Review Mother Dough - Hawthorn

A rustic Italian place where you can enjoy good pizzas and drinks. Located close to Hawhtorn train station. Family friendly!

Had high hopes given the 4.5 rating but was sorely disappointed. We ordered the seafood pasta and lamb fettuccine Ragu. Both dishes were average at best. The fettuccine was not cooked properly - several clumps pasta that were stuck together. The lamb had at least 3 pieces of small bones in it. Service was sub par - waitress wasn’t that friendly, forgot to bring water and we had to ask for sharing plates when the entrée came out. Tables were not set when we were seated down and a dirty table next to us was left uncleared for at least 20min.

My partner & I went for dinner & were caught by the opportunity to attend one of their new pasta making classes held every 3 Sunday. Geoff & Ally we’re absolutely wonderful! They accommodated our desire to learn gnocchi which wasn’t part of the class schedule, fun, engaging, insightful but overall a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Highly recommend the cooking class & dinner at any opportunity as this place is a gem! 😊

Ordered two pizzas to take away. Capricciosa and Margherita. Both impressive. Good flavours and made with quality produce. Bases were flavoursome - perhaps could have been crisper - which added to our enjoyment. Not cheap - but if the proof is in the eating, the absence of leftovers would tell the tale. Good stuff!

Mother Dough make a big deal about their dough, and are very proud of it. I can only agree 100% plus. Their pizzas have a great variety of well designed toppings (Rosso & Bianco), using fabulous produce. Their bases are absolutely outstanding!! Delicious, thin, crisp, and they don't go soggy. They speak truth about their bases, and it really makes a big difference. The base is joy, not just a blank pallette. You have to try this place! Just tried it recently, and I wish I knew earlier. Definitely in the top few % of Melbourne pizza, and I don't say that lightly. This is my new pizza home.

Amazing food, down to earth, rustic local and our new favorite! We had a family dinner and decided to try this local for the first time - everyone raved about the food and the service was great! Antipasto platter, pizza, pasta, ragu and the seafood clay pot - everything was amazing! Given the high quality of the food and authentic recipes, the prices are reasonable. Loved it and we plan to go back so we can eat our way through the menu!

We came here for a birthday dinner and had their version of a Hawaiian pizza, the seafood linguine and the fettuccine gorgonzola. The wood fire pizza was good, soft dough with just the right amount of sauce and cheese and generous with the ingredients. The linguine was good with again a very generous amount of fish, pippies and prawns. The fettuccine was too salty but that’s to be expected as gorgonzola cheese is saltier. This was balanced well with the texture of perfectly al dente pasta. The linguine was very well cooked al dente as well. They did lose 1 star because the service could have been improved. When I asked about the fish special, the lady who served me just responded with “snapper”. I waited a few seconds and eventually realised she was done so I pressed her a bit more on how it was cooked and she responded with “with oil” and added some comment on the side it came with but her “with oil” comment caught me off guard so I didn’t catch what she said next. I think they either need to train their staff better or just write it up on the blackboard or on paper.

Really fresh pasta. Authentic. Pizza was delicious as well. Definitely taking family and friends back there. Nice ambience.

My family and I just had pizza takeaway from Mother Dough and they were FANTASTIC! The dough was a flavoursome light wholemeal style that was crisp at the edges and soft centred - the website indicates its actually a mix of three imported Italian flours with the dough taking 48 hours to prepare. We ordered three pizzas: Quattro formaggi, Margherita and Capricciosa. This was probably the best Capriccioa Ive had and sadly Ive had a few!<br/>Definitely recommend and will bring my mates on our continuous quest to sample Melbourne's best pizzas. Mother Dough is right up there.

Paid 100 dollars for three dishes: a ravioli that was uncooked in parts (raw indigestible and hard), which was laden with heavy gorgonzola sauce. Way too heavy and cheesy, on top of being uncooked. The wild boar ragu was better, but also on the heavy side. The foccacia was neither here nor there, although over-priced. Also the food gave us a huge stomach ache and gas which makes me question the quality of the ingredients. I ate here 3 years ago and had a better experience. Ordering for delivery during covid to take a break from cooking turned out to be a costly 100 dollar mistake, as I could have done much better cooking my own pasta.

5 star food + 1 star service = 3 star review<br/><br/>The pasta was delicious and tiramisu was amazing, but the sloooooow service was very very disappointing and put a dampener on the evening. It is Valentine’s Day for goodness sake, so you should know to staff appropriately. I waited 45 mins for an espresso martini but gave up and paid the bill when it was clearly never ever going to arrive. You could have covered the cost of an extra staff member in the loss of our drinks alone. So disappointing as my friends and I were hoping this would be our local.

Third and last time to eat here as there has always been issues but I put it down to being busy. This last time, on a Saturday night, the restaurant was busy downstairs but very quiet upstairs, where our table of 4 was. We went there specifically for the gluten free pizza as my wife is coeliac. Firstly it came after myself and the other 2 guests had almost finished our meal. This was only after asking for it. It came out missing ingredients listed on the menu and very undercooked. When we queried the waiter we were told that they rushed the order to us. Poor timing considering the pastas arrived at least 10 minutes before the pizza. I ordered a double espresso- poor quality with no crema. My first semester hospitality students make a better coffee than a so called professional waiter. When we went to pay & complained again about the quality of the pizza and the missing ingredients the “manager” did not even respond to us, just told the waiter rudely in front of us to remove the item from the bill. Such a shame as the first time we came here the service was good, not great as they mixed up the main courses, but the pizza was excellent. Will not return here.

Excellent quality food! From the exquisite wild boar pasta, to the fish, to the meatballs and to the Lasagna, we were all very impressed with what we ordered (My parents, partner, sister), and all of us have different likes and dislikes and are fussy. Everything was well made and also care was put into everything: From the owner.manager who greeted and chatted to us, to the quality of food. I will go here again soon! BRAVO!!!   9.5/10!!

Cute little Italian place delivering some of the tastiest wood fire pizza! I couldn’t go past the calzone though which was absolutely amazing! Unfortunately we weren’t offered the dessert menu so not sure what it was like, but otherwise really enjoyed our dinner here catching up with friends!

I understand why it's called mother dough. Indeed their dough is well made and really scrumptious. I ordered their garlic and herb focaccia which was so wholesome and amazing. I could just eat that for my main. The breads at this place is really something else. Only thing I could criticise was how loud the place (upstairs) can get especially if you've got other patrons that are basically screaming their lungs out near the windows (where the voice bounces off). Also the amount of Chardonnay given for what I paid ($10 or $25) is not sufficient in my opinion.<br/>But otherwise, Mother Dough is a superbly good pasta and pizza restaurant and I will definitely come back.

A cosy restaurant with its brick & wood interior and has a fair bit of seating as it is 2 stories. <br/><br/>We ordered 2 pizzas; the La Rude and San Danielle, and a pasta; gnocchi al fomo. We shared these dishes between between 3 of us. Luckily we did because the pasta dish is quite small and I don’t think it will fill someone up. The pizzas were light but very filling and had a lot of taste. My favourite one was probably the San Danielle. The gnocchi was delicious too. It was really fluffy just the sizing portion was quite small.<br/><br/>The service was awesome. Didn’t have to wait long for our food to be ordered and didn’t have to wait long for the food to come out either.

Cosy Italian restaurant. Love the ambience and friendly service (just a bit slow due to short of staff). Great pizza and pasta. I ordered the Funghi pizza 🍕 and Cortecce Pollo & Gorgonzola pasta 🍝. Delicious and flavours are beautiful! They also have Sangiovese on tap. 🍷

My friend and had a wonderful experience at Mother Dough on Friday night; we were seated in the upstairs dining area which was really cosy and pretty quiet given the wooden floors. <br/><br/>For main we shared a meatball pasta and Bufalina pizza. Both were absolutely delicious and reasonably priced for how flavoursome and high quality they were. My only suggestion is to put maybe one more meatball in the pasta. <br/><br/>For dessert we shared the pannacotta and the three (magnificent) chocolate & mascarpone cannoli. I would recommend definitely sharing the cannoli as it was extremely rich following a meal!<br/><br/>The wait staff were attentive and friendly; thankyou for a great evening 🙏

Delicious thin base pizza with a crispy chewy crust that is yummy enough to eat as a meal on its own. My favourites are the simple ones - buffalo mozzarella pizza and prosciutto, but their white base and pesto base pizzas are also delicious.

After waiting some time and not receiving any attention, we found where the menu and the wine list were kept to make our choice. We decided to order the famous chips and were so disappointed. They were LIMP - probably because they were waiting to be served by the waitress. We were disappointed. Wines were good and we ordered our pizza. The base was good and chewy but the ingredients were just average. I feel that the training TAFEs at Box Hill, Melbourne Polytechnic or Holmesglen has better service than this place. Young and inexperienced service. Wont be back.

Delicious authentic pizza!! These guys make their own dough, and it was incredibly tasty; both chewy and had a wonderful taste. All the pizzas we had were full of flavour, special shout out to the buffalino pizza which was amazing. The only critique is that the l’arlecchino was a little too salty, but the prosciutto pizza was similar and a lot less salty! Will definitely be returning here.

Will come back for:<br/>+ Potato Chips<br/>+ Truffle Pizza<br/>+ Tiramisu<br/><br/>The food here is rustic, homely and great flavor. The potato chips were cut super thin, fried crisp, salty and moorish. The truffle pizza is satisfyingly chewy, smokey, and has a generous lashing of truffle paste. The seafood hot pot was also great, with all the components cooked really well, but I thought a little over priced for the portion. The tiramisu was delicious, and a great one to share. I agree with some of the others in that, food took a little longer, but not too long. And the food was certainly worth the wait! Will definitely be back.

Had my mates 45th here last night. A great little place in the inner burbs. Had a great time with the service and had some delicious food, I had the seafood hotpot, well worth a go!. The mains took a little long to come out, but we did have a big group. If you are looking for a good Italian place, give this place a go.

Tasty tasty tasty, wonderful food. Love the risotto so much, the nuttiness from the cheese is just wonderful. Just remind bring cash to the store, the credit card transaction will charge service fee

Long waiting times. However, pasta and potato chips are top notch. Best potato chips ever, despite the expense and quantity (lack of). Verdict; blue spinel

Firstly staffs attention is very minimal, serving sharing plates to the wrong table, pasta served cold because it was placed at the counter for awhile, forgot our dessert order and hot water requested was only room temperature. Shared a few pizzas they were okay very doughy for my liking. Taste wise it was authentic italian. Love the rocket salad and burrata

I was eating down stairs while my daughter had a party of 17 girls upstairs. My girl friend and I were enjoying a lovely meal while upstairs sat waiting for 1.5 hours with no pizza. They had cold chips and gave lemon lime bitters to girls when I had explicitly asked for water or lemonade. I changed order as girls were all still hungry. The one size all is a smallish size pizza. I verbally changed from 2-4 dessert pizzas. They only made 2. I asked for a garden salad - no salad provided. Girls were to be picked up at 8:30, so girls had to text to be picked up later. Girls went home hungry. Staff don’t listen to the customer. I’ve never complained or commented before. I am so disgusted by their service. I sent a text to the manager and he never replied. So here JEFF, enjoy<br/>Would never go back especially for a group booking. Jeff appears very helpful before you go then ignores you and DOES NOT LISTEN

The food was good, but the problem was my meal (a pizza) took almost two hours to arrive (110 minutes from order to final meal arriving- first people to order were feed over 1 hour 35 mins after ordering). We were seated in the courtyard after our booking of 4 grew to about 12, but we'd asked if it would be an issue and were assured it would not be. My partner offered to leave but they said it would be fine before we'd ordered. I ordered a few minutes before 8:15 pm and meal (a pizza) arrived 9:45. Saving grace was we were in a big group, but we ended up driving friends home because it was so late and they were going to leave. Staff were nice, but watching other tables get feed first, something went wrong. People who orded in our group in a second wave were also feed before us. After 1 hour 20 mins, we had to suggest it might be a good idea to hold us over with some bread - complimentary bruschetta did appear which was nice, but I'd rather just get what I ordered within the hour.... I might try this place on a sleepy Tues, but will not go back on weekend unless I hear this issue has been fixed. It's a pitty, I liked the waitress and the feel of the place, and the food was good (but not cheap), but service (non) delivery was terrible. I suspect they've fallen into the trap of takeaway getting in the way of table service, but if I'd seen that when seated inside instead of in the courtyard, we would have been much more assertive about not getting feed and would have left 1.5 hours in....

Used to live just around the corner and visited & ordered out lots of times. The friendliest staff and most delicious Italian food. If I could rate it a 6 I would! Pasta is always fresh and pizza bases, chewy and delicious. Couldn’t recommend highly enough

Love the venison ragu with papardelle pasta. They can also make a mean pasta bianco with cheese, garlic and butter. Homemade potato chips is heavenly. Service is great, friendly waiter. Food can be sometimes slow as there are 3 seperate sections of kitchen? That’s the only downside, you need to allow enough time to dine here. Be prepared to spend your money because the food and taste is worth it.

Very enjoyable family dinner (3 kids plus parents). Pizzas were brilliant as well as both pasta dishes. Service friendly and efficient <br/>We will return

This place needs to decide if it wants to be a restaurant or a takeaway. As a restaurant, every table walked away frustrated and angry that food took 50 minutes to arrive, while takeaways kept walking out with freshly cooked food. <br/><br/>Staff apologised half heartedly for the wait to every table when chased up, but it's not a single table issue, it's systematic. At one point we were told the reason why entrees hadn't arrived after 50 minutes was because they were going to arrive with our mains. Hmm.... What? I don't think so. <br/><br/>In terms of food:<br/>Arancini: great arancini, nice and hot. But the sauce that the arancini was sitting on, was room temperature. Not fridge, not a little colder than it should be. Room temperature.<br/>Funghi pizza: great all round<br/>Pork sausage pizza: great all round<br/>Seafood pizza: great seafood and taste, but who serves pizza with clams and mussels all still in their shells? <br/>Venison papadelle: colder than lukewarm<br/>Wagyu papadelle: meat was chewier than I'd prefer but passable<br/>Salt and pepper calamari: great<br/><br/>Overall, fix your time management because it let everything down. Spending 50 minutes waiting for cold food is a terrible experience.<br/><br/>

One of the best gluten free pizza’s I have ever had. Beautiful and fluffy, a god sent for coealic’s who want authentic Italian! Wine and service was also lovely.

Had an amazing dinner here Monday. Picked it due to good zomato reviews for the Hawthorn area and italian Cuisine...and while the reviews and ratings are very up and down...we had such a great experience there. Firstly, service was lovely. Had a nice Italian guy as our waiter. Very friendly and accommodating. Secondly, this was great Italian food. The Woodfire pizza was one of the best I've had. Crust and flavour of the dough was unbelievable. Ordered the Capricosia. Came with artichoke. Oh wow. Great flavours on the whole thing. Fresh ham and tomato base. 3 other ppl got different pastas and equally loved them. The Wild Boar Parpadelle is an interesting one and bf scoffed it down! Others got the Venasen (deer) cream based pasta, and the spinach gnocchi. Finished it with a "glass" of Tiramisu which was delicious, and we were all very very happy! My bf said his latte was awesome and asked about the coffee they use! Interior is very nice too. The big pizza oven in the restaurant made the room a bit hot, but was also a very hot day! Definitely returning. 😀 p.s I took terrible photos that don't do it justice at all!

This is what you call an $18 salad? <br/><br/>90% of it is pure leaves, two chunks of pumpkin, and a fraction of an amount of chicken. <br/><br/>This is laughable - learn how to make a salad. <br/><br/>Not ordering here again.<br/>

** NEW Owners/Managers **<br/>Please disregard the negative reviews below - a new partnership took over this quaint venue just before Christmas 2017, and it has been reborn. Same delicious genuine Italian food but a very different passion and level of customer service. The first thing you notice when you walk in are the genuine smiles on diners faces. Allison and Jeff make it feel like you are in their own dining room - whilst being attentive to your needs they also appreciate that you might be on a 'first date' or having a quick Friday night meal. The menu is extensive and Chef can accommodate gluten free and extra meat/no cheese if required. There is even House wine on tap so you'll never be without a delicious Rose, Chardonnay or red perfectly matched to your meal. <br/>Upstairs can be booked for your own private function - up to 40 people and there is no charge to use the space. Perfect for birthdays or a way to promote your business. <br/>I cannot speak highly enough of this lovely little local restaurant. I am fortunate to have some great places in my suburb (Brighton) but if I'm in the mood for a generous serve of house made gnocchi with seafood and a cream sauce I will travel to MOTHER DOUGH.

Thank you for treating us like crap. We booked an outside table and once we got here you proceeded to bloody ignore us fo at least 10-15 minutes if not longer. You knew we were here as a) i came in and told you and b) your waiters saw us as you were serving folks inside.<br/>The service here was non-existent and we left without even being given a menu. Thank you for ruining the night. I would recommend people to stay clear of this venue.

Best pizza and service in town. The pizza s dough is very good and well done, as such the ingredients as such the tomato sauce. Service is pretty good as well!

Came for dinner with a couple of friends for the first time. Mother Dough has a nice feel about it and the staff were friendly but maybe a little forgetful. We shared the Campagnola and San Daniela prosciutto pizzas. The pizzas were quite nice and we washed them down with a lovely bottle of Barossa shiraz. A nice casual local Italian restaurant which we will visit again.

Beautiful freshly made pasta with slow cooked ragu sauce. We especially loved the shared antipasto board with the fresh mozzarella cheese! Yum!!

Came here as a group on a weeknight, it wasn't overly busy but I feel like the waitstaff could not keep up or just didn't really care. <br/>The food was good nothing but at the same level as many other pizza restaurants in the area and surrounds. <br/>Would I go here again probably not. But I wouldn't deter anyone else from going here either.

Traditional Italian inspired food, the gnocchi and seafood pasta were delightful. The staff were friendly and attentive and the decor was homely and modern. A must try!

This place is always great! Beautiful, cozy spot and delicious food. Their $75 menu for two people is awesome value, always tasty and comes with wine! We will definitely keep coming back!

I was hanging out for some good pizza and pasta tonight. This restaurant came up and was quite excited and luckily there was a last minute table available for booking. <br/><br/>We arrived and was told the booking was for upstairs. So we went up and there were 2 long tables. One long table with a large group of people and the noise was understandably loud and the other was still empty for the time being. Nevermind. We ordered the garlic and herb foccacia as entree. It was average, lacking the garlic taste and the dough was a bit burnt. <br/><br/>The main dishes were:<br/>Il Porcino pizza - the look of the pizza dough seemed consistent with the photos taken by other. A large portion of the pizza was a bit burnt... not a big fan of it. The base was too soft but luckily the overall taste was not too bad. <br/><br/>Pappardelle Wagyu Beef & Black Angus Ragu - the quality of the Ragu beef was nice but the quality and quantity of the pappardelle was quite disappointing. It was a bit on the chewy side and literally only a few pieces...<br/><br/>Filled Basil Gnocchi Al Forno - the gnocchi was ok but the sauce was a bit on the salty side<br/><br/>Paccheri Allo Scoglio - the paccheri was undercooked and the seafood pieces were average. <br/><br/>While we were having the main dishes the second group of people arrived at the table... We had to quickly finish everything and leave the place...

Poor time management skills, good authentic Italian food, little over priced, nice staff.<br/><br/>Been there a number of times, and they always take awhile with their food, even the bill takes awhile to come out. Maybe they are unstaffed. <br/><br/>One occasion, we had a table of six, restaurant was reasonably quiet, and we were dining reasonably early in the night. The first two meals came 10 minutes before the others. Then they had obviously forgot my meal, which was a pizza (chicken pizza without mushrooms which I'm allergic to and stated it when I ordered), I asked about its status and they said it was on its way. Once everyone had finished their meal they came out said it was currently in the oven. Once the pizza came it had mushrooms on it, which they took back. When they sent it back out they had obviously gave me the same pizza and picked the mushrooms off and there was still a couple of mushrooms on it. Now imagine if I got an anaphylactic reaction, luckily I don't get a bad reaction! <br/><br/>It's great food, and the restaurant is well decorated, they just need to lift their game a little and they would be the trendy restaurant they want to be.

Went with a group of friends and was greeted with good service straightaway. Waiters and waitresses checked on us and let us know our food wasn't too far away. We got the shared plate which was great value at $160 with your choice of salad, entree , an antipasto, two pizzas and two pastas. Pizza was great woodfired pizza with a tasty selection of different Italian cured meats and the pasta wasn't too bad but maybe a little too al dente for the group. Overall the quality of the food and atmosphere was high .

Chef and co-owner Adel Mostafa may not be Italian, but given he’s lived in Italy for 17 years you could say he knows a thing or two about how to cook Italian food. Since moving to Australia, he has owned several restaurants in Melbourne before settling into Hawthorn, opening Mother Dough last year.

Pizza is very authentic and true italian style, it is one of my favorite casual italian restaurant in this area. Nice atmoshpere too. Service can be improved.

HIGHLY RECCOMENDED. I rarely wright any reviews but this place is an exception. We had a booking of 6 and dined upstairs last sunday, which was a suprisingly a very busy night for this restaurant. The food was simply amazing and service by our waiter gabriele beyond spectacular. He engaged with our kids, knew his wine well and looked after us very well. Pasta and pizza at this place are fantastic. Its a different concept on italian dining but a very homey feeling <br/>at the same time.

Not that there was anything drastically wrong with our experience... however. The service was a bit OTT and felt forced and insincere. The pizzas weren't bad, but the dough was very chewy for the 'style' of 'traditional' pizza Mother Dough was serving. I suppose good for a local but wouldn't be rushing back here with the likes of DOC, 400Gradi & Circa900 not too far away. Sorry guys, best of luck.

The pizza was average compared to other pizza places around the area especially when the service was so poor. Arancini was delicious but the salad was overpriced basically $20 for canned tuna with rocket salad and lots of salt. I personally found the food average. What really put me off was the quality of service, making it incomparable to the other pizza places I've been to.<br/>

In this small town of Hamelin Hawthorn which spans two blocks plus one cafe there's two places when it comes to pizza, though one only does take-away (and pizza by the slices for lunch) while the other is nice and warm inside with plenty of seats! During weekdays it's nice and quiet during lunch.

Loved the this place when it was Cantona del Nono and was a little tentative about trying it out under the new Mother Dough since a friend had said the servings were stingy.<br/>We'll, any fears were immediately set aside when we ordered the bruschetta and got a whole loaf covered in delicious tomatoes goodness sliced in to several portions for the 3 of us that dined that night.<br/>The pizza was tasty and very traditional. My only gripe would be that the middle gets really really soggy and there's not much chance of lifting a slice without making a mess or the toppings slipping off. Best to go at this pizza with a knife and fork. <br/>And when you do go here, which you should, don't you dare skip the Panna cotta. It is textbook perfect. *drool*

A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to experience some of the finest, most authentic Italian cuisine that Melbourne has to offer - Mother Dough. They offer an extensive menu selection, ranging from the familiar Italian entrées, ragu and traditional pastas, salads, classic and gourmet pizzas, and of course, some dessert options to complete the meal! <br/><br/>Oh, and did we mention that this place makes some of the best dough ever?! Which means as long as your dish consists of some sort of bread or pizza crust, it will not disappoint! Soft and fluffy, yet with a little bit of crisp would be our definition of the perfect dough 👌🏻<br/><br/>Some of the highlight dishes for us would have to be the Seafood Hotpot which is essentially a pot of fresh, seasonal seafood selection with a layer of homemade foccacia that is sculpted to the bowl when cooked in the oven, such an amazing dish to warm up the winter season! The black angus wagyu meatballs and the funghi pizza were also our favourites, and also Nutella Pizza definitely made its place to be a crowd favourite!<br/><br/>Thank you Mother Dough for having us, and for such a comforting and delicious Italian dining experience! ☺️

First off, this was some of the best Italian food I've had in Melbourne. It's not your usual Melbourne Italian restaurant. There are variations in the menu items that I've never had before! The highlight was the truffle butter they used in one of the pasta dishes, simply delicious. The Italian Hot Pot was also a different dish but they made it work! Felt very authentic and the flavours were just amazing. A must try in Melbourne.<br/>MustBeHungry Approved!

Best gluten free pizza I have ever had. I ordered it on uber eats and actually had to call to double check it was gluten free because it was fluffy and completely opposite to the cardboard I usually eat.

A restaurant gem in Hawthorn, Mother Dough is all about traditional Italian cuisine served in a comfortably contemporary venue. Red brick walls are laiden with black-and-white photographs and kitchenware trinkets, all contributing to a rustic vibe that supports the illusion of being transported to Italy.

Loved this place. Great atmosphere, excellent service. Italian restaurant without the bog standard lasagna & carbonara, has quite an exotic menu. We ordered the meatballs as an entree & my husband had the venison ragu with pappardelle & I ordered a pizza. Both dishes were excellent. Great crust on the pizza & fresh tasty toppings. We will definitely be back - it's in the Entertainment Book as a bonus!!

Mother Dough is located very close to Hawthorn station approximately 10 min walking distance or less. Plenty of street parking spaces and easily accessible by public transport. The place looks small from outside but when you come inside, they have plenty seats available (upstairs, outdoor) - no issues to look after small / big group.<br/><br/>We were welcomed and served by the friendly wait staffs. The customer service was great, very attentive and friendly. We ordered Pappardelle Venison (marinated in a double malt beer, bay leaves and clove blend) for $32.00. <br/><br/>It's a signature Mother Dough dish as their ragu is slow cooked at low temperatures for different periods of time ranging from 16 to 23 hours a day. The meats are sourced locally from The Yarra Valley, Gippsland and The Goulburn Region. The recipe is based from the authentic Italian ragu style.<br/><br/>Yes, it's little bit expensive for a pasta, but it was worth of value to spend on the dish as it took long time preparation for Ragu Pasta dish. The portion was generous (meats, cheese) and the taste was fantasic. Not forget to mention that the venison had a delicate taste and the ingredients used were so fresh.<br/><br/>I am surprised that this restaurant has only 3.7 rating points; I reckon they deserve to have at least 4.0 or above.<br/><br/>If you're seeking the authenticy of Italian food with the great quality food, I'd definitely recommend this place.<br/><br/>It was a great experience for our first visit; We will come back to try other dishes and we hope they still retain the current standard or even better the next time we are coming.<br/><br/>Yay : Great quality food, fantastic customer service<br/>Nay : N/A<br/><br/>Service : 5.0<br/>Taste : 4.5<br/>Speed : 4.5<br/>Price : 3.5<br/><br/>Location : 86 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn VIC 3122<br/>Phone : 03 9819 9000<br/>Website : motherdough.com.au

What a delight to be invited to Mother Dough to try their authentic Italian menu.<br/>For a cold winters day what more can you ask for then all that comfort food!<br/><br/>We started off with a great latte to ward off any winter chills. Then let the food begin.<br/><br/>We tried a variety of dishes starting off with the pizza bruschetta consisting of fresh diced tomato with parmesan and basil finished off with a very well balanced balsamic reduction. We also sampled the Salumi board.<br/><br/>Then the pizzas started 😙 the  <br/>Bufalina consisted of fresh buffalo mozarella, prosciutto, parmesan and basil as well as the Il Porcino I could taste the truffle oil, mushroom and speck.<br/>The pizza dough is their speciality, following a process of mixing imported Italian flour to make the Mother of all doughs. <br/><br/>We also tried the Italian seafood hotpot which consisted of seasonal variety of seafood barramundi, swordfish, calamari and baby clams. This was within a focaccia sculptured to the bowl and risen in the wood fire oven.<br/><br/>One of the few restaurants serving pizza that did not leave me feeling bloated. The ingredients are fresh and authentic.<br/> <br/>Would recommend for anyone looking for authentic Italian food but not travelling to Italy for it.

I was fortunate enough to have been invited to be a +1 for a new menu launch event at Mother Dough on the weekend. I dined here when this restaurant was named Cantina Del Nonno so the venue had a very familiar feel to it. Some superficial surface modifications but largely as I remember it from a previous incarnation. Exposed brickwork, classic prints and pleasant wood grain finishings give the venue a homely feel. There were more tables upstairs with a feature fireplace and mirror while out back some outdoor dining options that would almost certainly be used on a summers day. <br/><br/>The food came thick and fast starting with bruschetta with generous syrupy balsamic. I should have calmed my farm and paced myself at this point but got a little bit over enthusiastic on the intake early on. We tried a range of their pizzas which were generously flavoured. Perhaps my favourite was the truffle pizza with mushroom and prosciutto and a healthy flavouring of truffle. In amongst the pizza arrivals a seafood pie was delivered with a thick dough crust. Theatrical opening up of the pie revealed a delicious array of seafood including prawns, calamari, muscles, cockles, white fish and salmon all in a lite fragrant tomato broth. All the seafood was cooked very well except for the salmon which was a touch dry. Flavours were amazing. <br/><br/>I was already getting full before the pasta dishes arrived. Of the pastas we tried the lite fluffy potato gnocchi with a slow goat ragu was standout. Gnocchi can be so hit and miss... it only takes a spoon or two of extra flour and the ratios end up out of whack so it's worth calling out when gnocchi is as good as this was. <br/><br/>But wait there's more. We got to sample a Nutella calzone, white chocolate pizza, tiramisu and panna cotta. It's hard to beat a Nutella filled calzone but I was conflicted in my favourite between that and the lovely white chocolate decadence on a pizza <br/><br/>I thoroughly enjoyed the meal. Thanks to Good Food, Good Mood for the plus one invite and Mother Dough for letting us sample their delicious range. Dough baby and a couch for the rest of the afternoon. <br/><br/>

I was invited to the launch of the new winter menu at Mother Dough and was utterly blown away with deliciousness from start to finish. I entered a relatively rustic interior with gorgeous framed black and white photos hanging on the brickwork underneath bottles of wine ensconced on the wall. It's a huge space that continues on upstairs complete with a cute little fireplace as well as a large beer garden out the back and a nice outdoor heater to keep you toasty. We started with a beautiful bruschetta. Bruschetta is literally one of my favourite things to eat. I've got a love as deep as the ocean for carbs and the combination of a delicious sweet sticky balsamic with some lovely fresh basil and diced tomatoes sprinkled with a dose of dairy is pretty much unbeatable. But beat it they did Michael Jackson style with a bresaola (cured beef) and buffalo mozzarella pizza garnished with sliced lemon. Not something I would usually order but a really different and traditional dish that was exciting to try not to mention delicious. We then had some wagyu meatballs served with bread by which point I had serious hot chocolate envy due to someone devouring a stunning looking hot choc on a nearby table so I engaged in the rich decadence of one of the most luxe beverages I've ever had. Considering this is an Italian restaurant not a dessert cafe I was seriously impressed. Next up a mushroom truffle pizza with a side of aperol spritz before the very enthralling reveal of the seafood hotpot baked with a focaccia top in the wood fire oven. The waiter theatrically poured oil on top and then slowly and full of suspense; cut into the dough to expose beautiful fresh seafood in a broth (prawns, salmon, calamari, mussels and pippies) cooked to perfection. Again not a dish I would normal order but it's really exciting to go beyond just pizza and pasta and try something authentic and creative. A few more pizzas and we were ready to hit the pasta. The goat gnocchi was utterly sensational. The gnocchi itself was unbelievably delicate and soft. A real melt in the mouth situation. We then tried a beetroot ravioli with Gorgonzola. Gorgonzola can be quite overpowering therefore the beetroot was unfortunately lost in it particularly as it had a ricotta filling and the beetroot itself was really only in the pasta shell. It had a beautiful vibrant pink colour though. Now for dessert. There's nothing like the combination of dough and Nutella. To me it's as classic as smashed avocado and toast, it pairs as naturally as parmasen and pasta and Mother Dough united them exceptionally. First in a Nutella calzone with delectable sweet strawberries and yummy vanilla bean ice cream and then in a showstopping white chocolate Oreo pizza with Nutella drizzle. Talk about dessert goals. I was in a sweet sweet fantasy. An indulgent tiramisu creation topped off our mouthwatering day. What a phenomenal feast. I think I have just found a new favourite

Love this delicious and cosy Italian place in Hawthorn 😊 Will keep coming back for the awesome Nutella calzone which is PACKED with Nutella that oozes out when you cut it open.

Such a beautiful Italian feast at Motherdough today! The new menu just came out and we tried the seafood hotpot which is nothing short of magic! It's hotpot like you've never seen or tried before, filled with fish of the day, mussels, prawns, calamari and daily fresh in-season seafood. No meal would be complete without dessert and the Nutella x Oreo pizza was next-level indulgent as always!! 🙌🏼💫

Came here with a friend, were greeted by lovely friendly staff, restaurant had a very cosy feel, and we were seated in the outdoor area under the heater. <br/><br/>We got recommended the fish pasta and prosciutto pizza, which were both lovely. I particularly enjoyed the pasta, but to be honest for $31 it was quite a small portion.

JUST WOW. Amazing simple Italian food. Simple but very efficient service. Staff really know what they are selling. So much flavour in their pasta and pizza even the salad came out amazing with the balsamic truffle and honey together. These guys will definitely be Melbourne's next big deal. Keep up the great work guys.

Very beautiful food. Gnocchi is definetly the best i have ever had all over melbourne. The rabbit ragu pasta was also amazing. Very warm and cozy in this restaurant. Excellent work Mother Dough

Hawthorn is lucky to have this hidden treasure. Fresh pasta made on site & woodfired pizza to melt in your mouth. Great service and happy to help staff. Beautiful wine on tap who could say no

Thank the Pizza Heavens, a local that knows what it's doing! I didn't even know this place existed until my wife said she was craving arancini (as a smart husband, we ended up eating arancini), and I stumbled upon this gem after some handy Google work. We ordered the 2 person tasting menu for $69 (1 entree, 1 side, 1 pasta, 1 pizza), which was A LOT of food. The arancini were delicious. My (Sicilian) wife said the sauce reminded her of her mum's, which is a solid compliment. The salad was ok, but the gnocchi was a little underwhelming. Thankfully, the Napoletana pizza stole the show. Chewy, tasty dough with fresh, well-balanced toppings. The crust was a little burnt, but that happens, and it did not detract from the overall flavour. The service was friendly from some, but a little indifferent from others. Judging from other reviews, it seems like this differs depending on who you get. Something to improve. But we'll be back for sure.

Service = amazing very nice staff<br/>Food = amazing, best pasta bar I've ever been to<br/>Make sure you book as this place it gets really busy at times. Seriously best for the eastern suburbs area Richmond/ hawthorn / Kew best Italian we have had in years. P.s make sure you try the TuttaCarne pizza. My boys won't stop talking about it!!

BEST HOMEMADE PASTA IN MELBOURNE. This is what you call busy. BUSY BUSY. What a secret gem with a hidden upstairs, beer garden and downstairs dining room. Service was perfect very nice staff. Food the definition of amazing. Just a really good true italian restaurant.

Food was absolutely delicious. Would have no fault. But service was not. Meals came out at different times. I didn't get to eat with the rest of my family. And that was after and hour and a bit wait. Staff are friendly but did not apologise at all for the meals coming out at completely different times.

Move over DOC!!! This place is excellent & traditional with a great variety of entrees, salads, pastas & pizzas. And it's BYO!!!!!!!<br/><br/>We had a group of 7 so ordered the selection for 6 & it was worth every dollar. Amazing value with leftovers for lunch the next day. Succulent & tender calamari was a highlight, salads were fresh & dressed well, gnocchi delicious & fluffy & pizzas were tasty.<br/><br/>Courtyard out the rear is lovely too! Will be back regularly with the family. 5 out of 5!

We arrived with a booking at 1930 Friday.  The cafe was busy.  After a long wait our water was served and wine glasses delivered.  Eventually our order was taken- arancini to start and and pizzas.  At around 2120 half our pizzas arrived. The other half were forgotten and not started until we threatened to walk out without paying. The serving of the pizzas was completed around 2145-most patrons had left by then so the noise had calmed down to the basic doof-doof music. We won't be back!

Excellent authentic italian food. This is a no joke representation of true italia. Beer garden and downstairs are ideal for intimate dinners. Staff really know the wine menu and all dishs they serve. Beautiful restaurant

A genuine review - <br/>Staff are attentive and well accustomed to their seasonal menu.<br/>The pasta is homemade, fresh and flavoursome.<br/>The pizza is thin, simple with a perfect amount of toping. Well priced considering the high quality of food you get.<br/>The venue is calm, clean with a funky vibe.<br/>I have been here on two occasions and have tried:<br/>- pasta and the gnocchi. Different types, both times I was super impressed with how much this was pure good food. Made with good quality flour and really fresh ingredients as their focus is on a seasonal menu.<br/><br/>- homemade potato chips (never had this before and by far my new favourite way of having potato chips)! Very more-ish and highly recommended. <br/><br/>- the Nutella/ice cream brioche and the signature Mother Dough chocolate mousse for dessert. The chocolate mousse has biscuit crumbled throughout it, making it decadent but with a nice twist.<br/><br/>Overall it gets a high score for the experience as a whole. Great staff, great food and a very nice vibe.<br/>

Well, well, well. What a pleasant surprise this new restaurant is! I live in the area and have driven past a lot. The restaurant is stylish and very clean with a cozy, warm feel. The staff are also friendly and knowledgable. But the absolute highlight was the food, as a good restaurant should be. Everything was delicious and had great quality ingredients. The pizza dough was outstanding! I can't wait to return here and would recommend it to everyone!

Fantastic place!!! Great food! Fresh pasta made daily. The pizza dough is amazing! Friendly staff, can't wait to go back! High recommend!!! 👍🏼

Mother Dough? What an experience! <br/><br/>From the moment we arrived, Steven the maitre d' ensured our every request was attended to. <br/><br/>The food was magnificent and reminiscent of authentic italian food.. from Italy!<br/><br/>The chef Damiano seriously knows how to prepare pasta and the margherita pizza was to die for!<br/><br/>Highly reccomend their chocolate mousse. A delectable way to end the meal. A must try.

Fantastic authentic Italian served at decent prices! From entree, main to dessert- not a single element of this meal disappointed. We loved the true Italian feeling and are very excited for their new summer menu which will include pasta made on ground. The bruschetta pizza (entree) and dessert pizzas are just tries!

What an unexpected surprise at Mother Dough. On the regular bases I don t write reviews but this time I'll have to. Such a cozy restaurant, nice music, friendly people along with staff and delicious authentic Italian food. I went there last night with a couple of friends. The waiter reccomended the special, prawn agnolotti hand made. I loved it. My friends had tutti carni pizza and linguine salmon to share. Then crem brûlée and pannacotta for dessert. I will definitely be back.

Very nice restaurant with really warm staff to make us feel at home. I finally ate a real Italian pizza and fantastic gorgonzola gnocchi drinking fine wine.<br/>Thank you guys again soon...

Great food and great service. Has become our number one local restaurant. Authentic fantastic italian food and excellent value with BYO option. Lovely italian staff adds so much to the experience.

Im really not the one to boast on about nice restaurants, cafes or anything like that but mother dough really is an exception. Dined here with the girlfriend last saturday night, the place was extremely busy. From the window i automatically thought we are about to enter another typical italian lygon style institution, boy was i wrong. We had been warmly greeted by staff and shown our table. You can tell this is a small family run business as its bare brick walls are almost covered in family photos, almost makes you feel like your dining in someones living room at home.  Awesome vibe to the place. The guy taking our orders was an absolute gentleman suggesting all these new italian beers id'e never tried before, followed by our waitress who was getting along very well with the girlfriend as they both laughing about the italian heritage they both share. Pizzas were seriously awesome, thin base with a thicker crust, the tutti carni meat pizza is a must try, even add extra chilli for that kick!! So nice!!!

i thought my husband was crazy when he said he was willing to wait up to an hour for a table on a friday night at this restaurant. We walked into such a busy place with amazing atmosphere and vibe we thought we might aswell give it a try. We were warmly greeted by staff and told there would be up to an hours wait for a table of three but whilst waiting they were happy for us to drink outside in their busy courtyard.<br/><br/>To get a table only took 40min which wasn't too bad, it was well and truly worth the wait, we dined upstairs in the large dining room and had a male and female waiters looking after us throughout the night, they were fantastic, followed  by the amazing food that came out, just wow. My husband had the house Fettucini PescaTora covered with the freshest seafood I've seen in many years. My husband was most definitely satisfied considering he is a real picky eater, whilst i ordered a gnocchi gorgonzola which was to die for, best pasta I've had in so many years. PURE AMAZING. The only thing i would recommend is a wider selection of white wines on the list but as it is the cooler season currently in Melbourne i can understand why the red wine list has a lot more choice.. We will definitely be back to this beautiful restaurant. Thankyou for the best friday night guys.

Shocking! I went there 1yr ago when it had different owners, cantina Del nonno and it was amazing. Went back there last week and it was terrible. My partner had pizza and there was barely anything on it. I had pasta and it was loaded with that much garlic, it was inedible. Wait staff are as bad as the food. In one ear and straight out the other.

<br/>pasta and pizza no flavor this is not an Italian kitchen because there taste of Italian staff does not speak English I asked one thing 3 times and the girl did not understand...

I came here by chance and i ve been pleasently surprised... Service was fantastic, all staff were happy and energetic. The manager was very nice, joking with all customers and staff. My wife had pasta and i had pizza. Both meals were honestly extremly tasty, the pasta was just cooked to perfection and brought back memories to my multiple vactions to florence. The pizza wasnt napolitana style which is what we are used to but it was really crispy and cooked perfectly with meat toppings that were really fresh and tasty. My wife and i enjoyed this place so much we had to order the kids takeaway to try it. Great work guys. Welcome to Hawthorn

Ordered from here with Uber Eats over the weekend. Had a margherita and creme brulee. Pizza needed to be warmed upon arrival, but that's not the fault of the restaurant as I'm in Glen Iris which is pretty far from it.<br/>Delicious pizza - comparable to local places Pizza Gallery and Pizza Religion. However the creme brulee was absolutely tiny for a hefty $13! Was worth half that! Otherwise yum :)

The great calzone!!!! The best service at this place seriously just a great atmosphere. The food is definetly some of the best ive had in years. The father and son owners make a great team its so good to see a family run businesses still in this industry doing so well. Great work guys

The pizza was really tasty.Some feedback because I love this place-Just the base was a little soft and the pesto was in clumps rather than evenly distributed.<br/>Will surely give it another go.Well done

Although there are several takeaway options nearby, there aren't too many dine-out choices, that is, until Mother Dough opened its doors. Mother Dough is a reference to the fermentation starter that is used in the fermentation process.

Great warm feeling venue. Very nice staff and a huge menu!! All the food and wine is done really well. Quite happy with our experience. Pizza dough is the bomb.

Fantastic pizza! Authentic, Italian pizza. One of the best margarita pizzas I've ever had. <br/><br/>Outstanding service and a great atmosphere.

We were warmly welcomed and shown to our table by friendly staff. The service is a little slow but the food more than made up for it. The bruschetta focaccia was a more than ample appetizer full of flavour especially given it isn't tomato season. The pasta (homemade) was perfectly al dente and served with just the right amount of seafood, garlic and herbs so that it wasn't overwhelmed. The pizza had a fairly substantial topping (we prefer a more sparse topping) but still retained a very crisp base with wonderful flavour. The optional seasonings brought to the table, including homemade chilli oil, were a good touch. The house wines are also good. Will definitely be back.

Really enjoyed this place and will definitely be back.<br/><br/>Great pizza and friendly service with the quality wine list providing exceptional value! Enjoyed the little touches like cloth napkins as opposed to a disposable paper one too.

Absolutely loved the food here, authentic pizza!! The service was fantastic! I always have such high expectations of Italian food and Mother Dough definitely hit the spot.<br/>Most the staff were Italian so it really added to the authenticity and ambiance of the venue. Thank-you Mother Dough for the amazing dinner!

My new favourite! I have had the pleasure of trying the seafood pizza, salmon pizza, mushroom pizza and seafood pasta. All to perfection. The wait staff are very attentive. Mark my words. This will be the place to be. Good work

This is the best place to go to in Hawthorn! It has the best atmosphere and service... We had the pear salad, prosciutto salad, seafood fettuccine and prawns all were fantastic and daily milk chocolate pizza!!! Highly recommend!! The chocolate pizza was out of this world !!!

Best Pizza in Melbourne. Had dinner there last week, and the pizza left me speechless. I travel to Italy frequently and this is seriously on par with the pizza in Italy. So refreshing to also see a genuine Italian pizza-maker. Very nice restaurant, great menu and decent bar. Very warm and inviting. Highly recommend

The pinnacle of italian cuisine, I absolutely loved it! Staff were super friendly and accommodating, happily running through the menu with us. Good pricing for the amount of food you get. I would definitely recommend the garlic pizza and prosciutto salad