La Camera Southgate

My girlfriend said that grilled calamari was “LIFE CHANGING!” The atmosphere was wonderful, the staff are the friendliest we’ve experienced. The chef Kim is magic, the food is delicious. Highly recommend, thank you, and thanks for making our night so great :

Update09/08/22: A prompt response from La Camera tells me that they accept the feedback and are keen to fix what didn't work. Paul the restaurant manager is confident about other dishes, so I might visit again. -------------- Original review 07/08/22I have done hundreds of restaurant reviews, and I am always very careful if I ever have to give a low rating to a business. I went to La Camera with high hopes. The lady who greeted us was pleasant, professional and friendly despite being busy. I think she was the head server or the manager. The other person with glasses who served our group was very polite too, and both of these things are a good sign. However, the food, the missing items and the grumpy man were enough to disappoint me. Food: I ordered the Parma, so did three of my other colleagues. While the quantity was good, quality of the dish was too poor. The chicken was dry, hard and bland. Chips that came with the dish were soggy and soft. Seriously folks, you do not place chips under the meat. Neither you place them too close to the wet salad leaves. Some of my other friends ordered veg pizza. I tasted it, and found it bland too. Sadly, their opinion wasn't much different than mine. It reflected in the large amount of the leftover pizza. I really despise wasting food and I always finish my food. But yesterday it was so different that I left most of it. Did I just pay $50 for pub food? Service: Service was mostly good, except that they forgot to bring the wine. It was served on the house after the meal was over. Well..! Then, the guy who blatantly and too directly told us, "I'm not the mains person". Politeness and a smile are the key elements in the service business, even when you are under pressure. Ambience: Is good. I liked the setup and decor. ----- Do I recommend the restaurant? No. Would I go again? No.

What a beautiful place! Tucked away, High above the Yarra River, we were lucky enough to get a balcony seat! The cheese arancini balls were perfection, as was the eggplant. In regards to mains I had the slow cooked ox cheek, which I would get again in a heartbeat and my partner got a pizza - just as delish. Not only the food but the service was awesome - we’ll be back.

Beautiful place to eat in Melbourne. Paul is one of the best hosts we have ever had. A fabulous place to eat. The food was magnificent.

This place is great! Atmosphere is relaxed and casual with super competent and really friendly wait staff They know what they’re doing and what they’re talking about and you can tell making the customer happy is their main priority. The service we received was so amazing and we will definitely be back again. Joe and in fact all staff went out of their way to accommodate a large family. La Camera was welcoming and gave us an amazing experience. Do yourself a favour and visit this lovely restaurant if you are in Melbourne. Regards Nurije Alexander.

Highly recommended restaurant. Very friendly staff. Excellent quality food & great coffee. A very nice atmosphere for couples, families.

Really enjoyed our meal. Food was tasty and well presented and the menu offers good variety. Prices are quite reasonable. If they improved the service from "OK" to "good" the restaurant would be excellent - an example, I'd added a note to our online booking that one diner had an egg allergy. It would have been nice if that had been recognised by the staffer who seated us, or the waiter who took our order.

Great food great service. Balcony definitely best option if weather is right. The 8hr slow cooked ox cheek is sublime. The paella is perfectly cooked and the pork belly is highly recommended. Service is a stand out feature.

La Camera has a great atmosphere along with friendly customer service. The manager Paul was very helpful and social, he recommended food and made sure to get our food out quick. Not to mention, the food being at a high quality, personally I loved the beef ragu. I would recommend this place to all for its authentic Italian food and friendly customer service, thanks Paul!

Food & wine were delicious, in fact outstanding, service disappointing. Would have liked another drink and dessert but it was never offered. I made a booking 6 weeks ago, special dinner for partner's birthday, table for 2 - we were parked on end of table for 4. Although we are from interstate we are very familiar with Melbourne and would be reluctant to return to this restaurant.