Cirelli&co 454 Albion Street, Brunswick West, Victoria 3055

"Charming atmosphere, delicious food and generous portions. Loved this radicchio and orange salad. Only regret not having more room for dessert."

"We tried the seafood antipasto entree special which was a yummy way to begin the meal and I appreciated the presence of several mocktails on the menu which during pregnancy I noticed weren’t that prevalent many places so it’s nice to have inclusive options. For mains we enjoyed the Margherita pizza and Napoli gnocchi. The gnocchi is made in house and was light as a feather. The pizza dough is 48 hour fermented and you can absolutely taste the difference, it was perfection. For dessert they have an incredibly impressive cabinet with house made treats as well as several traditional sweet selections. We tried the panna cotta, tiramisu and Nutella calzone. The calzone was the most generous serve I’ve ever seen and could easily have satisfied 4 people. I gave it a valiant effort and then delighted in the leftovers for the next days breakfast, I definitely recommend leaving room for the delicious deserts! Original review I dined as a guest of Cirelli & Co last night and while the staff were phenomenal and the place was utterly packed to the rafters there was definitely some room for improvement. I absolutely loved the atmosphere and the heavy Italian accent of the owner made me feel as though I was in Italy. This is predominantly a pasta bar but we had a twisted calzone entree which we were told was a 500 year old traditional recipe. This was something quite unique as I’ve not seen it on a menu ever before and was effectively a thin and crispy fried calzone. Worth trying for something different but quite oily. I considered it to be like a diet pizza as it was so much lighter but it’s surprisingly filling. Calamari was our second entree. Main wise we shared two pastas the gnocchi Sorrentina and Gigli pesto (slightly different to the menu listed on Zomato). These were great dishes for ease of sharing unlike a spaghetti dish. Gigli was a pasta I haven’t had before which has a bell like shape. These are all freshly made however I found the pesto sauce to be very oily. Obviously I understand pesto lends itself to oiliness but it was a little too overpowering for me. Both dishes looked super impressive and I loved the big buffalo mozzarella on top of the gnocchi dish. This was so creamy and fresh. Unfortunately I found the red sauce lacking sweetness of flavour and it tasted a bit tinned tomato like. My dining companion did point out however that that’s what pasta sauce tastes like in Italy but for me I wanted some sort of basil or herbs coming through. I should also mention our cocktails which were well made and visually stunning. I had a gin and rosemary special which was lovely and refreshing and we also had a classic negroni. Deserts to finish on a sweet note. I ordered the chocolate lava cake special which is one of my favourite indulgences. This had a gooey centre and was a little bitter but perfect when combined with the ice cream and lick of caramel on the plate. We also tried the cannoli and I liked that this was chocolate at one end of the perfectly crunchy shell and pistachio at the other. This is a nice light way to end the meal for those who don’t have a huge sweet tooth. Overall amazing potential but didn’t quite hit the mark for me"

"A truly hidden gem! Everything was sooo good. I would definitely visit more often if it isn’t so far away from me!! Highly recommend the truffle Cream pizza, smells and tastes heavenly good of truffle."

"A lovely little genuine Italian restaurant - very authentic. Food was lovely, enjoyed by my family. I would have enjoyed more than 2 prawns in my tempura dish though. Beautifully cooked meals, especially the pizza. Helpful staff."