Cinque Terre Chadstone 1341 Dandenong Road, Chadstone, Victoria 3148

"Had lunch here for a work function on a weekday with no crowds or queue. Overall, food was terrific with special mentions to the calamari fritti and maccherronicini al ragu. Service was also very attentive with used dishes consistently removed, a server nearby to take drink orders and the background music toned down for a speech. Special mention to the team for catering for those with dietary requirements with substitutions. Thanks for having us and I'm sure you'll see us later!"

"Overrated. I had high hopes for this joint considering it was quite new and around The Social Quarter section of Chadstone. Bookings are essential as any Italian restaurant gets super busy - so do yourself a favour and book. I honestly felt like the lady who led us to our table was wonderful, but we were assigned a different waitress for the actual dining experience. She either didn’t have enough experience or was assigned too many tables for her sections, because after she took our orders, she literally didn’t ever come back to ask for anything, top up our waters etc. We were shoved into the very back corner so we felt like we were forgotten about, and pretty much no other waiter was around that section to fill up or check in. If you’re not going to have the means to top up people’s waters (which I totally understand isn’t always possible when it’s busy), then just give the tables a jug of water instead of gatekeeping it. A different guy ended up coming by and noticed our glasses were empty and filled it up. The entree was stunning, the bresaola pizza. Came out quick and fresh from the wood-fired pizza. After that, we thought we were in for a treat. Unfortunately, it took an hour and a half for our mains to arrive. One of them was definitely waiting on the pass for too long and was a bit cold. But when you had a booking at 7:00 and it was 8:45 by the time you started eating, you obviously can’t be bothered complaining for a re-heat because you’re so hungry by then. The gnocchi wasn’t too bad, but the spaghetti and ravioli dish (wish I could give you guys the proper names but the menu on the restaurant’s website is not the same menu we ordered from that night; probably needs an update), were bland and not moreish at all. Really small portions compared to the monster price tags. Lygon Street does it better. I want to give this restaurant the benefit of the doubt, but if you’re going to make me wait an hour and a half for food, it should be much better than what I received. Try it out for yourselves, it may have just been a rough night for the staff/cooks when I went, but be cautious and don’t go in expecting too much. Hoping they improve as it would be great to have an Italian joint like that so close to home (:"

"We had a great dinner here last Saturday night. All of our food were delicious and they came out quite quickly. The Pannacotta was very good as well. Our waiter was really friendly and funny and the other wait staff were also attentive, regularly filling up our water. I was a bit apprehensive about coming here after reading quite a few reviews about the bad service but thought I would try it as most people say the food is good and I'm glad I tried it as our experience was really good."

"I attended a function in the private dining area which was very professionally set-up and the service was good. Loved the way the windows opened. Fabulous dishes loved the stuffed zucchini flowers and the scallops. The chef was very creative with the presentation and taste using quality ingredients."