Florentino

Came here twice to celebrate my partner’s birthday! We had set menus and paired with amazing wines. Each dish presented very beautifully and tasted absolutely delicious. Oh the tiramisu…omg. It’s THE BEST I have ever had. Not mention the gorgeous luxurious interior you are surrounded while you’re eating. The service was 10 out of 10. Pure profession. Would love to be back again…

Came here for dinner with a reservation and had the 'Gran Four' tasting menu which included seven dishes as well as some starter snacks, sourdough bread and pre-dessert palate cleanser which was not listed on the menu. Most of the dishes were very tasty; highlights were the scallops encased in a light crispy coating, the lobster risotto which has a condensed seafood and cheesy taste with a few big pieces of lobster to enjoy, and the duck tortellini which was rich and savoury with a nice al dente texture. The strawberry sorbet was also very good with a naturally sweet and refreshing taste. Service was friendly and attentive, each dish was explained in detail and the course took around two and a half hours to finish.

Amazing food, service and atmosphere, not to be faulted. After so many years, still the best Italian food in town.

I reserved my birthday dinner on 27/06 here seeing the good reviews. However, my experience did not reflect any of the above. First of all, I am not allowed to bring my birthday cake in to share, which if fine and when I asked whether I can bring it in to take a photo, the lady over the phone was very hesitant so I just didn’t bring the cake at all. We were warmly greeted in the beginning and the nightmare begin when we started ordering. The restaurant light was very dim and it made us a bit difficult to see the menu, when the waitress in the black frame glasses, brown hair, ponytail came up was the real nightmare. My parents don’t speak or read English very well. Hence, my brothers and I are translating for them. It was a bit difficult for us to translate as the menu was hard to read with the lighting and with all the Italian words. The waitress came up and she was very impatient she sped read through the menu and the special menu and just took off. The restaurant was not the most quiet and with all the Italian mixed in her spiel it was very hard to follow. She left after she did her spiel we were there left dumbfounded. Afterwards we decided to ask her whether there is any recommendations so we can order according to that. Again she was very impatient and rude. She also asked previously whether there is any allergy and I advised her I was allergic to mango. However, my mum didn’t feel like seafood that day so she advised me before we asked for her recommendation. She was in a very condescending tone stating:” you should’ve told me before this is why I asked you if there is any allergies.” I was too shocked to reply as I felt like I was being scolded like a child. I didn’t know not feeling like seafood and allergic to seafood falls into the same category. However, I continue to let her recommend, she again spoke at a ultra fast speed and said all the none seafood is on the special menu. When I asked where is the special menu she said it’s in her head. I do recommend that there is a physical special menu as I cannot understand a single word coming out of her mouth. She also had quite an unpleasant breath, which really affected the experience. A gentle reminder about personal oral hygiene could really help maintain the restaurant’s excellent standards. After ordering I was left feeling really disgusted by her attitude. I can’t believe this is the service coming from a chef hat award restaurant. The first dish took forever to arrive. A simple lemon lime bitters took 20 minutes to service. The time in between each dish is way too long. The ravioli was quite salty and when I mentioned the food was alright to that same female staff she was unhappy with my response and again very rudely said, “ what’s wrong” I had to say the ravioli was quite salty and she seemed very upset about it. The final wagyu was too raw for my parents. I was never asked how we prefer the wagyu to be cooked. I’m not sure whether we are never asked or there was not preference for how the wagyu is cooked. The duck was quite dry and hard to chew. We were never offered the dessert menu as well. In addition, I personally thought she was just having a bad day hence the attitudes. However, she also served the table behind us and because the tables are very close and she is very loud I can hear her voice. I found out she is capable to being respectable and nice to the two caucasian lady sitting behind her which leaves me wonder why here attitude is like this with us? I do hope it is not because of a racial preference. On the contrary, all the other staff I have encountered in the restaurant are very nice, respectable and patient, that’s why I gave one star for service. Overall, it was a very unpleasant experience and it was the worst birthday dinner I’ve ever had. The service really makes up a big part of the experience. Overall I would not recommend to any of my Asian friends out there or friends who doesn’t understand Italian as it seems like it is a prerequisite to understand Italian to order otherwise you will be looked down by the waitress.

The food we had here was alright, felt like the flavours and seasoning weren’t as potent on the night we visited. However it was an unreal dining experience in terms of the quality of service we got here. Excellent team working the floor provided us with great insight on the dishes and made our stay here much more enjoyable. Bread was phenomenal tho.

Recommend by the hotel front desk for dinner we went there without a reservation. The place was full but the lovely gentleman at the front managed to get us a table. The service was excellent. The scallops starter just melted in the mouth. Loved the old fashioned, rich atmosphere. We were from Sydney staying the night hence was dressed casually had I known I would have made an effort to dress up a bit better. Loved everything about this restaurant.

Look out for hidden cost: Came here for my husband’s birthday dinner last night. The service was amazing, the waiters were really attentive but the food was hit and miss. The scallop dish was my favourite. One of the pasta dishes and the goat were good but not a wow factor to justify what they are charging. The other pasta dish we ordered came in a broth and honestly it was not that great. Plus it wasn’t what we ordered but we let it go because it seems like the waiter who took our order was still in training. The reason I am giving it a three star is because at the end of the night, we were really shocked that we got charged for still water. It was never mentioned from the start that we will get charged by the bottle. They never asked us if we want to open a new bottle when we finished one. Would have been nice to be told about it - felt a little cheated by that. I would have gladly drank tap water, and spend the money on another plate of scallops.

From the moment we stepped in the door, the staff were amazing, so attentive without being overbearing. We felt like a long lost relative being welcomed home. The food itself was incredible, such flavour in each dish was incredible.

I have only been here once, but this is beautiful, authentic, elegant Italian food at its finest. We were here in 2020, just before the world locked us all down, for a celebratory meal upstairs and it did not disappoint. The service was absolutely perfect, we enjoyed a long, leisurely meal and the waiters were attentive but never obtrusive. The degustation menu is really the way to go here. I just ate everything they put in front of me and there was not a single dish that didn't hit the mark. I would rate this as one of the very best meals I've had during the 12 years I have lived in Australia. I do hope for a return visit in the future.

Disappointing and downright off putting..... The meal and the service were to say the very least, disappointing. I'm not one for reviewing but this deserves to be 'outed' for the pretentious place it has become. I've been going to Florentino's at least every second year for over 50 years, yes 50 years. My mother used to take me there when she worked in the city and I was a student at RMIT in the 70's. This restaurant was the best bistro in town filled with theatre goers, bookies, and the cream of society and business out for a casual, classy experience. Each time I have visited my home city I have at least one meal at Florentino's but the last two times have been huge disappointments. The food? Average at best, except for the oysters, the bread and the fried potatoes. The prawn pasta was cold, the steak (at $130) was thin, gristly and fully sliced so the juiciness was left on the cutters board. Our waiter when asked to refill our olive oil bowl for the very ample bread poured enough for one swipe each (4 of us) and seemed irritated we had asked for more. When my husband questioned the very meager pour of wine (by the glass) our waiter said that that was the amount we had ordered and hesitated to give even a little more. I mean! Our bill came to $614.00 for 4 people. Despite the great ambiance of the place (fortunately that has not changed) and the history I have had there over the years I came away really annoyed and embarrassed I had recommended it to our friends. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g255100-d725306-r1011422808-Grossi_Florentino-Melbourne_Victoria.html#

I am very loathe to criticize good restaurants and I have been a fan of Florentino all my life. I know too it is very hard maintaining standards and good staff. Tonight however I had a very disappointing experience. I had a small seafood pasta. It was very ordinary: the standard I would expect in a local ordinary bistro. There was very little seafood in a ordinary tomato sauce and for a $40 small pasta, it was indeed small and very ordinary. I love desserts and looked forward to the dessert. I am also a passionate dessert maker. The dessert I had I felt did not work and I did not not like the flavours. The combination of pistachio and dark chocolate combined with a sponge and then dipped in white chocolate was not a good experience and it takes a lot to put me off a dessert. The bread and olive oil were lovely. Annie Cantwell-Bartl

Always excellent food and an excellent experience at Grossi Grill. Great location, with an understated, casual elegance along with a first-class team.

A landmark on the Melbournian landscape Grossi Florentino is the upstairs fine dining restaurant of the Guy Grossi Empire. A stairway leads to a beautiful dining room with paintings and stunning furnishings that evoke a mood of luxury. This is easily matched by the dining experience. The food at Grossi is a simply magnificent. Whether you opt for the degustation or choose a few courses from the a la carte menu you can be sure to receive Italian flavours and interesting ingredients made to perfection. Lobster ravioli, spanner crab with black walnut crumble and roasted pidgeon are some of the best from the a la carte menu. But you really can't put a foot wrong with any of the dishes. Grossi Florentino also boasts an extensive wine selection featuring some spectacular regional Italian wines. You can tour Italy through the wine, be sure to stop off in Campania or Tuscany. Service is flawless and staff are delightful and on top of everything from the moment you enter the dining room to the point where you leave. Friendly, confident and unintruding they will take good care of you while you are in Grossi's home. All that you have to do is work your way through the menu and decide. That's hard enough.

I went here recently with my husband and his two kids. I am going to highlight the good and the unfortunate bad sides of our experience. AtmosphereL In the "Grill" section it is very crowded and cramped. The tables are much too close together and it has a slight feeling of sitting on top of one another. The waiters/servers were a bit pushy and too "helpful." They did not give our party adequate time to sit and chat and relax while we reviewed the menu. Helpful is great but sometimes too much attentiveness can be intrusive. The "Good": Alcoholic drinks were strong and priced accordingly (overpriced lol) Zucchini Flowers, Ricotta, Pumpkin 8.each: were delicious but what fried food isn't? The "Bad": John Dee, Big Rib For Two, Angus 115: Quantity cannot make up for quality. The meat was rough and stuck in every crevice of your teeth/gums. Sher, Rump, MB 9+ Wagyu 52 : Highly disappointed in this steak as well. King George Whiting, Onion Sughetto, Broad Beans 42: The so called "mild" fish WAS DISGUSTING. I would equate it to something that probably wouldn't even be acceptable on this site. IT WAS SO FISHY. Like an old dead fish that had been lying around in a gutter and then cooked and served to an unsuspecting customer. It took hours for the taste to leave my mouth and even once it had, the thought of it left me with the urge to purge. The server tried to tempt me with other menu items and was a bit pushy/annoying but in the end the fish was so disgusting that I could not stomach anymore exploration into new dishes. I am an adventurous eater and have eaten all over the world but this place is abysmal. I would never eat here again and for the price I would say that "overrated" is an understatement. I have no problem spending money on GOOD food but I hate throwing money away on overrated trash.

I've experienced some fine dining around Melbourne but I have to say Grossi Florentino Upstairs fell well short of expectations. I had the 5 course degustation 'Gran Tour' dinner menu which included the Yellowfin Tuna (not bad but tuna felt drowned out), Scallops (also not bad but lacked punch), egg yolk ravioli (bit too doughy and I'm quite sick of the half-cooked yolk a lot of fine dining restaurants have been doing these days), another pasta dish which was quite nice, suckling pig (meat was a bit plain and dry) and finally the chocolate souffle (which was the highlight, although Vue De Monde's is much better). Overall I felt let down that this place was regarded as a 2-hat restaurant in the recent good food guide. Perhaps the a la carte menu has better options but so far I'm not a fan.

Love the Grill. Lovely space. Great food. Great service. Had the lunch special the other day and mighty tasty it was too. The staff actually stuffed up at one point and brought the wrong mains. Didn't matter at all. It was worth seeing how true professionals handle an error like that. They apologized graciously and profusely and then bought lots of extra food which wasn't necessary, of course, but much appreciated nonetheless. This is a Melbourne institution and one of the great ones. I haven't been upstairs to the restaurant for a few years. Must go again. I formally proposed to the wife there many years ago. This happened because she claimed I had proposed another time but I had no memory of the matter. Such is life.

Having dined at the Grill a few times I finally managed to get a table at Florentino Upstairs, the fine dining experience from Guy Grossi. After traversing a narrow staircase one arrives in the main dining room which is a rectangular hall of sorts adorned with 16th century Renascence murals. At this point the exceptional wait service was already noticeable with every waiter and waitress walking by greeting me before the maitre d came over. After being seated and ordering, the usual bread with house olive oil, house churned butter and the strangely tasty beef butter arrived along with a selection of amuse bouche-style nibbles came out. The wine list is rather impressive, consisting of a book of nearly 30 pages. I opted for a personalised wine pairing, revolving around international reds. The sommelier, who I later found out was in his first working there (kudos!), did an excellent job at recommending wines that fitted my taste and matched the dishes. As the main dishes came out each waiter and waitress explained each intricate component of the dish and in some cases added something, like the sauce, to complete the dish. Excellent food, excellent service, would happily dine again and part with another $200 on myself.

Booked for the upstairs fine dining experience but I am extremely disappointed. First the service is terrible, second the food is honestly not worth it's price. The food was definitely not up to par. Finally towards the end of our meal the whole restaurant smelled like garbage. Would never recommend this restaurant to anyone. Please RUN.

So far I have been to Grossi Florentino 3 times and each time was fantastic. The first time was preparing for our wedding reception. We wanted intimate dining for 12 of our closest. We had a degustation and the food was excellent, waiters were attentive without being intrusive and we enjoyed the wine. It was also comfortably the best of several restaurants we trialled. The second time was our wedding reception. They opened earlier than would normally be the case so that my grandmother would not be kept up too late and we were able to do speeches and the like without disturbing other guests. Guy Rossi greeted us as we arrived. The food was excellent and the wine simply blew my mind. The story I like to tell though is that my extremely young nephew was with us and at one stage he got a little over excited and tipped his spaghetti on the floor. The only reason I was aware of this is that I happened to look in the right direction at the right time to see a waiter who had picked up the spilled spaghetti silver service style and was carrying it back to the kitchen as though to serve. We caused a mess and they dealt with it no muss, no fuss. Very classy. The third time was on our first wedding anniversary. They remembered us, they knew what we'd had for the wedding, we got a card and some gifts from the restaurant without making a big thing of it. The food has always been very very good (although the reception was comfortably the best of the three visits). The wines are superb ever time, and there are very few places I've found in Australia that do excellent waiting, this is one. Definitely worth the effort.

From the street, I stepped down into the dining room. The tables were close together and the waiters were busily tending to patrons. I was seated soon after at a table for two along the wall opposite the open kitchen - presumably, the grill. I ordered an Aperol spritz for apertivo to start. Entree We decided to share two entrees, the anchovy stuffed zucchini flowers ($26) and the special for the night, the prosciutto, figs and balsamic ($28). Both entrees were fabulous. The only problem with the zucchini flowers is that there weren't enough of them! They were gorgeous - crisp light batter and stuffed with gooey mozzarella and the salty anchovy. Heavenly. Figs and prosciutto should just marry each other because they work so well. The sweet juicy plump figs with the salty delicate prosciutto that melted on my tongue, was divine. Main For main, we shared a huge 600g Black Angus T-bone steak ($52), cooked medium rare. I'm so glad we shared, it was a massive piece of meat. The waiter presented us the steak first, then whisked it away and sliced it up for us to share - genius! The meat was charred just slightly on the outside and succulent and tender on the inside. It was a lovely steak, but - and I'm sorry Mr Grossi - it did not measure up to the Bistecca Fiorentina we had in Florence. In Florence and Tuscany, a special breed of beef is pasture-raised for bistecca fiorentna. For that reason, I expect it's not fair to compare the two. For contorni (side dishes - all $12) were green beans with tomato and roast potatoes with rosemary and garlic - both delicious. Dessert Still reading? This is where it gets good... After a query from my dining companion, the waitress said, "The chocolate pudding is good, but the tiramisu is amazing." Yeah, right. My tiramisu is amazing. "No, truly, this tiramisu is fabulous, it's really popular." Popular? Sure, whatever. Popular doesn't cut it with me. Ordering tiramisu out has resulted in disappointment after disappointment in establishments across the globe - mainly because my version is so delicious! My first spoonful evoked an intense reaction. The creamy layers were smooth and luscious, there was a taste of coffee, but it wasn't overpowering, almost a hint, and then the taste of rich bitter dark chocolate came through just after the coffee. Oh. My. God. I took a second taste just to be sure. Yes. I have found a tiramisu that's better than mine. I never thought it would or could happen. It was out of this world and definitely 100 per cent worth every calorie. Seriously good - and so good in fact I would say that it's worth going to Florentina for the Tiramisu alone.

I had brunch here on Saturday morning. I sat outside on the sidewalk have brunch al fresco. I loved sipping a cup of coffee while watching Melbourne pass by at a different pace than I was on. I had the polenta with Roquefort and rocket. It was splendid, although a little on the small side for the price. I still haven't got comfortable with the prices of food in Melbourne. But the wait staff were extremely friendly and efficient. Kick back and enjoy the atmosphere on the upper end of Bourke.

I've never been here for dinner, and I've only ever heard great things about it. What I CAN tell you is that as far as breakfast / brunch is concerned... avoid it like the plague. Meals are cold and delivered haphazardly with sides showing up after your actual meal as long been finished. The coffee too was substandard. Stick to lunch and dinner.

Grossi's is a bit of a Melbourne institution, and deservedly so. The establishment is divided into three parts: the restaurant, the grill and the cellar bar. If was a rich man, da da da da da da...you know the rest, but no, I don't have all the money in the world so I'll only be able to share my experience of the cellar bar and not the higher end restaurant or grill. Needless to say, I'm sure they are truly amazing, but I've yet to find out. The cellar bar, however, is for the common people. Common people, like me (I really want to, but I won't start quoting Jarvis). It's for anybody really, anybody who enjoys the energy of the Bourke Hill precinct and wants to savour it over a mouth-watering array of Italian dishes and a good drop. It's really quite romantic in the evening, sitting outside by the old-school, glamorous shop front, nibbling away at salted cod croquettes and a perfectly matched sauvignon blanc. I think I've now tried about half the cellar bar menu and I've never been disappointed. This is one of Melbourne's quintessential dining experiences and therefore not to be missed. Treat yourself and a loved one to an evening here, and then come back again and again as often as you can.

I dined at The Grill section of Grossi. The service was the downside of this restaurant. They were obviously understaffed for a booked out Saturday night, with the waiters spending more time carting food to Upstairs than on our floor. The waitresses dumped food onto our tables, with no eye contact or a smile (probably because they were so swamped). There was one waiter who was still courteous and pleasant under the circumstances. The food was decent. Sad to say though that the bruschetta was the best dish we ordered. The pasta was salty, and the bread rolls were solid, and no gluten bite to them. It took 20 minutes for our plates to be cleared, another 20 for coffees to arrive (would have ordered dessert, and an extra glass of wine, but with the service would have taken another hour). Water glass was empty for most of the meal. Lady on the next table ordered an affogatto, and only got cream when it arrived. I wouldn't recommend it for the pricing they were charging. On a positive note, Grossi Florentino himself was rushing around which is great to see a chef work in their own restaurant!

Best Italian restaurant i've ever been to serving authentic traditional italian dishes. It's fancy and pricey but you get what you pay for. Very worth it in my opinion. Flavours on point and servers are very friendly and helpful. Great for lunch of dinner

Making my way through the menu at cellar bar (next to Grossi). Unfortunately I think I started with the best: lasagne, followed by pumpkin tortellini. Tonight: mussels. Good but the pastas are far better. Great ambience, love the waiters in waistcoats.

Very pretentious. Made a booking for 2 at the downstairs grill, and was placed with in elbow range of 2 couples left and right - very poor. After my complaints, they moved us to a better table. Ordered the lamb shoulder main $36 - although quite tasty and tender, the portion size was a joke. To walk away hungry after parting with so much cash is just disappointing.

Visited the downstairs grill restaurant last night. We were seated close to the door and had to endure a winter blast every time the door was opened - finally asked to be moved - which was granted - to a table next to the busy storeroom. With huge expectations in place I found my meal uninspiring. The oysters, whist fresh and delicious, were not correctly shucked and still attached to the shell. The Scotch fillet was ordered as medium rare - the steak was uneven in size will medium to well on the thin parts and rare on the thick parts - the little bit of shredded cabbage supplied was a paltry addition. The sides of salad ( 2 or three lettuce leaves) and 6 "hand cut" chips were ridiculous for the price charged. Desert did redeem the meal to some extent but by then I was over it....... The waiters tried hard but you had to be nimble to catch their attention. All up - my lasting impression was "jam 'em in and attack their wallets" - a medium meal for a high price (approx $125/person incl 2 glasses of lower priced wine). Much better value elsewhere. Regret I won't rush back. PeterL

Grossi Florentino is a very swank Italian restaurant that serves high quality produce in a traditional Italian style. The flavours are quite simple, but the food is impeccably cooked. Last time I went, I ordered the suckling lamb, which was delicious. The service is very good. The almost entirely male wait staff (who all appear to be European, if not Italian) know the menu inside and out, and exude some real class. Everything about the service seems effortless and rehearsed to the Nth degree. I've only been to Grossi for a couple of work-related events, which I thankfully haven't had to pay for myself, but the menu is quite pricey so be warned.

Went for coffee and desert last night night enjoyed both tried a crème caramel probably the best I have tried

I have only experienced the restaurant at Florentino, and specifically the vegetarian degustation. Given how difficult it is to get good vegetarian food, let along a degustation, I had high expectations before visiting and I wasn't let down. Each course (5 + extra tastes) was superb, the time between courses was timed perfectly and the service was excellent (except for the sommelier, who while knowing his wines, lacked some general conversational skills) . Definitely, a special occasion restaurant and while pricey, it was worth it for a splurge.