Umberto Espresso Bar

The food was nice although some dishes were a little big and others were too small. The salads were quite bland.

The calamari fritti were tender and delicious..easily the best we’ve had anywhere. Both our pasta dishes were cooked Italian style - al dente with authentic home made sauces. Portions were good and one of the few places that still serve bread to mop up the sauce! Service excellent and the Aperol spritz👏 -true Italian 🇮🇹. ! We will be back…did I mention the espresso corretto ✅

A huge shoutout to Umberto's! We had our work Christmas party at Umberto’s and they absolutely nailed it! The food was exceptional — one incredible dish after another, and not a single miss. Mimi and the team were amazing, keeping the vibes high and the service seamless all night!! And a special shout-out to Marsha, who was a dream to organise with. She went above and beyond to accommodate dietary requirements, making the whole lead-up completely stress-free. If you’re looking for a place to celebrate, Umberto is your hotspot - can’t recommend it enough!

Came here for the first time on a special date day and it did not disappoint. The food was hearty, warming and perfectly flavoured - we had gnocchi, eggplant parmigiana and green beans with ricotta which were beautifully seasoned with butter and a delicious dash of lemon. The cinnamon panna cotta was delicately flavoured and delicious too. Staff were friendly, knowledgeable and had good recommendations, while the atmosphere was perfect for warming up the body and soul on a cold, rainy day. Can thoroughly recommend and will return!

Wow this was our first time at Umbertos and what an amazing place it is, full of atmosphere, amazing food and even better service. All staff were lovely and engaging but Kyle has got to be the most exceptional manager we have ever come across he made our night memorable, I highly recommend this place. You will have no regrets.

Lovely place , lovely went to try their traditional deserts . Also tried these garlic bread .

Yum yum yummy Food was delicious, the polpette were absolutely delicious, melt in your mouth snd the spaghetti alla marina was cooked perfectly - the flavour was on point. The service was exceptional and Kyle did an absolute brilliant job with quick service and great banter! Highly recommend this place.

Unfortunately this is the end of an era. We didn’t check reviews because we’d been here several times before over a number of years. Such a disappointment, and never will eat there again. (Also as I paid the poor man asked ‘how it was’ and I told him it wasn’t good. I asked if change of ownership. No, he said. But change of staff. Whatever that means. Whoever is in the kitchen doesn’t know how to cook pasta. Doesn’t know about flavours. It was the worst Italian I’ve ever eaten. TRAGIC!!) These are my daughter’s notes, taken on the night, during the meal: - Took forever for food to arrive - Garlic bread came first and then was cold by the time mains came - Pasta very undercooked and clumped together - Marinara was 3 mussels, 2 scallops, three prawns, used to also have fish - Very hard to get waiter’s attention left with empty glasses for a while - Water not replenished - Salad didn’t come until we were almost done with the meal, though they brought it and put it on the house which was nice - Used to be our fave marinara would’ve said the best in Melb, now so disappointing - Been coming here since it was the smaller venue over the other side of the road - it’s lost its atmosphere and the staff seem stressed and run off their feet so not a good vibe - Obvs issue with the kitchen - I’ve never felt a need to leave a review but this has hurt me in my soul (this comment is from my daughter; I obviously HAVE left reviews on google) - End of an era If the owner/manager reads this: you need to have someone in the kitchen who can cook Italian food, knows how to cook pasta, how to balance flavours. There are reviews about how poor the food is going back months. You will go out of business if you don’t attend to this and you should address the issues sincerely and immediately if you want to keep customers. But you’ve lost us and many others from what I can see on this page. Good luck, it’s a sad end to a wonderful institution.

Umberto's is a lovely bar/resturant down High street Thornbury, an area that is quite becoming a quirky strip of places to dine. We enjoyed a sensational meal of Calimari, seafood pasta and a salad to share. This place has a great area outside to eat and wonderful staff who were awesome enough to cater for us just past the time the kitchen closed. I would recommend this place as a venue to start off your night if you are going out in Thornbury/Northcote or just for a quick meal. The prices are very reasonable and it has a very intimate feel.

I visited Umberto's most recently on Saturday night with family members.We were seated in the courtyard, as everywhere else was fully booked. I was told on arrival that the corkage charge was $15.00 per person as we had brought of bottle of wine with us. This surprised me as we had always brought our own wine previously with nothing like a $15/per head charge. For the first time in all the years I have been going to Umberto's, the food wasn't up to the usual standard. The pasta, which two of us had, special $40.00, was tasteless, my partner's scallopine was chewy, probably yearling beef, and came with no vegetables, the carbonara was rather dry, but the best of the dishes we ordered. Before the food arrived we noticed foul smelling water under our feet, presumably coming from an overflowing outhouse. People at the other table also notice the smell. The staff seemed unconcerned, so we had to move ourselves to another table, by pushing 2 x 2 tables together. The staff eventually came to attend to us, but surprisingly, were critical of us for moving thereby losing a table for 2. Needless to say, we were not impressed with food, service or ambience on this occasion, so much so that we asked if there had been a change of management. The answer was "no". Sadly we won't be returning to Umberto's, which has been our "go to" restaurant since we moved to Preston 10 years ago having been introduced to it by a long term patron. Helen

Went for a late brunch/early lunch and managed to snag a seat in their gorgeous little courtyard. Be sure to head straight to the back on a sunny day! Avocado on toast with ricotta was deliciously simple and the coffee was lovely. We ended up staying for a couple of hours longer and sampled the drinks menu - the espresso martini is a notable highlight!

We went for dinner at Umberto last night and it totally kicked arse. We'd tried to get in there before, on the recommendation of a friend, but it was full and we were told to book ahead. Months later and we managed to get a table on the night (though it was the last one) and man was it worth the wait. Umberto do coffee and cakes and cafe type stuff during the day and full-blown Italian meals by night. The menu consists of pasta classics and basic entrees and sides. The bruscetta comes in three kinds and the meatball starter is insanely good. We all had pastas for mains and the spaghetti marinara special killed it for freshness and held generous serves of scallops, prawns and mussels. I had the carbonara (it was a cold night) and it was all creamy deliciousness. The service here was the winner. We had a pretty fussy person with us and the staff responded to all requests with good grace and a smile. I'll be back there for sure.

Went here on a busy Thursday might. Small cafe, bespoke and limited menu and they turn the tables over every 2 hours. Food was great and staff attentive and friendly. The panna cotta is to die for and my Italian companion said it was better the An she had ever tasted. Praise indeed. Would recommend without hesitation - but do book ahead!

The best out of best simple home cooked Italian Food .Highly recommend. Well balanced menu with excellent customer service . Cosy , tasty, smart.

Dropped in for a coffee and was delighted with the whole experience. The coffee was perfect, it was delivered with a small biscotti on the house - mmm delicious. The atmosphere is cozy, sat at the window bench, chatted with the owners who are extremely nice. Will definitely return to try the food menu.

Wow, I've heard lots about this place and finally had lunch this week. Fantastic, food was traditional and plentiful and delicious. the service was unbelievable. You know when you visit a place and you just know they get great customer service, Umberto is such a place

This place is different from most espresso bars because it doesn't matter what day or what time u go the owner is always there, sometimes his dad is also there helping out. The food is like home cooking, real Italian food, I come from an Italian background, so I recognise the jars of homemade eggplant and olives, the homemade sausages, THIS is when u know u r getting a real Italian meal! The owner Marco invites u into his home and kitchen not his business. Do yourself a favour, visit him.