Tuesday, August 07, 2007

The Waiters Restaurant
20 Meyers Place, Melbourne

A colleague invited a few of us to join her for lunch on her birthday. She took us through some back streets where she then led us to a dodgy looking doorway and up with a small flight of stairs. We entered an old school looking dining room where it's as if time had stood still. Apparently there has been renovations but the decor was still 1960's with faded photo prints and old school curtains hanging off the windows.


After being seated at brown laminex tables, we ordered off traditional Italian menus written on blackboards on the walls. The waitress asked if we would like garlic bread or bruschetta to start with and we chose to have a mix of both. The garlic bread was nice and crispy however, the bruschetta had too much olive oil. I ended up having a trickle of oil running down my arm after I had eaten mine.












We all settled for pastas. On our table were lasagnes, and spaghetti bolognaise, marinara and carbonara. The servings were generous and my tomato based spaghetti marinara had lots of fat prawns, scallops and mussels.

We didn't have time for desserts but I've heard their tiramisu is one of their top desserts. They also do pancakes, chocolate mousse, creme caramel and cheese and greens (we couldn't work out what the last one was).

: Ratings :
  • Service: 8/10 - Fast and friendly service especially during lunch rush hour makes this place a winner.
  • Food: 7/10 - Pasta was al dente, not overly oily and had a perfect amount of sauce. For around an average of $15 for a pasta you get a simple yet generous serving. The bruschetta was nothing special. I would opt for garlic bread next time.
  • Layout: 6/10 - The dining area is not very large but the owners have made good use of space. The positioning of the tables and chairs seemed a bit cramped, but it can fit up to 60 people cosily.
  • Overall: 7/10 - I would definitely go back again for some generous home-cooked style pasta. The simpleness of the restaurant does not detract it from the prompt service and good food.

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