Locanda Restaurant & Public Bar

Fantastic cocktails and such friendly staff. There chefs really know there trade well. The steak was beautifully prepared and presented extremely well on the plate. We had three different cut of meat and they were all cook to perfection.
Our family really enjoyed a great night out

Excite your taste buds with the signature house dryed beef steak and yummy porterhouse steak 🥩, it was perfect. The Expresso Martini is on another level.

Enjoyed the food, drinks and the overall ambience and service.
The desserts were perfect too, that finished off the meal nicely. 😊

Good and tasty food. Friendly and well experienced staff. Amazing dessert options..

Great food. Fabulous atmosphere. Perfect pre-theatre venue. Highly recommended.

Fantastic private dining room,
Amazing food, and great staff

Great place. Very friendly staff. The food is good too

My partner and I booked Locanda’s Deli Private Dining Room for an intimate dinner with our families after getting married at the Registry Office.
Communication with the events team - Kate and Jenelle - was great, very fast and helpful!
The feasting menu was a perfect amount for the 10 of us and was all so delicious!
The restaurant manager, Nancy, and the servers were all very helpful and friendly
The room itself was absolutely gorgeous, we could have left it as is (but I would recommend a couple of floral arrangements and some candles to anyone wanting to do something similar)
It was a very affordable evening as well and we felt as though we weren’t taken advantage of just because we were celebrating a wedding.
We had an amazing evening and we couldn’t have been happier!

We had our wedding reception dinner here. The staff were all very friendly and the space was amazing.
The staff were very accommodating with our requests as well.
The food was delicious and we had a few different options as well and each dish was delicious.
Fantastic space and worth every cent!

Such a lovely menu with great wines and top service to match. The steak was perfectly cooked.

Wow. What a wonderful experience! Arguably one of the best nights out we have had.
We stayed upstairs at Rydges and bought a package with dinner included. Given it was a two course meal that came with the hotel, we were expecting an average quality dinner.
From the moment we walked in, staff were wonderful and attentive. We were seated and drinks brought over promptly. My partner is coeliac and they were very knowledgeable and happy to provide information on the gluten-free options available.
We ordered the calamari to start, and both agreed it was one of the best we've ever had. Great flavour, light and not greasy, and tasted fresh.
We both decided on the chicken saltimbucco for our main and the standard was just as high. I get full quickly and usually leave something on my plate but it was just too good, and a great portion size. Whatever the sauce was, it was perfect, and the chicken was cooked to perfection. The tiny basket of handcut chips really went well with it too, just a handful of them was really all that was needed.
We finished off with a creme brulee to share, and the flavours were amazing! Not even sure what the fruit was on top but they complemented each other perfectly.

Special shout out to Anita, our waitress, who was soooo lovely. She really did complete the experience. It's unusual these days to get such incredible food and outstanding service to match. The whole experience really made our night very special, so thanks so much to the team and the chef's for their wonderful meals and service. We can't wait to come back.

Also returned for the buffet breakfast which was very well done also.

Really happy to stumble upon a fine restaurant, especially an Italian, that easily accommodated our diets. The lovely Parisian waitress was knowledgeable about the menu and attentive to our dietary needs. The snapper with fennel was really good! The fish was flaky and the fennel was neither mushy nor hard as a rock. Chicken Saltimbucco was delicious-not overcooked. The ingredients of the caprese salad were vibrant tasting and visually appealing. We highly recommend!!

Liam is a fantastic drinks technician, happy, friendly service from all bar staff. Will be back again when we come back to the city, recommend go before happy hour as Liam will make drinks to your taste and is more than happy to explain what goes into the drinks, has the best people skills of ANY cocktail technician I've had the pleasure of meeting. Liam thank you for the great service and conversation.

My family and I attended Locanda for Christmas lunch 2019. The executive chef Paul Griffiths was very accommodating preparing an outstanding vegan meal for both my daughters. I cannot praise him and the service crew highly enough and wouldn't hesitate to recommend to anyone. 5 stars!!!

With the assistance of Molly, we hosted my parent's 25th year wedding anniversary at the venue.

Food was exquisite and was more than enough to keep all the guests well fed.

With a beautiful ambience and decor, it certainly left quite the impression on the guests who seized the opportunity to take thousands of photos.

Thank you to Molly & the team for a memorable night. No doubt we'll be back soon, even if it's just for dinner!

I used to work nearby so Laconda was my local. But now even after more than a year of working at the other side of Melbourne I keep going back. We almost always start our Friday nights there. Great, friendly staff. And love happy hour!

This place is amazing!! Had a buffet breakfast and it was incredible. The food was amazing. It was nicest scramble eggs I have ever had and the variety was so wide. The restaurant it's self is upper class. The staff lovely :) will be back again :) 5 star!!!

Hi Molly,

Thanks for your note – I was hoping to get to you before you got back to me.
• Sophie was great and organised all on the day
• Food fantastic – great mix / drinks flowing
• Ambiance, music and lighting great
• All very impressed and said many good things about the day.
• Personalized menu a plus

Thank you so much for organizing, great hospitality and communications.

Have a great Christmas and NYE and the 2020 Year ahead.

I had my 21st Birthday in the Private Deli dining room and it was absolutely amazing. Molly the co-ordinator helped me edit the menu and the drinks package to better accomodate for my guests and Emma in the dining room provided amazing service on the night. Cannot recommend the Creme Brûlée and Duck Fat potatoes enough. Huge thank you to Locanda for giving me the best birthday!!

Locanda has a fantastic breakfast spread with a great selection for in house guests of Rydges and the general public as well. The coffee is great as is the service and the staff in general. It also offers excellent food and service for the evening meal. It is somewhere that I have recommended to other people and a place I will continue to frequent.