Umberto Espresso Bar

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 ✅

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.

Enjoyed our nice lunch today of calamari fritti and spaghetti carbonara……. Great authentic Italian cuisine from homemade pasta and a delicious choice of other dishes……my family have been here on several occasions over the years as we always make it part of our itinerary whenever visiting from Sydney 👍

Went to Umberto's last night with a friend. We started with the Calamari which were fresh and delicious. I had the rockling which was cooked to perfection and finished off with the cannoli. The staff were very friendly and the service was excellent. It still is an institution in Thornbury for great food and service. Keep up the great work.

Great selection of Italian dishes , wines and deserts.. reasonably priced and quality is very good. Had meatball panini and tiramisu, both of which were excellent. Portions are decent and taste/flavours are authentic. Has different specials so things do change a bit. Plenty of indoor, outdoor and courtyard seating.. service is great with attentive staff.. will go again.

Unfortunately, my recent visit to this restaurant was quite underwhelming. The pasta was severely lacking in flavor, with barely any seasoning—no noticeable salt or pepper, making the dish taste flat and uninspired. Even more concerning, the calamari had an off-putting smell that raised questions about its freshness. Given the quality of the food, I genuinely cannot recommend this place to anyone. Instead of spending your money here, you'd be better off donating it to a good cause—it would certainly be put to better use. I hope the restaurant takes this feedback seriously and makes the necessary improvements.

I went to Umberto's years ago when it was across the road and it was great. My partner and I were in the area on Thursday and decided to try it since id read good reviews over the years. To say I was disappointed is a understatement. We ordered garlic bread (which was good), lasagne and stuffed pasta shells. The lasagne was a little bit burnt at the bottom. It was so dry, as if it had been sitting in the fridge for 3 days. To make it worse it had been heated to death in the microwave. The shells were ok but nothing special. I know the cost of eve

Amazing food here I ordered the crumbed veal which was delicious. My friend ordered the lasagna and we shared a tiramisu which was also yummy. The service was great and the atmosphere was cosy and comfortable. Will be coming here again for sure!