We thoroughly enjoyed our experience here. We chose the four dish feed me option and the food was really lovely. Quality and presentation was excellent with terrific flavour. The wine list is a good one too and we had no problem choosing a few beauties. Service was terrific throughout. Most efficient and friendly but never intrusive. Conclusion: it’s a very good restaurant. We would happily return anytime.

We went on a trip to Melbourne and wanted to have high quality Italian. We came here because we saw such good reviews about how it was like the best Italian place. We had the 4 course menu and it was decent but not too worth it in our opinion. The prawn pasta - prawn flavour was so strong. My mum makes prawn noodles and they taste much better. The best part was the dessert. It tasted divine. It was almost worth it.

Every single dish was absolute perfection and the service was top notch. Pentolina now falls within my top 5 dining experiences in Melbourne. The rustic feel of the restaurant and ability to watch the chef’s in action through the glass screen made the experience even better. Pentolina is perfect for any occasion, whether it’s a date, client meeting or otherwise.

Beat Italian I've had in Melb... Fine dining at its best. Simple dishes cooked to perfection... Every dish was better than the last... Service was friendly and helpful...

Every part of our meal was exquisite, prepared and presented in such a way that each course stopped conversation at the table (and we're Italian so it's hard to get us to be quiet!). The Tiramisu cocktail was divine and the selection of Italian wines is really good. The team at Pentolina were welcoming and friendly and made a special night out really enjoyable.

I had high expectations from the reviews but it did not meet them unfortunately. None of the dishes tasted bad, but it tasted very average to me especially at the price point $32-$35 a plate. I felt that the servings were a bit small. Ambience was nice and service was good but felt a bit rushed at times even though the restaurant was empty.

This restaurant has a nice atmosphere. The staff know the menu, are polite and ensure your glass is always full! The menu is small, but what we ordered was done to perfection. I had the octopus and crab gnocchi, I can’t recommend that enough. I was going to give this 4 stars due to being pricey , but again, the food and service was brilliant.

What an incredible experience! The $65 set menu was absolutely DELICIOUS - with a bunch of entrees (each one better than the last) and the perfectly harmonized flavours in each pasta... SO GOOD! The beetroot gnocchi was a standout for me (doesn't sound like it'll be great but it is delectable) - and you HAVE to get the slow cooked trout entree just to experience the melt in the mouth experience. Honourable mentions to the beef carpaccio and the "strangled priest" pasta... Finishing it off with a beautiful Bombe Alaska... amazing! Service was very pleasant and sitting at the bar in front of the kitchen is a must - watching how everything works in the kitchen helped to while away the time between dishes. The ambiance is lovely and perfect for a date night or a catchup with friends over wine and pasta. TL; DR - Highly recommended!

Even though I'm one of the few that don't rate Italian as my favourite, I have to say the food here was pretty decent and fresh. The ravioli had a very interesting flavour. The serving sizes aren't huge, so definitely recommend some sides

We chanced upon Pentolina as it’s tucked away in a lane way, but we were so happy we found this place! The pasta was so amazing and fresh, and the wine was beautiful. The staff were also very friendly and attentive.

🦑 Squid Ink Tagliolini, Blue Swimmer Crab 🍊Smoked Swordfish, Burnt Orange Dressing 🌽 Corn Arancino 🍄 Mushroom Crocchetta 🐙 Octopus, Nduja, Potatoes 🐇 Rabbit and Veal Agnolotti, Artichoke Puree Tucked away in a cosy laneway in Melbourne’s CBD, you will find Italian restaurant Pentolina (“little saucepan”). Their Head Chef Gabriele Olivieri is Italian born and has worldly Michelin-star experience, as well as previously working at Melbourne’s @ezardmelbourne, @cecconisflinderslane and @bottegarestaurant. 👨🏽‍🍳 The menu is a playful mix of old and new styles, I’m sure there will be a few things you’ll have to Google to figure out what they are. Fresh, seasonal and sustainable produce is sourced from small local businesses and they specialise in house-made pasta. 🍝 Although being usual suspects, their entrees really impressed me. The croquettes were some of the best I’ve had in a long time, just oozing flavour. The elements in the Swordfish married so well, with smokiness and citrus coming through. The Octopus was also nice and spicy. 🐙 The Tagliolini was beautiful and didn’t have any overbearing seafood flavours. I inhaled the Rabbit and Veal Ravioli in about 4 minutes. It was nice but could have done with a stronger sauce. It is a casual dining restaurant however it felt very refined and would be perfect for any occasion. Amongst a lot of competition in the area, Pentolina definitely stands out with their modern spin.

Loved dining at pentolina! Lovely little intimate spot for a small dinner or one on one, gnocchi was super soft and there was a great wine selection. Appreciated the service here, staff are warm and friendly.

Pentolina - a favourite Italian restaurant that never disappoints. The food and wine menu is outstanding. We choose from the à la carte menu this time. The sparkling rose to start was perfect. We sat at the bar watching meals being cooked, whilst we waited for our table to be ready (we had arrived a little early). The service was great and the food incredible. We will be back!

Our dinner was amazing. Everything we ordered was delicious. The service was great. All the staff were super friendly & helpful. Definitely would go again & recommend to family & friends

Nice atmosphere and fairly busy. The croquettes were amazing and probably the highlight for our table. The mains were nice as was desert. Reasonably priced. The service was really lacking though and we had an exceptionally rude waiter. We wont go back. There is better Italian in Melbourne to go to.

beautiful experience at pentolina - had to pop in before they close! we were greeted by friendly and knowledgable waiters, able to run through the entire menu with explanations and recommendations. the menu is small - but special. i'd suggest starting with 2 or so entrees and then each person getting a different pasta, the pasta menu is short and its worth getting a different one each and trying them! as for the food - beautifully crafted and tasty. the pasta is simply perfect, on the chewier denser side, in the best way, a little heavier. we ordered 2 desserts but were given a 3rd out of kindness because the waiters apologised for a 'long wait' on one pasta dish which came out about 5 minute later than the rest - but we didn't even see this a slight problem at all! and we're extremely grateful for the generosity. a nice and simple drinks menu as well as beautifully decorated and cosy warm venue. p.s only one toilet haha, and its right in the entrance of the restaurant! despite this, enjoyed every moment and bite.

We went to Pentolina for the first time last night and we were not disappointed. The team were friendly, funny and helpful. The food was incredibly well priced, authentic and plentiful and the produce was fresh. This, plus the beautiful ambience, created by the restaurant's moody lighting made it a wonderful dining experience.

A hidden gem worth knowing about! Delicious starters, fabulous fresh pasta, a great wine list and a modern pasta bar feel. A big thank you the head chef, Gabriele for always looking after us and serving up delicious and beautifully presented dishes. The owner, Julia for indulging my champagne requests :) Wonderful service, excellent attention to detail. Our glasses were never empty thank you Mario. Definitely the best Italian in Melbourne, highly recommended. See you soon. L

Cute little pasta bar hidden away from the busy streets 🤍 The decor inside is super aesthetic and picturesque - love the vibes! Staff there are wonderful and very accommodating! Started off the night with our moscatos, they were delightful! So sweet and crisp, went so well with our meal. For bite sized starters, the mushroom & truffle croquettes were so yummy! Super crispy on the outside and flavourful on the inside. The mushroom and truffle pairing is one i don’t think i will ever get tired of! Highly recommend! Skipped the antipasti and went straight for the pastas! Very impressed with the hemp shell pasta (lumache), something unique and definitely rare. The texture is very interesting - chewy from the perfect al dente, slightly rough from the hemp chunks. But it does a great job as a vehicle for the pasta sauce! The ossobucco was nice, well seasoned dish overall! Would recommend trying if you’re curious. Squid ink pasta had its flaws. I was slightly let down by the tagliolini, it was overdone, not al dente in my opinion. I get that it can be a tricky pasta to prepare but i was really expecting more! The pasta sauce creamy but was also very oily, way too oily for my liking. But flavour wise it was superb! Really enjoyed the spanner crab. For dessert we tried the Cremoso - a white chocolate crémeux layer on the bottom, coconut & pecan brownie in the middle and is topped with a sour but refreshing passionfruit mousse. I was surprised how well the chocolate brownie went with the passionfruit mousse! The white chocolate crémeux was what stood out the most - so creamy, smooth and perfectly sweet! Very nice dessert. It was a decent meal overall, attentive wait staff and great service; would be back to try more! 🥐 Crocchetta 🍝 Tagliolini Al Nero, Lumache 🍨 Cremoso 🥂 Viberti Moscato D’asti Docg

This place had a super cozy ambience and each dish we ordered had great presentation and was very delicious. Highly recommend the squid ink pasta, everything from the pasta to the sauce was incredible. My least favorite item was the crème brûlée, it wasn’t bad but maybe not to my taste.

My partner and I were looking for a new Italian restaurant to try, and we're so happy we went to Pentolina! The food was delicious, the drinks selection was lovely, and the staff and service were impeccable. The staff were so attentive, and made for a wonderful fine dining experience. We tried a range of stuzzichini, antipasti, and pasta - the pasta was honestly some of the best I've had in Melbourne. We will be back and will be recommending Pentolina to friends and family!!

Went there for our first date as an engaged couple. This was a highly rated restaurant and we were looking forward to this. The crocquetts and the ox tongue were quite brilliant for a starter. The latter could be a hit or miss depending on the person. However, we were expecting the beef tartare to be presented differently given the pricing. The tagliatelle was a delight whilst the pici wasn't quite so. We did feel like we entered in a bad face of their pasta menu as four out of five did not have any meat given how well the Italians pair their pasta with meat. The desserts were a 10 out of 10 and the cremoso was a flavor bomb! Our favorite part was the service of this young gentleman who was at it and was insistent on doing a good job. There was a mistake in the ordering but he did not let it hold on for too long, but became very proactive to quickly replace it with the correct one! It was disappointing to see that this young gentleman's name wasn't on the bill as the server. However, both of us did enjoy the experience as well as the delightful ambience! 150+ tips for two without alcohol.

I stumbled across this cosy Italian restaurant as a solo traveller in Melbourne for the weekend. Very welcoming despite my lack of booking on a busy Saturday night. I sat at the bar and got to see how the food was made. I was well looked after by the staff and chef and had a great time. Food was delicious and even got given a free dessert that's not on the menu! Would definitely come back again next time I'm in town

We thoroughly enjoyed our 4 course meal at Pentolina. Everything we ate was delicious. The pasta was especially beautifully done and so tasty. The service was great too. Thank you and we will be back.

Delicious fresh food and wine, recommend getting the 5 course chef selection with matching wines. Always attentive service and the food is amazing.

Delicious food and super friendly staff. This place is a little gem in the heart of the city. Big praise goes to the chef who is a master creator of exquisite dishes that not only look good but are a triumph of genuine flavours. 100% recommended!

A unique experience, Pentolina is astounding. From entre to desert, the flavours in each dish were rich, profound and perfectly balanced. The pasta, beautifully prepared and always the hero of the plate. The 'swallows nest' and 'strangled priest' pastas were especially noteworthy! The chefs are absolute masters of their art. The inviting wait staff had an excellent flow with the kitchen and our dishes were well paced throughout the night. To top it off the limoncello and chocolate deserts were delectable! In these Covid times, Pentolina transported me back to my time in Italy and rekindled all those fond memories. It was a pleasure to dine here. Thank you to the chef and all the staff!

One of the best Italian restaurant in Melbourne CBD with decent and good quality food 🙌👍🏻

Best pasta I've ever had! The picture doesn't look great but the dish certainly was. We had the tasting menu and all the dishes were good! We'll definitely come back 👍

Meals made memorable by superb food, delicious wine and great service...what a treat to return. Warm welcome and wonderful ambience