Cafe Matto

Horrifying Restaurant Experience — A Real NO GO!
I went to Café Matto yesterday with my disabled sister who has a brain injury and breast cancer. We had been to Café Matto before. It was OK. We were seated near the open door and it was hot. I politely asked the waitress to close it to improve the air conditioning and she was happy to do so.
Out of nowhere the manager appeared and charged up to the door and flung it open pointedly. He flounced past us making sneering and sarcastic remarks. We had no idea what he was so upset about and his staff stood rooted to the spot aghast!
When I tried to speak to him about it he flew into a rage, abusing us loudly in front of all the customers. We decided to leave and I cancelled our order with the waitress and he continued his abuse as we left.
Worse was to come. As I was trying to help my sister across the road he ran out after us yelling abuse at two 60-​ish women with walking sticks for the vicious «crime» of asking to have the door closed! By now he resorted to vile and derisive comments about my personal appearance. My sister was totally traumatised and shaken.
I have never seen a performance like this. You might well go there — but for heaven’ sake don’t ask for anything or make a complaint — it might send him right over the edge! This business deserves to go under.

I came here for a post Xmas dinner catch up with a few friends, group of 5. They have a good selection of salads, pasta, pizza, risotto, seafood, steak & chicken dishes. My group all enjoyed their meals which included salt & pepper squid, flathead salad, seafood marinara. To start with we shared 2 serves of a deliciously light bruschetta which has 4 pieces per serve. As my main I opted for the greek lamb salad which had lovely succulent pieces of lamb with a generous sized salad. I would recommend Café Matteo as suitable for small groups especially since there is a good choice of dishes on the menu. There is also an outdoor area out front with umbrellas.

Well, can’t give a review based on the food because we sat there for 20 minutes and no one bothered to come to our table for our order for drinks, let alone food! The place has an awful ambiance, it felt like I was at something worse than McDonald’s. It’s incredibly noisy, very ordinary décor, just a depressing atmosphere. If it’s supposed to be an Italian joint, the very un-​Italian staff made me feel the food wouldn’t have been as authentic as the menu let on. Speaking of, the menu has one million misspellings and typos. If you can get a table outside, it might be bearable, but sitting indoors, you’ll feel you need a Zoloft and earplugs. Needless to say, we got up and left. Definitely not coming back.

Reading Joanne’s first review of Café Matto, I didn’t realise that this café had a part of a tv show so I guess my review is based on a single visit here.
I attended the café because a friend loves this café, for reasons being fast service, friendly, tasty food, and reasonably priced menu.
I only tried their Salt and Pepper Squid, and my friend ordered the seafood risotto. Both cooked well, came out fast, service was friendly and I would love to come back for coffee. The risotto came out with lots of seafood, tasty, and the squid is actually very tasty. If you’ve had S&P squid where they are soaked in oil and MSG, this is nothing like that.
I think Café Matto provides good food, with great service. I won’t return to regularly but that’s because I am a cheap skate and their prices are slightly too high for me.

Café Matto used to be a local favourite of mine, serving an Italian influenced menu in quietly stylish surrounds. Popular with locals for their indoor and outdoor seating and great coffee.
Then the unthinkable happened. Yes, you guessed it, it became a part of a reality television show.
After the winning the show Café Matto may have become more successful, but it lost me as a customer. Don’t get me wrong, it had absolutely nothing to do with the show (I’m a closest reality TV junkie from way back) but more to do with the makeover. Gone was the style and now in it’s place loud orange and green décor. Gone were the friendly local staff and in its place service that ranges from great to awful, pick n mix service.
Gone is the authentic menu and in its place a range of dishes designed to appeal to a broader customer base. The food is still enjoyable but the personal touches have left the building. Café Matto is still going strong and a good dining experience if you don’t know how it used to be, You win some you lose some I guess.