Review Al Porto Vecchio - Williamstown

Overall a very average experience. Staff were pleasant enough but I did find myself having to chase after them a bit for requests. They wouldn’t approach you instinctively. We ordered a prosciutto pizza and a chicken parmy. Both of which were fine but I did honestly expect a bit better. It was the sort of standard you could achieve if you were making it yourself at home. Basic ingredients and edible but nothing special. It’s perhaps better suited as a place to have casual drinks in the evening but I don’t think I’ll be returning for the food off their lunch menu.

Most Delish Mussels!! Absolutely loved our first time here. Staff were friendly and everyone really enjoyed their food. My partner said it was the best Parma he has had in ages and he is an avid Parma eater!

Wow, have just experienced a family Birthday dinner and was pleasantly surprised with the excellent service and menu options. The meal was delicious and tried several options between the group. We will certainly be back, the steak, seafood, pizza and pasta dishes were exceptional. Give this place a try for a relaxed atmosphere, surprising great offerings and excellent service.

Top quality food at reasonable affordable price. Great selection. Very friendly staff. Highly recommended. Great location.

I’d never been to Williamstown before. Gorgeous spot, super chill and pretty. This place thought is a surprise and half - so great. While waiting for my order I had food envy for every plate that came out, and when mine came I felt quietly smug cause I reckon it was the pick of the menu. So here’s my review… BEST Caesar salad I’ve ever eaten. No hyperbole here. It was a beautiful balance of super fresh greens, a light and tasty dressing, and just enough anchovy that when it was met it was met with perfectly timed surprise and saltiness. The herbed chicken pieces I added fell apart and made a relaxed picking (I like to take my time) all the more delicious. Also, it should be mentioned that a charming irl family manage the hotel it sits in and that warmth and hospitality is evident in everything they do here. Go. You’ll love it.

Returned to this restaurant at the invitation of the owner following my previous not so good review... what a difference!!!! We were greeted by friendly enthusiastic staff. The meals we chose were salt and pepper calamari,cooked to perfection ,flavoursome and a generous serve..also roasted cauliflower with faro salad was an explosion for the taste buds. The wine was perfect. Thanks so much for the delicious meals and the excellent service. Would definitely recommend and most definitely will return..

Fantastic, everytime 👏 I have never experienced anything negative while dining here. That is with a tables of 2 to a table of 10. Consistently good service. Food is exceptional. Management and staff are knowledgeable about the menu and the ingredients that are in food that they serve. It makes you wonder when somone leaves a bad review of a place like this. What they're life must be like if this is the worst thing to happen to them that they need to tell everyone. I will be back and I'm sure I will not be disappointed. Well done.

To the wonderful Al Porto what can I say one word AMAZING. I had the pork belly and my partner had the bbq ribs. If you haven't had a taste at this place do youreself a favour go you won't be disappointed. Well cooked meals a huge rage to choose from. The outdoor space very nice to sit in the sun, have a chat and a drink. We will be back!

Love the pumpkin rissotto. Very reasonably priced

The WORST beef ravioli ever! And the WORST dining experience ever! Canned beef.. and watered down sauce. Spinach? What spinach? Did not even finish it. In fact, most patrons did not even finish their food. Was a sign. Never again! 🤮 My boyfriend could not even finish is pizza. Undercooked dough and over cooked cheese. Not only that, there was hair on his pizza!

Food was full of flavour, reasonably priced and portion sizes were decent. Only down side was we had to wait an hour for the food to arrive to the table. If it wasn't the long wait times would of rated it a 5!

Amazing food with amazing service!<br/>Food was fresh and full of flavour. I would definitely recommend to family, friends and everyone else ! <br/>10/10! <br/>

Decided to visit here as the reviews on zomato were mostly great. Centrally located, easy to find.<br/><br/>Ambience was great. Wooden interior, great homely feeling. <br/><br/>Music was coming from the kitchen and it was playing some very questionable pop music which did not suit the restaurant decor nor the crowd.<br/><br/>Food:<br/>Bruschetta & Cheese $10 (Entree) 4/10<br/>This came in the look of a pizza dough with minimal garlic and cheese on top. Chopped tomatoes thrown on with minimal herbs. Very dry and just felt like the tomatoes were thrown on to make it look less was, was falling all over the place whilst eating. No signs of balsamic vinegar or anything to combine the ingredients. <br/><br/><br/>Wood fired Al Porto Special Pizza Large ($20) 5/10<br/><br/>This pizza was not special at all. I believe they used tasty cheese. The pizza toppings looked sad and overall I felt that they were missing a key ingredient. It’s not terrible, it’s edible and it’s pizza. Nothing more than that<br/><br/>Scotch Fillet with salad and potato $25<br/>This was an “ok” steak. Nothing more to say about it.<br/>Gravy was great and the roasted vegetables (carrots, zucchini, broccoli, onions I liked.<br/><br/>What’s good?<br/>The waiters were attentive and I noticed was always facing the patrons even when guests were occupied with food. Ambience is also great.<br/><br/>however I suspect this place is mostly a shell and the quality does not deliver. It is just your average food and nothing more than that.

Arrived at the restaurant and ordered, was taking too long for orders to arrive until owner came to the rescue.<br/>Our fritto misso looked great but when I ate it was just a bag of oil, that was all I could taste, not pleasurable at all.<br/>The only thing I liked very much was the fresh salad which was one of the best tasting salads I’ve had, the other dishes were a bit average for the high price.<br/>The atmosphere was a little sad, could do with a bit more, the owner of the restaurant was great, he was very friendly and eager to please.<br/>A few restaurants in Melbourne could do with owners like this one from Ponte Vecchio, talking and being helpful to customers without being overbearing, I would go there again just to be served by him.

Beautiful food, great service! We had pizzas, pasta and lamb shanks and it all came out quick and was beautiful for a Sunday lunch. Thanks for having us

best shoestring fries and seasoned wedges in williamstown we have tried on our chip crawl around williamstown! really good service and atmosphere

Very good chips and fries, only one person on but efficient and reasonably quick service, have come here twice on our chip crawl, so it’s good

Some of the best fries we’ve had here in Nelson Place Williamstown. And we have been to nearly every place that sells chips on a “chip crawl” if you will.

the food was really good me and my friends ordered chips as we always do every friday (we call it fry-days). nothing bad to report. service was also good

Al Porto Vecchio is a well-known Italian restaurant, situated in a lovely location Along Nelson Place overlooking Port Phillip Bay. Al Porto Vecchio has a homely and welcoming atmosphere due to their easy-listening music playing in the background and their gorgeous warm fire. The venue is an Old Art Deco building and has recently been taken over by new owners. We were very excited to try them out!<br/><br/>For entrée we ordered the Seasoned Wedges which was covered in melted cheese and sour cream and the Bruschetta (which was pizza-based) served with tomato and basil. For mains, we ordered the the Basilicata Pizza which came with tomato, cheese, basil, mushrooms and chilli, the Pasta Basilico which came with garlic, pesto, olive oil and spring onion and finally to share, we had the Vegetarian Al Forno served with creamy Napoli tossed with vegetables and penne topped with cheese. For drinks we had the Toblerone cocktail and a Lemon Lime and Bitters.<br/><br/>The wedges were absolutely glorious! They were crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside - just the way they should be! The melted cheese worked so well with it and it was such an awesome start to the night. The Bruschetta was delicious. You can tell that these guys use high-quality ingredients because the tomato and basil were super fresh and tasted beautiful.<br/><br/>Our favourite dish was definitely the Vegetarian Al Forno! This was extraordinary. It was a very generous serve and it was packed with flavour. The cheese simply melted in my mouth and the vegetables were cooked to perfection. The pizza was fantastic - we loved the chilli as it added so much more to the dish! Finally, the gnocchi was gorgeous; they were light and fluffy and went great with the basil. The Toblerone martini had a little bit too much milk but I still enjoyed the drink. <br/><br/>We loved our time here immensely! The experience was wonderful and we cannot recommend this place highly enough! Thank you very much for having us.

Al Porto Vecchio is perfectly located Italian restaurant right on the main strip along the waterfront. The interiors are cosy and welcoming with friendly and attentive staff. The menu is extensive with some amazing dishes. Would recommend!. Always a good option to start the meal!&nbsp; ★★★. Poached Bay Mussels $19 in White Wine, Garlic, Herbs, Sweet Chili and Napoli Sauce

I was invited to visit this restaurant so I won’t comment on the lovely service.<br/><br/>Sitting next to a great open fire was a real treat and perfect for me as it was a really cold night. This restaurant is situated in a great location in a beautiful old Art Deco building with a function room upstairs and a beer garden that’s the size of your average car park lol<br/><br/>For entree we shared a selection of dips, w garlic pizza and whilst the dips were tasty the garlic pizza was really good. <br/><br/>With a big menu and a specials board this place has an electic menu to choose from but we decided that on pizzas. <br/><br/>I ordered the Al Porto Vecchi pizza which had different meats including salami, ham, mushrooms, olives, capsicum and onion. It was a mouthful and it was tasty, although for me the dough was far too thick. <br/><br/>I was fortunate enough to be joined bySimmyeats.Melb who also ordered a pizza which was artichoke, tomato, mushrooms and not on the menu, the addition of olives. <br/><br/>This pizza was good too but once again for me personally whist good, the dough was too thick. I gave this feedback to the owner who said that they will consider offering thin and thick pizza bases.<br/><br/>I can only rate the restaurant on the food I ate but I did see other dishes such as fish n chips, and some pasta dishes which looked really good too.<br/><br/>Oh and I almost forgot, the wine list was great with some excellent vintage wines at prices that I’d definitely go back for!

Williamstown is so beautiful and I don't go out there often enough. This place is a beautiful heritage style restaurant and inside is an Italian restaurant. Recently under New Management! The staff are lovely here and very welcoming. Really great service from the moment you walk in. The staff are very attentive here and you will be well looked after. Had the table by the fire place which was quite cosy. The menu is quite large and covers all bases so there is something for everyone. All the dishes we tried were full of flavour and well presented. That steak for $17 was great value and it was HUGE! Overall a great night and we are excited about going back to try the new menu. **Disclaimer: although the restaurant has generously invited me to their restaurant this review is still based on my genuine opinion.

Al Porto Vecchio is a nice quaint restaurant with a lovely brick interior, there is a fire place which was very welcoming especially on a cold winters night! <br/><br/>Our waitress was very lovely. staff in general went above and beyond and this was greatly appreciated.  The menu was solid, a lot too choose from, perhaps too many options.  Our wines that were recommended to us really hit the spot, it was so nice to keep warm with the wine and the fire.<br/><br/>I was joined by Tim.E, we started off with the selection of dips were really nice these were accompanied by a garlic herb bread which was tasty.  We also ordered a pizza each which was quite nice and we shared a cheese cake.  <br/><br/>There were a few things which I thought could of been improved over all, I discussed this directly with the owner and she has taken the points on board,  I wish the owner the best of luck, she did mention there were some up coming renovations which I do feel is much needed. This restaurant has an upstairs and beer garden at the back so definitely some real potential. <br/><br/>I would like to thank Tim.e and Al Porto Vecchio for the invite, I wish Polly and the team there the best of luck with the renovations.

We were invited to Al Porto Vecchio yesterday a spacious restaurant housed in a heritage building along the main strip of Williamstown. This is an Italian restaurant offering wood fired pizza, pasta and much much more. Too much I would suggest, there was literally near 100 items on the menu making it quite difficult to choose and near impossible for the kitchen to be able to perfect every dish.<br/><br/>We started with a bbq chicken pizza which was a less sweet rendition than I typically expect from this classic pizza and it also had the addition of peppers which gave it a pop of colour. I very much enjoyed the pizza it was well made with a yummy base and not oily. The toppings were also plentiful. <br/><br/>It was then about 40 minutes until the next course arrived which I thought was a pretty extensive wait given we were one of only two tables in the venue although admittedly I did see an uber eats order go out during this time. We had ordered a chicken avocado pasta which was creamy and generous. This was a really tasty dish although some of the tagliatelle was a bit stuck together.<br/><br/>The kitchen also sent out a salmon dish. This was covered in a lemon creamy sauce which I didn’t mind but was very old fashioned and quite heavy. Generally less is more. We finished with a lemon tart which I found far too sweet and lacking that citrus zing I would expect from a well balanced lemon dessert. The lemon flavour itself was also very artificial. I would definitely go for the chocolate one next time

Al Porto Vecchio is an Italian restaurant in Williamstown which has an extensive menu as well as great ‘all day specials’ to choose from. Staff were welcoming as we entered and sat us at a table by the open fire. <br/>We started with the wood fire oven cheese and olive focaccia which was tasty. For mains we ordered the spinach and ricotta cannelloni and the Rib eye steak; which was cooked perfectly - medium rare as requested.<br/>The cannelloni was delicious. A perfect winter dish. Baked in the wood fire oven, it was rich in flavour, cheesy and homely. <br/>We finished the night off with sticky date pudding and vanilla ice cream. A dessert choice that never disappoints :)<br/>The serving sizes overall are quite large and good value for money. The restaurant has definitely improved since new management has taken over. We’re very much looking forward to coming back, particularly after the restaurant gets a bit of a revamp/ mini renovation in August. <br/>

Amazing service, didn’t have to wait long for food to arrive at all. I ordered a chicken parma and was very happy with it. They have a great menu and a great list of cocktails perfect place for a night out with your friends, especially with the Friday happy hour!

Staff were wonderfully friendly and fast, the food was much improved since the new management came in. Love the happy hour on friday. Will definitely be coming back.

Customer service was very poor and our meals took 2 hours to come out. When we got it there were food items missing. Seemed to be a bit rundown

Service: quick, attentive, the staff are friendly and plentiful. They are positive and set an upbeat tone. The atmosphere is inviting. <br/><br/>Food: cooked professionally. Great flavours, good portions, appropriate pricing. The ingredients are fresh and authentic.

This used to be one of my favourite restaurants but after my recent visit it was nothing short of disappointing. If you're after a stringy parma and tomato thrown on pita bread and told it's brushetta, then this is the place to visit. Management are unwelcoming to negative feedback and I won't be returning anytime soon.

Was not inspired.<br/>Service was slow. Portion sizes were good but the pizza lacked flavour, the volcano pizza was meant to have spice but it didnt. Atmosphere was lacking particularly for a Saturday night.

The worst service . The girl with the red hair was doing all the running around while the girl standing at the entrance door was standing there for whatever reason we don’t know. She stood there for 15min looking at us not eating as we had no cutlery. The poor red haired was so apologetic. We walked away leaving the food and not paying.

The worst dining experience in a very long time. This restaurant is shambolic. We waited in the doorway to be seated for 5 minutes while waiting staff walked around aimlessly. Once seated we were given menus and waited.... nothing happened. After 20 minutes I went to find a server and tracked one down who was behind the counter on her phone. The food is very ordinary. Salmon was dry and overcooked. Veal was tough and full of fat. Male toilets were filthy...no hand towels and the hand drier doesn't work. We left with the impression that no one in the place has any idea what to do. So many better places to dine at in Williamstown. Avoid at all costs. A total waste of money. Never again. This place is a contender for the worst restaurant in Melbourne.

My first and last meal at Al Porto Vecchino. I ordered the lamb shank and got a poached lamb shank with thickly cut vegetables and a salad that was very average. I could have made a better version of it at home. A dish that seemed to be cooked by an amateur chef. When we mentioned it to the waitress, she said they get a lot of complaints about the lamb shank. My husbands dish wasn’t much better. Also the glasses were opaque and dirty when brought to the table. Seems like a bunch of untrained teens running the place. Not impressed at all.

Disappointing was an understatement. Ordered the porterhouse steak, and salt & pepper calamari which hadn't arrived 45 mins after ordering. Diners who arrived after us even got their meals before us. Ended up leaving without eating and simply paid for our drinks.<br/>Don't bother with this place. What a joke.

Best spaghetti Bol I've ever had.... I get cravings for it all the time (wish I knew the recipe as we live a fair drive away now) <br/>only let down for the place is its pretty dirty, it's also an old run down building so would have to make look clean even if it is!

I will never return. Disgusting customer service and bad quality food. I had the chicken parma and it was like it was from coles freezer, along with chips that tasted like cardboard

This is a 100% hit and miss restaurant. Sometimes amazing most times average. Hadn't been in a while so we thought we'd give it a go and another lacklustre night it was! <br/>Apparently scallop potatoes means a single baked potato. When I informed the cashier when we were leaving she said "well they are Indians so they make them in their style". Well no. Italian restaurant, Italian cooking. <br/>I doubt we'll be coming back anytime soon.

The food was good, although the amount of cheese was slightly overpowering for a Margherita pizza - i couldnt taste any tomato or basil, just cheese. The staff were transparent, one lady was lovely while the other made it seem like we weren't welcome and even gave us filthy looks as we left. I probably wouldn't return unless i was drunk.

Wait staff are friendly but in need of further training. My steak was really tough but sauce was great. Will give it another try in the future but not in a hurry to go back.

Average! We used to eat here all the time and loved it! Quality at a reasonably good price....intil now. The wait was long, the staff unattentive, hard to get there attention and took ages to bring drinks and clear tables...food was very average! My veal very chewy, the spaghetti Bolognese warm and the pizza soggy! I've grown up in Williamstown and was very disappointed. Won't be returning

Went over by ferry to Williamstown and decided to have lunch found this place great value had fish and chips with salad and it was delicious. Serve all types of beverages very reasonable prices. Service was quick and attentive which I appreciated because we had to catch the ferry back. Williamstown is a beautiful place to visit. 👍

Venue looked nice so my partner and I decided to walk in for a nice Friday night dinner! <br/><br/>Service: <br/>- We wanted to sit outside and had to call them out to take our orders <br/>- Waitresses were so rude, looked like they were so unhappy serving us and rudely placing glasses, cutlery down our table- had to ask for water twice and also took 2 hours to get us some water<br/><br/>Food:<br/>- We had the alfredo pasta- sauce tastes like mac and cheese sauce, prosciutto was just tossed in a big lump and the sauce very salty <br/>- Caprichosa pizza was ok- very generous in toppings <br/>- Bowl of chips- had way too much salt and seasoning <br/>- Bruschetta was ok- more like a small cheese pizza plus fresh tomato in the middle and some very old looking/soggy basil<br/><br/>Never coming back to this place ever again! I suggest revamp your menu, train/replace staff cause every customer touchpoint is very important in retention and good customer experience!

I honestly don't know why this place has such a low rating I loved my first time here! My friend highly recommended this cute little place and for the prices on the menu, I didn't know what to expect.<br/>You can get steak with mushroom sauce and roasted veggies here for $17. $17?!?! That's insane.<br/>I ordered fish and chips and my friend ordered a pasta dish in which she asked for only mushroom and cream (off menu) as she is vegetarian.<br/>The food came out quickly and I was so amazed! My fish and chips was so delicious. Better than Hunky Dory. That's a big claim. The batter was so crunchy and the fish was perfectly cooked and fresh tasting (no slimy fishiness or dryness). I loved the flavoured salt that was sprinkled on top. Not quite sure what it was but it was so nice. My friend's pasta is by far the most delicious pasta dish I've ever had. The sauce was creamy and well seasoned; none of that bland tasteless cream based pasta nonsense. I'm actually so obsessed with her dish I ate almost 1/3 of it. <br/>I would love to come back here to try more things on the menu. I highly recommend!!

Excellent food. I had the gnocchi which were plump and delicious 9/10 for this dish. My husband had the spaghetti marinara and he gave it 8.7/10. The sauce wAs a rich red good Italian authentic full of flavour sauce and the seafood was fresh and plentiful. <br/><br/>We will definitely be back.

This place has been here forever!!<br/>You can get a small pizza and generous serve of pasta for under $15. Really good value for money but don't expect sophistication.<br/>Service is always friendly and fast.<br/>Vego pizza is ok, a bit dry with not much topping.<br/>Pasta basilico is an oil based pesto pasta with lots of garlic and a tablespoon too much oil.<br/><br/>Great location for weekends to soak up some sun and watch the crowds go by...

It's a Decent spacious place for dine out. .Lamb shank and steaks. .they are good in these two. Of course not to forget their wood fire pizza. .not overloaded with flavours and cheese, just the required quantity does it all . definitely worth a try.

So this restaurant is my wife's favorite, she loves the chicken Parma, and it's only $12, I like it for the wood fired pizzas, older place inside, might need to inject some money into facilities a bit but service and food is usually pretty good! Menu is massive with lots of choices and specials, as they say "happy wife, happy life"

Friends and I come here when we want a good feed on a budget. The $12 specials are great and the pasta portions are always massive for the price. Staff are good and bad (one time we were served by a super young boy which was cute but awkward?) and the food is overall decent.

I had the veal Marsala. It was terrible, the meat was so tough I could have used a steak knife to get through it. It was on a small amount of veges that were swimming in tasteless cream. My partners steak was "doable" but by far nothing to rave about they brought out the wrong oysters, pizza was bland. The only possible bonus was my daughters piece of fish (she ordered fish n chips from the kids menu) and the lovely staff member clearing the tables.

This place is great for a quick cheap eat.  Servings are generous and quality is fine!  It's nothing to write home about, but a decent pasta, glass of red, good company - makes for a pleasant evening.

A good quality restaurant located in Nelsons place which has been serving good quality food for years. I am a fan of the beer garden out the back and you can't go wrong with the $12 specials, especially the Parma and pastas.

Had a good ole Parma from this place, but unfortunately it was very ordinary. The ham virtually fell off the schnitzel, and the sauce lacked flavour. Chips were dry, and the service wasn't great (albeit, the poor guy was clearly new, which is fine). Given the price and location, you'd expect a lot more.

Good value for money<br/><br/>Wouldn't say. Steaks are five star quality. But the price you pay you can afford to eat here every day.<br/><br/>Great lunch time specials.<br/><br/>Must admit a favourite spot in Williamstown <br/><br/>Parking ok <br/><br/>Can find free parking on side streets <br/><br/>Customer service is good

Fantastic Restaurant with amazing home cooked flavour to all meals served! Also great value for money with the specials menu making a night out quite affordable.<br/><br/>Would definitely recommend trying their varieties of Pasta which I have had there on numerous occasions and never been dissapointed!

OMG - The ambiance and food just blew me away. We were a party of 8 very choosy ladies and all our culinary needs were catered for. The entree pizza was Devine soo fresh and flavoursome. For mains there ere dishes ranging from saffron risotto, fresh crunchy salads, salmon, baby barramundi, filleted barramundi, chicken fillet,and I had the most enjoyable  Carbonera. I will definitely be back. Keep up the good work Bridgete xx

Caught the ferry over with some friends and ate here.<br/>The Chicken Parma special seemed like a smart choice. Can't knock a $12 Parma.<br/>Nothing special, but I guess Parma's ain't my thing.<br/>The plastic outside seating of the foreshore was numbingly pretty.

THE BESTTT!!! service was amazing, young workers but very friendly and expereinced. really cheers up the mood in williamstown. Amazing food and well cooked.

Just ate here and to be honest wasn't expecting much for the price of the meals. For 4 of us it cost $60 without alcohol for our mains which is very cheap. Food was not great and pasta was quite tasteless. Service was excellent tho with a nice view.

Food is pretty average and so too are their wine. Their specials are very cheap, but I should have known that this suggests that the food possibly isn't great. <br/>I had the scotch fillet with pepper corn sauce. Sauce was gross and I scraped it all off, veggies were over cooked and although meat was cook really well, I don't actually think it was a scotch fillet. <br/>The pizzas are huge, but because the flavours are pretty average, by the time you get to the end, you're kinda over the flavour. <br/>The wine was just gross and I couldn't drink it. Most expensive on the menu and disgusting. <br/>Service is very quick, but all staff are very young and pretty inexperienced.<br/>

Feelings of disappointment grew as our lunch at this restaurant went on, last weekend. As many are, I assume as it certainly isn't their reputation preceeding them, we were lured in by the huge specials boards out the front, advertising main meals for $12. We should've known that you get what you pay for.<br/>On a hot spring day, a mojito, advertised on the menu with lime and mint among other things, sounded very refreshing. I was actually shocked at what turned up at our table and told the young waitress that that wasn't what I ordered. She checked with the bar staff and, unfortunately it was "their" mojito. I wish I had taken a photo, it was laughable. This drink was in the same glass as all the other soft drinks, etc, did not have a single piece of ice in it, must have been made up of rum, soda water and LEMON JUICE, with two pitiful slices of lemon in it. Honestly, I was embarrassed for them that this was what they were serving. And it was $12 for the "cocktail" alone! I couldn't even look at it, let alone drink it.<br/>The meals were what you would expect for $12, I suppose. I make a better garden salad at home for crying out loud.<br/>Can't really say much about the service, neither great or terrible, really.<br/>All the reviews here seem similar, I can't understand how the owners haven't taken this feedback on board and made some changes, or even commented on any of the reviews.<br/>Disappointing, will never be going back.

All the waiters are kids with little experience, outdated menu choices, most main cost $24 for basic bistro food. My Parmagiana came with chips that were overloaded with chicken-salt. Very average food with a below average service.

We made the mistake of not researching restaurants in the Williamstown area, thinking our favourite fish and chippery would be open, but it wasn't !<br/>So we ended up at Al Porto Vecchio. Never again.<br/>I ordered the barramundi fillet, which although fresh, came with horrible shoestring fries, which had been doused with chicken salt. And the accompanying salad looked as it it had been recycled several times, with old-looking lettuce. It had no dressing, so it could be reused if not eaten. My partner's chicken pizza had dry, stringy chicken. Lift your game, guys.

Restaurants such as this really make Williamstown less appealing to dine out with friends and family. Slow to order, staff seem inexperienced and the food is pretty average. If you are feeling like Italian food, try your luck elsewhere in my opinion.

My experience was pretty good here. The pasta i had was absolutely perfect and the pizza was not too bad. The staff service was great even on a warm, busy Saturday

Food was ok, but they were run off their feet with usual excuse of being understaffed so we were kept waiting for our order for nearly an hour. No offer of water as they did not check back to see if all was ok. Not sure if I will go back.

BEST dinnery in WILLIAMSTOWN / HOBSONS BAY dined there many times ,occasionally slow due to trainee 's,foods yummy,clean & tidy decor,very reasonably PRICED :) :) :)

It's simple, you pay for what you get.<br/>Not saying it's terrible, just that don't be someone to complain, the $12 Parma is what you expect for $12.<br/>Outdated furniture in the back room, but yet again it's what you expect for your money.

Lovely staff but not sure on pizzas. The staff were really lovely, but the pizzas were really weird. Couldn't put my finger on how they had been cooked. When pizza comes out of an oven they are hot all over, these were warm around the edges and the cheese and toppings were cold in the middle. I thought they may had been microwaved, but the bases wern't soggy. These pizzas wern't too flash. Def wouldn't order pizza from there again. Gave the kids a free sundae which was very kind.

Very slow service to take order then porterhouse came out med to well done and asked for rare to med. <br/>vegetables were under cooked. I like crunchy but that is ridiculous.<br/>Never again. Pity as obviously changed hands and quality has suffered

Best parma in melbourne.. We got the best parma in the city. Good value of money.

I’m going to avoid this place from now on but hopefully standards change as its at a beautiful location and a shame that it serves such appalling food.

They just lost another 6 customers!. One year ago this place was my favourite restaurant.. I even had my friends and family falling in love with it. The last five times I e been there, my experience just got worse and worse. Cold food, brown lettuce (old), cold chips, crap bruschetta.. I embarrassed myself so many times by forcing my friends to 'try this amazing place'. Used to go twice a month & spend over $150 per visit with a couple of friends.. NEVER AGAIN!!!

Great service, food and staff! Cannot believe the quality of the food for the price!

Ok service, mediocre food. I had lunch here with friends that are regulars at this restaurant. They like it because the prices are reasonable, and they are, but you get what you pay for and the food here is very mediocre.<br/>The focaccia we had as a starter was ok. I ordered a gnocchi puttanesca. The small amount of gnocchi was swimming in napoli sauce which had way too many capers. The taste was ok, but I left half of the sauce in my plate. The same applied to my 5 friends, none of whom finished their meals. Most had pasta or risotto and each of the meals were very large, but swimming in sauce. I have not tried the pizzas, maybe they are ok.<br/>My friends also like that this place is BYO, but we were shocked to see a $10 corkage per bottle on the bill. Each couple had taken a bottle of wine, so we were slugged $30 for the privilege of taking our own wine. When we asked if this could be discounted as we had only had one glass from the third bottle, they declined to change the charge.<br/>I'm not sure why this place is popular. There are many better options in Williamstown.

Appalling service. Tonight we were show to a table and perused the menu. We waited and chatted for 15 minutes and devided to order ourselves as we thought maybe that could be the reason we had not been attemded to. The waitress told us that they would come to the table and take our orders. Meanwhile baby was becoming cranky so i, and my friend, walked across the road to have a play with baby in the grass while my husband ordered our meals. Half hour later we went bavk thinking our meals would arrive very soon to find he STILL hadnt been attended to! Upon complaining, we were told that nobody had taken our order because we didnt habe menus on the table (the young waitress who said she would come to our table had taken them previously). Stupidly we didnt leave then but placed our orders. 1 parma chips amd salad, 1 lamb shanks with vegetables, 1 steak with chips and salad and an extra bowl of steamed vegetables for the baby. That was the order exactly. Pretty impossible to stuff that up. Our meals arrived soon after. The steak was on a plate swimming in some sort of creamy sauce like soup and they gave us a plate of vegetables covered in paprika and said here is your vegetables that you ordered instead of chips and salad with the steak. What?? My husband took his meal up and saod that its not what he ordered. He said that he prdered steak with chips and salad and and EXTRA bowl of steamed veg for baby. They took it back and soon after bought a new steak out ON ITS OWN. sigh. Again another waitress was informed that there is meant to be a side of chips and salad. She said "oh i will tell the kitchen and bring them out". Ten minutes later she arrives with another bowl of vegetables. Seriously? How stupid can these people be? We decided to eat and leave. The food was mediocre and smithered in paprika. Upon paying my partner complaimed again that thw bought out more veges and they said " oh it says on yoir order that you wanted an extra bowl of vegetables". These kids are so thick. Stay away. The service is beyond rediculous and the food is pretty average at best.

Tum. Really nice

I went in to Al Porto Vecchio today for lunch with my partner. We ordered the dips and bruschetta for entree, the dips were nice, however, the bruschetta was just a handful of diced tomatoes splattered on a weird pita bread, not like any bruschetta I've ever had, no flavour & no spice or even onion for that matter. For mains, I had the warm chicken salad, was DRENCHED in sweet chilli sauce, it was almost like soup, all the lettuce was soggy, it was absolutely gross. Plus the chicken was chewy and dry. My partner had the steak sandwich, steak was not bad, pretty fatty, but the bread was disgusting, for restaurant quality, I'm 100% sure it was just the $1 loaf that you buy from Coles! Soggy and falling apart, my partner just ended up taking the bread off and eating the steak & ingredients. I'm usually not picky at all but this was horrible.. Will never go back

Wish i checked urbanspoon before visiting here!!. We thought maybe because Williamstown was so packed on Sunday due to the dog festival and wine & cheese fest that the service here was bad but upon reading the reviews that mustn't have been an excuse. I had a steak sandwich that was made with your $1 at Coles plain white bread. I thought what restaurant that has any pride or will to please their customers would serve that bread?? my friend had the bruschetta, no where near enough tomato, half way through her meal there was none left just plain pizza base. and all in all service was just unattentive, having to get own cutlery/s&p/ask staff where drink orders were. also the toilet was rank! Avoid!!!

No frills, modern Australian/Italian.. I've been coming here for a while now. The food is delicious and well prepared, but is it too much to ask for the basic table service? I mean, the staff are friendly enough but there's an obvious lack of training in table waiting. Long waits - even if it's not busy, dirty plates left on tables (from previous peoples meals), even the simple act of laying the cutlery out was botched (we all had to pass it down to each other after it was all unceremoniously plonked down in a heap at the end of the table a whole five minutes after our meals had already been served). <br/><br/>Food: For the price, the food has always been consistently good and (as you'll read in most of the reviews), is the reason people keep coming back. Be prepared for large servings. (7) <br/><br/>Ambience: Williamstown has a nice feel about it anyway. It's like St Kilda without the tread police. The inside of the restaurant is warm and cosy feeling, but the back area could use a serious make over. (6) <br/><br/>Service: As I stated above, this is where it loses big points. The problem is not with the staff being rude (in fact when you do get served, they are very pleasant), it's just that they're all young (between 16 - 20) and all seem like they're not getting sufficient training or supervision. The management really need to address this as judging by the other reviews on here, it's an issue a lot of customers have picked up on and it's bad word of mouth no restaurant needs. (3) <br/><br/>Value: Yes, this place is very reasonably priced. Good for a family on a budget. (8) <br/><br/>Overall, this could be a real hidden gem for the west. They have real potential to make this place a great place to eat out. Again, they need tighten up their practices and maybe spruce up the back garden. (6/10)

Unpretentious!. Went there tonight to celebrate a family birthday and found it a very pleasant and unpretentious place. The food was simple and very cheap. We found thee service was great. <br/>I will not hesitate to go here again especially on those nights I can't be bothered cooking.

Its time for pancakes!!!!. The mushroom risotto tasted like pancakes! Eeeww. Interesting I suppose!<br/>??? At least we got main and desert in one!

Unfortunelty I am really surprised that this place is still opened after all these years. The food is way below par and the service is a sham. Hope you like paprika the chef thinks it's so amazing he floods the stuff all around your meal plate, regardless of the cuisine. Never again

Worst I've ever been to. If you do go, don't ever go upstairs. Took 45 mins to have our order taken. Plates were filthy. Drinks didn't come till we went downstairs and yelled at the staff. 5/6 meals came after asking 3 times where they were. The 6th meal never came. The food that did come out was tasty, and well cooked. Staff were unsympathetic and rude, inexperienced and unprofessional. Give this place a wide berth

Worst restaurant experience. Had a terrible experience at this place. Service poor, food poor. Was waiting and waiting for our order to be taken and had to go downstairs to get the waiter to come! Not a good start...and it goes down hill from there. The garlic focaccia had NO garlic, NO anything for that matter. I wouldn't have bothered had I known. Porterhouse had revolting mushroom sauce (how hard is it?). Gave one of our mains to another table which left one of our party eating well after we had all finished our meals and our plates cleared. Cheap meals, perhaps, but you get what you don't pay for I guess. Needless to say we will not return, EVER.

Avoid this Place. I cant believe that this joint still exists on a strip with so much choice! Dirty plates, cold food, moldy lettuce and rude staff that had no idea what they were doing. That was all during one Sunday afternoon lunch. Avoid this place at all costs.

Terrible food - raw steak and cold parma's - very disappointed staff weren't too worried that we were unhappy either!!

Worst meal ever!. My wife and I had the $12 any time special, kinda reminded us of camp food only worse.<br/>Avoid this place like the plague. It's very hard to stuff up Parma chips and salad but some how this joint managed the trifecta.

Food was not nice, I would never go back.

Nothing changed in 7 years - not the menu, or the crappy food!. I used to work at this place when I was 14, I didn't enjoy the food then and, considering they haven't changed the menu in the last 7 years, still didn't enjoy one item that was ordered.<br/>I decided to give this restaurant a chance, considering it had been so long, most other places to eat on a Saturday were booked, and me and my friends were starving.<br/>We sat down, ordered a fair bit of food and drinks, and then waited..... we finally received our drinks 20 minutes after ordering them, and when we got them asked if we could have some water as well.<br/>Then the entrees came, not all together but one at a time, and the waiter obviously got confused as we received wedges (absolutely covered in sour cream and cheese), instead of dips and bread, which don't even sound the same to get confused....but whatever.<br/>The waiter seemed offended and annoyed when we said we hadn't ordered them, and insisted that's what we had told him. Not to create any trouble, we accepted them and said we would eat them. We received each entree about 10 minutes apart, and then started the wait for our mains. By the time we finished our entrees we still had to wait 20 more minutes for mains, except for one of our friends, who received her meal at least 15 minutes before the rest of us. Timing in the kitchen is a little off to say the least.<br/>I had unfortunately ordered the chicken and mushroom risotto, and asked if I could have some pine nuts in it (I remembered from working that a lot of people would order these two together). Risotto wasn't cooked properly but I managed to force about half of it down, which was difficult considering none of us received our water, despite asking for it more than 3 times. <br/>We all finished eating (not one person at the table finished their entire meal though) and asked for the bill. We ran through the list of items to check that they hadn't charged us for the meals we hadn't received and when we questioned what the 'Misc food' for $3 was, the waiter informed me that 'they told me to put it on for the pine nuts'.<br/>Not even 5g of pine nuts in my risotto and I was charged $3 for them?? When I told him that if I knew pine nuts cost so much I would've brought my own, he replied with 'I know, I hate this place'.<br/>I then laughed and told him I did now too!! It's a wonder this place is still running. Even the staff hate it there.<br/>Theres so many pubs in Williamstown that make the same food, at a higher quality and a better price, and the staff also have some class, don't put your money in the owners pocket!

Went here once with family and friends and will never go again we all ordered the Parma some with veggies and the others got chips waited for about 50 mins for our food despite only 3 other people in the resturant when our food arrived it was watery and cold tasted like it was cooked in a microwave the worst ever Parma I have ever had

Terrible meal! Do not get the salt and pepper squid eww. It was like it had been sitting there for days.

Been going to this place for over 3 years now and I must say, the food is value for money. My favourite meal is the Portohouse steak with chips and salad, topped with mushroom sauce. Delicious! Best chips I have ever tasted. The place is average looking but the food is yummy. A+ customer service. Waiters constantly checking up on you to see if your satisfied with food. I like this place, and I always recommend other people to visit. So far, all good feedback from people who I've recommended. I'm happy with this place and will continue going.

No Service. The food's probably ok, but I guess we'll never know. <br/><br/>We were seated for 20 minutes, without being even offered a menu.<br/><br/>Yes, we did politely ask.. But no waiter appeared.<br/><br/>OK, I get it, you were understaffed..<br/>Though you'd agree that 20 minutes should have been plenty of time to offer some degree of service..<br/><br/>We finally left... and ate elsewhere

SO CLOSE TO CANCELLING. Came so close to cancelling having read the reviews but were so glad we gave this old haunt of ours the benefit of the doubt - service was good, pasta was excellent, prices very reasonable! Great night all round!

Thought I'd try a steak at this establishment. Was shocked when the plate came outwith a steak knife that had seen better days as the handle was scored and cracked from too many travels through the dishwasher and originally purchased from the Reject Shop I believe. The porterhouse was tough and fatty and the accompanying vegetables were not even cooked through properley. The sauce was the most watery pepper steak sauce I've ever come across. I think the owner needs to step in here and look at his establishment. Broken cash register and staff that seem a little listless

Mixed feelings. Drawn in by cheap specials. Service is generally inattentive and you get a weird unhappy / don't care vibe (for example stand at door waiting to be seated staring at staff while they sit there doing literally nothing but ignoring you). Reading reviews we were lucky, iced coffee and coffee came out in reasonable time and were nice. Bolognese gnocchi and prosciutto pizza came out fairly quickly and for $12 were ok without being fantastic. Staff have a weird vibe and I saw a couple walk out right after being eventually seated in a 1/4 full place. Definitely needs some work on the staff and given you have literally 2 dozen or more other options, won't be back there anytime soon.

Worst meal in years - gristly meat, mash made the day before, sauce from a raguletto jar and vegetables cold - could not believe it - wont be going back - should have twigged when it took over 10 mins to acknowledge our existence

Memorable Night. Had my husband’s milestone birthday party upstairs at Al Porto Vecchio. It was a great place for an intimate gathering and very private with great views of the gardens, water and city. Regis was fantastic in helping plan the food, giving advice and ideas so that we could stay within our budget. The party was a huge success. The food was delivered in a timely manner and was delicious. The guests commented on how great the service was and how the party ran smoothly. Everything was co-ordinated to plan and Regis made sure that we were happy with how things were going throughout the night. There was no rush to leave and after all the formalities were done we were left to enjoy the party with our guests. Nothing was too much and I would highly recommend using this venue for a private gathering. At the end of the night Regis toasted us with parting drink which was a truly special and kind gesture. Thanks to everyone at Al Porto Vecchio we will definitely be back for a meal and another special occasion.

Disgusting. Do not come here.

Poor service but everyone was satisfied with their food. My friends loved their $12 parmas and my pasta was delicious. Waiters need to be more friendly and prompt

Worst Service Ever!. We were there for dinner on Melb Cup holiday towards 8pm. Waited to be shown a table, took a while before someone took our orders and it goes downhill from there. Drinks turn up 45 mins later and after an hour wait we did not receive our meals but others around our table who came after us got theirs, felt we were discriminated against.

Breakfast was pretty yum, good value for money but service was almost mon existent. Had to ask to order drinks, then to order our food and then ask for cutlery & water. But the flip sides suppose was four adults had breakfast & coffee for $60, pretty cheap for Nelson place!

Worst service ever. No one cares to even serve. Once we asked 3 times for someone to take our order the food was terrible. No one bought back our water we asked for and we had to follow the waitress who was taking our drinks to another table (they took over 20 minutes to get) and the place was not even busy and they had plenty of staff hanging around the counter. <br/>Would never, ever return here.

Food is nice, and servings can be generous, but the service is absolutely appalling, have been here a number of times, and meals and drinks are always served 20+ minutes late, staff is all inexperienced underaged backpackers, they have no idea what they are doing and spend half their time either outside smoking ciggerettes or taking to each other

Crap service, unless you know the waiters (so it seems). We were told to find our own seats upstairs and they would be along soon. Hmm, 15 minutes later and watching him bring another couple up and chat to them we still didn't have service. Finally we were able to order - ordered starter and main at same time thinking we would get them separately - well we did - within 2 minutes of each other and not until we asked for cutlery did we get any and no plates were supplied with the entree. <br/><br/>The salad with the meal consisted of a chunk of lettuce, 2 slices of cucumber and one eighth of a tomato - appalling, but the plate was covered in freezer french fries. The saving grace was that the calamari was delicious. Service is crap, and the waiters don't appear to know what they're doing.

This place has changed from 10+ years ago it had fantastic food then but now it has changed to less than roadside food fro another country I was disappointed to see such a change in calibre of food especially when my nephew ordered a Hawaiian pizza which they brought out with no pineapple and burnt , apologised with sorry we ran out of pineapple food was below mediocre and when I asked to speak to owner they are not available