90 Secondi

The paesano pizza I had here still has me salivating days later… and the arancini were some of the best I’ve had. It’s not surprising the pizzas are so good, as this is an offshoot of 400 Gradi.
This is actually a pretty good part of Melbourne for pizza, with Non Solo Pasta and 400 Gradi both within walking distance.
My only (small) gripe is that their published hours don’t mean much — being so close to the main Etihad stadium entrance, they often tailor their hours to what’s on there, so it pays to ring first.

I came here recently for lunch and thankfully beat the rush which started around 12:30. The staff seemed scattered, running around and yelling at each other in front of customers. That was a bit disturbing, considering the open kitchen allowed us to see and hear everything.
My mate ordered the lamb penne and I had the Guancia pizza (pancetta, mushrooms and olives). The pizza was good but not great. Perhaps they were going for simplicity but it could have used more herbs or flavour, even with the chili oil. My mate enjoyed the pasta, so that may be another consideration.
If you are in the area, I suggest stopping in for a bite. However, if you are looking for your next best pizza joint, I wouldn’t make the trip. Especially considering their prices do not include any lunch time specials, you will be paying on average, $ 20 for a meal.

I’ve been here four times. Unfortunately, I’ve only been able to eat there once. Any culinary skills they may have were overshadowed by their unreliable hours and unprofessional attitude about their supposed open and close times.
For instance, on this Unilocal website page now, their hours are listed as open until 11 pm last night. I strolled in their OPEN door at 9:20 pm last night and was abruptly told they were closed. When I informed them their published hours currently say that they were open, the only retort came rudely from what seemed to be the manager that they’re closed… almost like, maybe he’ll close the open door so it WILL hit me on the way out.
One evening just for fun, when they were ACTUALLY open, I walked in and asked the waitress when they closed and she said 9 pm, but before she could finish her sentence, the person next to the cash register corrected her and said 5:30 pm. This website says 11 pm.
For only eatng visit there, I had the pasta and it was very average. It’s been very difficult to sample the cuisine when they are closed when their supposed to be open.
Their direct website does say they are open LATE every Thu, Fri and Sat and it’s not true. No excuses here. I realize the folks that I speak with act like they are not on the profit sharing plan and there is virtually no tipping in Australia, but they were rude and don’t care about being open during their published hours. I’m sure I’m not the only who has gone out of their way to get there only to find out they had closed early!

Stopped in for dinner with my wife. Ordered a pizza which arrived in about 2 minutes and was beautiful. Similar to pizza you’d get in Rome with just a few toppings but very tasty. A glass of Aperol Spritz and a beer on the table within a couple of minutes as well. Service is excellent.

This place has what I have deemed to be the best pizza in the world! It is big and light and has the perfect toppings.
Myself and two others at the table ordered the margarita pizza. Paper thin crust, a delicious amount of home made tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and basil cooked in their wood fire pizza oven to perfection. Always consistent always fantastic.
Lunch time on a Friday is BUSY! Always book. They turn over tables quite quickly as well. As soon as we had taken our last bite plates started disappearing. To the point we had to ask for one back because there was still a slice of pizza left. It felt a little rushed which isn’t good if you want a Cruisey Friday work lunch but the food is definitely worth it.
Another noteworthy dish is the gnocchi. It uses the same tomato sauce that is on the pizza but with the most pillowy soft gnocchi you could imagine.

I imagine this place echoes what it would be like to sit at nona’s family table during a sunday gathering… homey aromas filling the room, hearty serves of your favourite foods hitting the tables, while watching freshly made pizza being artfully decorated before being placed into the oven.
As the room fills, conversations get louder and its easier to shift your focus toward the food rather than raising your voice to be heard above the crowd. I loved this place though, noise level and all, there was so much happening on the inside that it was easy to forget the only view from the windows were the stark cement walls of the neighbouring stadium.
I have to say the highlight of this dining experience was being served a slab of intense tiramisu, capable of being shared between two, which just made my eyes water with delight… mangia mangia!

We went here for a rare work lunch, and an even rarer work lunch when the company was shouting, so on their dime I luckily got to enjoy a much wider variety from the 90 Secondi menu than I normally would.
Let’s start with the staple: Pizza was great. On an pitta bread style crust, there were a few charcoal singes here and there from the wood fire oven, but it all adds to the character, as does having to slice it up yourselves. Delicious.
Calamari was honestly among the best I’ve had. Only lightly dusted in flour and cooked to absolute perfection. Arancini balls also get a big tick.
It was the pasta though that really knocked it out of the park for me. I’m always super harsh on pasta, as find many bistro and cafes just don’t often do it well and leave me thinking I’ve paid $ 25 for something I could have whipped up at home for 20 cents, but this was divine. I got the lamb shoulder penne, and savoured each and every bite.
Acoustics of the place is a bit of a negative — it was full when we started lunch and you honestly couldn’t hear someone unless they were shouting in your ear, such was the din. It eased up as people went back to work while we stayed on and worked our way through a third and fourth bottle of wine (for a group of 6. I’m not that much of a boozehound. maybe) as the wine list had some great selections.
Staff were friendly, but a little funny. We had an older gentlemen who playfully chastised anyone who didn’t finish every single bite on their plate and would feign annoyance if someone was taking too long to order. Other younger staff that brought out the food were eager to chat about their homes back in Italy, which spurred our party’s conversation to focus on travel for most of the afternoon, which was pleasant. That’s all part of the experience for me, but I do know some diners like their wait staff to appear more as part of the furniture they don’t notice, so thought it worth a mention.
Location is a blessing and a curse. Easy to get to, just near Southern Cross station and literally right outside Gate 3 at Etihad Stadium, but also… it’s literally right outside Gate 3 at Etihad Stadium. Not much of a view from inside looking out, unless you get your kicks from sporting arena turnstiles and giant slabs of concrete.
I’d probably avoid having a nice intimate date night here when the footy is on, but otherwise well worth a try.

The business lunch is a thing of legend. In the 80’s and 90’s — sadly before my time — the business lunch was an opulent ritual ending with port and often sliding into dinnertime, with a generous supplier footing the bill. These days, value is important, as is the right atmosphere to kick back & mingle or to find a bit of shush if someone wants to keep talking shop while chewing the (low) fat.
A warm welcome and attentive but not intrusive service is also a must.
Italian has something for everyone. For those not wearing white, there is spaghetti. Plenty of options for the vegetarians. Also bistek for the omnivores. And everyone’s favourite, pizza. Plus quaffable wine.
90 Secondi is tucked into office space heaven at Dockside on Bourke St in Melbourne. A bit of pizzaz and flash is added by it being the second restaurant by Johnny di Francesco. The name refers to the official Naples ruling that a proper Napoli style pizza must cook in less than 90 seconds, and is in keeping with Johnny’s other restaurant name, 400 Gradi which refers to the perfect Napoli pizza cooking temperature — 400 degrees.
The space is modern and filled with natural light thanks to double story windows all along. A mezzanine level is available for a bit of privacy. Dark wood, steely grey and splashes of red create a business-​appropriate look. The open kitchen gives great views of the action by the wood fired oven, and of the pizzaolo’s twirling dough and handling the extra special ingredients, including buffalo mozzerella air freighted in from Italy.
Of course, it had to be sampled.
Margherita is the king of pizza — the original and the best, in my book. Feel free to forgo cutlery — I did — and folded in hand is a great way to enjoy the smooth, stretchy, salty mozzerella. The base is blistered on top, crisp on the bottom, but the middle succumbs to the juicy tomato sugo if you take too long to eat it. This should not be a problem. These pizze are easy to love and almost perfectly sized to leave you full but still able to finish every morsel.
There is always one at every business lunch. I was talked into having some of the house made limoncello while everyone else had coffees. It was delicious and a great way to cap off a delicious pizza in well hosted, welcoming surrounds.

Great service. Convenient after work loc near southern cross. Delish secondi and yummy blood orange vodka. Nice atmosphere inside. Next time we are sitting upstairs!

Sister restaurant of 400 Gradi in Brunswick East, 90 Secondi is a recent addition to the Docklands restaurant scene. Located on a prime corner of the new NAB building near entrance 3 of Ethihad stadium this modern Italian pizza restaurant is in a prime spot to draw in the crowds attending events as well as those working in the hood. The concept of both restaurants is around cranking up the heat in their pizza ovens and cooking the pizza for a brief 90 seconds. This is «apparently» how it should be done in the true Napoli style.
I booked a table for two for a Saturday night figuring the crowd would be huge ahead of a Bön Jovi concert at Ethihad. I was not wrong as when we turned up there was a queue of people being turned away and the bar area was heaving with people getting drinks ahead of the show. We were shown to our table promptly. The table we were given was unfortunately close to the waiting staffed ordering console so it was odd as we constantly had waiting staff backs to us as they frantically punched in customers orders.
We ordered wine by the glass which was reasonably priced. My Pinot Noir was actually really smooth. Food order was taken promptly after our drinks arrived. We ordered a semolina crusted calamari and a Toscana pizza to share. We were just settling into our drink and pre dinner conversations when… dinner arrived. Yes that’s right. Not much more than 90 seconds (actually was probably a little longer but only just). The food was fabulous and fresh. The Calamari was tender and the pizza had simple but flavoursome toppings. The base was really one of the nicest I think I have had in Melbourne all wood fire toastie yet with some spring in its bite. We were very satisfied with the meal. The only drawback was that while we enjoyed our meal it almost arrived too quickly. There was no settling in or time for conversation and before you know it we were at the other end of the meal being asked if we wanted coffee and dessert, which looked good btw. Probably the first time ever I’ve complained about prompt service. This place would be perfect for a quick office lunch but I guess I was wanting more of a lingering experience.
Paying the bill was problematic on account of there being just so many people at the till. Staff were doing a great job in a very hectic service.
I found out while I was waiting to pay that they do happy hour drinks Thursday thru Saturday from 5−7pm with most bottled beer $ 5 and selected wine also available.