grossi - cellar bar

narrow and dimly lit, this place is a good find. we had 3 pastas, all were delicious. the gnocci was so light and melted in your mouth, just as you would expect. the tortellini was filled with perfectly sweet pumpkin and finished with sage and was again, exactly what you would expect from freshly made pasta. the spaghetti was cooked firm to the bite and full of flavour which was a delight. simple food prepared and cooked really well. we also had the tiramisu as this is the kind of place that you would expect to make one well and it did not disappoint. light, rich and really well balanced. don't share one like i did....eat one to yourself! definitely a repeat offender.

terrible.
worst service ever. rude and unreliable.
the food was average and way too overpriced and the servings were small.
the waiters spilt wine on my friend and didn't offer her tissues or apologise. i can't believe this place has a "good" reputation. i highly recommend since you have a status to uphold you hire better trained and mannered staff in future.

nondescript food and service very very average. obviously catering for the tourist/one off customer. wouldn’t recommend this place when there are so many other places in melb. that provide food that tastes fresh and doesn’t look at taste like it was made a few hours ago and reheated. disappointing :(

staff - lovely.. lovely and friendly staff - i feel comfortable coming in to dine or to have a drink any time of day or night.
well done - great restaurant.

service was shocking. 2 mains came out and the other two and the beans came out after the first two were finished. had to ask several times for water. got the coffee orders wrong. food was okay and in the end they took the drinks off the bill, but i wouldn't return here. heaps nicer places to eat at with far more reliable service.

this is a nice little bar, suited to couples and small groups. we had proscuitto and octopus to start, both very good. i really enjoyed my pork pacceri dish..great flavour. my partner's mushroom pasta was a little bland but some salt fixed that up. no problem with the service.

had dinner post movie, around 8pm, low key and quiet which suited us. food was marvellous. tagliarine nduja, consisting of fine handmade pasta, very tasty, indescribably good crumbly sausage, tasty roma tomatoes, basil and parsley sauce. dining companion had gorgonzola and fennel risotto. such good value & high quality food. service friendly and relaxed. nice glass of sangiovese. $44.00. bread and good olive oil comes free. portions might be small, but you don't need to overeat when the food's this fine.

one of the best cheesecakes in melbourne. my husband and i stopped here for a coffee after dining elsewhere tonight. we usually stop a few doors down for a coffee but thought we'd give this a shot. the ambience inside is just adorable, it feels like you are in italy-wood paneling, staff with french/italian accents & the aroma of coffee. now being from melbourne we know good coffee so let's just call this coffee drinkable (best in melbourne is brother buba budan & industry bean fyi) we shared a white chocolate and berry cheesecake and holy moly this was good!! (& i love cheesecake) this was light, not overly sweet & just delicious. previously we had ranked a cheesecake we had in new york as our top but i think this wins! the serve was decent for the $10 price tag & i am told that all their desserts are baked on the premises and you sure can taste it with this cake as it was yum!! the food whizzing by also looked yummy so this may be on the future must try list.
if you're out in melbourne stop here for a coffee and some of the best darn cheesecake you will find in melbourne.

absolutely delicious food, great atmosphere, reasonable prices and great service!! would very much recommend. out of the billion restaurants we could have chosen as tourists from sydney in melbourne, so glad we ended up here.

i really wanted to like this place, as i walk past it every morning.

on friday, my lady chum and i stopped there for breakfast.

nice decor, nice feel. unfortunately, the bearded waiter (and not young hipster bearded, this was an older gent) had an attitude that suggests customer service may not have been the right career choice. when the coffee finally arrived, it was pleasant - unfortunately, the croissants were appalling. dreadfully greasy, uncooked in the middle, and inedible. as a former baker, who lived in paris, i think i'm reasonably qualified to comment on a croissant - they are meant to be buttery, yes, but not to the extent of being a swamp of butter with some flakes of pastry loosely attached. on telling the excellent waitress, she took it to the bearded waiter, who apologised profusely, and immediately offered to take it off of the bill, and asked if i would like something else instead. oh, wait, no , that didn't happen- the lovely waitress handed it to him , he shrugged and walked away.

if i were a well-known chef, whose reputation hinges on excellence, i'd be extremely unhappy if i knew my hard work was being undermined like this.

back to pellegrini's for me.

service is very friendly and fast as it's a tiny place with not much seating. waiters can explain the italian menu patiently.
ordered the eggplant parmigiana last time and it was delicious. however the latest menu only has gnocchi with tomato sauce which was quite plain and lack in flavour.
this place is famous for its tiramisu and we were not disappointed. the cake was light and fluffy, not too sweet and almost too good to share, highly recommend it!!
a great place to come for a quick meal or desserts.
don't bring a large handbag as there's no room to put it.

always enjoy coming here. great italian food. service is good, very professional and attentive. pasta cooked al dente, however some of the tagliatelle was stuck together. the spaghetti vongole was nice. i would be back. i give it 4 stars.

good food, nice atmosphere and reasonable prices. i started with the veal pasta which had a great flavour and finished with the sticky date pudding which was a little sweet but it was nice. my friend had the lasagne which she described as "cheesy nice" so i think that's ok?!
service was a bit slow with the menus coming out to start with but after that it was perfect.

the cellar bar is a good place for comfort food if in the area. as long as it is consistent, and generally the reviews indicate that it is, then it's a reliable choice. sitting outside would be very pleasant on a dry evening perhaps a few degrees warmer than when we were there.

the lasagne was very tasty and was definitely the crowd favourite. loaded with an abundance of cheese, the layers of pasta sheets were cooked to a nice al dente. within, we found an overspilling mixture of soft and flavoursome minced beef cooked in a fragrant tomato base.
while grossi used to be one of my favourite italian eateries, this visit clearly shows that they have become far too complacent and standards have slipped. with a plethora of authentic italian choices springing up in melbourne, the level of food served tonight simply can’t compete.