Il Bacaro
(03) 9654 6778, Shops 4 & 5, 168-170 Little Collins St, Melbourne. VIC 3000 Italian $$$
http://www.ilbacaro.com.auOpen Mon-Sat noon-3pm Mon-Thu 6-10.30pm Fri-Sat 6-11pm, ; Licensed, BYO; Cards AE DC MC V, Seats inside 45, Outside seats
Chef: David Dellai (31-03-13) Owner: Graeme Ballentine & Joe Mammone (31-03-13)
Photo: Tony KnoxMietta's Review
This is a very confident restaurant that survived a change of ownership, a year or so ago, without batting an eyelid. Not that such a firm masculine environment would tolerate eyelid batting. It is dark, with a huge central bar that crowds the tables in a comforting way. It is the sort of place you go for the long lunch knowing that the rude outdoors could never intrude. Old style professional waiters charm an adequate tip from the mostly male clients. Food is Italian style for Australians that is quite well done. It's not cheap, but it sure is safe.
Other Published Opinions
The Age Good Food Guide 2013 Score: 15/20
Read full review ...The Age 12-2-2013 Score: 15/20
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Gourmet Traveller 2013 Australian Restaurant Guide "Behind its glossy black door on Little Collins Street's fashionable upper north side. II Bacaro is like a private Club dedicated to gastronomy and good times. Well-dressed diners gather at linen-draped tables or at the central bar for dependable Italian fare, a cracking wine list and lively wait-staff"
Age Good Food Guide 2013 Score: 15/20 One Hat
Gourmet Traveller 2012 Australian Restaurant Guide "While others search feverishly for the next big thing. II Bacaro goes on its merry way, having got it right years ago. A house of serenity this ain't: sprightly waiters work the noisy, packed room with a sense of urgency, while latecomers at the bar wait their turn to enjoy David Dellai's gently modern cucina"
Age Good Food Guide 2012 Score: 15.5/20, 1 Hat
Age Good Food Guide 2011 Score: 15.5/20, One Hat
Gourmet Traveller 2011 Australian Restaurant Guide "You could say II Bacaro is like a well-oiled machine, but that'd be doing its romantic room, charming service and distinct Melbourne-Italian personality a disservice. There's certainly nothing robotic about the now 15-year-old restaurant, just a confidence that begets a reliably smooth dining experience"
Age Good Food Guide 2010 Score: 15/20
Gourmet Traveller 2010 Australian Restaurant Guide "Something got deliciously lost in the translation of a Venetian bacaro - a workers' pub serving snacks - to Il Bacaro, a sit-down bistro that's anything but working-class. Diners flock here for elegant food served in a low-lit room of rich timbers and stacked wines"
Age Good Food Guide 2009 Score: 15/20
Gourmet Traveller 2009 Australian Restaurant Guide "It's chic without being pretentious; elegant without being overbearing. lI Bacaro, which has been plying its trade in this sexy laneway location for more than a decade, offers the more overt 'ciao bella' Italianisms with a nod and a wink"
Herald Sun Claire Sutherland, 10-06-08 Score: **** "Several of our best chefs have had tours of duty here, but the food momentum is never lost"
Age Good Food Guide 2008 Score: 15/20
Gourmet Traveller 2008 Australian Restaurant Guide "With its moody, dark good looks and effortless sense of European style, Il Bacaro does Melbourne dining theatrics beautifully"
Age Epicure Restaurants, John Lethlean, 27-6-06 Score: 16/20
Herald Sun Dining Out Simon Plant 15/11/05 Score 17/20 "Soon to mark its 1 0th anniversary, Il Bacaro just gets better. A gifted chef works wonders in the kitchen and knowledgable waiters work the lovely dining room with practised ease, Il Bacaro keeps an astonishing cellar, some bottles breathtakingly expensive. Good value can be found if you zero in on half bottles and wines by the glass."
Age Good Food Guide 2006 scoore 15/20
Gourmet Traveller 2006 Australian Restaurant Guide * "Sexy, modern and dead smart, Il Bacaro is seen by many from interstate as the quintessential Melbourne dining experience. Co-owner/manager Joe Mammone cut his teeth at Caffe e Cucina and keeps many of its attributes alive through Il Bacaro: service-driven with a moody, almost mysterious feel."
Gourmet Traveller 2006 Australian Restaurant Guide Best romantic restaurants "Groovier, sexier (than Grossi Flerentino) but, ultimately, just as Italian is the CBD's dark and brooding Il Bacaro, home to some excellent modern Italian cooking and a distinctly intimate ambience."
Age Jane Faulker August 05
Age Good Food Guide 2005 score 15/20
Gourmet Traveller 2005 Restaurant Guide * "By night, II Bacaro is like an Italian lothario - dark, moody and sexy. Soft lighting, wooden panelling and crisp white linen seduce diners to slowly sip an aperitivo and settle in for the evening. Brighter and lighter by day, you can also sit at the bar for a more casual dining experience."
AGFG 2004, score 15/20, 1 hat, excellent wine list, excellent bar
Herald Sun, Sunday Magazine, 7/3/04, Sally Fisher,'This is a perfect restaurant: it's small but diffcult to hear the conversation at the next table; it's dark except for the flickering candles and strategic soft lighting; the menu is unspeakably delicious; and the Italian waiters are knowledgable and charming.'
Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide Australia 2004, 2 Black stars, Excellent wine list, Good vegetarian options,'This Venetian-style restaurant opened with a bang in 1995 quickly settled in, and has since proved something of a rock in this ever-evolving CBD environment....cosy Latin ambience...At night, the clientele broadens to include anyone who appreciates fine Italian fare.Service is slick'
Herald Sun, Sunday Magazine, 15/2/04, Graham Pearce, Score 8/10, 'One of the best Itailan menus in Melbourne.'
Vogue Entertaining & Traveller, March April 2003
The Weekend Australian, May 17-18 2003, Cameron Stewart
Herald Sun, citystyle, eat, 29/3/03, Bob Hart
Age, Sunday Life, Eatstreets, John Lethlean, 6/10/02
Age, Epicure, Restaurants, John Lethlean, 13/8/02, Score 15/20
Age, Epicure, 04.04.00, John Lethlean Score: 14 out of 20
Age, 07.07.98, John Lethlean Score: 12 out of 20