The Italian

Ph: 9654 9499; 2 Malthouse La, MELBOURNE 3000 www.theitalian.com.au

Italian, $$ +
Open Mon-Fri 7am-10.30pm Sat 6-10.30pm; Licensed; AE DC MC V
Chef Andy Logue (5-12-08) Owner The Italian Restaurant & Bar Pty Ltd (5-12-08)

Mietta's Review
On 10-04-2008 The Italian moved half a block to swanky new, multi-layered premises, at the rear of 101 Collins St.. On Flinders La there's a coffee bar which does a roaring trade serving numerous nearby office workers. Ascend the escalators to the Collins St level, head north and enter a high ceiling designer space. Windows line two walls another is dedicated to floor-to-ceiling wine shelves, equipped with ladders and mountaineering waiters who stock and retrieve bottles. Stairs lead to an upper level, above the bar, where staff and customers gingerly go up and down. The long room, made narrow by the bar and invisible service areas, climbs a step or two above Flinders La. The food is fair, not inspired and certainly not great, but good value for the very reasonable prices (mains rarely top $30) and the flash situation. In long established restaurants it seems as though the waiters run on rails. That's not the case here. Unsurprising considering the short time the place has been open. What was surprising, however, was that the owner, Roberto Scheriani wasn't there. The result verged on chaotic. The staff were unsure both of the restaurants geography and their attitude - were they expected to be casual or friendly or formal? Mostly, however, they were missing. These criticisms are of a work in progress and in spite of them The Italian is well worth a visit. Given time and a firm hand on the front of house it could become an excellent establishment.

Other published opinions

Age Good Food Guide 2009 Score: 15/20 "The Italian's many, many regulars will feel very much at home in the corporate lounge-like surrounds of its upsized new premises. In early 2008 the restaurant moved 100 metres from Malthouse Lane into a vast former gallery space nearby"

Gourmet Traveller 2009 Australian Restaurant Guide "Restaurateur Roberto Scheriani has been round the block a few times. At the latest incarnation of The Italian (it moved in 2008 to grand, soaring premises in the corporate tower 101 Collins) his experience is manifest"

Herald Sun Extra Food, Stephen Downes, 5-08-08 Score: **** "The Italian slots instantly into the top category of all-round great Melbourne eats"

Herald Sun Stephen Downes, 15-07-08 Score: 17/20 "THE air will have cleared by the time you dine there, which I urge you to do. But I ended up signing off my bill at The Italian in one of the lofty atriums of 101 Coffins St. Smoke had filled the ground-floor restaurant - in fact, the whole vast building - and through the glass frontage on to Flinders Lane we could see it was thicker outside. Fire trucks were pulling up, lights flashing, pumps thumping"

The Age John Lethlean, 24-6-2008 Score: 15/20 "I found the service at a busy lunch a bit hit and miss, but at dinner, with far fewer customers, difficult to fault. Attentive, respectful, engaging. The sort of place you go home - or back to the office - from happy. A very well-rounded package. As was the case with the old Italian, the food won't have you wowed; there is far more creative Italian-inspired food to be found in Melbourne - but it is professional, satisfying and consistent. It is completely in sync with its context."

The following reviews relate to previous premises in Malthouse Lane

Age Good Food Guide 2008 Score: 14.5/20 "You could be strutting down a catwalk in Milan when you enter this tall, lanky space, a converted car park with a strong sense of the theatrical"

Age Epicure Restaurants, John Lethlean, 8-8-06 Score: 14/20 "Scheriani had Ristorante Roberto and, later, the R-Bar, in Port Melbourne. His new place, in a side street below the Mercer Building, in Flinders Lane, offers a kind of modern warehouse feel, with soaring, semi-industrial exposed ceilings and big windows to the lane which enhances that recycled laneways/loft feel. Some of these windows have jigsawed screens in a kind of Moorish pattern. There are timber floors and a long, pinky-brown marble bar/servery. It's the kind of place that needs customers in order to feel inhabited. It didn't have them then but it does now."

Herald Sun Dining Out, Stephen Downes, 23/5/06 Score: 16/20 "The Italian's tables are fairly close, but in all other respects here's another terrific Italian brasserie. You're not going to find dishes shoving back the boundaries here, but they will be freshly made and cooked with care from excellent produce. I also liked The Italian's wide range of wines and prices, its good coverage of Italian drops, and that 17 table wines were offered by the glass."