Vegan
Italian
Beer/Wine

Licensed vegan Italian restaurant open since Dec '21, serving antipasti, pasta dishes, mains such as chicken, fish and calamari, a degustation menu and desserts. Beer, wine and cocktails available. Open Tue-Sat 12:00pm-3:00pm, Tue-Thu 5:00pm-10:00pm, Fri-Sat 5:00pm-11:00pm.


145 Reviews

First Review by MargaBouten

VeganVampyr

Points +175

Vegan
21 Mar 2023

Not Good Food

This is the kind of place that impresses people who have never eaten good vegan food.

Yes they have food that kinda resembles non-vegan food (eg. Creamy pastas), but it isn't good, it isn't any kind of tradional, it isn't classy and it isn't cheap.

The cocktails are terrible...and the service isn't even good.

It's like an expensive 'Tex mex' of Italian food.

Find somewhere better to spend your hard earned.

Pros: It's vegan

Cons: Everything else

jennacollier1512

Points +94

Vegan
04 Mar 2023

Nice Food…But Overpriced

We were really looking forward to our visit to Funghi E Tartufo…but we felt a little bit ripped off with the bill. We ordered Arancini, Gnocchi, Lasagne, 2x Spaghetti for our young children, and 2x Cheesecakes and the bill came to over $200. The two kids meals alone came to $65 (we weren’t told the price on ordering) which we felt was super pricey for a children’s serve of a simple spaghetti dish. The food was nice but nothing spectacular…we’ve had much nicer vegan meals. We probably wouldn’t go back which is a shame.

Pros: All vegan, Cheesecake was yummy, Nice staff

Cons: Expensive, Felt like we’d been ripped off for the kids meals

mattandlee

Points +150

Vegan
04 Mar 2023

Excellent Vegan Italian

This place is a gem, hidden down a laneway and has excellent food.

Pros: All vegan, Good service, Excellent wine

Cons: A little expensive

DavineMusic

Points +188

Vegan
03 Mar 2023

Best cheese cake I’ve ever had

The food was great. The mushroom pasta was so creamy I was worried it wasn’t vegan.

Pros: All vegan, Solid Italian food, Decent selection

Cons: A tad expensive but worth it

mrfantastik22

Points +210

Vegan
03 Mar 2023

Next Level Vegan Italian Food!

I cannot rave enough about this place. The mushroom pasta was PHENOMENAL!!! The lasagna was also good and the chocolate cheesecake was the best vegan dessert I think I’ve ever tasted. It was walked a delight line of sweetness, without being overbearing. This place is a little pricey but for an occasional dinner, it’ll be perfect!

Pros: Mushroom Pasta, Cheesecake! Cheesecake! Cheesecake!

Cons: A Bit Pricey

greta.b8

Points +1261

Vegan
02 Mar 2023

Delish but expensive

The service was great, the atmosphere very calm and you could tell it was more of a fine dining restaurant. The food was very tasty, but I found it a bit too pricey. I would definitely love to try their other dishes and get some desert; however, it sure is more of a place for a special occasion and not so much for when you simply can’t be bothered to cook.

Cons: Expensive

hydomel

Points +434

Vegan
20 Jan 2023

Exceptional creamy mushroom pappardelle


The creamy mushroom pappardelle was outstanding - even better than what I remember from pre-vegan days. My husband enjoyed the swordfish - the only let down was the cheesecake which was pretty hard and not particularly flavourful. Rest of the dinner was exceptional. #Veganuary

ilikevegg

Points +350

Vegan
15 Jan 2023

Mediocre but hope they improve

The place had a nice at atmosphere but I was not impressed by the food. It reminded me of canned pasta sauce you buy from the supermarket and for the price I expected a lot more fineness. I hope they work on improving their recipes as it’s great to have a vegan Italian restaurant in the area!

paulharhen

Points +1446

Vegan
04 Jan 2023

The best plant based restaurant in Melbourne

This proved to be our best plant based culinary experience in Melbourne. We had the Calamari Fritti for starters, and both the Pappardelle Funghi E Tarufo and the Pesce Spada Alla Siciana for mains. All tasted lovely, unique and special. Expensive but worth it. Service was good too.

Pros: Freshly prepared and taste, Variety and presentation, Service and ambiance

Cons: Pricing

kfish14

Points +304

Vegan
29 Dec 2022

Good food but overpriced

We had Carbonara, Lasagne and a side salad. The food was good but nothing spectacular, and we found it was too expensive compared to other vegan places we’ve been to.

The service was just okay, the restaurant felt perhaps a little pretentious for what it offered and I personally found it a little claustrophobic inside the restaurant.

Updated from previous review on 2022-09-19

Pros: All vegan food, Candlelit table

Cons: Overpriced

MargP

Points +39

Vegan
16 Dec 2022

Ok but they can do better

Service was good, food needs a bit of work. Every dish could have been enhanced with more herbs eg meat balls needed garlic and parsley to really taste authentic. Gnocchi sorrentino could have had less salt and more basil. Just felt that the food tasted a little processed but with a few changes could make it so much better.

Pros: Lots of choices, good wine, Service was good

Cons: Needs that element of freshness more herbs, Every dish was salty

MeghanBridgwater

Points +196

Vegan
08 Dec 2022

A must go!

I had such a great lunch here. Exceptional service, always was smiling and felt very well looked after. The menu has so many options, I can't wait to go back! I had the arancini balls which were slightly on the dry side but still really yummy. For main I had a creamy, mushroom and truffle pasta which was really good, super rich and creamy. Drinks were really good too, I had a gimlet which was really well balanced. And then a glass of wine perfectly chosen from my waiter

Pros: Amazing food, Fantastic service, Delicious drinks

Plume5085

Points +853

Vegetarian
30 Nov 2022

One of the best restaurants I've ever been to

The food is simply incredible. This is one of the best meals I've had. I had the calamari for entree and the texture was mind-blowing, followed by a delicious carbonara and a vegan barramundi for secondo piatto. I've hardly seen such an amazing vegan fish, it was perfect in every way. The staff is actually Italian and the food is based an authentic Italian dishes. Unmissable!

Aloo

Points +7705

Vegan
16 Nov 2022

A special place

Love the vibe of this place. In Hardware Lane, traditionally not a very vegan friendly region, it's wonderful to have both outdoor seating in the lane and a gorgeous interior in which to be seated.

Impeccable service, from the moment of entry to service throughout and a fond farewell. I could not fault it.

The food: We ordered arancini balls - delicious, crispy on the outside, so tasty. Funghi e tratufo - creamy and rich, improved with some seasoning. We also tried the Bolognese.

For dessert, although I was quite full, I couldn't go past the chocolate cheesecake. It was really delicious, also very rich and decadent. The sorbet was also amazing.

Non-vegans would probably not even notice the lack of eggs and dairy. All in all, it felt a little bit special and I would recommend a visit.

alex.a

Points +521

Vegan
02 Nov 2022

Okay, but expensive

Went here having wanted to go for a little while but it’s sometimes hard to break from your tried and tested venues.

None the less, took the partner for a meal and had the calamari and meatballs to start which were good. We also had their mushroom pasta, pasta carbonara and swordfish for mains. The swordfish was really good but a nicer salad could have been served with it?
Overall we found it expensive for the meals, and the mushroom pasta was not seasoned as well as it should have. Perhaps an outlier to everyone else’s experience, but was certainly expecting more given the price point. If half stars were allowed I’d give it 3.5 stars.

Pros: Full vegan menu

Cons: Expensive

Timforanimals1

Points +291

Vegan
22 Oct 2022

Pricey but mostly great

Great vibe in the heart of cbd, friendly staff, super busy place, we shared degustation entree platter, bit underwhelming for $48, however signature pasta dish was amazing as was the delicious glass of wine. Only other comment is a constant re quality protein not in many of the options , this is an ongoing issue at many high end vegan places that haven’t thoroughly considered good nutrition as well as awesome food!

SherryMarshall

Points +42

Vegan
29 Sep 2022

I found Heaven

I took a few non vegan friends and they keep asking me when ate we going back. Has to be one of my favourite places

Pros: Atmosphere , Food, Wine

silliestlittlecow

Points +164

Vegan
27 Sep 2022

good but expensive

everything slays but their carbonara tastes like easy mac
rly good fine dining experience tho
good for special occasions

Pros: staff are nice, delicious food, love location

Cons: expensive , they make u pay for sparkling water, prawns are not the best

JoannaWatts

Points +429

Vegan
24 Sep 2022

Upmarket Vegan in the CBD

So good to see this 100% plant based restaurant competing with the traditional venues on Hardware Lane in Melbourne’s fine dining district. Came here with two non-vegan work colleagues who were amazed that the calamari and the meatballs were vegan. The food was tasty and fresh and the desserts were to die for. First vegan panacotta I’ve had and it was lovely! The wine list is all organic and vegan also - an extra bonus. Wait staff were super helpful and friendly too. Good night all round.

Pros: Very classy options , Great choice , Lovely location and friendly staff

Cons: The food is pricey , Some dishes are quite simple for the cost, Dining limited to 2 hour sitting in peak times

libbylou

Points +48

Vegetarian
22 Sep 2022

A must try!

I love this place! Everything we tried was amazing, and for fine dining it was quite affordable (we had two mains, three deserts and a juice for $120) The calamari and the panacotta was amazing, I have daydreamed about eating it again many times!

Pros: Totally vegan restaurant , Amazing quality , Affordable

Cons: None!

benlovesair

Points +108

Vegan
17 Sep 2022

Seems like a nice place for a date

Lovely place and staff. Food was good but nothing particularly memorable, especially at this price point.

samkaus

Points +359

Mostly Veg
16 Sep 2022

Amazing food!

It was so great to be able to eat delicious Italian dishes and not feel short-changed due to not eating dairy, eggs or gluten like normal! This was soo tasty! Great experience

Pros: Great vegan tasty options, Great gluten free options, Good service and super friendly staff

NJ220

Points +742

Vegan
11 Aug 2022

Oh My!

It was amazing! Great atmosphere, lovely staff, incredibly amazing food! We had a beautiful evening and will be back!

J_AU_CH

Points +131

Vegan
01 Aug 2022

Absolutely amazing vegan Italian!

This restaurant offers an absolutely amazing array of vegan Italian dishes (particularly southern Italian). It has done the rare and wonderful thing of offering more than basic pasta or pizza as the 'vegan option' and is a triumph of fine, vegan, Italian dining.
They were very busy on the night we went with apparent lack of staff (damn covid), but the owner and staff were all friendly and apologetic. A little bit of patience pays off in a big way.
The location is also lovely. We sat outside in the alley/street, which in winter with all the hanging lights and heaters was really nice.

Pros: Delicious, Authentic, Variety

shulks

Points +42

Vegan
22 Jul 2022

Amazing vegan Italian

Had an amazing dinner here with my partner. I ate way too much because everything was so delicious. Shout out to Alex who was a wonderful host!

Pros: All vegan, Beautiful presentation. , Friendly staff

Lizard71

Points +22

Vegan
19 Jul 2022

Top Class

From the moment you walk in you can feel the warmth & friendliness of this restaurant, great food, great staff.

Pros: Delicious vegan food. , In a very cosmopolitan part of Melbourne

Cons: None…

KatieBatty

Points +1512

Vegan
07 Jul 2022

Died and gone to heaven!

Oh my God....this is the most amazing Italian food, vegan or not. The funghi e tartufo dish is one of the best things I have tasted. Place is pricey, but worth it. My partner enjoyed the gnocchi, although my friends were hoping for some house made vegan fish, rather than store bought given the price.




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