Osteria Ilaria

We had such a wonderful dining experience at Osteria Ilaria. The wait staff were incredibly accommodating, friendly, and genuinely caring. They took the time to explain the chef’s specials in detail and offered thoughtful recommendations, which made us feel very well looked after. We decided to go with the Chef’s Selection, and it was an excellent choice. The menu offered a generous variety – two entrees, two starters, two mains with a side, and two desserts – all perfectly paced so each dish arrived at just the right moment. Every dish was beautifully presented and full of flavour, but the standout for us was the Wagyu rump steak. It was cooked to perfection – wonderfully crisp on the outside while staying rare and tender in the centre. Absolutely outstanding. Overall, a fantastic experience from start to finish. Great service, an impressive menu, and food that truly delivers on quality. Highly recommended.

My husband and I dined here tonight and had the best experience. The food was amazing with locally sourced ingredients. We were lucky enough to sit at the chefs table and enjoyed watching the them do their thing and chatting to them. It just added to the whole experience, thank you The tortellini and the stracciatella were our favourites ! We will be back :)

Had the set menu, gorgeous restaurant, yummy food, with the set menu it was very well priced. My girlfriend and I really enjoyed our time here. The Juniper Meringue, Buffalo Milk and Blackcurrant Gelato was the greatest desert I have ever eaten !! It’s part of the set menu, get it!!

Great service and nice spot but the food was mediocre. Out of all our dishes, the tiny mushroom croquettes were the most flavourful. The desserts were nothing great—with the truffle flavour really offsetting the pumpkin mousse in a bad way.

We got the chef's selection and came out hungry after all of it. The service was particularly slow. We had to wait quite a bit in between the dishes. I guess it's a mix between slow service and tiny portions you can finish in a few bites. Highlight for the food were the cultured butter and bread, mushroom croquettes, and the steak. However the rest of it was average. The black garlic tasted burnt and bitter. It was an experience but I wouldn't go back.

I really wanted to enjoy my food journey, however and unfortunately was deeply disappointed and shocked how mediocre the food was at Osteria Ilaria. We were a party of 3 out for family dinner and dined here on the evening of the 5th July 2025. We tried a variety of dishes, some to share as well as individual main dishes. The best part of the meal was the complementary bread and butter, warm bread and soft tasty butter. The mushroom croquet is the size of a small biscuit however it did certainly pack a punch and was good. The black ink spaghetti with diced scallop was also worthy of a mention. However all other dishes are uninspiring and far from memorable. The beef tartare was flavourless and carried no seasoning. Exceptional boring to the pallet. This is a generous description of the beef tartare. The seafood tart was a disaster and seemed like dressed up party food served in a restaurant setting. The tart was thankfully the size of a large 20 cent coin and after 2 bites it was gone so didn’t have to live through constant disappointment because the portion size is so small. The pasta with beef looked very appealing to the eye, but looks can be deceiving. Worse dish of the night. My son had the pasta special with truffle. Wow this was dry and if you call this truffle..I suggest you find another supplier as the truffle was carried no flavour unfortunately. The truffle pasta was close to being worse on the night and this was the special. I suppose the chef thinks it’s special. Hardly. The deserts are hardly inviting and leave no desire to return for more. Our experience at Osteria Ilaria was a real shame and I don’t quite understand how such a popular restaurant can dish up food that really didn’t live up to expectations. If one dish or a few were average I can tolerate and move forward and have a good evening. However the food consumed here in most part was average at very best and certainly non memorable. If you are seeking good and authentic Italian food don’t come here you will be deeply disappointed based on my experience.

Dined at Osteria Ilaria late last year and enjoyed a lovely set menu. The food was delicious with some fun and innovative flavours. The atmosphere was intimate - perhaps a tad cramped but the space was nonetheless very chic. The price point was well represented by the quality of the dishes. Would definitely recommend a visit.

We visited Osteria Ilaria hoping for a standout experience, but unfortunately, the food didn’t live up to expectations. While the space is beautifully designed and the plating is elegant, the flavours across the board were underwhelming. We ordered a wide range of dishes expecting bold flavours and creative execution, but most of them fell flat. Nothing truly stood out or left a lasting impression. Here’s what we tried: • Porcini mushroom croquette – Nice texture, but lacked flavour. • Crisp potato, smoked mussel, chive flower – Visually impressive, but bland. • Spanner crab tart with quince & Hakurei turnip – Tart base tasted stale and overwhelmed the crab. • Beef tartare with wagyu fat and caper – Decent seasoning, but ultimately forgettable. • Ocean trout crudo with buttermilk & lemon myrtle – Light and fresh, but not memorable. • Squid ink spaghetti with scallop & smoked clam butter – Lacked depth; the sauce didn’t deliver. • 9+ Sher wagyu rump cap with puntarelle & prunes – Nicely cooked but a bit tough. • Truffle pasta (off-menu special) – Very subtle truffle flavour; not worth the premium price. Final thoughts: Beautiful interiors and thoughtful plating, but the flavours didn’t quite deliver. We left feeling underwhelmed and wouldn’t return.

WOW! Just WOW! The food here was amazingly delicious - we had the ciabatta and cultured butter, kangaroo polenta appetizer, tuna tartar starter, lamb pappardelle pasta and a coconut ball sweet as a free treat at the end of our meal. The portions looked small but were very rich and filling and were all very flavorful. We ate at the bar and the bartender gave us excellent service as well as the sommelier took us through tasting a couple of excellent wines before we settled on our glasses of a wonderful Grenache. Highly recommend checking this place out if you like really excellent food and service.

Local Italian restaurant with lots of great food and charm. I highly recommend doing the chef's tasting menu. Just sit back and be pleasantly surprised by the various dishes that just comes out. They brought out 3 appetizers (fried blossom, yellow-tail carpaccio, burrata), home-made pasta with shrimp, octopus, and grilled pork chop with roasted eggplant side dish. Everything was super fresh and executed perfectly. It was truly great food without the huge price tag.

Nice staff, pleasant tables in the back, front area is crowded and more noisy. Good service. Our dinner was ok -- I had the crab, octopus pasta which was a bit bland but ok. My friend had the game ragu pasta which had no flavor, she didn't finish it. The salad was excellent. The bread pudding was nothing special, Melbourne has so many wonderful restaurants I won't return here.

Monday night and the restaurant was packed. For good reason. With seamless service, comfortable surroundings, and beautifully conceived, and executed dishes, we had a dining experience of the highest order. We started with octopus. Four baby octopi over an anchovy brown sauce, ensured that each bite was tender, with hints of salt, and heat in the gravy. Somehow the intense anchovy flavor was harnessed, so that it complemented, rather than competed with the delicate octopus flavor. On to the paccheri pasta, with crystal bay prawns, in a sorrel sauce. Home made al dente pasta, with a delicate sauce that supported the small, flavorful prawns. Our last main was the duck. Exquisitely tender, with crunchy roasted hazelnuts, bitter cooked radicchio, in a duck sauce. I was happy that they did not take the easy way out, with one of those over used, overly sweet fruit sauces. This dish was for mature palates, and married beautifully to our Pinot noir. We concluded with chocolate cake. The dish was deconstructed so that little bites of cake sat alongside bites of chocolate mousse, chocolate ganache, various fruits, strips of tarragon, and then covered in a blanket of very thin persimmon slices. Again bitter notes were emphasized over sweet ones, leaving one with a more complex dessert than any chocolate cake you have had before. Embrace the vision of this restaurant, and you will be well rewarded.

We just had dinner here tonight. Everything was wonderful. The service and food were both outstanding. We shared the mushroom croquettes, tiger prawns, nightly special of Mushroom Gnocchi and also a dessert of chocolate cream with coffee gelato. Would highly recommend

Osteria Ilaria is the wonderful cousin of Tipo OO, next door. I made the call to have a corporate team dinner here and was so was so pleased with the experience. Mediterranean inspired sharing plates, international wine varietals (try the Bosnian red) and seamless, unpretentious service. Dietary requirements are effortlessly catered for and the causal yet quality dining environment made for a relaxed evening. I especially liked the octopus and duck dishes. Although, everything was perfetto, including the house warmed bread the creamy butter. I have a crush for restaurant bread and butter. Grazie Mille. Looking forward to my next visit.

The four of us split a bunch of small tapas sized plates of food (it was almost half the menu). We left satisfied but not overly full. Apparently this is the sister restaurant to the Italian one next door that was too packed to sit. I would definitely eat here again. My favorite dish was the burrata.

We tried to get in to this restaurant but was put on a wait list, we were told that because there was 6 of us it would be an hour to an hour & a half wait. We kept checking in only to be told that they have a table of 4 away and that 6 was too hard! 3 hrs later we left to eat at another restaurant. Would NOT recommended this place as they were quite rude. I wouldn't give them a star but to post this review I had to give at least one. Not worth the trouble!

Totally agree with Glen Ellyn about the wine-listing rip-off. Outrageously sharp practice: it meant we ended up paying $85 for a bottle of wine which to all intents and purposes, following normal listing practices, should have been $45 - no mention of a carafe! Who buys a decent wine by the carafe? (Not that I have an issue with buying wine by the carafe if you want a vin ordinaire to glug with lunch, or w.h.y. - as I often do myself). Food-wise, helpings were definitely on the small side at any price, though the flavours were very good. The service was professionally pleasant and the ambience was relaxing with well-judged design and a well-lit interior. But the wine-listing catch is unforgivable.

The week before Christmas is a real test of a restaurant and Osteria Ilaria passed with flying colours. We made a booking for lunch a few days before , not on line but in person. We requested the quietest area so we could chat with our two friends.We arrived promptly at 12.15 and within a few minutes were sitting at our table, sparkling water poured and wines ordered. The open kitchen was busy gearing up for the guests to arrive as we walked past. The staff were cheerful and proactive offering advice on wine and food. We went for the 3 course menu with a couple of sides. ( the delicious chickpea fries and a mixed salad) my Hapuka starter was finely sliced , almost sashimi thin but very fresh and with a delicate sauce. I was told it was the first day on the menu and I think it may become a regular. My main were two baby snapper fillets on a smooth potato purée garnished with snap peas and cannellini beans. I was told the beef rump was delicious too. My dessert was panettone with cream, ice cream and berries, with a shard of white chocolate sprinkled with freeze dried raspberries. Coffee was excellent. I think the meal which worked out about $70 a head including tip, wine and charity donation was very good value for money. Don't go expecting huge serves, this is a refined if casual bistro place with excellent service, simple but stylish "Melbourne" food, bare timber tables, nice china and glassware , a massive wine list and paper napkins! Sorry, too busy eating to take photos!

Went here when we couldn't be accommodated at TIPO 00. The food was delicious, but serving sizes are tiny. Besides the snooty server, my biggest beef is with the wine prices. Wine list has two prices for each wine choice, separated by a slash, like every other restaurant. Except at this restaurant, the prices are not glass and bottle. They are glass and carafe. So the wine we chose which we thought was $13/$48 for a glass and bottle respectively turned out to be $78 a bottle! Unseen unless you happened to make it to the end of the 10 page drink list. Buyer beware! Again, food was tasty, portions were tiny and 4 small plates and wine came to $180. Felt a bit ripped off when we left. Won't be back.