The European

Old school Italian! A Melbourne institution. The gnocchi was amazing. Soft and pillowy. Best I’ve had. Polenta chips are also a must every time we come here or city wine shop. I was curious about the orange rose wine and they let me have a taste to see if I liked it. The wine was really unique, not too sweet and a bit dry. Just how I like it! Prices on the high side but well worth it for a treat!

Not perfect but the atmosphere this restaurant exudes makes up for it. We love that the furniture is a bit rickety, it's small and tight spaced inside, the waiters are very busy, it's noisy... it's perfect! We had a mid morning breakfast and just sat by the front doors and watched people coming and going whilst we enjoyed our coffees and Croque Monsieur and Toasted nut and seed egg and avocado. Without a doubt will return for lunch and a dinner too!

Coming to this establishment was a terrible decision. Instead of birthday cake, I was taken post theatre to The European. The cafe front door had a sign saying entry was only through the winery, however immediately after entering the winery we were bluntly asked why we did not go through the cafe door. There was barely anyone in The European, however we waited a disturbingly long time for the staff to decide who would seat us, continuously passing us off to the next person. This whole time all but one of the staff stared at us in disdain. I could understand this behaviour towards rambunctious young people, however not towards three formally dressed people, standing quietly out of the way. When finally sat, we were placed at an unset bay in what looked like a storage room and bathroom entrance- boxes lining the floors. This was because there were “no set tables in the European”, which made no sense as this table was also unset. Between the cold flares from staff, being placed in a storage closet, and the ridiculous price of $16 for a piece of slice, we caved and left. With the treatment it was evident we were not welcome in the eyes of the staff. The one waiter we were palmed off to seemed to express empathy when we walked out, and was the only positive element. Thank you Sir. The rest seemed almost smug as we left. It was quite a mood dampener, after hearing excellent things all week about wines and desserts, only to be made to feel deeply uncomfortable. I did not enjoy being made to feel like I was a nuisance on my birthday when my whole group of three adults was nothing but polite. I would not recommend attending unless you have an adult over the age of 40 with you. I am quite upset still by this treatment and experience.