Café Di Stasio
Latest Reviews
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DO: Any of the pastas. DON'T: Leave without also trying their main dishes. The chicken Parma was great with a side of chips. TIP: For entree, must ord…
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Great attentive service but for the prices I would expect a bit more on the plate. I started with a sauteed spinach with fresh parm. Tasty, but $19 fo…
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@Cafe Di Stasio This restaurant never disappoints, coming here for over 15 years and its still just as amazing! From the service which is fantastic to…
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Café Di Stasio is open for Fine Dining. Café Di Stasio serves Italian dishes. Incorrect or missing information? Make a report, or claim the restaurant if you own it!Details
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9 Reviews on “Café Di Stasio”
@Cafe Di Stasio
This restaurant never disappoints, coming here for over 15 years and its still just as amazing! From the service which is fantastic to the food and on a beautiful summers day it was a great Du day afternoon lunch!
Lovely ambience and attentive service so a perfect place for that special occasion.. so long as youre prepared to pay a pretty penny. Looking at $25-35 for an entree and mains in the +$40 mark the latter of which is quite normal for a fine restaurant i suppose.
What isnt are the drink prices. Upon arrival, the party were asked if we would like a glass of champagne which is always lovely. Another opted for a gin & tonic and Hendricks was suggested and aptly accepted. Upon arrival of the bill though – $27 a glass champers and $30 for the G&T. Id be expecting to be forewarned that is what I was signing up for rather than finding out after the fact.
On the plus side, the entree and mains were delicious. Another let down was 2/3 desserts – both the tiramisu and mieulle foglie were overpowered with alcohol. It just took over the entire dessert. Zabaglione was nice though.
I suppose still visit as it is a Melbourne institution, but Im not sure it did enough for me for a second time visit.
Di Stasio Seriously Underwhelming
I have viewed the advertisements in the The Weekend Australian magazine. The photo looks great, and of course Ronnie Di Stasio is mentioned in revered company on the radio from time to time. I was looking for an excuse to eat at his restaurant.
I have no problem paying good money for a good meal but I get annoyed if I get the feeling I am being screwed or indeed if my wife can cook a better meal.
We arrived on Monday for lunch. At 12:30 there were 4 -5 tables. The ambiance is great, along the lines of your classic Italian restaurants. The service is first class. The waiters are attentive and knowledgeable, but without crowding you. We were offered a glass of sparking wine as we were being seated and in my view this is always a mark of a good restaurant. We were offered Bollinger or a Prosecco. Ive been caught before so I selected the Prosecco ($17pg). The drinks were served quickly and with our choice of water. Whilst waiting for the menu we were discussing how many of our friends might like it here.
The waiter offered the 2 course lunch special or a la carte. We decided on the a la carte, so the waiter explained the specials. All sounded good but as it happened we both chose entrees from the menu; Quail for my wife ($26) and Smoked Salmon ($27) for myself (on reflection mine was a bit boring). Both were good with a promise of things to come. We accompanied this with a glass of Di Stasio chardonnay from the Yarra Valley. A good chardonnay but $16pg for 150mm?
Just a good time between courses, to let the entre go down and let the anticipation build.
For mains we both chose from the specials. My wife chose Veal rib eye with gorgonzola and pancetta ($47). Its a pity they missed the gorgonzola and the pancetta. In essence it was a crumbed veal cutlet. I selected the Lamb loin, medium-rare ($47). Mine was dry. Of course you have to select sides these days so we selected the baked potatoes ($9.50), small cube type cuts well overdone as though they had been sitting in the oven for an hour or two too long. The pea salad ($11.50) with mint and cheese (apologies I think it was to be pecorino or parmigiano) was missing the mint and the cheese seemed as though it was pre-grated from a packet. We accompanied this with a glass of Di Stasio pinot noir from the Yarra Valley. Again a good wine as some pinots can be like cats!!!, but at $16pg for 150mm?
Some will say we should have sent back the mains. I rarely do as I dont want to subject myself to the urban myths, besides if the chef stuffs it up do you really want to give him/her another chance to stuff it up further?
By the way the next table chose the 2 course special. In my view other restaurants would have considered it tapas.
We finished with coffee ($4.50pc). Total bill $275.00 for 2. Ive paid that before at other restaurants but in this case there just wasnt the value. As I say seriously underwhelming. We wont return nor recommend our friends as there are plenty of other restaurants waiting for our business.
Cheers
Bill Gray
Rich and satisfying genuine Italian fare – the crayfish omelette and suckling pig are awesome as is the Tira Misu. Wine parings (mostly di Stasio’s vineyard) are enjoyable. Tira Misu is fantastic. I’ve been here a few times and they mix the best Negroni in town.
We have just tried to make a reservation for December 7, for twenty people and we get it, operationally it could be quite challenging especially during a Friday dinner service. But to be answered right away with ‘It’s too hard to accommodate that much’ followed by ‘have you been to a restaurant before’ is an unacceptable response as far as customer service is concerned. IT LEAVES A BAD TASTE IN THE MOUTH. Your staff could have politely declined and that would have been okay, but seriously? That kind of response would help you LOSE customers instead of gain some. You just lost us.
Very impressive Italian restaurant
Finally a good place to eat real traditional Italian food in st. Kilda lovely staff.
I really recommend to everyone
I tried 4 kinds of pasta and it was one better the other one. Even the consistency of past hand made was perfect. I will back soon
Thanks Simone
A must for everyone who enjoys fine dining italian…pricey but worth it once in a while or special occassion. Gnocchi lovely pillows…..eye fillet sliced was melt in ur mouth…choc mousse and tiramisu…yum….will def be back and highly recommend.They have a bar menu as well which i am going to investigate..would be lovely there as well with a main and glass of wine.