Member Review by Liz

Terrible, terrible, terrible!

Last Saturday night I had a terrible experience at La Camera. I had been there before with friends and it
had been wonderful, so I decided to go back again.

The night started off well but after we were halfway through our meals, two of us found human hairs in
our food. They were different dishes. We complained and the waiter offered to give us free drinks.

While we were finishing our drinks we heard the table beside us complaining that they had not recieved
all their change, but they said that they supposed the restaurant thought that was their tip. This made
us wary and when we paid our bill we were not surprised when they did not bring back the change to
the table. I asked about the change and they admitted they they had put it straight into the till. This
appeared to be a common practice with them. We just thought this was so dodgy!

So a warning: Watch out for hair in your food and watch out for your change!

Member Review by Danny Segman

What a place to sit on a nice Melbourne Evening - out on the balcony of Southgate watching the world drift past.

The food quality is always good and my personal favorite is the pumpkin Ravioli which is tasty and well priced.

If Southbank is too far to travel you can always try the sister restaurant in Chapel Street Prahran.

Member Review by Karen Fostiropoulos

I had an experience that was the exact opposite to the one described below. It was a busy Saturday night, and it was a case of Christmas parties galore. We had called ahead during the day to make a booking but were told they were all booked out. Nevertheless, having heard nothing but good ? and on a balmy Melbourne night - we thought we'd try our luck and turn up anyway. Lucky we did as we were seated at our table 5 minutes after arriving. Probably a bit surprising given the phone call earlier in the day, but my dining partner and I were prepared to overlook it.

It was a very busy night, but the service was fine and everything was brought to our table in reasonable amount of time. Best of all, the food was nice. We started off with the Bruschetta al Pomodoro ($8.50), which was very tasty and for mains we ordered the Penne Pollo ($14.90) and the Marinated Chicken Skewers with Cous Cous ($15.90). But it was the dessert I was most impressed with. We shared the Vanilla Pannacotta with Raspberry Coulis and berry yoghurt ice cream, which was simply divine.

And what was even better, La Camera is part of the Entertainment book so we ended up getting 25% of the bill. Just great and I?ll definitely be back!

Member Review by Gary

La Camera Southgate has dismissed some problems it had while it expanded and is now a quality eatery that doesn't cause pain to the wallet.

Being near the window looking through the treetops at the edge of the Yarra is a great location for a mid-market Italian like La Camera. The last time I was there the service was about what you expect at this price point - adequate, no fuss, and it's better to ask rather than wait for them to anticipate your needs.

The wine list is small, but a good selection, all reasonably priced. The dips, calamari, risottos, schnitzels and desserts we've had are all hearty, well presented and fresh... and real 'built' risotto, not the 'assembled' fake risotto which proliferates in Melbourne.

The noise level can get high when it's very busy, and watch the 'lunch specials' - they are interpreted literally and cannot be varied in any way - but then, they are very reasonably priced!

A location like this is hard to beat, and if the right crowd is in there it's a pleasant scene. Recommended for a small group lunch or a passing dinner, but not the place for a quiet romantic evening.