楊東霖
The lady was very nice and friendly for international visitors such as me. The restaurant had a good Italian style and I felt relaxed. The combination of pasta and cheeses tasted awesome.
John Connor
The best gnocchi Gorgonzola I have ever tried by first far! To be fair all the dishes are amazing!! The most lovely staff that couldn’t be any nicer. We have been coming here for about 2-3 years now and cannot understand why that do not have 5 stars… we drive from Elwood at least once a fortnight 👌
Ella Northwood
Completely transactional experience. Once we began to order we were told they don’t have any gnocchi today because the chef didn’t make it (which was a third of their menu). Got the spaghetti Napoli (large) which was overwhelmingly average and indeed SMALL. $24 and was charged $25 but wasn’t informed of the surcharge until after the transaction had gone through- incredibly dodgy vibes. I never leave reviews but this experience upset me and made us regret going there :(
Amy Morison
We enjoyed proper Italian hospitality with excellent dishes - I had the veal parmigiana which was superb, my friends had gnocchi and spaghetti (both perfect). We topped it off with a fab homemade tiramisu and limoncello. Old school. Great cooking, service, and a whole lotta love poured in. Highly recommend.
George Lewandowski
We stopped in for coffee and dessert. And the Signora welcomed us in. All the other places did not want to even talk to us! "Oh no, we are only serving Dinner!"
Anyway, IL Gusto was great! Tiramisu was really lucky. Gelato was so good. Coffee was great as it was not bitter, just like in Italy.
I promised Signora we are coming back for a full-blown dinner!
Donna Leweczko
After reading very mixed reviews we decided to give this restaurant a try and I must say the food was very average with the pizza being burnt and overcooked, the spaghetti bolognaise being very bland, lamb cutlets over cooked and chewy with a rosemary sauce that didn’t have any rosemary flavour, lasagne that looked and tasted frozen!
We had 6 people at our table and every person was disappointed with their meal and have left the restaurant still hungry!
The restaurant was cold inside no heating (as it was very cold outside) no very inviting to say the least! Now I understand why the restaurant was empty and it was easy to get a table whilst a lot of other restaurants had a lot of people in queues. Will never go back there or waste my money on this place again!
Tara Saville
Very enjoyable dinner with my little one. Staff were confident with gluten free options and the risotto and gf garlic bread were fantastic! Will happily go back again!
December Star
The food was good but pretty much got scammed. The waiter told me my spaghetti was a small and not main, went up to pay with the lady who wears glasses told her mine was small and she tried to tell me that it was main. I grab the waiter over to tell her what the waiter said to me and the lady with the glasses nodded. They don’t be have a proper receipt and only when I got home and we work all the prices up and I’ve been charged for a main. The food was so good tbh but that lady with glasses is not it sorry. The white t shirt waiter was a sweet heart bless him.
Tahlia
I can not believe the reviews for this place! I have been 3 times in the last 2 months as we have been so impressed! The lasagne was perfection, so damn delicious I’ve ordered it again each visit. In my most recent visit, our table also ordered the avocado and chicken pasta, I’m not normally one for avocado in pasta but this was divine. Our waitress was very friendly and gave us all a free drink filling the wine glasses almost to the top. I will be back again soon for sure!
Vic Maree
Absolutely terrible from the service to the food - our entire experience was woeful. We came here after the old 'sales pitch' from the man out the front. There is a $15 lunch deal which is advertised as garlic bread, pasta and drink. The pasta is bolognese ONLY and the drink is lemonade or coke ONLY - none of which was told to us before ordering our drinks. The same Sales Man went between pestering us throughout lunch telling us he was "the best on Lygon Street" and admonishing his wait staff for offering us juice instead of lemonade. Cannot believe this place is still in business. AVOID.
Bradley Jackson
Il Gusto are failing to redeem Scoopon vouchers still within valid dates.<br/>Scoopon also seem to still be selling vouchers for this restaurant. Do not buy any vouchers for this restaurant from online coupon sites, this restaurant will not redeem them. (Shame on Scoopon too for not doing anything to follow up)
Tan Kc
Called to book a table for dinner on Sat 22 Sept 2018 but Il Gusto Lygon St failed to honor a deal that I bought from Cudo that expires only in October 2018. In fact, after a quick check just a moment ago, I found that Cudo is still selling the deal on it's site. How can this be? The restaurant needs to clarify on this mix-up....it's really disappointing!!
Kath's Food Indulgences
Was hoping to come to the restaurant despite negative reviews. I bought a Scoopon voucher, however the owner/manager blatantly refused it despite trying to make a booking within the valid period. Not sure how the food is, and will probably never be able to provide feedback as I won’t be making any efforts to attend a restaurant that turns away potential customers, before they even come to the front door. Expected much better attitude from a “family” restaurant. Warning to all those who thought of coming with a Scoopon: don’t spend the money buying the “voucher” in the first place.
Jerome
Ignore the place please, from the food , the arongance , the bad service, how are they still functioning? It is an insult for the hospitalty
Bobby Lemons
Never again.....should of read all the previous reviews before dining here.....<br/>The service was non existent.....the food was less than average.<br/>Definetly would not recommend particularly for the prices you pay.....there are so many better choices on Lygon St.
Hungrygypo
Will never dine here again.<br/>Firstly it took 1hr and 15 minutes for our food to come out?! Mind you the restaurant was nowhere near full capacity...<br/>Secondly the serving size was so small. Paid 33 for garlic prawn with rice. Got 5 prawns and one tiny spoonful of rice. The flavour was fishy and couldnt even finish the prawns. Big let down. The waiters are nice but the food and wait for it was a shame.<br/>We all walked out hungry aftter 1.5 hrs of sitting there and went somewhere else to grab something extra.
Sara1525
I went to there with my partner randomly last Saturday night and it was quiet at the beginning . We ordered garlic bread, seafood risotto and carbonara . Food was above average especially the risotto ( like the pervious people’s comment ). I got a heart sharp garlic bread :P However there were more guests came and the poor waiter (only one waiter ) had to serve 5-6 tables and definitely understaffed . I thought those people waited for a bit for their food n services . I hope the owner can put an extra staff during weekends I help poor him .
Elliot Ranson
Literally don't bother. Food took over an hour to come out and it wasn't even good. The owner sang to customers all night instead of doing any work.
Suji
DO NOT eat here. This restaurant doesn’t deserve even 1 point. We ordered three meals. One of them were a steak and we asked them to cook medium-well done. It came out so quickly to our table and the meat was bloody and very tough. I can cook better steak than that. They offered a coffee as a compensation but we didn’t want it. When we were paying for meals, we complained so we got $10 discount. Was the steak worth $19 dollars? No way. We should have checked the review of this place before we entered. There is no chance for me to go back to this place in my lifetime.
VodkaO_ZS
I don't understand why people give this place such a low rate, the service is great and the food is definitely beyond the average on Lygon. The lamb shoulder risotto is amazing! Actually it is the best risotto on my list. The lamb matches perfectly with the carrot sauce and fresh tomatoes, cheese and parsley (or basil, I'm not sure, maybe both) are added just alright to balance the oily feel of lamb. This dish stays tasty even when it is cold. And the old gentleman in the front house is the warmest waiter you could ever expect.
Good Food Good Mood
I'm actually surprised by the low reviews here. A cousin and I decided we were going to eat our way up Lygon st one week and one restaurant at a time. I was all for a methodical straight up the street approach but she preferred haphazard and so we found ourselves here for lunch one afternoon.<br/>The eccentric old male owner was delightful regaling us with tales of his youth and even singing at one stage (we have since been back and he was just as charming). Both times I had the pollo avocado fettuccine which was a generous main serve for only $20. My food was delicious and the service was warm and entertaining. I had an enjoyable experience with some serious euro vibes. On a street where everyone's serving the same fare Il Gusto (or more specifically the owner Fernando) definitely stands out as a point of differentiation!
Joshua Waddell
My girl friend and I ate here today. We dine out a lot. Like 14 times a week a lot and feel this place is under rated. The food was delicious, I had the lamb cutlets and she had the Morton bay bugs. Both of us enjoyed our meal, got what we paid for.
Kimmy_desu
I don't know why I still had some mild hopes before coming here after seeing the rating, but if you are any wiser, I would suggest to go somewhere else, unless you want to have three tiny courses in a 2.5 hour duration with severe starvation in between that time frame. I think the owner feels joy from seeing people suffer from hunger. It took him a good 15 minutes after we sat down to take our order, half an hour after that for the garlic bread to come, another half hour for the pasta entree, and finally an additional 45 minutes for the mains. Now down to the food: he might say it's delicious home style Italian cooking, but honestly I can make better food than they do and I am an amateur! The food was average standard that definitely does not justify either the price tag or the waiting time. The lamb shank that we got was TINY and the vegetables on the side were pretty tasteless and maybe even a tad bitter. If we were dining at a prize-winning or Michelin star restaurant, then sure, we wouldn't mind waiting a bit for delicious tasting food. This, however, comes nothing close to "good" food. None of the diners that evening seemed pleased at all, and when their long-awaited mains arrived, they all quickly devoured them and left as soon as they could. If you have a lot of time to spare, not feeling very hungry and want to listen to an old man sing nostalgic Italian songs right in front of you, then maybe you can consider coming here.
Ilovefood
The owner was so lovely and made us all laugh throughout the night. The service was really good and the food was good. It is a beautiful cozy place. This place deserves a second chance based on the reviews written, I will always remember the dinner I had here and the service Fernando delivered.
Jeff Cook
We ate at Il Gusto last night after encountering Fernando on the street. We actually continued along Lygon Street but then went back to this little restaurant. The service wasn't outstanding although it was good. My fillet mignon was missing the bacon (resolved with a suitable price adjustment plus complimentary port) but otherwise the meals were excellent. It was the best mushroom sauce I've ever had! I'd gladly eat here again.
Amelia Hoego
Bought a good deal voucher online, my dining experience here turned out fairly good. We ordered gnocchi and lasagna for our entree, which both of us agree to say 'good' in term of quality and taste. Having osso buco and pan fried fish for the main which ok for us. The service might be a bit slow tho.
Raph M
We walked down Lygon Street in the hopes of searching for some good and genuine Italian food. Put off by most of the places with men trying to woo you in like sheep, we finally stumbled one on a corner where there was no one trying to sell you their restaurant.<br/>It looked pretty genuine as well, we were welcomed by an old Italian man, very lively in character and absolutely loves performing and singing out loud. LOUD. And dances too. He made a point when we sat down to do an elaborate demonstration of him folding the table cloth in front of us. We just went oh hell no what have we done?<br/><br/>Upon ordering we had a sneaky peek online at reviews and our hearts sank when we saw how badly reviewed this place was. To the restaurant's credit, it's cute, the old man had some charm, but that's it. <br/><br/>The food was average at best, it's stuff that you can do yourself at home with store bought pasta (which it probably was) and a jar. It was also quite pricey. We got a coke - which they presented and it was FLAT lmao. Absolutely FLAT. No bubbles whatsoever, it was hilarious at that point.<br/><br/>Long story short, don't bother. Unless you want to be danced and sung to.
Myke Jay
Tick of Approval from a European!<br/><br/>Il Gusto is a type of nostalgic experience. The food is INCREDIBLE. I have NEVER had a lasagne like the one at Il Gusto. The service is not the greatest BUT if you look past the little slip ups, it's the most authentic Italian cuisine you will ever have. I went here in June 2013 and again March 2017 and every time the food astounds me. I know the other reviews aren't quite that great but YOU GUYS. YOU HAVE TO TRY IT. I've tried other Italian restaurants in Lygon and they're not as good.
Convivialsins
it's been awhile since I've been here.. decor hasn't changed much and depending on the individual I can see why some may not like it.. as for me it's a blast into the past. Came here on a Groupon deal... for $49 we got choice of bread or bruschetta, choice of 2 entree pastas, 2 mains and 2 glasses of wine. Great value!!! It was a quiet Saturday lunch ... service was great with friendly staff.. highlight was the pasta!! Homemade feel and yum!!! the mains were great too but we liked the pastas better.
HungryMonkey
Leaving a 2.0 feedback only because the food was ok. Don't get me wrong, the food is palatable here but not exceptional. Service is non existent, when we walked in, the only food runner was a young bloke probably on his first day of his first job. Hr was a nice person but could see that he was inexperienced and there were no senior waiters around to supervise him except for the owner of the restaurant. <br/><br/>Positives<br/>-my girlfriend's risotto was good<br/>-the mashed potatoes with my steak was exceptionality good, might even go back one more time just for those<br/>-the sauce and gravy on top of my steak was good as well, not straight out of a can <br/><br/>Negatives <br/>-i got my steak medium even though I asked for medium rare(yes I know it's a fine line, but that is why there is rare and medium rare) <br/>-service I'd non existent, 20 minutes before anyone came to take our order <br/>-bottle in which water came in was dirty, and the owner had the audacity to tell us it's design on the bottle!!! Really? That's your best excuse? <br/>
Jane Doe
A restaurant unworthy to hold the title of authentic Italian cuisine. Extremely disgusted with the quality of food here. The food ordered was uncooked and bland.<br/><br/>Customer service was also disappointing. In a restaurant where we were the only other table to be served, waiting to order took longer than usual and the meals took even longer to arrive. <br/><br/>Having clearly ordered my meal as an entrée, you can imagine my surprise when it was charged as a main that was significantly more expensive for an amount in size and quality that did not match up. Staff {the one lady working there) were argumentative and inhospitable about this error and no apologies or refunds were made.
Daryl Wong
Tldr -100/10<br/><br/>Wow where to begin, food was crap, took foever to get out and staff were equivalent to ghost. This place is terrible in all areas and worst of all they have the gall to charge as much as they do (standard meal prices >$20). This is borderline scamming and if i had the chance to tell people to stay away during my visit i would have flipped the table and shoved them away from this place.
Jim Island
Why does this restaurant exist? The $27 "chicken schnitzel" took ages to come, and when it did come it was raw and so tiny it could fit in my palm.
Steve Binos
DISASTER! When I think of Italian family cuisine I think of the awesome talent of Fernando at the door. Great talent...! Unfortunately the food was a disgrace to the traditions that Lygon St has tried to uphold for eons. 90 minute wait on mains and two of the meat dishes came out wrongly cooked! Then when we asked to speak to someone about the dishes no one was prepared to speak to us! WHAT!? Please avoid. Try anything else on this strip...but this! Che disgratziato!!!
Manda Adam
Worst food I've eaten in years. Took 30 minutes to get entrees and 1.5 hours to get our mains. Antipasto was cooked plain vegetables with breadsticks and 4 little pieces of fetta thrown on top. Garlic bread and bruschetta was ordinary. <br/>The coke was flat, when we complained, they replaced it with another flat coke. The 'chicken' pizza was sliced chicken roll on tomato paste. The fettucini and gnocchi were over cooked, gnocchi and cannelloni tasted old and stale. Didn't even bother touching the oily, salty squid ink spaghetti after that.<br/>Before we entered, the spruiker told us "if you don't like the food, you don't have to pay for it." We paid $180 for meals we barely touched, and they argued with us when we voiced our dissatisfaction. What a disaster of a kitchen. No wonder it was pretty much empty on a Lygon Street saturday night. Give it a miss.
Bernie Kaye
A rating of 2 one for the gentleman who greeted us and one for the waitress.<br/>Awfully slow service, it took 2 hours to get entrée and mains, the water in the moulding bottle should have been a clue.<br/>Entree of calamari was cold and over cooked<br/>Our mains...<br/>The steak was still running around in the paddock it was that rare, pasta presented well but the eggs in the carbonara were scrambled.<br/>The chef refused to believe there was a problem until he was presented with a lump of raw meat.<br/>So sad for the owners who clearly have no idea what the kitchen staff are doing. <br/>
LiamzlEats
I would not wish upon my worst enemy to dine at his restaurant. Service is non-existent, they lure you in and then once they have you they lose all interested. Overpriced for such basic meals that aren't even tasty in the slightest. Worst restaurant in Melbourne. If I could give -1/10 I would.
Persia Gabrielle
We went here last night. Or, I should say tried to. We were seated inside, and handed menus. About 10 minutes later one of the wait staff walked past us and said she would come and take our drink orders in a minute. By this stage we were quite annoyed that we were being treated like we weren't even in the room. Another 20 MINUTES past by, and no one had come to our table with water or even asked us if we were ready to order. We were completely shocked by the horrendous (lack of) service. We walked out. No one even noticed us walking out. I couldn't even give this place a rating of 1. We walked a couple doors up and ended up having a sensational dinner, that had outstanding service. I definitely won't be going back here and am happy to spend my $150 elsewhere in future.
Facebook User
Exceptional food and service, walked in on a cold day for some hot authentic italian. The pesto gnocchi was excellent 😉 Warm family owned vibe. Will return for sure. Thanks 🍝
Jenilee Bell
Gorgeous service and food was fantastic. Certainly the place to go to if you're looking for somewhere quaint and special along Lygon street. Experience is worth it just to get the pleasure of meeting the owner. Thank you for a lovely evening!
Sharada
Worst food ever. Don't make a mistake like we did walking into this restaurant. It's a waste of time and money. Food was absolutely horrible and the chef doesn't care.
GDP
Best place on Lygon St - great food - great friend staff - authentic Italian! You can taste the freshness in the food. Nice balcony seating on a Summer night. The owner is a true character and is an icon of Lygon Street. Love it.
Nelly
The service was friendly and our girls got spoilt rotten with affection. <br/><br/>The food was equally nice with the bonus that we were expecting to pay a great deal more given the quality of food we had just received. I'm still in shock that 4 dishes cost us less that $40. It was made with love and we enjoyed it greatly. We will be returning without a doubt. <br/><br/>
David Lew
Very nice spag-bols, bruschetta and mussels dish. They also had good service and free garlic toast.<br/><br/>It usually takes something special to make it standout enough for me to give a 4.0 or higher. In this case it was very good food at an amazingly low price. They decided to not charge us for the two kids spaghettis. So those two meals, the garlic toast, bruschetta (double entree size) and the seafood dish - all lovely - was only $36 TOTAL!!
Aussie Nawaab
This place used to be really nice say up until a year or two ago but the quality has gone down heaps much since. I only went back because of the friendly owners an old guy at the front and his daughter who handles the indoor orders. A very humble place which seems to have lost its touch due to the ever competitive environment that it is in. The pasta which used to be the highlight was now seemingly stale and overcooked. Really disappointed.
Tashfood
What a disgraceful experience my family & I had just walking past this restaurant. I had 3 Korean family members with me & as we ignored the manager's aggressive hollering to eat in his restaurant he yelled out that "his son is Chinese so we should eat in his restaurant". I feel sorry for him and I feel sorry for anyone who dares give their money to eat in such an establishment. <br/>
Foodie14
Avoid!! My boyfriend and I were just looking at the menu outside when an Italian siren burst out the door (by that I mean the pompous man in a black hat) and enticed - no sorry, forced - us into his restaurant, bribing us with the promise of fresh Italian home made food and free garlic bread 'just for us'. Initially liking this man, as I myself am an Italian, I relented and in we went. As soon as we sat down, the pompous man in the black hat (owner) was interrupting the conversations of the very few people in his restaurant by screaming out he had an announcement, focusing our attention on another customers table he proceeded to make jokes about - except it wasn't funny and he was way too loud. As we were deciding what to eat the man then began intrusively singing to the small room, and going to each table and singing in their faces. Every table had free garlic bread, so his bribe to make customers feel special was actually offered to all. The waiter could barely speak English and seemed friendly enough but had clearly not been trained to wait tables. He asked us 15 minutes in if we would like water (most places just provide this on entrance anyway) and we never even received it, throughout the whole dine! not one drink was placed on our table, and boy do I wish I had it to wash my terrible food down. When the food came, the owner proceeded to sing and run around loudly again like a small and very loud child, this time singing right in my face as I was trying to swallow his awful meal. my pesto gnocchi was the WORST meal I have EVER had, runny, tasteless, starchy and nauseating. My boyfriend's carbonara had chunks of yellow overcooked egg in it and had no taste other than pepper. I am a lover of all Italian cuisine but this was by far the worst food I've ever had, I ate about 3 pieces of gnocchi and left the rest. I simply couldn't stomach it. So basically, TERRIBLE food, a loud, in your face, annoying owner who blatantly lies about the food quality to get you in and poor service in a dirty looking room. How is this place still running? I hope you don't get roped in like we did before you can read reviews. If I could I'd give no stars. <br/>I really wish we had gone to McDonalds.
K.T
Soap in my wine and chilli napoli sauce?. Went to Il Gusto on a Monday night for dinner with my fiance, it was not busy. I ordered a glass of white wine and a pescatore risotto (seafood) with napoli sauce. Napoli sauce is just a tomato-based cause but this came unbearably spicy when the roof of my mouth was stinging. Chilli was not indicated on the menu for this dish, nor should it be, it is just a regular napoli sauce. <br/><br/>We sent it back and ordered another. The second risotto dish came out very sloppy, average in taste and topped with 3 pieces of prawn and 2 small cubes on salmon that were flavorless and obviously cooked from frozen. Further to add insult to injury, I ordered a glass of sparkling white wine only for it to come out with a layer of soap residue hovering on the top of the wine. The waitress could barely speak English too which made it more difficult in explaining the situation. Furthermore, we ordered a brusketta. It was practically an over-sized piece of bread with chopped tomato and drenched in melted mozzarella cheese. It was not a regular brusketta, as that normally comes with sliced onion and no melted cheese, but in the scheme of things, was the tastiest thing we ordered - which says a lot. We should have checked urban spoon before going. Real shame. Not going back. Why is this place still operating for such low ratings?
Vegie444
Bland and Expensive. Caught in the rain so my partner and I decided to duck into this restaurant. I wish we had of read the reviews prior. Service was slow, food was bland and expensive. Average at best.
Hip-hop Fish
What a joke please close your doors ferando keep your hands to your self , food = 2 ,
Thehalls04
BEWARE DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY. Took family there last night for my sons birthday. Got approached at front door by the manager spruiking his hand written menu, and against our better judgement we'd thought we'd give it a try, wish we hadn't.<br/>The portion size was small & undercooked ( chicken Parma) tasted like it was frozen NOT fresh, 2x tiny pieces of potatoes, 2x slices of carrot ( under cooked) & 2 pieces of zucchini, for $27 what a rip off. The ravioli tasted like packet you get from supermarket, canaloni was a little runny. We asked for Jack Daniels & Coronas to which we were told they don't have by waitress who then returned to say they did have JD,when came to us tasted like Drambuie & coke ( ripped off) in drinkable.<br/>Left resturant as the 5 of us STILL hungry and walked down the Road into another resturant to get a pizza<br/>AVOID THIS RESTURANT
Sir And Mlady Dine Out
We decided to go out for dessert and ended up at Il Gusto Italian Cuisine - in fact we were encouraged in by the charm of our gregarious host out the front. It was decent
Adam
All fresh he said, i didnt realise he meant freshly defrosted. My wife and I managed to get a day a day off work, thought we would have a stroll down lygon, we we set upon by Fernando out the front, we decided despite our gut instinct after seeing his hand written menu. We sat down I ordered a good old chicken parmie... What I was served was interesting, being a chef myself I cant state with certainty the chicken schnitzel was put into a hot frying pan while it was still frozen, turned, then the sauce and cheese dumped ontop and forgotten about, the piece of chicken was so thin the only reason I couldn't see through it was because if the burn on the bottom. My wife have the Chicken Breast Lemone, same story.. Freshly defrosted. Both pieces of chicken were like rubber. The vegies on the side had been thrown in the microwave all together then tossed around in a frying pan enough to burn the skin on the potato. However not long enough to cook the potato all the way through mine infact was still crunch and starchy... For a person claiming to be all traditional food fresh and tasty its a bold faced lie, don't waste your time or money. The best thing about the lunch was the glass of house wine, albeit a $4 drop... Wasn't too bad.
Tessaleeg
So bad it was funny.. Wow. What he/she/they all said below. This place is truly awful. Every dish had something wrong with it. We let them know we didnt like it, and immediately the 'manager' tried to debate with us which food was ok and which wasnt. He decided (upon some arbitrary system) that we were right about the bread and soup and crepe being crappy, but that the risotto was totally fine (he tested the 'truth' of this by asking his waitress to taste test it in front of us all), and that we would therefore have to pay for the food he thought was fine. We didnt eat much of anything by the way... He tried everything to win the debate, including informing us of his alliance with god, and that he is older therefore he is right, and eventually we paid for what HE believed was fair. I liked the table cloths.
Tfheric
Diners beware. Can have spaghetti bolonaise with mussels? No mussels...fish or calarmari only...Okay...but we have the best seafood in Melbourne....right. We we'll settle for the calamari, plus caesar salad plus bread plus plus plus....<br/>30 minutes later.....what are your orders?....what! But we were the ONLY table in the restaurant. We walked.....
Hedleyhaggett
I went in for desert and coffee with my wife, <br/>we were very disapointed with every thing, firstly my wife ordered chocolate crepes but they were made with nutella.<br/>I had the tiramisu, but this was made with whipped cream not mascapone and was flavourless.<br/>The coffees were watery and bitter, we did not drink the coffees at all<br/>when i complained i was told by the waiters that the food was fine and they gave me the full bill<br/>I will never go there again
Wesjjohnson
Unhappy. They are rude and the food was plain and overpriced. The manager is really rude and our party of 12 almost fought with her. Keep walking past this restaurant.
Jenni.wallington
Veal Marsala. Cooked to perfection. Beautiful sauce, vegies and spuds.<br/><br/><br/>-----02 Nov, 2014-----<br/><br/>Chicken with Camberet. The most beautiful sauce I have every tasted. Beautiful steamed vegies and spuds cooked to perfection
Paul Emery
Horrible. As per many of th.... Horrible.<br/>As per many of the other reviews, my biggest mistake was not checking urban spoon first.<br/>Unacceptable wait times, tortillini tasted like a microwaved meal from the supermarket. Absolutely overpriced for portions and quality.<br/>Avoid.
Dennis
Never Never go to this restaurant.<br/><br/>3 of us when here and when our meals arrived one of them was not what we ordered and mine was not cooked the way I asked for it, it (the steak) went back and came back exactly the same as the one I sent back (not cooked correctly).<br/><br/>When I talked to the "Manager" she was VERY aggressive, loud voice and all that she was concerned about was not giving me a refund of any kind, which was not what I was after (nor did I mention it or ask for one).<br/><br/>All I wanted was a reason discussion about the issues and maybe an apology. Which for me was not possible from this manager.<br/><br/>My mistake was not check urbanspoon before going in, if I had done that I would not of entered. Never Never go into this place if you are looking for an Ok to good night.
Margi Moo
I have not tried the food but Im not impressed with the man at the front promoting this place.. I over heard him say to a passing customer, dont go next door, that place is 'poison'. He ruined my relaxing lunch as for 30 minutes he sang 'I don't care what you say, I don't care what you think' to the tune of the young talent time closing song. Grrr!!
Gimblewocky
Choose any other place on Lygon. I stupidly took family from overseas here without checking reviews because the venue looked nice. Small, expensive portions of bad food. It must just survive on tourists; can't imagine anyone returning.
TonkleChicken
Why, Oh why, did we try?. I had Urbanspoon open as we walked our way down Lygon St, noting some fantastic possibilities, but just as we got here, I got distracted and closed the app. VERY BAD MOVE. <br/><br/>Mr "Fernado" at the doors seemed nice, if somewhat pushy, but once promptly put at our table, the service was slow, asking for water as we walked in, we got it about 15 mins later then after ordering it took 40 mins to get our meals in a less than half full restaurant. <br/><br/>Foodwise, my Gorgonzola Risotto was terrible. The rice seemed precooked in a ricecooker and a fairly basic sauce just mixed with it before hitting the table. My sons chicken breast with lemon cream was burnt on one side, and my other sons calamari tasted less than fresh. The Minestrone was probably the best of the 4, but had no beans and little depth of flavour.<br/><br/>There are reasons that restaurants rate so poorly, and place needs to come up to the standard of their competition. People in hitting Lygon St to part with their hard earned cash expect more.<br/><br/>It may be 34 years since it opened and it was probably about then I was last here, but I suspect the food has not changed. <br/><br/>I may come back in 34 years time if the reviews change.
Kivi
Oh, no. We went here because our friend (who was with us) likes it. The guy out the front was really annoying, even for Lygon St standards, and I think he thought he was being funny and charming instead of obnoxious. I stuck to soup, which was the best decision I made all night. My partner's gnocchi was so bland she poured parmesan all over it to try and save it. I felt bad for the waiter, who had obviously just arrived from Italy and was a bit out of his depth, although he gave it a good try. Value-for-money was low and the food pretty pathetic for such a well-known food district. The low urbanspoon rating is accurate.
Kalav3
Great restaurant. Four of us enjoyed a really light upstairs at this restaurant. The staff very friendly and helpful. Our meals were great, tasty, good size, served nice and hot. We weren't rushed at all and thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Recommend this restaurant to anyone
Taneesha Phelps
My partner has eaten here for years and always raves about the food, service and atmosphere. we have both previously enjoyed great service and amazing authentic Italian cuisine. On this occasion however we were very sorely disappointed. The service has severely diminished. Half our order was completely forgotten and the other half looked as if it was slapped on a plate with no distinct flavour. After waiting over 10 mins for a coffee we walked out. Sad to say that after this one terrible experience we will NOT be back. The table next to us also seemed to be sharing in our terrible experience as they were complaining as we left. <br/>We also agree with a previous review that once the man outside has roped you in with his friendly Italian charm you are essentially ignored!!<br/>Be warned: there are no shortages of restaurants on Lygon street, avoid Il Gusto at all costs!
Ali E
OMG my tummy kept saying eat more. More then a billion times the server was amazing and the food was like the best I ever had.
Therese Laferty
Very friendly!. We love coming here! we always make a bee-line for Il Gusto when we get to Melbourne, even if it's for a stopover. The owner always remembers our name and treats us like family. it's a shame others don't enjoy it here as much as we do.
Paul.ellender
Oh, dear Gusto, get it right. Walking past Il Gusto, I felt that the checked table cloths and the rustic charm would be a pleasant change to the annoying commercialism of Lygon Street. How wrong I was. <br/><br/>From the outset, being harassed by old Mr Fernando (the owner?), I should have realised that that establishment would not possess the olde worlde charm that one would expect from a true trattoria / l'osteria. What an annoying man... and, moreover, once the Italian pleasantries were exchanged and our custom was captured, we were essentially ignored. A number of times we had to repeat orders and what arrived was rather average. The waiters were, at best, disinterested (apart from the annoying Mr Fernando) and, through my wine haze, I could clearly see that many of the customers were a little threatened by the spruiking and excessive attention. Attention, I might add, that had little to do with food and wine! <br/><br/>Not one to be daunted, I ploughed on: it was Christmas and my mirth was at an all-time high, but i remained disappointed. The risotto was undercooked, pasta too al dente, salads undressed and drink orders ignored. I also had to ask for the bill three times... and in Italian, hoping this would help!<br/><br/>Given that the hand-written sign proudly exclaimed Il Gusto is in its 32nd year... I was simply baffled as to how this could be true. Unless, of course, aggressive spruiking is more productive than providing good food and unparalleled service. <br/><br/>On a good note, It is a small place... one that has potential to capture the romance of Italy. I ask, therefore, that II Gusto take stock (perhaps even use some stock in the kitchen) and look beyond its past and into the future. Other Lygon Street establishments have changed with the times... and pleasantly so. <br/><br/>Until I am convinced that Il Gusto has reconnected with the simple and tasty food that its atmosphere is attempting to remain connected to, I am afraid I won’t be back. Please Il Gusto, take heed and read the reviews on this site.<br/><br/>It will be a shame to lose you.
Marcus
Terrible. So terrible that I went out of my wy to create an account to warn all of you. Food was bland, drenched in oil yet still tasted dry. Bruchetta was something a child would make and the bottle of wine we ordered wasn't what we received. Avoid, even if you have to starve.
Jay L
Food was pretty average, especially for its not-so-cheap price. Service was mediocre. The old man out the front can get all up in your grill.
Ali
I constantly come here with my friends and I'm always happy with the service and the food. Especially the seafood pasta. And great seating up on the balcony, lovely cosy Italian restaurant
Emma Mitchell
I'm afraid for my stomach in a few hours time. Fillet mingon was so under cooked it was almost mooing and not 1 but all 5 were the same. Potatoes were best discribed as play do and I don't think the gnocchi actually had potato in it. Didn't get table promised and everyone was served the wrong drinks that were pointed at from small, sad drinks menu! Never again! $275 down the drain!
Jo Robertson
Run!. Absolutely awful, not ONE redeeming feature. Terrible, overpriced food. Lured us in with promise of $10 kids' meals, which were certainly not worth the trade off (and the kids hated them too!). Made a "mistake" on the bill (was listed as $31 instead of $13).<br/><br/>Never, ever again. Macca's would have been better value.
Darren_g
Run away!. I have been here a few times with group bookings and every time the experience has been shameful. To start, my female co-workers were heckled by the old Italian guy at the door. He even followed one into the building and sang to her for several excruciating minutes despite her politely asking him to stop. Having been to Italy, I don't even know what to call the food that we ate. It was overpriced, not fresh at all and definitely NOT Italian! My meat was dried up and my expensive salad (for what it was) ended up being strips of cos lettuce with cubes of tomato, doused in what tasted like store bought French salad dressing. It was an all round unpleasant experience. Gordon Ramsay NEEDS to give this place a visit STAT!
Ingnorante
Stop insulting customers walking past the restaurant. Someone should get rid of the old man standing outside and calling possible customers ignorant when they walk past. Who does he think he is. He is the ignorant one. Not very intelligent. We are from out of town and this happens every time we come to Carlton. Get rid of him and you may get customers. What a rude old school italian. He makes people avoid that side of the street.
Pinkyks
The coffee made me want to microwave kittens. I had a sip and then left. It was also served in a dirty cup which was a nice touch.
Thuytee
Great restaurant , we were greeted by friendly mr fernando at the front of the restaurant. He even took a picture with us and sang to us as we left after our meal. The food was lovely, we ordered the pasta with chicken mushroom and creamy avocado sauce, lasagna and warm chicken salad and garlic bread. The waiter was attentive and suggested a lovely wine and kindly wrote the name of the wine down when requested. We did wait around 30 mins for our food but the friendly staff and good atmosphere made up for the wait. I think it's a perfect place to dine for a catch up with friends.
Joe W
Dissapointing. My wife and went to Melbourne on holiday late May to early June 2013. We were disappointed in our dining experience at II Gusto. We found the main courses were well prepared, well presented and delicious. We also ordered a salad which was very good. We were then let down by the desert which was substandard, for example the cheesecake had fake chemical tasting cream and was horrible. We also found the mains were well priced but the other items such as the small side salad was over priced as was the cheesecake etc. Overall the bill for a simple meal for two was ~$100 $Australian. The owner (74 year old Italian) was also rather intense at the front door which made us uncomfortable and the atmosphere among the staff seemed tense/unhappy. In our opinion the II Gusto has potential in that they can prepare good food, however, they need to follow through with consistent quality, balanced pricing, and they need to work on their environment. I would rate II Gusto 6/10. Not terrible but I wouldn't go there again.
DiningFine
This wasn't my choice of restaurant but after reading the reviews I thought I was in for a train wreck. It came close.<br/>Meals were a little pricey considering the quality. I think there is better on Lygon by far. Entree was brought out promptly but for the other meals we had to ask for them to be brought out. Waiting stuff were good and courteous.. Other patrons were vocal in airing their grievances so I think we got lucky. Just avoid!
Ally
Not great. I had the risotto which had little to no flavour and the atmosphere in the restaurant was lacking. They also didn't have the risotto I originally ordered, which screams disorganisation to me. I wouldn't go back.
Chris Mead
Absolutely rubbish night. Food was poor especially the rissoto funghi which was like a bland mushroom soup with undercooked rice. After leaving got accused of shortpaying. Disappointed that this is the place we ate on lygkn st.
Bon
So annoying!!. I went here with some friends because one liked to haggle for a free bottle of wine with dinner. The pay off wasn't great. The meals were ordinary, my pasta wasn't cooked properly and the guy out the front wouldn't stop harrassing us to try this and try that. NEVER AGAIN!!
Mary
Annoyed. Oyster mornay horrible,watery,smelly, antipasto not fresh, dodgy cold meats,, overpriced pasta entree serves, wine list price incorrect. wine $22 on wine list, charged $24 per bottle, our lunch bill $140 for two.....rip off!! appalling!
Ucu Prameswari
Terrible food and service-won't go back. Today's dinner was the worst dining experience I had for a long time. Came to lygon street during dinner time with family and found out our favourite restaurants were full. Then decided to give Il Gusto a try since there were few tables empty. I Looked at the menus and decided to order fettucini carbonara. Waiting for ages for the food and very disappointing the fettucini was too bland super tasteless. The service was slow and not professional. Waitress did not correctly write down the orders so manager had to come and check again what we ordered. We found out that the waitress wrote down one extra order and luckily manager repeated the order if not we will be charged extra for food we even did not order!!!!! Not recommended and won't go back!
Andre Rodrijo
Food was not good at all [food NOT fresh at all!], service was slow, waitress/waiter does not have much knowledge about the menu.<br/>In summary, everything served here must be at least 1-2 months old in their freezer/fridge..
Munte.rawkz
Never again. A few nights ago i had the worst experience ever.<br/>I went down lygon st for its beautiful and delicious italian dinner but i was shocked. I was walking with my friend and a lot of people tried to stop us.<br/>there was this one particular guy from il gusto who didnt know when to give up.<br/>anyway we got it as he hassled us in.<br/>our soft drinks tasted like water, service was not too good and worst of all was our steaks. It was hard as rubber, I felt like i was chweing on a military boot covered in sauce....<br/><br/>Anyway when we finished we were asked about our meal, when we tried to say something, the old guy just walked away and this was very rude...<br/>And the woman with that man started to abuse & swearing at us until we nearly called the police....<br/><br/>So, Im definately not going back there ever again...<br/>I hope none of my friends do too...!!
SteliosV
By far the worst restaurant in history<br/><br/>The owner is at the front harassing you and is abusive the food is tasteless and expensive and you wait over an hour<br/>Utterly Terrible
Aveess
WORST EXPERIENCE EVER!!!! Went on a Friday night with a group of friends and after most people ordered we were told to leave because not everyone had ordered. The restaurant was empty yet apparently they needed the seats for the non-existent customers. We were forced to pay for two cups of teas (after only given one pot) and only able to have a sip before being forced out. The waitress tried to defend us to the manager but was yelled at and told to get upstairs. Would never go here again! The staff are not even Italian!!
Sean
Really disappointed with our meal in this restaurant. Sucked in by the little Italian man. Lasagne was the worst I have ever eaten. No meat at all, a splash of sauce and a lot of pasta sheets. Terrible! My partner had tortellini with chicken and mushroom. The main course looked like a starter. So small and lacking any taste. Really awful experience. It is a shame as the restaurant has a certain charm to it. Unfortunately the food is a real key down.
Kelly
Don't bother. We got sucked in by the old man at the door. Very ordinary overpriced food. Nothing special at all, no pizza on the menu. Don't waste your money here.
Lovetoeat
Terrible! One of the worst meals I have had in ages. Don't let the charming Italian man fool you out the front. Lamb chops for $30 were burnt charcoal and covered in a grease flavoured sauce. Spaghetti marinara $27 was very average (I have better at la Porchtta ) frozen seafood I suspect. Avoid, avoid , avoid !!
Dave
Bellissimo!!!. Had a meal here with friends after being conned inside by the old man at the door with promises of a free bottle of wine and great food, and we were not disappointed. Dined on the balcony, great food and service, will be back for sure, cheers
Snail
Ordinary. Over priced. $40- seafood pasta was dry and had overcooked dried up fish. Place look sauthentic and quirky but the menu and food is average.
MH
Wouldnt Bother. Offered specials to enter only to find had run out. Average menu and no chance of good service with only 4 people in the whole restaurant. We left before the cheap wine was served.
Phil
Got abused for looking at the menu and deciding not to go there for dinner. The man at the front was rude, arrogant and needs to learn some humility and customer service. Do not recommend.
Lynn Boyd
Had a great night here with family and friends. The man on the door is pretty full-on but that's the charm of Lygon street. We were treated well by the staff and the food ( both mains and dessert) was delicious and very authentic.
Venesia
High above the madding crowd.... As a large group we found ourselves upstairs being tickled with the summer breeze through the balcony's open doors and gazing into the tree tops. I'm no fan of pasta and pizza offerings at an Italian restaurant - it was the specials of the day that got my attention. The waiter explained the extensive choices with the admirable memory of a savant and a thespian delivery. All meals arrived after a fair interval so service was good. My salmon fillet was chargrilled with a lovely crisp surface and tender flesh - it was a satisfying dining experience. The specials were the winning poker hand.
Stelyios
Absolutely pathetic and gives a shocking reputation to Italian cuisine. <br/><br/>Not only were we harassed at the front, the food is very overpriced and absolutely as bland as you can get. It appears that the food is pre cooked and just reheated when it is served to you. <br/><br/>I ordered a pasta which was completely sludgy and so tasteless I was happy to get up and pay the bill without eating my meal.<br/><br/>I also contracted food poisoning after leaving here.
Gina Pugman
It's a Miracle.... ..that I managed to avoid food poisoning after eating at this lousy restaurant!
Foodlover
Il gusto does not deliver on its promises...to make any money it needs to actually train staff and follow through. Disappointing service ruined our night...thanks very much
MickGatto
Terrible, service was pretty much non existent. Any place that u have to wait 25 minutes to be served is a disgrace. Anyone who eats here will be thoroughly dissappointed. Avoid at all cost
Laura
Worst service ever...do not go there ever. After complaining, got free port, which we never got along with the good service. Waste of ur time!
Tash
We were seated upstairs on the balcony initially, until a group of the owners friends came up and started smoking, so we moved out to the street. Here we were unable to avoid the very full-on front man, who was obsessed with telling us how dirty all the other restaurants on the strip are, because they don't bring fresh serviettes and keep the plates face-up. Strange. His act was charming, until I noticed the facade drop when potential customers walked by and he made snide remarks to his waiter. Food was mediocre, vegetables barely cooked, and lacking in flavor. Overpriced, despite the front man's continual claims of being 'very cheap'
Marc
Worst Italian we ever were!!! Don't eat there, is a waist of money. We had Lasagne, Canneloni and Tortellini al panna, Garlic Bread and Italian salad. Tasted terrible, oily, tomato sauce out of the box, even worse than microwave food! Feeling sick afterwards! Restaurant boss (Sizilian guy) didn't believe our feedback. Please DON'T eat there!
Dave
Pretenders, overpriced, and tasteless, I have had better parmigana from a pub, and the pasta was very average in an area that has some of Australia's best Italian food
Michael M
Great night out! Our meals were awesome, came on time and the service was great! Being from italian origin I can say that the food was very authentic as advertised... The front man was definitely the highlight, engages the walkers by and diners with fun and entertaining banter! Even a song if you're lucky!
Splinter
Lovely end to a great night.. We went there about 10pm on Sunday night, after attending the theatre in the city. Not only were they opened,but happy to serve us [and others that came after us] a full meal. The veal scallopine was tender with a mushroom packed sauce. The lamb cutlets were plentiful[4] and very tasty. Fernando was an absolute delight. This was the first time we had been to this restaurant. We will certainly return.
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