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Grossi Florentino
Ph: 9662 1811; 80 Bourke St, MELBOURNE 3000 www.grossiflorentino.com
Italian, $$$ +, ** for Food & Ambience
Open Lunch Mon-Fri noon-3pm Dinner Mon-Sat 6pm-10pm, Closed Good Fri Boxing Day; Licensed; DC MC V EFT
Chef Guy Grossi & Chris Rodriguez (7-11-07) Owner Grossi Family (7-11-07)
Photo: Tony Knox
Mietta's Review
This really is a wonderful dining room. High decorated plaster ceilings, wood panelling, the famous murals, black clad waiters in long crisp white aprons and well spaced tables covered in damask cloths set with good silver and glassware. Add the care and attention of the Grossi family to the (multitudinous) offerings of chef, Guy Grossi, and you have a classic dining experience - treasure it. See also Florentino Grill Room and the Florentino Cellar Room.
Other published opinions
Gourmet Traveller 2009 Australian Restaurant Guide Score: ** "Chris Rodriguez Dante might have conceived a set-up like this. The ground floor, with its all-day smart-tratt Cellar Bar, is hardly purgatory, but as you rise to the Grill, things get more lavish"
Herald Sun Mike Bruce, 17-06-08 Score: **** "Our most opulent Italian, and still one of the best"
Herald Sun Bob Hart, 23-02-08 "CITIES without at least one restaurant like Melbourne's Grossi Florentino are not cities at all, really. For 80 years it has ticked over, front row centre, in Bourke St - its prices and occupancy rate a useful measure of the financial wellbeing of the nation. As a restaurant complex, the Flo is all things to all people - the entry-level cellar bar with its bowls of pasta, the ground-floor grill with fine tucker at fair prices, and ... above stairs. It's up there that the magic is woven"
Age Good Food Guide 2008 Score: 17/20, Two Hats "No restaurant in Victoria comes closer than Grossi Florentino to recreating the grand, continental European, Michelin-starred experience"
Gourmet Traveller 2008 Australian Restaurant Guide "There are few dining rooms in Australia that can match the grandeur of Grossi Florentino"
The Age Good Food Guide 2006 score 17/20 2 Hats "Upstairs, in the rarefied atmosphere of Grossi Florentino's Mural Room, there's a grandeur that's almost extinct in Melbourne these days. The wood panelling, leadlight and intricate ceiling work hark reassuringly back to another era beck, they've even got little footstools for the ladies' handbags. With crisp white tablecloths, baronial furniture, fine stemware and cutlery and smart service to match"
Gourmet Traveller 2006 Australian Restaurant Guide ** "With three separate eateries on one site, the Grossi family has a lot of bases covered. But it's the grand upstairs dining room that grabs the plaudits: it's a luxurious taste of "old Melbourne town", and a world-class formal dining experience. The attention to detail at the table is unparalleled in Melbourne"
Gourmet Traveller 2006 Australian Restaurant Guide Best romantic restaurants "As a way of impressing, the ever-so-slight formality of upstairs at the Fiorentino, and the Old World majesty of the room and its furnishings, cannot fail."
The Age Good Food Guide 2005 score 127/20 Two Hats " WHILE gentlemen who dine at Florentino's Mural Room need no longer don a jacket, a night out at this uber-expensive restaurant is still special, going by the clientele's fashions."
Gourmet Traveller 2005 Restaurant Guide ** "A grand staircase leads up to the dark-panelled walls and elegant chandeliers ofthe hallowed Mural Room. Here, stiff white linen, sparkling glassware and fine crockery abound, offset by an ambience ofquiet murmurings and Bocelli."
Herald Sun CityStyle Best of Melbourne 04 Best taste of old Melbourne "The Grossi Fiorentino has been around since 1900, a constant favourite with those who don't mind forking out for high-end Italian food in one of Melbourne's most gorgeous dining rooms."
The Foodies' Guide 2004, Allan Campion & Michele Curtis,'Not only one of Melbourne's best Italian restaurants,but also one of the most exquisite dining rooms around,with its Tuscan murals and glitzy trimmings. Guy Grossi creates Italian masterpieces using the very best regional Australian food ... Downstairs in The Grill you'll get two courses,a glass of wine and coffee for $25,for lunch and dinner, but before 7pm.'
Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide Australia 2004, 2 Red Stars, Excellent wine list,'The charming patina of age is genuine, the service fastidious and the options-be they food or wine-endless ... in a class of its own.'
The Age Good Food Guide 2004 2 Hats
The Age Good Food Guide 2003 Best Italian
Herald Sun, sundaymagazine, eating out, Sally Fisher, 2003
The Age, A2, Food and Wine, John Weldon 7/6/2003
The Age, Sunday Life, Eat Streets, 30/6/02
The Sunday Age, 09.07.00, John Hindle
The Sunday Age, 29.08.99, John Schauble
The Age, 27.04.99, John Lethlean Score: 15 out of 20
Or perhaps ...
Grossi Florentino Victoria
This really is a wonderful dining room. High decorated plaster ceilings, wood panelling, the famous murals, black clad waiters - it's a classic dining situation.
Il Solito Posto Victoria
You step down into the bistro at Il Solito Posto and perch either at the bar, under the head height windows or go down a couple more steps into the restaurant proper.
Sarti Victoria
A lovely rooftop space with courtyard serving simple but well executed dishes. There's also a cheaper bar menu.