Criniti's Carlton

Food was raw and shocking and we all left feeling sick. Management tried to give us discount but we're capped at a percentage rather than acknowledging the problem. Was a regular here but never again.

DON’T COME HERE IF IT IS THE LAST THING YOU DO. If there was an apocalypse and this restaurant was the only surviving place of nourishment I would still not eat here again. Pesto pasta tasted like jar pesto. I voiced that the pumpkin gnocchi was quite bland (had to add salt and pepper, asked for extra olive oil and was given an olive oil + balsamic mix which obviously pushed the barely-salvageable pasta over the edge). They offered to make me something else so I ordered a Margherita pizza. It came with no basil as listed on the menu and when I asked about grabbing some to put on I was told that the kitchen had run out. I ate a piece and then asked if we could just pay for the pesto pasta and drinks as the other two were really quite bad and was told this wasn’t possible and we would have to pay for a meal we were not going to eat. We were then charged for the original pasta ($30 - a complete rip off) instead of the Margherita ($25). I’m all for supporting good local businesses that serve fresh food but this, unfortunately, is a bad local business that serves tastes-like-freezer food.

We were desperate for a pizza, and as many other places were closed at the start of the new year we ended up here. The positive thing first, both pizzas we had (Calabrese and Francesco) were of good quality and tasty.
But overall the place is a little overpriced, the pizzas were $26 and $27, a 500 ml Peroni Beer was $15.90 and a large Coke was $14.90.
Also the service was very unorganised and not attentive, there is clearly someone missing who is guiding the waiters. As a result several customers were sitting down and left again after a while, as they did not get the needed attention. Also we were surprised, we ended up receiving our bottled drinks without a glass, and our pizzas without cutlery and napkins. While we thought the waiters recognised it and are just leaving to bring it, we were mistaken and every time had to try a while to get their attention, and once we managed still had to wait several minutes for it to arrive rather than them resolving it straight away. And by the time we received our cutlery (see the pic of the fork) we recognised that obviously no one really pays attention to what they bring.
Overall the pizzas would have made it 4*, but the service brought it down to 2*.
Overall the prices and what you receive in return are not balanced, so this is something the management needs to look into.

Had a really great experience. Food, drinks and the atmosphere was absolutely perfect. Really recommend the BBQ ribs, great portion and tastes really good! Great service from staff and the manager was very friendly. Would definitely come back again!

We loved this restaurant, pizza was amazing and waiters were attentive. There are tons of pizza places around area, but this one should be definitely on list to go to.

We were really excited to try this place but unfortunately had a bad experience. The staff wasn’t friendly and basically had to pay $27 for a drink that said serves for 2 but tbh could serve only one. I would recommend a visit when it’s not busy at lol. Hopefully then could have a better service.

Crinitis is a great venue, big large indoor dining areas to cater large groups, good outdoor dining area too. The fitout is cool and fun, staff are friendly and helpful. However the food here is not great! The menu is Large and extensive, if you can't find something on here, you're not hungry. The quality is poor. Veal parmigiana, was small, over sauced and cooked ok. Pasta dishes were not finished as they were lacking flavour and any creativity. Cheese bread was ok but tasted like a home made jaffle. Pizzas looked ok but all in all a very poor food experience and I can not recommended this place to eat.

The service was terrible! We have ordered a pasta and pizza! They brought our pitza first and after 45min they brought a terrible uncooked pasta with too much cream! We even could not eat that!

Terrible quality for the price point.the ingredients listed in the item doesn't even get included. The vegetarian pasta only had olives and nothing else. Caesar salad was terrible too. The dressing was way too sweet and sour. I would not recommend pasta or salad. Maybe their pizza is better.

Extremely rude service. When we enquired about chips type & burger ingredients, were told straight up that it's like "McDonald cheeseburger and Mcdonalds fries".
When in fact the chips were not as described. Very unprofessional.
As for the food and it's cost, the pizza lacked flavour and was oily and very unappetising. The burger buns were falling apart which means either not fresh or stale. The chips were brown and tasted burnt. Seems like this business just relies on popularity and not quality.

I have been to this place many times over two years. The food is not bad. It's the waiters attitude that steals your joy every time. To be fair not evey time. When making a decision for places to eat with friends the thing that comes to mind is the lack of customer satisfaction and good attitude. Recently I decided to have a chat with the manger (at least I thought she was the manger.) she didn't even hear it. So I will say it here. A waiter can be the start of a good day or the end of one!

Coffee and cannoli were good. However, Service was a bit haphazard, our table was really wobbly so not great for drinks. More attention to detail needed.

Have had several terrible experiences at this restaurant. With such a huge menu, there are multiple dishes that are not fresh and taste off. On several occasions i've bitten into an Arancini to find the outside reheated and the inside parts still frozen. 3 attempts at replacing them and still the same result. On another occasion the oysters smelled foul and tasted foul. Multiple people at our table handed back a partially-tasted dish because it smelled and tasted unfit for consumption. The staff were quite rude and invalidated our experience, claiming it did not seem off to them, claiming they tried it back in the kitchen and it was fine, and refused to waive the charges for the partially-tasted dish. After multiple terrible experiences I won't dine here again, and wouldn't want to risk my health with their questionable kitchen practices. All the best, and I hope you improve.

What a disappointment.sitting down enjoying my wine on Tuesday night with my friends.waiter come in and say we are closing in 10 minutes so we need to pack your desserts away so we can close.absolutely disgraceful and embarrassing.the level of service is absolute rubbish … never coming back

Average place for the price you’re paying. Taste of the food wasn’t amazing not sure if I’d go back. Sat outside and it was warm as they have outdoor heating. Bathroom was cool.

Great food, ok service & no lager’s on tap? … hence 4 stars vs 5

We also initially had a booking at crinitis southbank but were warned by a patron not to dine their as we were about to enter… they had waited an hour for cold food

We also Waited 45+ minutes for food here in Carlton and the restaurant wasn’t packed and we received no prior warning, that’s not ok.

The food however was good, we ordered

1m pizza - garlic chicken - bbq chicken - capricosa

Spaghetti Bolognese & some other pasta which I’ve forgotten the name of.

We would come back, however would defiantly ring to ask how long waiting time is, thanks.

Coolest and most delicious Italian place in Melbourne. I love the food, the service and the cave style restaurant reminds me of Rome. Don't forget to ask fo the Aglio e olio! Its just spectacular!

Thanks guys and see you soon.

EXCELLENT SERVICE, GREAT FOOD
Criniti's Carlton is a great choice for a high quality fix of modern Italian cuisine.
The restaurant is quite large with a number of zones or areas - including a very spacious al fresco option stretching along the street.
Despite its size, it's not particularly noisy.
The menu is very extensive so there should be something to please everyone on your group. Good vegetarian options and capacity to choose some dishes as either entree or mains.
Interesting selection of fresh juices and a wide range of alcoholic drinks. Serving size is generous and the meals are very well presented.
We dropped in for lunch on a Sunday (without a reservation) and were seated immediately.
We chose to share a serve of stuffed mushrooms for entree - absolutely delicious - and then shared a huge prawn salad and chicken penne.
Waiter was very friendly at attentive.
A good option for an intimate dinner, large group catch up or just hanging out with friends after shopping the Lygon St strip!
People with mobility issues will be fine in the dining room and al fresco as its all one level. The bathroom (which is very hip and clean) however is at the rear of the restaurant and down a small set of stairs which might be challenging for some.
Well worth a full five stars:)

The food was excellent! Special mention goes to Chris and Stevenson who made the experience memorable. Their friendliness and passion was truly a commitment to customer service. Would highly recommend the place to anyone and look forward to visiting once again.

Well the food was nice but it took almost an hour before we got our meals.
More attention to customer service and their needs.
Maintaining the toilets clean.