The Waiters RestaurantPh: (03) 9650 1508 ; 1st Floor, 20 Meyers Pl, Melbourne 3000Italian, $ Open mon-fri noon-2.30pm mon-sat 6pm-late; Licensed, BYO; AE DC MC EFT |
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Photo: Tony Knox
Mietta's Review
Legendary dining room, originally for waiters, hidden at the top of stairs in a laneway off Bourke Street. Traditional Italian dishes served on laminex tables. It's the sort of place where the worse the wine the better it seems. Recently there have been renovations but nothing appears to have changed. Regulars insist on every detail being preserved. The simple Italian fare is much loved by drinkers from the bar below, 20 Meyers Place.
Other published opinions
The Age Cheap Eats 2009 "Signage? Who needs it? Certainly not this institution that's been hidden up a stairwell for years without it"
The Age Cheap Eats 2008 "The only veneer at this old haunt is on the tables. There's no makeover in the works - the linoleum's staying - and that's just how generations of pre-theatre diners and clubbers like it"
The Age Cheap Eats 2007 "For decades the club and theatre set have stumbled upstairs to have their late-night carb cravings satisfied by this linoleum-clad Italian veteran. It's probably one of the least pretentious places in central Melbourne."
The Age Cheap Eats 2006 Happily, some things don't change. Above a laneway, this institution retains the cheerful bustle of an old-fashioned canteen, with plenty of chatter over tumblers of house red and mounds of fine food.
The Age Good Food Guide 2006 Hidden Treasures "Up a flight of rickety stars, signposted by a ample chalkboard menu below, this secret spot has been serving upsimple Italian fare to those in the know for more than half a century."
The Age, A2, 6/12/03, John Weldon,'a long-standing favourite...quaint, old fashioned'
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The Waiters Restaurant (03) 9650 1508, 1st Floor, 20 Meyers Pl, Melbourne - Legendary dining room hidden at the top of stairs in a laneway. Traditional Italian dishes served on laminex tables.