Fatto

When I heard Fatto was offering bottomless pasta for $30, I thought I had died and gone to carb heaven. For the month of June, Southbank’s Italian inspired restaurant Fatto is serving up bottomless Orieccette with broccoli, anchovy, chili and garlic, Tagliatelle with red wine braised beef chin, Rigatoni Amatricana and Spaghetti aglio.

The actual pasta in all four of the dishes was the standout - clearly homemade and cooked al dente. The flavours in the Oriecette, Tagliatte and Spaghetti were also pretty tasty - although all were improved with an extra dash of chili and seasoning.

Unfortunately the table's consensus on the Amatricana was that it tasted a lot like a can of SPC spaghetti. And don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the trustee tin of spag - but perhaps not while I'm out to dinner.

The service also wasn’t so great - our waitress provided a vague and confusing explanation of how the menu worked, there was no explanation of what dishes of pasta they were literally "dumping" on our table, and not a smile to be seen in sight.  

Was it the best pasta I’ve had in Melbourne? Well, no - but it was tasty and cooked well (and you can do a lot of damage for $30) - so definitely worth giving a try at some point if you’re ridiculously hungry and on a budget. 

Food: 4/5

Service: 2/5

Venue: 3.5/5

Value for money: 4/5

Total: 13.50/20

Verdict: like - get around to trying at some point 

 

Pho Dzung Noodle Shop

While it’s not hard to find a Vietnamese restaurant in Melbourne, it is hard to find a big steaming bowl of delicious vegetable pho. Luckily, Pho Dzung City Noodle Shop on Russel Street has it covered. 

Offering 21 different types of pho (including tripe and tendon for the more adventurous type), and serving up dishes of lemon, beansprouts, Thai basil and chilli before you even get a chance to place your order, it's becomes pretty clear quickly that people only come here for one reason only - the pho.

Whilst not technically pho (which I understand has to be made with beef broth), the vegetable noodle soup with chicken stock ($15) was one of the best Veggie (fake) phos I’ve had in Melbourne. It’s good mix of veggies, use of fresh produce and delicious fragrant stock made it a dish that I would definitely come back for.



And something else that Pho Dzung excels in is options - not only does it offer 21 different types of pho, it offers both a chicken and a vegetarian stock for the vegetable pho, and the option of small, medium or large in serving sizes.

If you’re in the mood for pho, then I would definitely recommend Pho Dzung.

Food: 4/5
Value for money: 4/5
Service: 3.5/5
Venue: 3.5/5
Total: 15/20
Verdict: love - get around to trying it soon

Milk the Cow - Carlton

Cheese lovers rejoice - there is a restaurant (well, there’s actually two of them) that has a menu completely focused on cheese - that’s right - cheeeese! I’m talking soft cheese, hard cheese, blue cheese, baked cheese and even fondue.

Milk the Cow is no stranger to Melbourne’s food scene - with both their St Kilda and Carlton venues having been around for awhile. But even so, on walking through their doors, Milk the Cow’s atmosphere still has that incredible buzzy vibe to it that you’d usually only find in Melbourne’s latest hippest restaurant that has just made a cameo on Broadsheet.

On this occasion we visited the Carlton venue on Lygon street. On search for desert after a dinner at Tiamo, we thought what better way to finish the night than with sweet wine and a serving of hot bubbling cheese.

The baked Brie bathed in French Cider, and baked in truffle honey ($17), was insanely delicious - and was kept warm with a charming little tea candle situated under the Brie pot.



The fondue baked with cognac, French sparkling and truffle honey (served with a shot of Stanton & Kileen Topaque) was a bit rich for my taste buds, however I’m sure that there are countless people out there who would not only enjoy, but would adore the richness of this combination.

Perfect for a cheesy meal, a cheesy treat, or a late night eat - I will definitely be back to Milk the Cow in Carlton soon.

Food: 4/5
Service: 5/5
Value for money: 4/5
Venue: 4/5
Total: 17/20 
Verdict: love - get around to trying it soon

 

Tiamo

Tiamo is a Melbourne institution on Lygon Street in Carlton. Serving up Italian cuisine, you can expect big hearty servings of pasta, inexpensive wine and self serve bowls of dried Parmesan.

Unfortunately, on this occasion our experience didn't live up to the hype. The penne ragu for $19.90 came out lukewarm - which was a shame, as the pasta itself was cooked al dente and the sauce was rich with flavour. There was also a piece of hair in my pasta which you can see at the bottom of the bowl in the picture below - not ideal, especially seeing as it was clearly visible and could have easily been caught by the waitstaff.

The service was also on the disappointing side - whilst friendly, our waiter spent most of the time fooling around with another waiter rather than taking our order, remembering our requests for chili flakes and Parmesan, and offering us desert.

With so many other amazing Italian venues in Melbourne - especially in Carlton - I will not be rushing back to Tiamo.

Food: 2.5/5
Service: 2.5/5
Venue: 3/5
Value for money: 3/5
Total: 11/20
Verdict: Don't bother - there are so many other better Italian joints in Melbourne.