Osteria Ilaria

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

An Osteria Built Around the Season

On Little Bourke Street in Melbourne, Osteria Ilaria operates with a clear and honest purpose: seasonal modern Italian cuisine served in a space that is relaxed without being casual, and elegant without being stiff. Part of the Conferre Group — the hospitality family also behind Tipo 00, Figlia, and Harriot — Ilaria carries the same commitment to quality that runs through the group's other addresses, while carving out its own distinct identity as a true osteria.

The recognition from Gambero Rosso, Italy's foremost food and wine authority, with a 2 Forks rating, speaks to how seriously the kitchen takes Italian tradition — and how fluently it translates that tradition into something rooted in Melbourne's own produce and seasons.

What's on the Plate

The à la carte menu moves confidently between Italian reference points and Australian ingredients. Snacks like the porcini mushroom croquette or Sydney rock oysters with verjus granita and mint set an assured tone. From there, dishes such as blue-eye crudo with mandarin and fennel, spaghettini with swordfish and lobster butter, and paccheri with goat ragù, padron peppers and pecan show a kitchen that understands restraint as much as it understands flavour.

For those who want the kitchen to lead, the Chef's Selection at $120 per person moves through a considered sequence — beef tartare or snapper crudo, a pappa al pomodoro with charred cabbage and mustard oil, a pasta course, a main of 9+ Sher wagyu rump cap, and desserts including a basil cheesecake with cara cara orange and almond crumb. It is modern Italian cooking that earns the label rather than simply borrowing it.

An express two-course lunch at $65 per person makes the same quality accessible across the working week.

The Cellar and the Room

The beverage program is a serious undertaking. A team of sommeliers curates an extensive selection spanning wines from across the globe alongside aged releases from the house cellar. Wine pairing is available with the Chef's Menu, and the Cellar Series — exclusive dinners held in the private dining room — puts iconic producers and vintage bottles at the centre of the table.

Walk-ins are genuinely welcomed, and the room is available for private dining and larger group events.