AMICI Trattoria

At the risk of invoking the wrath of my Italian friends (and food connoisseurs everywhere) — I generally never eat Italian out. Maybe I was just not born with discerning taste-​buds when it comes to pasta, but my general feel is that packet pasta with bottle/​homemade pasta-​sauce is good enough for me, and when I do eat it out I just don’t find it that much more impressive (and that includes eating across Italy).
That being said, I enjoyed my dinner here just fine. It’s a cute, cosy, candle-​lit, pretty romantic little place off busy Burke Rd. Nice place for an intimate date.
We got the Bruschetta, Fettuccine Sapore (chicken mushroom in creamy sauce) and the Gnocchi Classico (potato dumplings), and all were decent. Most bottles of wine (red anyway) are around the $ 30 mark, which isn’t too bad.
…but paying the bill I have to wince la little like I do every-​time at an Italian place; as the truth is I would have been equally happy eating home-​cooked packet pasta for about 3% of the cost, but that’s just me!

It felt like I’d been embraced by Nonna when I walked through the doors of this charming little Trattoria. The winter’s chill was quickly forgotten when we sat down in the warm with a glass of wine.
The menu, home style Italian, massive portions and totally classic and delicious.
I was defeated by the pork dish I selected, cooked beautifully and surrounded by lots of veggies. My friend was also defeated by his spaghetti and meatballs, which looked amazing.
We walked in off the street and were able to get a table immediately, so if you feel like a cozy yet hearty Italian meal in Camberwell, this is a lovely place to go.

At first glance, no one will blame you for getting your hopes up about the restaurant. With the marvelous ambiance that makes for a very romantic situation (candlelight, velvety red chairs, the WORKS), you would think that this classy restaurant fits the bill of high quality.
Customer Service: Terrific. They were very accommodating and friendly. Plus, the majority of the employees had thick Italian accents which made for a very charming and authentic atmosphere! Also, you have to dig a place where the waiter grinds pepper on your pasta for you.
Unfortunately, despite the good looks and fantastic customer service, you will be disappointed by the food. Just as you cannot judge a book by its cover, you cannot judge a restaurant by it’s appearance. The dingiest restaurants can make the most banging dishes whereas something on the more fancy side can be mediocre.
I ordered Fettucine Dino — braised meatballs, capsicum, onion, white wine, and Napoli sauce with fettucine pasta. Sounded delicious from the description but I’ve had better meatballs from Subway. The meatballs at AMICI Trattoria was very rough and tasted slightly burnt. Below average to the point where I chose to rather not finish my meal than make the most out of my 22 dollars. Yep — 22.90 for a huge flop.
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AMICI Trattoria isn’t horrible by all means. The ambiance and customer service is great and if you have a lot of cash to blow, feel free. However, you can definitely find some other Italian that is just a lot better.