The Waiter’s Restaurant (AKA, The Italian Waiter’s Club)

Sometimes I realise exactly how lazy I am on a school night when I want to dine in the city but decide to drive rather than walk because I am too tired and hungry and I want to eat quickly. Of course it always takes me longer to drive in by the time you factor in trying to find a carpark that isn’t going to cost you $10 for two hours in the evening, thus turning that cheap meal into a rather more expensive one.

Tuesday night this week I had been hoping to go to Hutong Dumpling Bar again, even though it has been reviewed about 100 times recently. I thought Nick would appreciate the dumplings and I had a craving to fulfill. Hutong wasn’t meant to be on this occasion as after three days of trying to get a booking, someone finally answered the phone but I was told it was booked out. I got brain freeze. Where else could I eat in the city tonight?

Alex came to the rescue with a very helpful recommendation that we should join her and Mike at The Italian Waiter’s Club for dinner. I had never been and I was looking for a place with some history so off we went.

Hidden away up a dark set of stairs off Meyers Place you will find The Waiters Restaurant, littered with history (even a mafia shooting, at the top of the stairwell), news articles and some artwork that may have been drawn after one too many water glasses of wine. The atmosphere is welcoming and delightfully lived in.

The restaurant doors first opened in 1947 offering a home away from home, where the local Italian and Spanish waiters would retreat to after a busy night’s service for a steaming bowl of traditional pasta and perhaps a mug of vino.

The Waiter’s club is not a restaurant that you would take a prospective client too rather a cosy place to retreat to when you just want to be hugged by a big plate of comfort food.

On the menu you will find your typical pasta dishes alongside mains such as veal scallopine, whole lemon sole, salmon steaks or saltimbocca. There are no prices on the menu board. Expect to pay $25 per person including pasta and an alcoholic beverage.

Yet another hidden gem in the city…

The Waiters Club
Address: 20 Meyers Place, Melbourne
Phone: 03 9650 1508
Bookings: If you wish
Fully licensed