Tiamo Italian restaurant - a Carlton icon

Tiamo has been a Carlton institution since it was established in 1978 joining the many Italian restaurants in Lygon Street   Over the decades that I have been hanging out in this area, Tiamo has been there with their dark wood paneling and outdoor tables.  Every time I pass I want to be one of the lively crowd enjoying their pasta and wine at the tables that take over a lot of the footpath.  It looks like one big happy family.  Over time I have grown to love it.

  

Inside the vibe is darker with wood panelled walls and Italian posters.  Often I have been in here when the crowded wooden tables and chairs are filled with people chatting over their meals.  Sometimes I have passed them by as I have walked up the stairs to the room that is allocated to groups, usually on work occasions.  On other times I have got there when there are no crowds or queues and it is quiet as closing time looms.

I confess that I didn't always love Tiamo.   For some time I considered it dark with too much meat on the menu.  I went there occasionally with work groups.  The platter above is from a work farewell in 2013.  My zucca (pumpkin) pizza and the nibbles off the platter were lovely.  We ate upstairs at Tiamo 2.  In 1996 the original Tiamo was expanded into Tiamo 1 and Tiamo 2.  The menus were similar but different and it was very confusing when booking.  These days it has reverted to one Tiamo.  I remember feeling a bit grumpy at this meal because a colleague had suggested a farewell present to me that I had told her I didn't like and she bought it anyway!

I then had another workplace where our boss loved taking us to Tiamo for lunch.  It was with him that I discovered a wonderful pasta and lentil soup.  It was thick and satisfying.  Those were good times with a friendly group of young scientists who told great stories and made me laugh.  I miss those times.  More recently I had a minestrone soup there and it was a disappointing thin soup of vegetables that was a light starter rather than a substantial meal. 

At yet another workplace, we had a dinner prior to an annual meeting of the centre.  That was a really interesting group of people including some who awed me because they were respected experts in public health.  It was a really lovely meal upstairs with a set menu.  I had bruschetta, ravioli and a glass of chocolate mousse.  The bruschetta was a revelation.  I have never had such a good one before and it was a great way to start the meal as people arrived, with a quite a few arriving straight from the airport.  The pasta was lovely and the mousse was really good, despite all that cream on top (not to my liking).

For some time one of that menu items I would order most was pizza.  The photo above is of an Ortolana pizza: pomodoro (tomato sauce), mozzarella, eggplant, roasted zucchini, peppers, boccocini and gratin.  It's a really lovely pizza but I felt like I should explore the menu more.

Then a couple of years ago I had a meal with my friend Heather after a movie where we had pasta and shared a generous pile of Schiacciata ($12): focaccia with olive oil, sea salt and rosemary.  It was excellent.  Not overly thick but such delicious warm bread with great seasoning.  I brought some home because there was so much.  Sylvia loved it.  She was determined to go to Tiamo for more as soon as possible.  The photo above is of a plate of flatbread I shared with Sylvia.

  

Over the next year we had a few really good visits, some just me and Sylvia and some with my parents as well.  Sylvia just loves the pasta.  Possibly her favourite is the Tortellini Tartufo ($33): ricotta filled tortellini, with wild mushrooms, truffle and cream, topped with spring onions and gratin.  Other photos above are of the Rigatoni alla Norma ($32.90 from the specials menu) with eggplant in napoli sauce, topped with baked salted ricotta, and the Gnocchi ($33) pan tossed in napoli sugo.  Tiamo pasta is not cheap but it is good stuff.  

When in Rome I discovered the joy of a good salad with pasta and bread.  I think my frugal days as a student had made a salad feel like a luxury.  Lately I order them more.  This meal in January 2025 where we shared salad bruschetta and ravioli was one of my favourites at Tiamo.  The food was fantastic and ambience was perfect eating outdoors on a balmy summers day with views through green leafy trees to the19th Century buildings of Lygon Street.  Above you can see the amazing Rocket Salad ($18.90): with pears, walnuts and shaved parmesan drizzled with a balsamic glaze.  It was so so good.

The Bruschetta has a generous pile of chopped tomato with red onion, herbs and a balsamic drizzle.  It was great with the salad.  I could not see it on the current online menu.  It has been a staple for quite a while and it would be sad if it was no longer.

One of the best parts of sharing salad, bruschetta and ravioli is that there is room for dessert.  I had the Baileys cheesecake ($14): a creamy ricotta cheesecake with a hint of Baileys Irish cream that is served with a berry coulis.   Sylvia had the Tiramisu ($14) served with drizzled chocolate sauce, cream and fresh berries.  We were both really happy with our desserts.  The cheesecake was not really boozy but had such great dense texture and was great with the coulis.

Since then I have had a couple of visits to Tiamo with Heather when we have seen films across the road at the Cinema Nova.  In the middle of this year we saw the Salt Path followed by an excellent Eggplant parmigiana with seasonal vegetables ($36.90).  It was not the slab of eggplant under a blanket of crisp and gooey cheese that I have had elsewhere but rather a few layers of eggplant with mozzarella cheese between the layers and lots of tomato sauce.  The eggplant was perfectly cooked but less of a dair  feast than usual.  It was an amazing meal with nicely cooked vegetables.

Last month was my last visit to Tiamo after Heather and I saw The Ballad of Wallis Island at the Nova.  I had the Canelloni de Ricotta ($34.90) off the specials menu.  The ricotta and spinach canneloni was served with bechemal and napoli sugo.  It was really lovely, but would have been better with side vegies or a salad but one dish was enough while grabbing a quick meal.
 

I am sure we will return to Tiamo over and over which can be relied upon to produces good food with friendly service.  They don't like split bills and some days the places looks packed to the rafters but I usually have found a seat and had a great time there.  

I have written on Green Gourmet Giraffe blog about more great Italian restaurants in inner city Melbourne: Bar Idda in East Brunswick, Brunetti in Carlton and Pepe's Italian & Liquor in the CBD.

Tiamo
303 Lygon Street, Carlton
https://tiamo.com.au/