La Porchetta Carlton North 392 Rathdowne Street, Carlton North, Victoria 3054

"Title: Terrible Dining Experience, Stay Away! Review: ⭐️☆☆☆☆ We recently visited La Porchetta and unfortunately, it was a dining experience I would rather forget. The only saving grace was the exceptional service provided by Pround, one of the wait staff, who was attentive, welcoming, and friendly throughout our meal. However, that was the only positive aspect of the entire visit. Let's start with the food, or should I say, the disaster that was served on our plates. The pizzas, in particular, were a complete disappointment. The pizza base tasted stale and undercooked, leaving an unpleasant texture and flavour in our mouths. The ingredients used were equally disappointing, with a noticeable staleness and an off-putting smell from the meat. It was enough to make anyone lose their appetite. As if the subpar food wasn't bad enough, the hygiene standards of the restaurant were highly suspect. Throughout our meal, we noticed a disturbing number of baby flies constantly hovering over our food. I couldn't help but wonder what was rotting in the kitchen or fridge to attract such a swarm of insects indoors. It made me question the cleanliness and overall condition of the restaurant's food preparation area. Needless to say, it was a major turn-off. To make matters worse, the food actually made us feel sick. The combination of the stale and undercooked pizza, the questionable ingredients, and the unsettling presence of flies made it impossible to enjoy our meal. We left the restaurant feeling nauseous and disgusted, ultimately having to find another place to eat afterward to salvage our evening. We did inform the owner/manager about this but to our dismay, he was totally dismissive of the issues and effectively did nothing - if he had at least acknowledged our concerns in any meaningful way and indicated any signs that things may be improved, then we would not have needed to write this review. I strongly advise anyone considering dining at this restaurant to reconsider. While the wait staff, particularly Pround, deserves credit for her exceptional service, the abysmal quality of the food and the alarming hygiene conditions are impossible to ignore. Save yourself the disappointment and potential stomachache by choosing a different restaurant. There are plenty of better options out there."

"The original store. We enjoyed a great night out for a 60th birthday. Food was great. Service a bit slow. Parking not great."

"Food taste wise was meh. The prices are exorbitant for the actual portion size. I remember years ago when a big main was enough for two portions, now I can easily finish it in one sitting. We had the smoked salmon salad and vegan penne chickn pasta. The salad was sad too look at and had a couple of small pieces of salmon, that for $24? A rip off. My “creamy” pasta had little to no sauce, the vegan chickn wasn’t even grilled and then portion size was also laughable. See photos attached."

"Food was flavourful and fresh (Garlic prawns is a must try), wait staff friendly and fantastic. Would recommend this place for a bite to eat if you're in the area."