Review Cafe On Bourke - Melbourne

Quick easy reasonably priced pizza. Taste is good and is very clean overall. Not greasy. Base is thin and a little crusty. Quite a decent pizza but could have a little more flavour.

Italian comfort food with good prices in the top end of Bourke Street. The meals are quickly served with good portions. There is a wide selection or dishes with an impressive list of pizzas to choose from. Good operating hours are a plus.

I have been there twice. Pizza is tasty, staff seems nice and service is fast.

Pizza's bread is crispy and taste really nice .We ordered sea food one.

Food and service is fine. Not really anything amazing... Reminds me of La Porchetta...

Wonderfully fast and great tasting food in ten. Large portions for a sensible price. Pizza and calamari done to perfection. Pastas also high quality. Everyone left happy and amazed that the claims of the gentleman at the entrance were true.

Lasagna, vegetarian pasta, and cannelloni all tasted like it had been heated in the microwave. Hot sauces but cold in the middle. As we were pouring ourselves water, and eating, the staff were reaching across us to either clear the table or serve us. Wish we had pizzas we could see they were freshly made. Busy place, staff were run off their feet and all lovely.

Was passing by on a rainy Melbourne Friday afternoon and decided to stop in for a drink as it wasn't packed like other trendy bars in the area. Although the restaurant looks basic and dated, the staff were friendly and the traditional pizza and pasta looked great. An original gem that I will be coming back to try.

DO NOT RECOMMEND TO ANYONE! Only good thing was the relatively cheap prices. Atmosphere was horrible and staff were lazy, and most of our food was frozen or store bought. Flavourless junk.

If the only good thing about a place is the price, then there is an issue. Went on a Work Lunch and ordered the Venice Pizza. The wait time was fairly long, but the pizza did come out piping hot but unfortunately without any flavour. Added some pepper but still it was really bland. The decor of the place is really dated and all in all it needs a major uplift. Min Eftpos is $10.

Not the best good experience, the restaurant had no soul. The food was luck luster. I guess it matched the dated interior of the place... boring. I ordered the chicken schnitzel with veggies and mash and it was horrible, the veggies were cooked well but the schnitzel was soggy and undercooked. The mash was gluggy and tasteless. Will never go back I’m sorry.

I seriously don't know why my workmate insists on going here, I've been here several times over the years and found it underwhelming. I know I wasn't going to get a traditional carbonara but I got it anyway knowing there was cream in it. Came out gluggy and super rich, pasta was overcooked and was probably still cooking in the piping hot sauce. One bite was enough and because I hate wasting food I finished it. Felt bloated the entire day and this was the entree size.<br/>The pizza although I didn't try any I could judge it just by looking at it. Your basic neighbourhood pizza with that horrid ham they put on everything. <br/>Not a traditional Italian restaurant but friendly staff and attracts older clientele and definately family friendly.

We had only 45 mins to look for a place to eat before we went to watch the Book of Mormon and ended up here because other places were full. My first impression of this place was that it seemed like a casual family friendly restaurant. We ordered the carbonara gnocchi and the medium Margherita pizza. I thought the Margherita pizza was nice and tasted alright. On the other hand, the carbonara was alright-however a few bits of gnocchi was cold.. which ruined the experience and we found a bug in our gnocchi..

We stumbled on this, we were hungry and it worked. Not the type of place I would typically plan to go to it is a very family friendly casual type of space. The pizza and pasta sounded delicious but as I was dieting I opted for the chicken avocado salad. It was adequate as far as salads go and the guys enjoyed their pizzas so no issues with quality but not much in the way of atmosphere. Staff friendly

Have been here multiple times, most recently taking my parents here, every time they do not fail to bring the wow factor. Food is unfaultable. Also got me a $50 bonus from Liven App. A Jem in this fabulous location!

We had large Seafood Special pizza with double cheese, chips and beer in winter season.. so nice and yummy, Italian pizza restaurant!! 👍🏻👍🏻👌🏻

One of the trashiest food establishments that the Melbourne CBD has to offer.  Hungry, I popped into the empty venue one day, and ordered the marinara "rissotto" (sic). What came out was like a wet rice soup, with the rice lacking both creaminess and puffiness, and cheap dour prawns to boot. How do you stuff up a risotto that badly? I feel sorry for any tourist that has the misfortune to wander in here.

Front of house staff where overly inviting and clearly trying to make up for how bad the food is. Bland tasteless food. I only got the nuggets and chips and it came out as such a small portion but I couldn't eat it. Chips were barely cooked and floppy, kept receipt incase of food poisoning from the chicken. Only good for small children who like bland food, otherwise I'd recommend going to McDonalds or KFC. Very disappointed

I had somewhat good expectations for this place. The variety of food looked promising. However I was left disappointed with below average, sloppy pasta, and dull tasting pizza.

The portions here are huge but don't quote me on quality. You can't go wrong on burgers, though. This is definitely one of the places to go if you're starving.

I was really disappointed with the service. I had gone to lunch with a group from work and the waitress forgot to write my order down. So after waiting 30 minutes when she finally comes out and tells me that she forgot to write down the order. So they had no time to make anything that I could have before we needed to leave.<br/><br/>When I told the owner about this as we left, he just laughed at me. Personally I think that is incredibly rude and I will not be going back.

Had the lasagna. The food was downright disappointing. There was barely any cheese in my main serve. Not only that, at &16, it was small in portion. Also, it wasn't served in a square, it was presented in such a way that it almost looked as if it was offcuts of the lasagna.<br/><br/>Even though the service was attentive, service alone will unfortunately not bring me back to this restaurant.

Small quaint restaurant. Great menu, yummy. Staff are friendly. Decor is plan and sensible. I have had pasta, pizza and salads and all fresh and delicious

A simple old fashion italian restaurant. Come here for a bite to eat when I'm feeling peckish. The food is great for value but needs work on proportioning as they are just massive. Staff are always welcoming and aren't too invasive, however it's often quiet here so sometimes they might walk around idly, but you can't really blame them for that.

Another lunch outing took us to Cafe on Bourke. Known for great value and great tasting pizzas. I had a pizza, which you could tell was authentic! Service was good, you are always warmly greeted upon arrival. Overall great pizza for close to $10

Came here for lunch for a colleagues farewell party. Got the Lasagne and it came half warm, I told them about this and they gave just put it in the microwave. The Lasagne came out with so much water coming out of it. I couldn't eat one bit. Please beware of the pasta, my friends had the PIzza which looked okay at least.

Perfect Veal Schnitzels. If you're after a schnitzel up near the top end of Bourke St and don't want to spend mega $$$ I can recommend the veal schnitzel from this place.. appetizing, tasty, perfect. Pizzas are also pretty good. Definitely 100% better than The Spaghetti Tree across the road.

Great, then average, now great again. This was 1 of the first pizza restaurants I fell in love with when returning to Melbourne CBD 4 years ago. after consistent great food it went downhill. after giving it another go 6 months ago, I haven't been disappointed again.

Not a lot to look at.... I've been here twice in the last 3 months and had a great experience both times. The last time my husband and I both had the steak and the rest of our group had the chicken with a cream sauce dish, a salad and one of the all day breakfasts. We were in a hurry as we'd had issues with car parking and service was incredibly quick when we explained our dilemma. The steak was tasty tender and cooked correctly to both our tastes and they were happy to let me substitute the veggies for a garden salad. I'm sort of glad that this place doesn't look all that classy - because hopefully it won't get flooded. After reading the other comments - we had a gentleman as the manager that night..maybe he makes the difference to the service..

Simple, comfortable, yummy place to grab a bite. Great for families, children, lonesome tables for one, and even a date. Not super romantic, but that's what's nice about it. The pizza is delicious and the staff is friendly.

When in Melbourne we love to visit this place. Both the food and atmosphere are tops.

Decent prices. I ordered the fettuccine with bolognese sauce and it was quite nice and filling. The prices seemed fairly average.<br/>The young waitress that we had here was really friendly with a smile on her face.<br/>I'd go back again.

Dissapointing rude lady manager!!. My husband and I had visited this cafe 3 times in January while visiting this year and thought we would go back as it was great food and service.<br/>We arrived Sunday afternoon about 515pm for am early dinner service was great when ordering however when my meal came out I had ordered the rib eye medium rare which came out well done and looked like the steak had been microwaved then boiled and did not mell right,after everyone had there meals I had 2 bites thinking it was just me the smell but other people at my table agreed it wasn't right I called over the waitress explained to her it was not right and overlooked and was happy to have the veggies and chips put on a different plate but wanted the steak removed ,she asked did I want another steak I declined due to the smell,12 min later the manageress came out said I heard you had a problem with your meal I said yes and told her it was not med rare and I believed it looked like a microwaved piece of steak as it had the boiled look to it not a grilled look at all she stated everything is fresh I was wrong she looked at the steak when it came back in and said there's nothing wrong with it and it still had blood in ,the steak was well done to me no blood or even juice as it was cooked that much I said I didn't want the steak she said the waitress said you wanted the chips and veggies .? I said that was 15 mins ago the other guests had finished there meals by this stage and declined any food offered the bill was bought out and the meal was not charged that I had returned ,lucky it wasn't as I would not have been impressed over all this cafe has really disappointed both my husband and myself as his meal was no where as good Asti had been previously as he always orders the same meal.We will not return to this place ever again mainly due to the poor customer service of the manageress who would not take any accountability at all for meals sent out looking the way they did and her response time of almost 15 mins of it being sent back and suggesting that med rare was what was served and I'm a big steak eater and it most definitely was the worst overlooked boiled looking piece of meat I haver seen ,I would suggested that its time for her to sell her business as she does not seem happy there at all thus dragging down a business ,last time we dined there the gentleman manger was a delite to speak to and could not have praised this cafe any more on that occasion but unfortunately this visit won't see us return

Worst pizza I have eaten here in Melbourne. I ordered a margherita pizza and got a cheese pizza with dried basil flakes. 16 dollars wasted!

This place doesn't look like much, but I was impressed. Friendly, fast service, good pizza and great coffee. A total of $27 for a large pizza, coffee and a can if coke. Not bad for Collins St.

Pizza Base Like McCains. $16.00 for a small Pizza that may as have been purchased from Coles Express on Elizabeth St. ($5.90 for a large from our local and 100% better) The Maitre De and the owner were constantly arguing and telling of wait staff in front of diners. The owners appearance was that of a Jeanie Little wanna be in Jeans. I pity the tourists as they may have been thinking they were on the set of the Kardishians. Will never return to the 'Choke on Bourke'

Terrible Service from the MANAGERS. We had a night at the theatre and stopped in for a light meal. The waitresses were lovely and friendly and attentive although quite rushed. The manager and manageress were awful...yelling at staff in front of customers and telling them off in front of the customers. Really awful - you should never do that. We went to pay the the manageress in charge of the till was pissed about something, didnt smile or look at us just said 'which table' and then complainted that the system was down, took time to tell another waiter off and then told us that they had the best pizzas in town. Shame about her face and attitude then - she was so sour. Way too much makeup, terrible attitude and just downright rude. Would never go back - pizza bases were like frozen McCains and topping was nothing to rave about. Those poor waiters. Would hate to work in that environment. As my pal used to say, we come for the food but we stay for the service NOT. Despicable.

Had low expectations and was surprisingly impressed. Pizza was good and Tortellini was great! Will be back again. Service was fine too.

Excellent, consistent pizza. I've been eating at CoB fairly regularly for at least four years now and rarely have a complaint about the food.<br/><br/>That said, I've never eaten anything but the pizza and these days I tend to have the same pizza every time.<br/><br/>I haven't heard anything particularly glowing about other dishes on the menu, but mostly people just have the pizza.<br/><br/>Staff are friendly and some have been there for quite a while. On the rare occasion when something goes awry with an order it is sorted out quickly and without complaint.<br/><br/>I love this place and I'll be going back many times.<br/><br/>For those criticising this place for not being "authentic" Italian, they're being pretentious and probably not looking hard enough at the menu. CoB has all sorts of stuff on the menu (including burgers and nachos). They make excellent Australian-style pizzas.

Rude waiters, average food but cheap-ish. I have eaten here three times, but every time the waiters are inattentive and sullen. The pizzas are not very good for the price paid. The other food is pretty average, too.

GREAT Pizza!. Never had anything else here but pizza but it's always fresh, fast and fabulous.

Cant spell, cant cook. As soon as I saw they misspelt "Pizzeria" as "Pizzaria" I knew I was in trouble.<br/><br/>My pizza, base was burnt to a crisp...And 1hr later my gut is making funny noises.... noticed the dishes around me were sizeable but very bland, lacking seasoning, real olive oil, and the chips are all frozen.<br/><br/>ok for (American) tourists but if you have ever had real italian food then you will be sorely dissapointed.

Good. The gnocchi napolitana was a bit too sour for me, I didn't like the sauce but I love the fresh strawberry pancakes with ice cream. Service was excellent.

Ugh!. We were looking for some authentic Italian this evening. all the reviews seemed to point to very positive ratings.<br/><br/>When we got there we had the Spaghetti with a Marinara, Pizza special Bourke and Calimari.<br/><br/>The spaghetti was something I could have made out of the jar. It was aweful. The vegtables weren't even sauteed enough as I could taste they were still fresh.<br/><br/>The calimari was some froze derivative. We couldn't figure it out because even the ones from Costco would have been better.<br/><br/>The pizza was good. It was fresh and reminded us of good type of pizza from New Jersey. We would go back for that.<br/><br/>All in all, as Americans, we were looking for better fare. We thought this was a tourist trap but found that it was a bad restaurant (there were some really great places around the corner, a Japanese Tapas bar, etc.). It was like going to one of the worst corners of American and eating Applebees.

Great pizza, yet to find better in city since living nearby for 5 years.