Cafe Andiamo

FORGOT MY ORDER
I’d like to write a funky review about how this an iconic trendy favourite on Melbourne’s legendary Degraves St, but I’ve being sitting here hungry for 20 mins until the waitress realised that my order had been lost in their system. Food finally came over half an hour after I ordered it.

I had a quick breakfast at Café Andiamo last week and it did the trick, but didn’t wow me. The coffee was a little on the bitter side, and while I enjoyed the novelty of my salmon on waffles, the dish lacked that little something to make it pop. Service was helpful an unobtrusive, but felt a little rushed, even on a weekday morning.
Tables are jammed in together, so you’d best hope you like whatever’s on your neighbour’s place and their topic of conversation. The highlight of Andiamo was its people watching spot — right on a lane filled with busy commuters.
My meal was just fine, good but not great. And with so many great options in Melbourne i don’t think I’ll be back.

Went there for dinner last night, and it was amazing. It was quite busy and took a while to be seated, and the food took a while to come, but we were told it was very busy. I had one of the best fettuccine bolognaises I have ever had. The atmosphere in the alleyway is great.

One of my favourite Italian restaurants in the city. The staff is friendly and attentive and the food is fantastic. The risotto pollo avocado is my personal favourite. Plus I always love the laneway vibe.

The bruschetta was unreal. The bread and spices were done very well. That was followed up with the pollo and avacado gnocci which was superb.

It seems that whenever I’m in Melbourne, Degraves street seems to act like a rather strong magnet pulling me towards its busy, tourist filled eateries. I’ve been a few times to Café Andiamo for breakfast and have been quite impressed.
Service seems to be of grave importance here, with food and coffee both coming out in very quick fashion. All staff seem to be well mannered and helpful too.
The food is of a good breakfast stature and whilst you’re not guaranteed something over the top spectacular for breakfast, simplicity sometimes wins, as it does here. The second time of venturing here (almost a year later than the first), I indulged in a delicious breakfast titled the ‘El Classico’. The coffee was great as well, I had two by the time I stood to leave.
The only thing that I guess one could be a bit pedantic about is the rush and hastiness of Café Andiamo. Quiet? Perhaps during the first 20 minutes of opening in the morning, but apart from that, no, most definitely not.
All up though, a reliable and good choice down Degraves street for breakfast, on any day of the week. (Oh how I wish there were more little café’s in Adelaide open 7 days a week!)

On the popular, busy, touristy Degraves st., is this spot I decided to have breakfast at. I got a black coffee and ordered the il Grande special. The dish consisted of two very crispy fried eggs, large buttered toast, hash brown filet (like you’d get at McDonald’s in the US) baked beans and bacon.
I devoured the bacon and eggs, had some of the toast, passed on the tomato saucey baked beans, skipped most of the hash brown as it felt pre-​packaged. My total was just under $ 21.
Not a bad spot; great service and good coffee and prime location.

if you like your Italian food with a side order of eavesdropping and people watching then this is an ideal spot. We had a quick lunch in this café when recently in Melbourne on holiday. The service was really inattentive and prompted one of those conversations about how easily it would be to walk off without paying if you had no conscience. Quick Andiamo!

I had El Clasico for breakfast this morning. That consists of two thick pieces of toast, plenty of thick bacon, two poached eggs (cooked just right) (choice of scambled, poached or fried), tomato, and plenty of well done mushrooms. $ 12.50. Arrived very quickly and waiting staff efficient and friendly. I have been a fan of this place for a reliable if unspectacular breakfast for many years. I also had a big cappuccino that arrived in a large friendly red mug.($ 4.20) The only downside this morning was the cold breeze that tended to whip through the place occasionally.

Not a place for a good breakfast. The eggs are over cooked and dry. The breakfast sausage was the same. The coffee was weak and cold. Both of them. I could think of heaps other places that serve better breakfast.
Dinner is a different story. They make a tasty chicken parma and some good pasta dishes. Great for dinner.
The breakfast still sucks. Majorly.

Lovely place for dinner — nice atmosphere with friendly staff and fantastic food! I love how you can make the pasta dishes your own with your pick of sauce and type of pasta.
The tables are very close together, so don’t bring too much shopping with you!

Whenever I go to anywhere on Degraves, I refer to it as Degraves — makes it hard for reviewing specific places though!
This is my go to place on the street, and where I frequented often when I was around the area.
I’ve had breakfast and lunch here a number of times and it’s one of those places that I’ll come back to but, would never recommend or go for anything «special».

With time to kill and having skipped dinner and regular being on Degrave St so I have vowed to eventually eat at all its cafes at least once, Tuesday night I found myself at Café Andiamo.
Having a sweet spot for Lasagna, perhaps my #2 behind chicken parmas, and seeing it on the menu I went for it — but was disappointed that it was by itself and a salad would have to be ordered separately, well okay I decided.
The lasagna was good: the meat saucy and the pasta melty and all of it nice and hot but not so much as to burn your mouth. But. But it was a modest portion I thought. The salad rounded it out mostly, but its not the same.
I also ordered an iced-​chocolate, it wasn’t so good being room temperature and a little powdery in taste.
A big serve of the Lasagna could get this a 4 out of 5, but the negatives just stack up against I’m afraid to be a 2.5 or 2.75 if I could award such.

This place is adorable. I ordered the spaghetti with mushrooms, white wine creamy sauce and it was delicious.

Loved this place! The meals are a perfect size and full of rich Italian flavours… absolutely delicious.
Location is amazing for people watching… loads of beautiful people walking on by at lunchtime :-)

The setting for Café Andiamo could not be much better. Degraves Street pretty much epitomises one focal part of the Melbourne experience. Despite it being a tourist hotspot, Café Andiamo delivers quite tasty food (perhaps better than you would expect because of its location). That is not to say it is anything exceptional but don’t rule it out just for being a tourist spot.
They do pretty good pastas and pizzas that won’t break the bank. They also have reasonably priced drinks. The service is also pretty good despite them being rushed off their feet for entire shifts at a time.
If stuck for ideas for dinner or lunch or if you want to show someone what Melbourne is about then you Café Andiamo is definitely an option.

When a place gets too touristy, locals have a tendency to get worried about the quality of the establishments. This is slightly difficult to avoid when you’re a café on Degraves Street, which attracts many tourists. How do you maintain your quality and cater to the droves of people?
Café Andiamo, another one Degraves Street’s busy sidewalk café, is able to maintain good food and service despite being constantly busy. I’m not saying the food here is culinary ingenuity, but the dishes, which includes simple pizzas and pastas, come out quickly, hot, and tasty and are moderately priced ($ 15-​$ 20). Their wine menu is also very limited, but cheap ($ 26).
I have a tendency to go to Café Andiamo because my friends work nearby and it’s halfway between the north siders and south siders. Every time I’ve gone, I’ve had a pleasant experience — the service is good, mediocre, but good and the food is on time. You can be in and out very quickly.
Just because it’s in a touristy spot, doesn’t mean I have to write it off.