Melbourne CBD, 3000
(03) 9654 6075
Cafe L'Incontro can be easily found along Swanston st as you walk into the Melbourne CBD away from the Flinders train station. It will be on you right. We had just won some money at the casino and were happily spending it on some food and alcohol. It was 10pm on Thursday night and this place was one of the few that was still open. The place was still packed with people, most of whom appeared to be Asians who were just passing through the country and did not speak much English. We ordered a bottle of pinot noir, lamb shanks, and calamari. All that cost us exactly $66 (AUD), which is not too bad considering that the bottle was half of that price.
The service was good. The guy at the counter was keen to crack a few jokes and was a bit of a quirky character. The girl who gave us the bill though did not even know what pinot noir was :P. Our wine arrived almost immediately. The food arrived about ten minutes later, which seemed surprising because the piece of lamb was quite large and thick. I'm not sure how they managed to cook such a massive piece of meat so quick and so tender.
We suspected that it was precooked reheated lamb. Anyway, the lamb tasted OK. It was tender and moist, but just lacking something. I'm not sure what it is, just seemed like it was not fresh. The mashed potatoes were good. Nothing special here. Mashed potatoes is not rocket science - even a 10 year old can make a decent pot of mash so I'm not going to rant about the potatoes. The calamari tasted OK, just OK. It was dry and lacked any real flavour. I had tasted far better calamari before.
The cafe atmosphere seemed average. It appears to be one of those places through which different people pass by all the time. It did not feel like a place which had a loyal following, and I can see why. The cafe was missing soul, a feeling of a cafe, a place where you want to sit down and enjoy the coffee and the atmosphere - the real essence of cafe culture was lacking. However if I was the boss of this cafe I would not care much for this because at such a central location you are always going to get customers. If you are sitting at one of the tables outside you are also bound to smell some horse poo every once in a while as this area often has the city tourist horses with their carriages pass by. I have not tried the coffee at this place, but do not see a reason why I would want too. Overall this cafe is disappointing.
Quality of service: 6.5/10
Quality of food: 5/10
Atmosphere and presentation: 4/10
Value for money: 6/10
Overall rating: 5.3/10
The service was good. The guy at the counter was keen to crack a few jokes and was a bit of a quirky character. The girl who gave us the bill though did not even know what pinot noir was :P. Our wine arrived almost immediately. The food arrived about ten minutes later, which seemed surprising because the piece of lamb was quite large and thick. I'm not sure how they managed to cook such a massive piece of meat so quick and so tender.
We suspected that it was precooked reheated lamb. Anyway, the lamb tasted OK. It was tender and moist, but just lacking something. I'm not sure what it is, just seemed like it was not fresh. The mashed potatoes were good. Nothing special here. Mashed potatoes is not rocket science - even a 10 year old can make a decent pot of mash so I'm not going to rant about the potatoes. The calamari tasted OK, just OK. It was dry and lacked any real flavour. I had tasted far better calamari before.
The cafe atmosphere seemed average. It appears to be one of those places through which different people pass by all the time. It did not feel like a place which had a loyal following, and I can see why. The cafe was missing soul, a feeling of a cafe, a place where you want to sit down and enjoy the coffee and the atmosphere - the real essence of cafe culture was lacking. However if I was the boss of this cafe I would not care much for this because at such a central location you are always going to get customers. If you are sitting at one of the tables outside you are also bound to smell some horse poo every once in a while as this area often has the city tourist horses with their carriages pass by. I have not tried the coffee at this place, but do not see a reason why I would want too. Overall this cafe is disappointing.
Quality of service: 6.5/10
Quality of food: 5/10
Atmosphere and presentation: 4/10
Value for money: 6/10
Overall rating: 5.3/10
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