Review Pausa Pranzo - Preston

‘Pausa Pranzo’ means ‘lunch break’ in Italian but you’ll find me here for breakfast, lunch and dinner (kidding - they close at 3pm but if dinner was an option, you’d still find me here). The owners Mauro and Diana clearly have a passion for what they do; it is evident in their service as well as their food. It’s authentic, top quality and true to its roots. They serve up freshly made-to-order panini’s and now pasta options for lunch. They have 4 options for their panini’s — salami, prosciutto, mortadella, and vegetarian, all with various fillings on offer. I ordered the Il Caprino - fresh ciabatta, mortadella, grilled zucchini, goats cheese and balsamic vinaigrette. Whilst I’ve only tried one, I’m confident in saying there’s nothing to fault here. The ingredients are fresh, good quality and the portions are fantastic for the price. It is constantly busy for a reason — if anything, I feel it is underrated. I’ve never been to Italy, but I feel like if there’s a little slice of it in Melbourne, you’ll find it here.

Best Italian Takeaway joint in Preston (or even Melb!) Their homemade casarecce was so yum! Absolutely loved pesto and napoli; so flavourful and authentic. If you are not a pasta fan, their panini were good as well - great ingredients with yummy bread.

Great cafe 👏 coffee was good. Food was delicious but there was some bay leaf left in ragu, not a big deal though. Definitely coming back again 👍

This is my new local and I am absolutely in love with it! The panini's are delicious, the coffee is the best coffee I think I've ever had and the general Italian vibe and service of this place is great!

If you are craving for a real Italian-style panino, you should definitely try this place: great vibe, great people and fresh and simple ingredients that will immediately take you to one of those family-run places in a pictoresque Italian town, where you would stop to enjoy a light and tasty panino made in the traditional way. Highly recommended for your lunch break. Oh and while you wait, they offer you a coffee. Such a nice touch! Loved it!

Amazing homemade pastas and paninis! All the food is fresh and delicious! Staff is great and friendly. Highly recommended!

Outstanding quality of coffee and food, best coffee you will ever taste. Love this place, the staff are friendly and the place has such a cosy vibe :-)

Great true Italian cafe. The only issue is the serving is very small and I am still really hunger after the meatball/bread dish. Wish they have more hot dishes that’s bigger as winter is coming and it would be really nice to have something hearty/substantial. The coffee here is great though :)

Delicious coffee and yummy, fresh ingredients. Sandwiches and salads are prepared right in front of you while you wait in a cozy, relaxed environment. Very friendly and accommodating owners. Glad to have such a quality local cafe just down the street! If you are looking for a place to stop for great coffee on your way to Bell Station, this is it.

Best coffee on High Street, seriously. The fresh pasta to take away is gonna get me through winter! So good. Crunchy, fresh and delicious panini with plenty of veg options ... cosy, warm and friendly space. I can't speak more highly of Pausa Pranzo.

When walk in here, both food and environment make me feel like I’m back in italy, amazing Panini’s that leave your eyes and tastebuds wanting more ! The coffees are número uno ...I’ll be a regular, let me tell you :)

Went for the first time today. Great staff. Amazing food. Make sure you check them out

best coffee in Melbourne!

excellent lunch in melbourne.!!!!!!!!!!!!! i hope to return soon and eat new varieties...good luck.

Looks amazing

Pausa Pranzo culurgiones are absolutely amazing you gotta try them. hand made in the store in front of you even the kids love em

Simple but tasty paninis. We shared a prosciutto con il boscaiolo (cheese, mushroom, truffle oil) and salame fa caldo (cheese, capsicum, olive, chilli). I really enjoyed both. Great flavours, so much truffle oil...yum!

Friendly service. The coffee was quick to arrive and at a good drinking temperature. A delicious espresso. <br/><br/>Also ate the panino al boscaiolo. Pretty delicious and just what I needed.

Wonderful customer service!

I love this place. It reminds me of a cafe in Firenze, such a cool, old school vibe; everything seems authentically Italian. The couple that run the place are also super friendly. The decor, products and retro music further add to its appeal. They have definitely got this aspect right!<br/><br/>The panini are made fresh to order and the coffee was amazing. <br/><br/>I sat near a window, the sun shining through, and I could not help but be lost for a moment dreaming about European summer holidays.<br/><br/>Can’t wait to go back 😊<br/><br/>

Usual spot for people living/working nearby in Preston. Great panini and a little piece of Italy. Lovely staff and food. Highly recommended for brunch or small lunch :)

From the moment you walk into this cafe, you can feel the warm italian hospitality. The menu is simple so they can concentrate on perfection. We shared our panini and they were both sensational. ' IL Crudo ' with its combination of prosciutto, tomato, rocket ans shaved parmesan and ' IL Buffalino' with prosciutto, tomato, buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil and olive oil. Can i say yummo and very large serves. Coffee just magnifico! The bread is so fresh with its morish air pockets, and can't wait to try the pasta. This place is located just south of the Tumeric Latte Line (Bell Street) and has entrenched itself in the Preston foodie scene.

Such a cute little place to stumble across. The food is really tasty and reminiscent of what I found in Europe. Good quality ingredients and flavour and the price is good too. Everything I’ve tried there has been yummy and the extension has made a big difference. Barista is really friendly too.

3.5/5. I had some lunch here watch a friend and the service was really friendly and welcoming.<br/><br/>My strong skinny latte was ok and bloody hot!!! I couldn’t drink it as it was soo hot and I couldn’t pick up my glass. Gosh <br/><br/>My food was alright but I certainly could have done with a lot more filling as it was light on. The bread roll was tasty and toasted which helped but for $12 I didn’t really see the value to be honest.

The current 3.8 rating is spot on for this small cafe. This is the sort of place I’d like to see more of. It’s a tiny almost hole in the wall place on High Street and it has a predominant Italian flavour. There is coffee, drinks and snacks and maybe the odd meal available here and it looks to be all quality stuff. There’s also a small range of Italian packaged foods dotted around for sale. There are Italians running the cafe and you have to love that when they know what they’re doing as these guys do. Overall it seems like a great place to grab a refreshment and a snack on the run at any time of day.<br/><br/>The cafe makes great use of a very economical space. It’s also smart and stylish inside with a nice fitout that works well. There’s one table only though. Otherwise there’s three seats at a bar against the wall and a bench for two to three only. No matter at all. The coffee was lovely and it was a good price too. Service was nice as well. Efficient and polite. I really liked the look of the snacks on sale here and earlier reviews attest to their quality. Next time for sure.

I love this place!! Amazing chai, panini (vegetarian options too) all made with love!! And I absolutely love the owner, he is extremely friendly and makes the atmosphere unique, just like being home. Highly recommended 🙏❤️

There is no place more authentic that this place. <br/>Great coffee and food. <br/>Always fresh. <br/>Best service. <br/>The croissants are amazing but be sure to get there early because they fly out the door.

I am spoilt for choice in this part of the world for food and coffee. I love both. Hard to imagine that such an itsy bitsy cafe such as Pausa Pranzo is making such delicious food, but it is! It’s a mini Italy in Preston - with real life Italians (accents and all!) producing simple great quality food. I’ve bought take away pasta for home and it is so fresh it melts in your mouth (worth the $16 for two people take home pack). <br/>These guys have done a great job here, well done!

Best Panini & Coffee in town!<br/>Absolutely love this place! The guys are really friendly and have great service.<br/>Coffee is excellent as well as the choice of different panini.<br/>You can also buy great Italian food products.<br/>Do yourself a favour and check out Pausa Pranzo! You will not be disappointed.

Great almond latte. Amazing croissants and panini. Hard to choose. The pasta was so fresh . Great work guys. Cannot wait for my next visit.......

We had their prosciutto mozzarella sandwiches and coffees for lunch one day and omg amazing!! Like honestly amazing. Everything tastes so fresh. Italy was our favourite European country to visit for their food and this was great to find in Melbourne. Want to come back again 🤤

Great, little authentic Italian cafe with good coffee, sandwiches and imported pantry stuffs. Solid vegetarian options as well! Can recommend.

Coffee is fantastic.  I like the space, layout and the customer service was very good.<br/><br/>I had the melanzana jones sandwich.  The bread was great, warm and crunchy.  The filling wasn't so good.  It was obviously fresh but lacked flavour.  Also, the filling was fridge temperature, but the outside was toasty hot - I really don't like that temperature difference in a sandwich.  Don't get me wrong, it was enjoyable, just not great.

Delicious coffee, super fresh and well-sourced ingredients and a relaxed, authentic, unpretentious atmosphere... what more could you ask for?

Today I went to Pausa Pranzo and absolutely loved it! <br/>Coffee is great, food is simple and.. simply delicious! They have a wide range of panini to choose from and they’ve got something for everyone, from meat lovers to vegetarians. Croissants are beautiful, perfect for a traditional Italian breakfast. The atmosphere is lovely and the owners are really friendly. Fantastic overall experience, highly recommend!