventually got the plate and cutlery and split the paella between us... feeling uncomfortable as we ate. It was still too much and we probably ate only one half of the 2 person, $74 dish with plenty of seafood left over. That was 4 of us. <br/>With a whole serving left over, we asked for a take away option but were told that service could not be provided. If we had ordered the 4 servings as per their policy, we would have had to abandon almost 3/4 of it with no other option (approx $111 worth of food would have been wasted if we complied with their policy).<br/>Let it be known the food was nice and this place has potential. A little advice to the chefs... Take your great food and open up somewhere new with better management who value their customers and display logic and customer service. You have potential to be something great. <br/>To our disappointment however, the woman in charge couldn't manage her way out of a paper bag.<br/>This birthday dinner will not be forgotten. Will not be going back here. <br/>Our anger is represented per person. <br/>Sincerely, disappointed x 4

Dined last night and a busy night it was. Tapas to start, always a goodie. Katiffi prawns, spatchcocks, juicy scallops and anchovie bruschetta for four of us. <br/>Steak for one, gnocchi (that we all shared) and paella for 3 of us. I noticed the change on menu, per person. That's ok. <br/> A table just over from us had to complain, one of our party felt like saying "read the menu", the change doesn't detract from the beautiful flavours and seafood in this dish. It actually means there is more beautiful seafood in the dish and more room on the table! I suppose you can't please all people.<br/>Back to our food, delicious, fresh as always and beautifully presented. <br/>To the staff and head chef/owner, thankyou for your beautiful food and service. A special thankyou to genine for her help.<br/><br/><br/>-----07 Feb, 2015-----<br/><br/>Nice and cosy restaurant. Friendly staff. Lovely bread with balsamic and olive oil to begin. The best tapas out. Seafood paella bursts with fresh seafood and the flavours beautiful. Nice wines recommended to wash down the beautiful food. Desserts are beautiful.<br/>Good friendly service.

Great food and excellent service <br/>Thanks for a great mothers day!!<br/><br/><br/>-----05 Feb, 2015-----<br/><br/>Wonderful food and service! A worthy award winning restaurant !

We recently visited Omni on a quiet Friday night. We had booked a table for 4 and when we arrived there were a couple of other tables of couples there. It was a warm evening but unfortunately the air conditioner was on and blowing directly on the table which was quite uncomfortable for a couple of us as it was blowing directly on our chests or backs. We requested that the overhead fans be turned down and the staff seemed to comply but about 10 minutes later the fan was still blowing hard and we were still uncomfortable we said we had noticed no difference the staff member replied that there were other customers so they could not adjust the fans. When one of my companions then said she would be unable to stay the staff member said maybe they could turn down the air conditioner. This did help. There was also a spare table in another position that may have been more comfortable but that was not offered despite us suggesting it. When we ordered our meals we were told that 2 of the meals ordered would take about 30 mins and we should consider ordering an entree. We declined and they kept suggesting we should however we still declined. 45 mins later we enquired about our meals. The 2 meals that were meant to take longer were brought to us and about 5 minutes later the other 2 meals came out. After we had finished our meals they brought out serves of bread and oil! This should have been supplied during our 45 minute wait for the main meals! It was a great pity about the service as all the meals were fantastic - the pork was really good however the service let them down which ruined our evening. Needless to say we went to another restaurant for dessert for coffee.

Expected a bit more for the price. Dined with my husband on a very quiet Thursday night. He is vegetarian and rang day before to make sure they would cater for him. ( online menu had no vegetarian choices except for a fish dish which is listed as vegetarian). He was assured that there would be plenty for him to choose from. The tapas menu had some lovely vegetarian dishes which we enjoyed. Husband asked if the chef could prepare a vegetarian main dish but ended up being offered the pasta dish on menu which would be served minus the pancetta. Looked pretty ordinary. Non fresh pasta bows with peas and cherry tomatoes. Husband said it was very tasty though. I wanted to order the steak but the waitress kept trying to talk me into a seafood dish. I felt she overstepped the boundary and made me feel a bit uncomfortable about my choice. Am happy to have her recommend certain dishes but she should have left it at that rather than insisting I have something light so that I could enjoy a dessert. I had to explain I wanted something heavy because I had no intention of having dessert. Steak was great. Would not go back there again because they do not cater very well for non fish eating vegetarians and my husband would have to order the boring pasta again if we did. Given that we were there on a slow night plus expensive prices I would have expected a better experience.

Date night with hubby! Lovely food, great sangria and excellent service. Bit on the pricey side, but overall great experience.

Tapas & Sangria What a grea.... Tapas & Sangria<br/>What a great little place. Cosy, a few diners in and we are able to accommodated the 8 of us. Offered downstairs or upstairs. We chose downstairs yet had a peek up and the courtyard. Really nice wherever you sit. <br/>Summertime is definately the courtyard. <br/>We start with a selection of tapas. Thanks genine with your help. <br/>Tapas superb. We ordered and shared all of your tapas - three pages worth! We were only in for tapas yet seeing paella going past we couldn't resist. The sangria flowed and is a nice drop as too are the wines. <br/>We just couldn't squeeze anymore in bar our coffees. <br/>The food is fresh, good quality products/produce and the flavours. <br/>All of us dine in the city regularly..no more after tonight for tapas. Omni we will be back with more friends to experience your food. We all loved your service, food, sangria, wine and the atmosphere. <br/>Thank you

Mediocre food for high prices. Decided to explore tapas restaurants outside of the CBD and was sorely disappointed with Omni. They charged prices akin to Movida yet delivered pedestrian food both in concept and taste. Quite a disappointment. Will not return.

WOW. I've found this restaurant one day when I was searching fine dining on Google. We drove past it 2 weeks ago and did not found the outside very attractive,(I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but we do that too often) looked more like a takeaway place. Was I wrong! Went for dinner last night. OMG, the food is absolutely delicious. Every Tapas had its unique flavor, Our mains were absolutely faultless and even the dessert and coffees were to die for. It just shows you that you don't have to drive to the City to find good food. Was it pricey? Yes it was, but hey, if you want good food you have to pay for it.Do I recommend this restaurant? Absolutely. Will I be back? You can count on it. Thank you Omni for a great evening with superbly delicious dining.

Dinner last Saturday Night.. On arrival we were greeted, the restaurant is not huge, but it gave a nice atmosphere which gave space / room at the same time. The smells flooding out of the restaurant could be detected from outside, so entering was bliss.<br/><br/>Our table chose to go the tapas option, there were so many different dishes to try. All were served with a smile, the waitresses were very attentive and assisted where possible. <br/><br/>My Father was visiting from interstate it is the first Melbourne restaurant, he has been to a lot, that he has said that he would like to return again to. I agree.<br/><br/>We will be back!

Beaut Tucker. Beautiful service from staff, friendly ladies. <br/>Unpretentious honest down to earth <br/>food with the best flavours fresh seafood and plenty <br/>of it. <br/>Nice beers, nice wines great desserts great cheeseboard<br/>I like and suggest others to try here.<br/>Good value and quality.

Local restaurant experience disappointing. Have eaten tapas a number of times and eat out once a week. My partner and I decided on 4 dishes - each priced between $15 - $20. Waitress advised us that each serve was very small and was encouraged to order more. Against our better judgement we did so and ordered two more. Two of the dishes were almost identical. The attention to detail with the presentation is very attractive. While the food was good quality and tasty, we left the restaurant feeling dissatisfied.On reflection we would have been better to order a main course each instead. We paid the high priced account. Maybe that is why there were only a few customers?

Lush food. Oh what to write that hasn't already been written.<br/>Nice cosy little place. Good service and really friendly staff.<br/>Always a good selection of entrees/tapas. Wines to match.<br/>Try the gnocchi, just heavenly with the ragout. The oso bucco on a fluffy mash of polenta and the signature paella. All delicious!!!<br/>To compliment the beautiful food, the catalana, the chirros and so prettily presented parfait that is the best.<br/>Finished off with a sharp short black.<br/>Myself and all friends thankyou once again Omni.<br/><br/><br/>-----28 Oct, 2014-----<br/><br/>Love your food. What can I say...saturday pumped. in from the races and wow.... jugs of sangria and tapas then onto mains. <br/>always fresh succulent seafoid. flavours are just amazing. new desserts on menu, parfait just deliciously devine serving sizes excellent and the service. always good and the ladies are friendly. <br/>lots of people in enjoying the food and good atmosphere. <br/>omni again we left content, with big smiles and full tummies.<br/><br/><br/>-----28 Oct, 2014-----<br/><br/>Patatas bravas. Scrummo<br/><br/><br/>-----28 Oct, 2014-----<br/><br/>Parfait chocolate. Yummo<br/><br/><br/>-----09 Aug, 2014-----<br/><br/>Katifi Prawns. Beautiful pastry<br/>Well cooked. Great flavours on romesco sauce<br/><br/><br/>-----09 Aug, 2014-----<br/><br/>Seared scallops with burnt butters chilli and capers. Delicious fresh<br/><br/><br/>-----12 Apr, 2014-----<br/><br/>Fantastic atmosphere and service. <br/>Mixed tapas to start for 6. Thank you to our waitress. Great wine list. <br/>Lovely seafood stew, cooked to perfection. Fresh seafood popping out of the clay pot.<br/>Wild barramundi with the lentils, superb. Paella always a popular choice with our group. The steak, juicy and cooked how we liked.<br/>The desserts we all shared and again a very happy contented group of diners.<br/>Cheers Omni.

Locals. Chose omni as we had been before and wanted to take friends somewhere nice. Worst taste plate ever! Olives and 2 other components, what was the bread for nothing to eat with it. We both had the special, seafood stew, or we should say soup, great if you like to chew rubber. On the positive the wine was good.

Dined at this establishment with my wife for the first time . We loved everything about it. The food was fantastic, fresh seafood, small wine list but great wines on offer. Thanks to lady waiter that look after us, she was fabulous . She recommended the dessert ,the parfait and it was beautiful. Already told our family and friends .Will be back with friends to celebrate my birthday.Definately the loviest place to dine in keilor rd.

Group booking. I attended the venue with a large group. We were told that the restaurant would keep an individual tab of what each person drank. When we arrived, the waitress(old pushy lady)handed everyone a glass and topped it up with champagne, then kept topping up continuously without asking if I wanted more. We didn't actually get to choose what drink we wanted. At the end, they split the bill equally even though some people drank more than others. The champagne was the most expensive kind without asking for it. The waitress wasn't happy with people that ordered small meals and was the worst and rudest restauranteur I have ever come across. Our time was not special because we all had to deal with this money hungry lady. There are better places to eat in the area.

Not overly impressed. My family and family friends went to Omni last night. After ordering our mains the waiter (who I assumed is the owned), seemed annoyed and pushy when we ordered mains. She upselled brushetta and I quote" you'll love it". There were 7 people and only 6 pieces of brushetta came out. My mum and I shared, but I wasn't about to let it go. For $12.50 for 2 pieces of adverage brushetta. When I pointed out the dilemma, I was met with an unapologetic "sorry", she ended up bringing another piece dispite us saying that it was ok. She wasn't very friendly to my family friends who ordered the Spring Lamb and said that they were small meals and seemed annoyed with them. My family friends aren't big eaters and were just asking about the Lamb. I ordered 4 lamb cutlets at an extra $7 for 1 Lamb cutlet. In all honesty the Lamb was really nice. There was a friendly younger waitress, who was rushing around making sure everyone had water in their glass. The other waitress (possibly owner) seemed stunned when we wanted our Lamb well-done. For $278 for the overall bill, I expected better food and service and more options on the menu.

Loved it. Last night was my first time at Omni, and the first time i have actually bothered to go out of my way and review online.<br/>Friendly, welcoming staff, interesting wine list and AMAZING food. The seafood paella was divine, the tapas recommended by the waitress were spot on and the wine a great match.<br/>How wonderful to find a fine dining restaurant outside the CBD, cant wait to go back.

We booked a table here as per the urbanspoon website it showed that it was $45 per head we got the bill and it was actually $55 per head!!! We tried to tell them but they didn't want a bar of it! They said that urbanspoon is wrong!!! And the owner was really pushy and rude!! They would not honor the advertisement yet we spent nearly $400 there for 4 people! Didn't even spend that at rockpool! (And that's fine dining) Will not be going back there!

Set tapas menu on urban spoon says $45 they gave us the menu we ordered went to pay and it was $55.00 per head. Which we tried to dispute but they wouldn't have a bar of it kept telling us that's what it is and as long as we enjoyed it all good. Not all good! Ask for prices before ordering urban spoon prices when you book are incorrect even when showing them they wouldn't honor it. Mind you we spent almost $400 so they could have tried to help us out. We will never go back there again.

Been twice now, excellent tapas. good selection of wine. Nice cosy atmosphere and the staff are fantastic. We had the same waitress both times. First visit she suggested the tapas and the amount we would need. Spot on. Second visit we bought our children, 12yrs & 8yrs. Wouldn't say this was a child friendly menu, but they didn't go hungry. One fussy eater and one who eats everything.

Really wanted to like it.... This is as close to " fine dining" as we get (by pricing) locally, and I was really keen to be impressed so that this could be our local "special night out" destination.<br/><br/>Unfortunately it didn't do it for me. The ambience is mediocre, with windows that need a wash (upstairs dining area) and lighting that could do with a tweak. The friendly wait staff greeted us warmly, and oozed authentic Spitalian accents. The fact they weren't too sure about which table number was where, showed that some of them were perhaps relatively new to the place. <br/><br/>The starters (croquettes and deep fried prawns) were quite promising. Tasty, not too badly priced and very nicely cooked and presented. The sauces were delicious and it really bode well for the mains. I'm an oaky Chardonnay fanatic, and the very limited choice resulted in a very poor, overpriced bottle of something that bore no comparison to the wonderful $8 Chilean bottles I have at home. <br/><br/>Our mains were a) an OK seafood paella and b) a terrible, way over cooked and way overpriced "150 day aged Angus" steak. When asked for feedback I pointed out my tough, sinewy, overlooked steak and was embarrassed by the rush of support from wait staff and (presumably) the owner. <br/><br/>I was provided with a replacement steak, despite really not wanting to have one...after watching my partner eat alone for the next 10 minutes. The replacement was way undercooked, and honestly just not a good piece of meat. I left 2/3 of it. The helpful staff also gave us two free glasses of the mediocre wine whilst we waited...didn't help to be honest. <br/><br/>We left fairly quickly, left 2/3 of a steak, and left 1/4 bottle of the wine too. <br/><br/>Really nice people serving. Really poor steak cook. Really limited wine choice. Really not value for money. Really.

Simply awesome. Will be back!

Amazing Food. Wow, if you like Spanish cuisine Omni wont disappoint. They really deserves to be a great Hat rated restaurant. Great service, ambiance, food & wine. Keep up the great work, can't wait to dine again.

Winter warming. Feeling cold, miserable (winter blues?), chose a winter mains (after some lovely tapas)... slow-braised beef cheek and vegetables and a red wine to match. Just a dream. As good as the staff suggested it would be. Left warm and happy. Will return.

Great Night. Had a great night at Omni. Food was excellent and the portions were generous. We had a selection of tapas, all great, and two of us shared a chicken and seafood paella for main. It was spot on for flavour and there was plenty of it! The other mains chosen were the prawn risotto from the specials board and the gnocchi, both were beautiful. If you have space try the churros for dessert, yum!

Loved your food- loved your service. Arrived a tad late...due to relatives, traffic and parking.<br/>Slightly flustered and welcomed warmly by staff. Upstairs we went en mass, seated promptly with our glasses filled with water. Drink orders taken and relaxed we became. <br/>A very popular restaurant with many people downstairs as well as up. <br/>Drinks arrived within ten minutes, coffees, beers and glasses of wine. <br/>Great selection and recommendation. <br/>We decided with rolling tapas (another recommendation by waitress) to tide us over as we ordered four paellas with a cooking time of 35 minutes, steaks and chicken. <br/>Appreciating that Omni was busy, from the reviews we knew the wait would be worth it. <br/>Tapas came, beautiful presentation and flavours. We waited just on a hour for our mains which is very reasonable given the amount of people dining today. Our mains were amazing, living up to your reviews. <br/>The wine recommended matched our food perfectly. <br/>The desserts, parfait, salted caramel tart, marquise and churros, wonderful washed down with affogato and coffees. <br/>Eleven of us thankyou all for your great food and service.<br/>You made our day.

Grkillo. Not happy with service. Walked out, not a good day for mothers day

Jonathan. Excellent food and service. The paella and the beef cheek melt in your mouth.<br/>Beef cheek had an amazing flavour so soft and lots of yummy sauce.<br/>They really know how to cook a paella lots fresh seafood and lovely presentation. Sweets chocolate and coffee sorbet to finish our meal.Omni is truly a lovely place to enjoy a special night out.

Seafood & Chicken Paella was delicious! Such a generous serving too. Spring roll tapas was tasty. Not somewhere I'd eat often, due to the prices, but for special occasions it is a great little restaurant!

Seafood risotto and paella were very generous portions as were all the dishes. Half a fresh cooked crab and mountains mussels, prawn, scallops and fresh herbs made for a memorable meal. Desserts were quite tasty too....but we were all too full to finish them.

Just fantastic !!!!!!!!!

Excellent food. I see from reviews which dishes we eat. Other diners I like to shake hands. Seafood so very good, lamb juicy cutlets. I order more. Table sit down next to us order too. They see ours. I like the lady talk about wines. Nice and good for us. Helpful friendly.<br/>I love you paella. Many seafoods in dish. Cooks just like Spain. <br/>Wife and son loves chickens and steak. Jusjus very excellent you want more bread to dip in. <br/>Catalana make my heart cry, like mama make. <br/>I thanking you restaurant and ladies. We come back with friends.

Prada price for dry tapas. All the tapas I had were all dry- 1/2 dozen of scallops, shaved waygu, empanada and croquettes <br/>the waitress I had was really pushy, some may consider thats good waiting skills to continuously upsell- but after constantly being told that thats not enough food (despite me telling her that I have eaten an hour before hand and here for a small dinner)- it made me so uncomfortable as though I was not worthy to dine in if I am to order 4 tapas and 2 drinks<br/>I also wanted to order just another main along with those tapas, but was told that I am not allowed to share the paella and if we were caught sharing we will be charged double for that one dish, such feral concept <br/>4 tiny tiny dry portion tapas and 2 drinks- $90<br/>please go somewhere else for good Spanish food eg. anada, dig a pony, el burro

Beautiful & Authentic Spanish Italian meals. Hard to find beautifully cooked & exquisitely presented meals like we experienced tonight. Omni on Keilor Road in Essendon is well worth a try . Service great we will go back again<br/><br/>Cream Catalana superb <br/><br/>Overall experience 8.5/10

Spanish feast. Went there with a few friends after Omni was recommended by someone else. I had no expectations and was pleasantly surprised. The service was a little slow, but all staff were pleasant. We ordered 9 different tapas (Warm mixed olives w garlic & chilli, <br/>Seared scallops w capers, chilli & burnt butter, <br/>Patatas Bravas - cubed Nicola potatoes w paprika salt, spicy tomato salsa & garlic aioli, Roasted field mushrooms w Yarra Valley feta & toasted breadcrumbs, <br/>Grilled chorizo w tomato jam, <br/>Deep fried prawns wrapped in kataifi pastry on romesco sauce, <br/>Chicken & jamon croquettas w chilli jam, <br/>Grilled Haloumi, blood orange segments & fennel salad<br/>Kipfler potatoes & Spanish chorizo w aioli) ... and there was not 1 that I did not enjoy. The scallops were my favourite! We had 3 deserts (2xCrema catalana & Churros w hot chocolate sauce) and a bottle of sparkling white (which was ok)... It thought it was a little pricey, $250 for 4 of us.... But the quality of the ingredients stood out, so the price is justified and the flavours were very authentic. it was a lovely dinner and We will all definitely go again.

Simply excellent. Had an amazing breakfast here 4 weeks ago, took some friends as we were sick of the same old places. Will not go back to same old places again, the breakfasts are amazing value and also the best breakfast I have had all year!<br/><br/>Dinner is also excellent, with a massive choice of tapas and share plates. The scallops were to die for, as were the lamb chops. Couple that with a bottle of wine that the waitress recommended we had an excellent night. Will be back as there were many things on the menu we did not try!<br/><br/>I don't see too many people going there, so if you are in Niddrie, please please check it out (even just for breakfast which is very affordable at around $15) as I would hate to see this place go!

International diners. To begin thankyou to the staff and most of all the owner/head chef Nat.<br/> We came to your restaurant highly recommended from many friends who have enjoyed and love your food also regular diners. <br/>We, myself and husband have fine dined for years, we love how your ingredients are organic, locally sourced and other stuff like your cheeses, chorizo and oils are 48 hour freighted from Italy and Spain. These are evident in the flavours coming through in the food and quality. As well as everything made on site. <br/>Your paella and steak are right up there on an equal par with any we have eaten in New York, LA and Barcelona. <br/>We thoroughly enjoyed the panacotta and marquise. Exceptional desserts.<br/> With hubby being a chef for thirty years (Michelin two and three stars: internationally), he was very impressed to learn your story, nearly 20 years fine dining.<br/> Our congratulations on your passion, innovative food (casalinga), influences and drive. <br/>Was fantastic to meet you Nat and enjoy your wonderful food.

What a top find. Usually go into the city for dinner a friend of mine recommended Omni which is more local for us. Friendly staff and beautiful wine selection.<br/>Now the food WOW was so impressed with the choice from the lamb cutlets, chorizo, katiffi prawns and the mushrooms. As for the mains we shared a seafood paella which took me back home, being born in Madrid. Our friend dining with us had the chicken which was so moist Im ordering it next time was to die for! All the above are a must but I must say to the previous review the food was top notch and the lamb cutlets are actually $16.50 and the prawns are $19.00 not $23.00. As for the chicken I don't know what your talking about. So before you start putting down local businesses with honest food, decent serves and good service, I'd get the prices right, cause the restaurant was full of smiley faces from where we were sitting. <br/>Thanks guys will be back again with all our friends. Highly recommend

Service was questionable as not overly friendly however the food was amazing both in price and presentation and well worth the price.

Girls nite. Very nice. generous portions. will be back again very soon

Date Night. Hubby and I had a date out without the kids so with high expectations we were dissappointed with Omni. Nothing was bad but nothing was special. Service was less than acceptable, wine list average, entree's dissappointing, but the paella was delcious.

Have been a few times with my parents and siblings. Went in this time with my boyfriend. The place was packed, a good sign that food is excellent. We were seated in the courtyard, lovely table setting, rose and chocolates given. Very sweet idea and really yum. The waitress Kerrie was girgeous, incredible service, attentive, ensuring people were seated, drinks, bread with the beautiful olive oil and the to die for balsamic. We asked for the recipe and she gave us a wink with a whispered 'chefs secret'. Overall appreciating the place was busy, everyone in the courtyard were having a great time all mingling together. We had to leave early to go out elsewhere. Went inside to pay and tried to explain our situation to be told by the manager?? that you can't walk out half way, your order is being cooked and who's going to pay?? We tried explaining again yet this older woman was just becoming outright rude. A younger waitress went and asked and the chef said that was okay. A question; why is this lady rude, especially in front of other customers who were waiting to pay? Why does she raise her voice so the two tables behind her could hear and embarrassing us? Have seen her mentioned in other reviews on here. We were polite and thankful throughout this incident. Thank you to Kerrie and Laurie for the best service in a very busy time. The chef, your food is beautiful and we enjoyed our entrees. We also saw other beautiful entrees being served while we waited for ours. My next outting at Omni, I'm having scallops and the plump prawns. Our night was great (besides the rude old lady) and our food and drinks spot on!!

Delicious patatas bravas followed by their signature paella. Sticks Pinot Grigio. Excellent meal and attentive service.

AMAZING deserts! Had the Creme caramel... Delish. Very warm atmosphere and service was fantastic. Definitely going back

Took girlfriend for Xmas dinner. Omni was great! Great service & food was delicious!

The food was delicious. Our party enjoyed the bread with balsamic & olive oil. Seafood: fresh and plentiful with ample flavour. The service was good when our waitress changed. The first waitress being an older woman was abrupt whilst seeming very flustered. You could hear her talking rudely to the younger staff and not lowering her voice. Muttering under her breath at another table, giving glaring looks. Was she the quassi manager cum waitress? She was more interested in taking, giving orders and the till. The young lady who did serve us was fresh, extremely polite with excellent service. I presume she was Italian. We will dine again at this establishment. The food is of "top quality", excellent selection of wines. Small yet can be perfectly matched to all dishes. To the young waitress and the chef/s thank you for a wonderful night.

Bad Experience. Had a large booking and whilst the lady seemed lovely over the phone, upon arriving I could not believe the greeting of utter rudeness and glaring uncomfortable looks both I and our guests received. If you are looking for an over priced average quality meal and rude service - then this is the place for you! I feel bad my family had to experience this on what was meant to be a happy gathering.

Mrs. We ( four of us ) went to this restaurant because of the good reviews in this web site, but we are very disappointed at the quality & taste of food and the dinning environment.<br/><br/>Within the main dishes we ordered, 150 day aged sirlolin is just OK, but Prawn & lobster ravioloni is a disaster. We couldn't believe the poor quality of this dish ( the soup is very plain, raviolino with thick wrapping and very little filling).<br/><br/>The dinning environment is not good enough to be called as fine dinning, very narrow seats with cold air flowing in from outside ( mid winter ). <br/><br/>We will not recommend anyone for this restaurant.

My second visit to Omni and while pleasant enough wasn't enough to hold my attention or lure me back for an encore. Omni is essentially a fine-ish dining restaurant with prices to match, but the quality just isn't there. This is with the exception of the churros, which were undoubtedly the best I've ever had :)

What a lovely place ive visited. exceeded my expecations. would go again

The paella is to die for! Overflowing with fresh seafood - fish, prawns, mussels, pipis, and beautiful crab. Just delicious. The tapas is also excellent. A little more expensive than other restaurants in the area, but absolutely worth it for a special meal.

I would like to disagree with the previous comment and voice out that I love going to Omni restaurant and enjoying their 150 day aged sirloin and they always get it right...

When a steak ordered rare comes out medium to well done and no apologies or concessions are offered it's not worth going back.

Great food, fresh and yummy, though the temperature of the food was scalding. Service a bit slow, and they needed to turn the heaters on, very chilly in there!

Paella. Great dish full of flavour and loads of exceptionally fresh seafood

A very pleasant surprise. My partner and I wandered into Omni for breakfast on an overcast Sunday morning looking for a hot meal and a hot coffee, but without any expectations. What we got was a beautiful little restaurant with fantastic service, a warm, relaxing ambiance and truly memorable food! I have high standards when I eat out, and hate paying money for anything that I could've bettered myself at home. Let me say that the $15 I spent on my scrambled eggs with caremilised onion, feta and mint, served on sourdough with rindless bacon and roast tomoatoes was some of the best money I've ever spent. <br/><br/>Do yourself a favour and eat here- you won't regret it!

Best dinner place I have eaten in Keilor Road. The first place I have really wanted to go back to. And I will go back. The tapas were great.

There are gems in suburbia. This is an unpretentious little place which I probably would not look at it twice, should I have not been told by local friends to give it a try. The food - a mixture of Italian, Greek and Spanish - is so tasty, the paella is a stunner (I do not like the rice to stick to the pan, no matter what the "experts" say and this did not) and the service is friendly, professional and caring. Wow, what a find.

Best Spanish this side of Barcelona. Fabulous food, no better paella this side of Barcelona. Service is friendly and attentive, and for a change of pace breakfast is to die for.