PIZZA MEINE LIEBE

231 High St, Northcote - ph: 9482 7001

I'll start this post with the disclaimer that I had high expectations about Pizza Meine Liebe after hearing so many bloggers rave about this place.

I've heard really good comments not only about the food, but also about the restaurant's atmosphere and vibe. Unfortunately, I have to say that I didn't like either.

Starting with the vibe. The restaurant is set up with a few large tables at the front (when we visited, there was a group of about 12 using most of that space), a few narrow tables at the corridor / kitchen entrance, and a larger dining area at the back.

I happened to get one of the narrow tables. Just by taking a look at the picture listed on urbanspoon you can see that being squeezed against a white tiled wall (looks like a bathroom wall) doesn't really cut it as a great atmosphere for a restaurant.

Now, to the food. I ordered the meatball calzone topped with 4 cheeses sauce.

The sauce was too runny and quickly made the dough soggy. After the first couple of bites, my dish was looking more like a soft lasagna than a crisp calzone.The meatballs were pretty tender and tasted good.

Small braised meatball calzone topped with 4 cheeses sauce ($15)

What really disappointed me was the salad. Apart from not including any seasoning / dressing what so ever, I actually tool close up pictures to show how old the rocket leaves were.

Side salad served with the calzone

My friend's mushroom pizza wasn't as bad. Although she didn't like the dough (it tasted more like flat bread than pizza dough), the toppings were good. Her salad leaves didn't look as bad as mine either.

Mushroom, mozzarella and asiago large pizza ($19.50)

Service was also ok, but nothing remarkable. We were so disappointed with what we got, that we left about half of our food still on the place and went elsewhere for dessert.

I'm not sure if we were just really unlucky to eat there on a bad, no-fresh-salad-leaves day, but I'm certainly not looking forward to coming back for a second try.