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
Not Good Food - Edit
This is the kind of place that impresses people who have never eaten good vegan food.
Read moreYes 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
Guest
jennacollier1512
Points +94
Nice Food…But Overpriced - Edit
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.
Read morePros: All vegan, Cheesecake was yummy, Nice staff
Cons: Expensive, Felt like we’d been ripped off for the kids meals
Guest
mattandlee
Points +150
Excellent Vegan Italian - Edit
This place is a gem, hidden down a laneway and has excellent food.
Read morePros: All vegan, Good service, Excellent wine
Cons: A little expensive
Guest
DavineMusic
Points +188
Best cheese cake I’ve ever had - Edit
The food was great. The mushroom pasta was so creamy I was worried it wasn’t vegan.
Read morePros: All vegan, Solid Italian food, Decent selection
Cons: A tad expensive but worth it
Guest
mrfantastik22
Points +210
Next Level Vegan Italian Food! - Edit
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!
Read morePros: Mushroom Pasta, Cheesecake! Cheesecake! Cheesecake!
Cons: A Bit Pricey
Guest
greta.b8
Points +1261
Delish but expensive - Edit
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.
Read moreCons: Expensive
Guest
hydomel
Points +434
Exceptional creamy mushroom pappardelle - Edit
Read moreThe 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
Guest
ilikevegg
Points +350
Mediocre but hope they improve - Edit
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!
Read moreGuest
paulharhen
Points +1446
The best plant based restaurant in Melbourne - Edit
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.
Read morePros: Freshly prepared and taste, Variety and presentation, Service and ambiance
Cons: Pricing
Guest
kfish14
Points +304
Good food but overpriced - Edit
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.
Read moreThe 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
Guest
MargP
Points +39
Ok but they can do better - Edit
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.
Read morePros: Lots of choices, good wine, Service was good
Cons: Needs that element of freshness more herbs, Every dish was salty
Guest
MeghanBridgwater
Points +196
A must go! - Edit
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
Read morePros: Amazing food, Fantastic service, Delicious drinks
Guest
Plume5085
Points +853
One of the best restaurants I've ever been to - Edit
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!
Read moreGuest
Aloo
Points +7705
A special place - Edit
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.
Read moreImpeccable 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.
Guest
alex.a
Points +521
Okay, but expensive - Edit
Went here having wanted to go for a little while but it’s sometimes hard to break from your tried and tested venues.
Read moreNone 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
Guest
Timforanimals1
Points +291
Pricey but mostly great - Edit
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!
Read moreGuest
SherryMarshall
Points +42
I found Heaven - Edit
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
Read morePros: Atmosphere , Food, Wine
Guest
silliestlittlecow
Points +164
good but expensive - Edit
everything slays but their carbonara tastes like easy mac
Read morerly 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
Guest
JoannaWatts
Points +429
Upmarket Vegan in the CBD - Edit
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.
Read morePros: 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
Guest
libbylou
Points +48
A must try! - Edit
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!
Read morePros: Totally vegan restaurant , Amazing quality , Affordable
Cons: None!
Guest
benlovesair
Points +108
Seems like a nice place for a date - Edit
Lovely place and staff. Food was good but nothing particularly memorable, especially at this price point.
Read moreGuest
samkaus
Points +359
Amazing food! - Edit
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
Read morePros: Great vegan tasty options, Great gluten free options, Good service and super friendly staff
Guest
NJ220
Points +742
Oh My! - Edit
It was amazing! Great atmosphere, lovely staff, incredibly amazing food! We had a beautiful evening and will be back!
Read moreGuest
J_AU_CH
Points +131
Absolutely amazing vegan Italian! - Edit
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.
Read moreThey 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
Guest
shulks
Points +42
Amazing vegan Italian - Edit
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!
Read morePros: All vegan, Beautiful presentation. , Friendly staff
Guest
Lizard71
Points +22
Top Class - Edit
From the moment you walk in you can feel the warmth & friendliness of this restaurant, great food, great staff.
Read morePros: Delicious vegan food. , In a very cosmopolitan part of Melbourne
Cons: None…
Guest
KatieBatty
Points +1512
Died and gone to heaven! - Edit
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.
Read moreGuest
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