Piatella

The Verdict

It was during their travels through Europe that Bill and Aspa Bourgazas fell in love with the feeling. You know, when you bite into something and the taste is so delicious it makes you wonder ‘Where the heck has this been all my life?’ Yeah, that feeling.

Keen to share this experience with Melbourne, the duo returned and opened Piatella Café and Bar in Glen Waverley. The space itself is designed like a New York loft, with exposed brick, dangling bulbs, dark timber furnishings and industrial bar stools.

Piatella takes notes from the Bourgazas’ Greek background, but the food here spans most of the continent. ‘Piatella’ means platter in Greek, and the extensive menu has generous portion sizes with something for everybody, no matter if you’re savoury or sweet inclined. Most things are designed to share around.

Drawing inspiration from France and Belgium, the house-made crepes and waffles are a crowd favourite. There’s a whopping 12 to choose from, including our personal faves, the Piatella Special (with strawberries, banana and Nutella) and the Bananarama (with banana and butterscotch sauce).

The brekky menu caters to the Melbourne palate but offers a Euro take on classics like swashed avo, baked eggs, nourish bowls and the Piatella Big Breakfast, which comes with eggs, chorizo, potato rosti, mushrooms, Kessler bacon, grilled peppers and oven-roasted tomatoes. Defs one of the better big breakfasts we’ve tried (and we’ve tried a lot of them).

The menu also extends to lunch and dinner. You can get fresh salads, burgers, pastas, risottos and a smoked BBQ menu where you can feast on 350–500g of chicken, beef brisket, pulled pork, lamb and even octopus.

It's also one of the few places we know doing giant Milo + Oreo waffle stacks with ice-cream and dusted Milo. That one's not strictly Greek, but it is strictly delicious. Drizzle on some Oreo sauce and a chunky Oreo mousse and it's happy days. 

To rescue you from the food coma, there’s coffee from local roaster Niccolo. Choose from all the regular options or go something a bit different. Maybe a Spanish Latte with condensed milk, or a Greek Freddo served with frothy milk over ice (seriously so good). The fully stocked bar also serves fresh juices, cocktails, beer, wine, spirits and a broad range of teas.

Piatella Café and Bar is open every day from 7am on weekdays and 7.30 on weekends, staying open till late.

Image credit: Piatella