Sometimes the best restaurants are those suburban, family run establishments that have a lot of heart and who aim to deliver a fantastic meal to patrons. Clearly, this is the feeling behind the dining experience at Motorino. This humble pizza and pasta restaurant oozes with charm, and the staff are just so lovely. A cosy ambience encourages you to settle in for a delicious meal and the hand written blackboard menu tempt you with the daily specials.
Dining as a family, we chose several pizzas and a chicken pasta to share. The pasta was incredible, with al dente penne covered in a creamy tomato sauce that had heaps of authentic Italian flavour. A generous scattering of chicken was delicious, and had us fighting over the last bit.
The pizzas had tender but crispy crusts and a sweet tomato sauce. The cheese was extra oozey and the toppings were lovely and fresh. Spicy salami hit the spot, as did the roasted pumpkin. Two very different toppings, but equally delicious.
Along with a fantastic wine list, the menu sticks to Italian classics, but does them well. Finishing up with a plate of ricotta canolli, we were in Italian dessert heaven. Three crispy shells were overflowing with delicious and delicate ricotta; and the side of strawberry gelato was the perfect touch of freshness and zing that this dish needed. Once again, we were fighting over the last of the dessert. We left Motorino with full tummies and all in agreement that we can't wait to return for another night of fabulous food and fun.
Have been to this wonderful establishment a number of times over the last year and it never fails to please. Prompt and friendly service, outstanding food that is very tasty and well considered. Portions are a perfect sizing and the specials dishes always present an exciting option. Special mention to the staff and owners here. I asked for advice on a wine and was provided a great steer by my server, but to my surprise the owner also gave me a free tasting to ensure I was happy with the recommendation. Now this is a place I will happily return to and recommend to all my friends. Great food and service consistently!
Feel like and Pizza or Pasta instead of a fast food burger? This is the place to come. Great food at a reasonable price. Staff are friendly and welcoming. You can't go wrong here. Highly recommend.
Great food and service every time.
Delicious thin style pizzas. Haven’t had a bad meal yet.
Great for kids with chalkboard wall out the back and they will also provide some dough after your meal for the little ones to sculpt their own dessert!
Fantastic customer service and great atmosphere. The pasta is soooo good, I’ve been to motorino so many times and the food is always amazing.
A lovely place with friendly, attentive staff and delicious food. The starters were average but the mains and desserts more than made up for it. All the pizzas that we tried were really good; the chicken and mushroom pasta deserves a special mention. For dessert, I highly recommend the panna cotta and blood orange gelato, and the Turkish delight pizza. I would definitely go back for more.
I really wish I could score Motorino higher as the staff provided my family and I with a highly positive experience. They were friendly and conversed with us as if they knew us. However, my high standards for Italian food which are influenced by my Italian background got in the way.
I don’t believe the stuffed mushrooms fulfilled their name. They were mushrooms with some caramelised onion and chopped tomatoes.
When I looked at the pasta menu I was intrigued by the pasta with prawns and chorizo. Even though, there were generous portions of prawns and chorizo, the dish lacked flavour.
However, I LOVED the baked bocconcini with prosciutto. The oozing cheese and crisp prosciutto were a match made in heaven.
We really enjoyed our dinner here. On arrival and during the evening, the staff were warm, welcoming, attentive and helpful. The food was excellent. The pizza had just the right amount of toppings and the pasta was cooked to perfection. The standout however was the blood orange gelato. Just WOW!! It is perfect for a family or for a date as the atmosphere is quite intimate. I loved the butcher's paper and crayon's on the tables.
So, so good! Book early - were fortunate to even get a table for 6 pm on a Saturday night. The pizzas are very well made; fresh ingredients and the balance of flavours were exquisite. The antipasto starter was rammed with meat and proved excellent value. Can only largely re - endorse what has been said elsewhere.
We have been coming to this place for a long time, it always enjoyable to come back. Meals are always of good standard and don't change. Staff are also very welcoming. Definitely a favourite and priced well.
I can’t praise enough how accommodating Motorino was when I hosted a surprise birthday party for a friend tonight. All the staff were friendly & very attentive to our needs. After ordering, the food came out quickly & everything tasted great. I highly recommend dining at Motorino, especially for a special occasion.
Really enjoyed my meal here. The mushroom pasta was beautiful and the seafood on the pizza was juicy and cooked just right, not overcooked in the oven or chewy at all.
I am REALLY happy cos I haven’t gave 4.5 rating for awhile and finally found something! Hubby and I live really far away from here and we just happened to be nearby and randomly pop into this place (based on zomato reviews) and are blessed with great food! We ordered the moroccan lamb pizza and is the best I’ve had in town. Fettucine are delish too! Great textures and flavors! I hope you open on the eastern side! Interesting there are drawing papers on the table and crayon too for kids too! :)
Friendly staff, none pretentious good quality Italian dining. Well priced and great all round dining experience. Will definitely go back again!
It's been a while since I've come across a nice Italian restaurant such as this one. This staff are very friendly. Our BYO were immediately given a cold bucket and wine glasses. The Penne Pollo e Funghi was beautifully cooked. Perfect amount of mushrooms and chicken, and the sauce tasted great. The spaghetti amatriciana was also done perfectly. Portion size was just right! This restaurant is quite hidden and found around the residential area, so there was a lot of easy parking. I think I need to come back to try their other pasta dishes. I hope to see this small restaurant expand to accommodate more customers, on a busy rainy Wednesday.
It was our first time here, we had the special - penne crema gamberi (creamy tomato sauce) with juicy prawns and mushroom it was lip smacking and spagetti calabrese -oglio olio like ..it was very tasty (my favourite) for the night. Im coming back !!!
One of the best Italian restaurants in the suburbs. Very reasonably priced and excellent food. We've been coming here for quite a while now and would recommend it to anyone :)
Second time eating there and the pizzas were once again fantastic. Pretty good value for money too. My only issue is that although it is a pizzeria, the desserts are only in a pizza setting. After eating a whole lot of pizza for dinner you are sort of over the whole bread base.
You can grab a pizza for under twenty dollars and the pizza is excellent quality. Everything from the base to the toppings. Love the juicy mushrooms that they use.
Simple. This is bloody good Pizza!! If you're in the West make this place your pizza destination. The base & sauce are simple (as they should be) and respectfully prepared for you, the ingredients are always fresh and out of the wood fire oven perfectly cooked and beautifully presented. A no brainer! Wish I lived across the road from it.
Aaaaamazing!!! The food here is really beautiful, the service was great and it made the first dinner out with a new baby really enjoyable! Can't wait to come back! Desserts were beautiful too!
A hidden gem, you won't be disappointed at motorino. I came here one night after reading some reviews and was very impressed with the service, atmosphere, but most of all, quality of the meals.
A friend and I shared a pollo e fungi pasta and lamb pizza, and both agreed that we had a winner. We then tried the Nutella dessert pizza, which left our sweet toothes satisfied.
They also gain an extra mark for the drawing sets on each table, great way to keep the kids occupied while they wait for their meals.
I would strongly recommend to anyone living in kingsville, spotswood, Altona north and all bordering areas.
I was a bit concerned from reading the reviews that our old favourite had maybe gone downhill (we haven't been here in a while). Happy to say this isn't the case at all. Service was attentive and friendly. Food was amazing as ever - we shared portobello mushrooms to start, then had pasta mains. Husband had the matricana, I had the spaghetti genovese - both perfectly cooked, and perfect blends of flavours. They are still the best Italian joint in the west!
Went here for dinner last night. It was quite busy and we hadn't booked so we sat outside. Staff were very friendly and happy to help.
We ordered Sicilian meatballs, which came in a rich tomato sauce and bruschetta on a crispy flatbread for entree. They were both fantastic.
For mains we got bbq chicken pizza with red capsicum and prawn and prosciutto pizza. Again both were delicious! The bbq had a bit of a kick to it too and the capsicum set it apart from other places we have tried. Yummo!
We couldn't finish it all and took home the rest in a pizza box!
We will definitely be back-need to try some of those amazing looking pastas!
Seriously amazing. The staff are so friendly, helpful, attentive and generous - our server offered us a free Mother's Day dessert despite being a day early!
The food is delicious and the menu is great without having an overwhelming number of options. Try the white chocolate and strawberry dessert pizza - it's heavenly.
Pizza and Pasta is Excellent but a little bit Pricey....The Butcher Paper and Crayons is a great idea for the Kids:) Friendly environment :)
Great pizzas! Our favorite local venue on a Friday night when we want a good tasting quick dinner. Haven't been let down yet. The Tuscan sausage pizza is a winner
Motorino is the real Italian place with a proper restaurant feel where you can eat a pizza on a real plate with cuttlery. The place is located in a very quiet residential one-way street so it's not a restaurant you would find by accident on your way home. It's quite spacious and most people will feel comfortable here although it might get busy and noisy at times. The staff is friendly, well trained and quick. I ordered an Americana for $18.5 that was ready within 15 minutes. The price is somewhat higher than in any ordinary take-away pizzeria and the size is significantly smaller being only about 27cm. Most guys will feel hungry. However the dough was paper thin, dry on the bottom and moist on top with excellent quality ingredients. The crust was good but slightly to dry for my tastebuds. I really enjoyed the pizza but would prefer that it was not served pre-cut in slices as would be the case in a real Italian restaurant. I had to order another dish to fill my stomach and decided to order a dessert pizza. I never had anything like this before and it was surprisingly good. They have quite a good selection of strawberry or date or fig and custard pizzas with vanilla icecream. It was awesome and I can highly recommend. A final sip of a very decent macchiato made my day. I give Motorino a strong score of 4 (price/quality/size).
Updated November 9th 2015:
Well, it seems the chef has changed as the crust on the pizza is not even close to its predecessor. It is not properly raised and pretty thin and hard as well. Even by comparing it to my previous pictures it is simply not the same stuff. Something has happened and I don't know what and why. The meal is still ok with quality ingredients but the overall feel and taste is no longer there. All the pizzas on that day looked the same way. Rating reduced to 3.5.
Best pizza in the west! Eat at least once a fortnight and it's my favourite meal each time. Paradiso is my go to, always delicious and crispy.
Fantastic place real Italian food all our meals were amazing and very yummmmmm.
The service was really quick. Only negative thing we found it cold siting in the restaurant.
Since moving to Spotswood a month ago we have have had Motorio T/A at least once a week (some weeks twice)! I know its horrible of us but we love our new local a bit too much! Pizzas are always made perfectly and all pastas we have tried we have enjoyed also! Staff are very professional and friendly. Looking forward to eventually dining in soon :) Prices are also good as the food is clearly made with quality ingredients which is much appreciated.
So delicious!. Delicious gourmet pizza and pasta here. Always quick service. Food is fantastic. Delivery also super quick. Favourite pizza place in the inner west. Highly recommended. Need to book on weekends.
Worth the visit. Great pizza.
A Great night was had. Went to Motorino for the first time in ages. I was a little apprehensive given some of the reviews wondering whether it had gone off. Glad to say it hasn't. The food was as good as it's ever been, the staff were friendly and attentive and the wine list was reasonable. Well worth the hours drive.
Awesomarino. Lovely dinner here last night. Beautiful thin base pizza. We had the beetroot and goat's cheese pizza. Yum! The little side dishes looked great and the pasta I heard from the next table was to die for. Place was super busy and staff were attentive.
Wonderful....again!. Had a great meal last night here again. I tried the special asparagus pizza with free range eggs and pancetta - wow. Service was quick and friendly. Was really busy however they seemed to have it under control. We will be back for more!
BEST PIZZA EVER. Awesome pizza, fabulous service and great atmosphere. Definitely be coming back and highly recommend to anyone.
Never disappoints. My partner and I love this place. it has become our local, to this point (last night) we cannot fault this restaurant. If you appreciate oil/cream base pasta dishes Motorino will please. standard/gourmet menu with rustic finishings. We are yet to try the salads however they look good. And if specials are your thing Motorino always have tasty selections.
Awesome. Great pizza's! Cannot fault them at all. Only wish they had desserts that weren't pizza desserts.
Excellent Pizza - worth the walk!. Taking Lee Wallace's advice (below) to heart we deliberately chose a later than normal arrival time on a non-school night. We've had many meals elsewhere ruined by unruly and ill-behaved children and oblivious parents, and we fancied a quiet night. Our 8.30pm arrival coincided with weaving our way through a large and noisy family outside - bullet well-dodged! (Thanks Lee). We ordered our meal, which was delicious, from the baked ricotta in vine leaves to the pizzas (Margherita and Prawn). The only downside was being asked, at 9.20, when our mains arrived, if we were going to order dessert, because they wanted to shut the kitchen. Que? We would not be surprised but on here the advice is that the restaurant opens late? We spent the main trying to catch the eye of the waiter to say yes, we did want dessert, whilst we watched them clean the kitchen. We did order, eventually, and the date and butterscotch pizza was superb. But calling a 9.30 close as 'open late' when the standard for urban Melbourne is 10pm is misleading. This should not detract from the food, though, which was top quality. Definitely one of the best pizzas we have had in Melbourne. The crayons were fun, but I thought mismatched in a restaurant that was obviously aiming for high-quality and authentic food and an ambiance that otherwise suggests more refined dining. We'll be back, but we'll avoid the family frenzy, because I can imaging the noise and chaos.
My favourite pizza!. Ok, so this place has ruined all other pizza for me. The quality of the food is absolutely fantastic and the service is brilliant.
The restaurant can be a little hectic and noisy at times and it IS family friendly but if you can deal with that then you're in for a treat. It's NOT fine dining, it's fun dining. Plus if you are taking little ones, they've got the place set up so you can draw on the tables... and I'm not ashamed to admit that I've doodled away the mere minutes between ordering and receiving my food too.
The service is excellent with cheery staff and big props to the manager/owner, he goes above and beyond. We were there for a birthday not too long ago and one of my party was sad to see that carbonara wasn't on the menu. She asked the manager if any could be made, more jokingly and not thinking that she'd have any luck. The manager said no problem and low and behold a massive bowl of cabarona appeared a short time later. We were well chuffed.
The takeaway/delivery is also very prompt even though we ordered from the edge of their delivery area. Love the place - we travel to eat there.
Enjoyable. These pizza's are more homestyle pizzas. Ordered the Americana and Motorino salad. Boccocini used in salad was A+ ! Enjoyed the apple, custard and cinnamon pizza for dessert. Could have used a touch more cinnamon, but that is personal preference. Overall an enjoyable meal and good option for Melbourne's west.
Beautiful delicious thin crust pizza, made me want more!
What a fantastic place. Food really really amazing, ingredients so fresh & really really yummy. Highly recommend
When I am asked by non-Melbournians 'what is your favorite place to eat in melbourne?', I usually can't pinpoint one.
Motorino has changed my opinion as now rated as one of my all time favorites. Great value, quality is top notch, attentive and very polite staff, great doodling crayons and paper to take your time off the wait (fun for dates!) make this place a class above!!!
Fantastic find!. What a great hidden gem in the inner west. Amazing pizzas and delicious pastas. All generous serving sizes with attentive service. We will be heading back regularly.
Absolute breath of fresh air to get a place like this in the Sth Kingsville/Newport area. The place has become so popular that the council had to turn the street into a one way.
Started coming here about 9 years ago and have never been disappointed. Service always efficient and friendly. Portion sizes more than adequate and food flavoursome. Small but adequate beverage list. Great value for money. Ok
Eaten from here a few times both takeaway and inside. Reasonably priced. Service is fantastic and pasta was great. Pizza also decent although not wood fired. Love the table mats made of paper that the kids can draw on. Distracts from wanting ipads! Hidden gem
A Lamb pizza, topped with yogurt, and other trimmings that raise the tastebuds to another level. My wife, an Abruzzian Italian, who knows her pasta, thought she was eating at her Nona’s place. So good, service to a T. We loved it and recommend it highly.
Took the visitors from Perth here and they said it was the best pasta they've had. Overall a great experience
Delicious food. I had the pizza with king prawns and shared garlic bread, mushrooms and bruschetta. Bruschetta would've been nicer on some crusty ciabatta or french stick but the produce was still delicious. Service was very good. Polite and friendly. Highly recommend! Relaxed atmosphere and fairly modern
I asked for olives but they missed it , regardless it was a nice pizza.
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes