Alley Cat - in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

My sister and I had a long day shopping and were craving some pasta tonight, this happened to be one of the only restaurants open and i am so glad we went in, i could not recommend it enough! Service was welcoming and quick. The staff were so lovely, a good vibe and made sure we were happy. And the pasta was DELICIOUS!!

Welcome, thrill-seekers and culinary daredevils, to the truly one-of-a-kind dining circus that is the Alley Cat. Picture this: it's like a beautifully choreographed dance of chaos between the Fawlty Towers and a Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares episode. Who needs a mundane, predictable dining experience when you can dive head-first into the amusing vortex of culinary absurdity that is Alley Cat? Forget the dull predictability of a well-oiled kitchen - the owner dashes to the nearby IGA for beer and frozen chips, adding a dash of suspense to your dining experience. What will he return with next? Only time will tell! The menu is as adventurous as the place itself. Will you get a beautifully presented bruschetta, or a toast wearing a tomato hat? Pizza that’s authentically undercooked? Every dish is like a twist in a food-centric telenovela. A tad bit impatient? Well, the Alley Cat is not just a restaurant, but a lesson in patience and zen. Forty minutes wait time for your food to arrive? That's a complimentary mindfulness exercise! The decor has its own charm. Picture a gym/office hybrid, with receipts strewn around, adding a touch of authenticity to this eatery/storage unit. You might not be dining in a Michelin-starred establishment, but what you get instead is a raw, unfiltered look into the hectic life of a restaurant owner. If you think the owner lives there - well, let's just say it adds to the ambiance. It’s all part of the Alley Cat’s charm, like finding a second-hand book store tucked away in a busy city, complete with a grumpy yet endearing cat. This is not just another humdrum eatery – it’s the perfect place to lose your dining innocence, where everything that could possibly go wrong provides a riotous backdrop for a memorable meal. Sure, the fish and chip shop down the way may be amazing, but if you're looking for a real, surreal dining story to regale your friends with, then Alley Cat is your destination. Alley Cat, the place where the impossible becomes possible, where mundane turns magical, and where every meal is a plot twist. You have been warned. Adventure awaits!

What an experience indeed! Do yourself a favour and read all the reviews you will have a laugh. After making a rookie mistake by not checking the reviews before partaking on this culinary abomination. Staying in the accomodation close by the alley, it’s self was delightfully clean and had a lovely feel to it. To our surprise things did not seem to tell what was really underlying. We decided to order our meal over the phone only to be told that the menu for the gourmet pizza was unavailable due to covid in2025??? Ok we can understand that a little bit but. 1st red flag we told the guy we would call back when we had adjusted our order. Only to be told on our second phone call that pasta was not available on the menu . And yes we processed with our order . When we made our way to collect our meal we entered the premises to be welcomed with a horror show! Gym equipment, music equipment, paperwork and piles of who knows what in every corner of this establishment. It looked like the guy lived there. He seemed to be friendly enough .As we begrudgingly paid for the meal the eftpos machine looked to have years of receipts still spilling out of it and behind the counter was hoarders vill. Then there was the smell which was quite unpleasant. We decided to wait for our meal out side as we were to scared that something might crawl on us if we stood to long. It was then that we should have made the decision to run. . And run fast! But we had to see this through. The guy was lovely enough to bring our meal out to us and explained that he had some serviettes for us between the boxes of our food. Which ended up being torn off paper towel. As we returned to our room the smell alone was quite off putting. When we opened the meals it looked like what ever ingredients he had available to him he used as if was nothing we had ordered. We did not order mushrooms which seemed to be shrivelled and old. This is when we made the decision that a risk of a hospital visit or ending up on an instalment of dumb ways to die was not for us this evening. We were put off eating for the rest of the night. However after reading the review we spent the night rolling around on the floor in laughter. So if you are after a night of entertainment do yourself a favour and check this place out for yourself.

Whole store is run by one guy he serves cooks and cleans. A amazing worker with a great positive attitude. Pizza was one of the best I've ever had. Definitely going to come back next time I'm in town.

We're only new to Melbourne so this was one of our first local venues. Met with friendly staff, quick service and great pizza. Staff great w our kids, who also love the pizza (they even eat the crust, which is testament to its authentic Italian style and taste). Try Fantasia - it's become a staple of our order!

Went here in February with my best friend. We weren’t locals and were just wondering around looking for some lunch. We stumbled upon this restaurant, my friend is a relatively picky eater but when we saw the menu options were pizzas and pasta dishes and such we agreed to eat here. We were the only patrons at this time in the early afternoon and the chef/owner was super attentive to us. And the food he made was beautiful it was handmade from scratch and tasted like heaven. And the owner even made some lovely conversation and got to know us. Overall a lovely experience we still were talking about our pasta dishes that evening. 10/10

It's just like Faulty Towers. My grand-daughter and I went to this pizza place, because it was conveniently located close to our accommodation. We considered going to this pizza place one of the highlights of our trip. The food was terrible, the cook/waiter was rude, the tables were crowded and unclean and the music was Young Talent Time from the 1970's playing on a television in the middle of the 'restaurant'. It was far and away the funniest time my grand-daughter and I had ever had. It's worth going, not for the food, but for a very entertaining experience. We loved it.

Went down for a 3 day weekend of footy and had the best experience at Alley Cat. Fantastic food, fantastic service and the owner had a great chat with us Brisbanites. Thank you for an amazing experience. We shall be back.