Cucina Vostra - Glen Eira

It's the second time we've visited here and again the food was good.

Now here is Italian COMFORT food at it's best and because the locals know it - bookings are a must at this very cosy cucina.

I have the unfortunate disposition of thinking that if something is far away, it almost doubles in value due to the sheer effort of venturing out to it.

We were staying in Armadale and looking in High St for somewhere to have dinner. CV was available, and we got a nice table by the window. Our service was patchy due to the waiter not understanding our order. My pasta was lovely (spaghetti carbonara) but my wife's meal was very bland. The house wine should be avoided!

It would seem that sometimes authenticity does count. This Italian restaurant had a nice looking menu however none of the dishes ordered were authentic. It appeared that the chef is not italian and certainly only knows how to cook essence of Italian. My mushroom risotto was tasteless and the aged parmesan cheese mixed in were like bits of plastic. There were 5 diners and everyone had issues about the food not being cooked well and certainly not being authentic Italian. Not one person finished there meal. Unfortunately the service can only be described as incompetent and clumsy. The proprietor and staff were not rude but just lacked any polish. A shame as the restaurant itself has a reasonable feel and is in a good location. The proprietor needs to attend to the food and get a chef who can cook Italian food. Then he needs to hire a competent front of house manager and train the otherwise pleasant staff.