Maccaroni Trattoria Italiana

10-12 Manchester Lane, Melbourne 3000
Date visited: 5th May 2013

MerlinFan and I had wanted to try Maccaroni Trattoria Italiana for quite some time now.  It has an impressive rating on Urbanspoon and MerlinFan was in the mood for something cheesy, so both of us and AH made haste there this windy Sunday.

Maccaroni was easy to find down Manchester lane with its red and white signage and hanging plants.  

Pasta and cakes!

Just to tempt you...

The restaurant itself was cosy, quaint and quite beautiful with the warm overhead shaded lamps and polished wood flooring.  

There were menus on each table.  MerlinFan and I noted with amusement that they were proud of their Urbanspoon status.

Most of the pastas were written in their Italian name, which made you want to pronounce them like "Marghe-riiii-ti!" in Inglourious Basterds.  Or alternatively, the Aldo Raine way, whichever you prefer.

Water 

Service was not good nor bad, just rather indifferent and a bit lacklustre.  We got there before twelve and were the first ones in the restaurant.  However it took a while for our orders to be taken as the waiters seemed more interested in chatting to each other  0_0

However, once our orders were put through, food came quickly.

AH is semi-vegetarian - semi because she occasionally eats chicken and fish too.  Today, she chose the Gnocchi Sorrentina, which was homemade potato gnocchi with Napoli sauce, basil and mozzarella.  The gnocchi were smaller than your traditional gnocchi - they were delicate with just the slightest bite, not at all gluggy or stodgy.  AH enjoyed it.

Gnocchi Sorrentina $14

MerlinFan and I couldn't decide on which dishes to order as so many sounded incredibly tempting, so we decided to choose two to share.

Firstly we had the Baked Maccaroni Incasciati, which was maccaroni pasta with Napoli sauce and mozzarella cheese baked au gratin, with mince meatballs and eggplant.  This dish was pretty yummy too with the nicely seasoned meatballs and baked eggplant interspersed within the macaroni.  I thought it could have been cheesier, although AH and MerlinFan commented that the Napoli sauce was really salty.  AH tasted the maccaroni and pointed out gladly that it wasn't a "rubber hose" which was how she fondly referred to the pasta we all had in Italy due to its al dente-ness.  (Though personally I enjoyed the al-dente quality to it and don't think there was a single pasta experience I didn't enjoy there)

Baked Maccaroni Incasciati $15.50

Last and certainly not least, was the Four Cheese Ravioloni.  This we agreed was the dish of the day.  It was homemade four cheese ravioli with bacon, radicchio cream sauce and parmigiano cheese.  The small pasta envelopes were of a nice thickness and we just adored the four cheese filling.  The radicchio cream sauce was delicious and we didn't even need to add the extra cheese.

Four cheese Ravioloni $20

Cheese

All in all, prices were all right and the serving sizes rather small, but taste wise everything ticked the right boxes.  Service was not particularly memorable but the Four Cheese Ravioloni would be a dish I would happily return for.  

Verdict?  To quote Sheldon Cooper, "Mmm mmm mmm, that's Eye-talian."




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