Settebello - Melbourne

We were here for a work event and the food was all fresh and served simultaneously. It can be challenging at times. The flavors were delicious and the staff was wonderful. Parking was convenient. The only drawback was the interior, which felt like a plastic café extension.

For the main course, my wife had the double roasted half duck over sweet potato puree, baby bok choy, spiced pear, and glaze. She really enjoyed it as her plate was left almost clean. My friend had the mud crab risotto, which had a generous amount of crab meat. It was so delicious that there was nothing left on her plate. I had the porchetta, which was rolled and roasted crispy pork belly over potato cake, Pedro Ximinez reduction, baby fennel, and blood orange salad. Although it was elegantly presented, I found it to be overcooked and not as good as I had hoped. All the meals were presented in the Nouveau style on large plates with decorative elements like balsamic drizzle. The portions were on the smaller side, with the risotto being the most satisfying. We finished off the meal with a bottle of New Zealand Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and passed on dessert. The service by Peter and his staff was exceptional, and we really enjoyed our Italian dining experience. The restaurant has two seating options for groups of 6-8 and 8-10, and we chose the earlier time slot. The bill came to just over $200 plus a reasonable tip for our server. Overall, I would recommend this restaurant as our experience was an 8 out of 10.

Settabello is located on Hardware Lane, across from a row of other restaurants with outdoor seating. It is a small restaurant with both indoor and outdoor tables where tapas-style dishes are served and meant to be shared. They also offer a separate lunch menu and specialize in pizzas. Guests can enjoy affordable drinks at the bar. We found that they had recently changed their menu to include more Middle Eastern cuisine. The lamb dish was delicious but had a bit too much fat. The chocolate triangle dessert was exceptional and worth returning for. The staff was friendly, and we had a great experience sitting outside on a Thursday night, enjoying the food, people-watching, and entertainment.

We are here on a work function and the food all came up fresh and all at the same time. It's a hard ask at times. The food was full of flavor and staff were great. Parking is easy. Only thing that was annoying was the function room is a extension made of plastic cafe walls.

Parking: There is ample off street parking outside the restaurant.I dined with my wife and a girlfriend. The ladies started with a champagne cocktail and I had a light beer. Entree of Bruschetta was very well presented and tasted as good as it looked.Mains:Wife - Double roasted half duck over sweet potato puree, baby bok choy, spiced pear and duck glaze. Must have been good as her plate was left reasonably clean.Friend - Mud crab Rissotto - the crab was a fairly good size and seemed to have plenty of meat. Nothing left on her plate either.Don - Porchetta; rolled and roasted crispy skinned pork belly over potato gallet, pedro ximinez reduction, baby fennel and blood orange salad.I thought this was the poorest meal whilst elegantly presented, to my taste buds was overcooked. Not as good as I have had elsewhere.All meals were presented in the Art Norveau style on very large plates with the meal centered and decorated with Balsamic and other spices. As with this style of dining there were very little else on our plates with the Rissotto being the largest meal. June did well to finish it. All this was washed down with a bottle of NZ Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. We passed on desserts.The service from Peter and his staff was exemplary and we enjoyed our Italian experience. They have two sittings 6-8 and 8- 10 we chose the earlier time slot. I was pleasantly surprised to settle the bill at just over $200 plus a reasonable tip to our main waitress.Recommendation: Would I recommend this restaurant the answer is a simple YESI gave the total experience 8 / 10.