Criniti's Southbank

Criniti’s Southbank brings together Southern Italian cooking and contemporary Australian influences at 645 Freshwater Place, opposite the Yarra River. The restaurant’s offering covers woodfired pizza, pasta, ribs, seafood, grilled fish, bruschetta, risotto, steaks, burgers, salads, cocktails, wine and Italian-style desserts, making it a broad choice for diners who do not all want the same thing. Vegetarian and vegan options are also mentioned on the website, although the full menu is the best place to check the current selection.

Pizza is a major focus. Criniti’s promotes large woodfired pizzas in one-, two- and three-metre formats, prepared with its own dough recipe and fresh ingredients. The menu includes traditional family recipes alongside more distinctive combinations, with Margherita and Fungi e Salsiccia specifically listed among the examples. For a group, the oversized pizzas and the restaurant’s emphasis on sharing offer an easy way to make the meal feel communal, while the wider menu leaves room for individual choices.

The Southbank venue is suited to more than a casual meal. Criniti’s presents itself as a place for families and friends, and also offers event functions and a dedicated corporate pizza class. The class is led by a Criniti’s pizza chef and involves learning about Southern Italian pizza traditions, working with dough, making pizzas and taking part in team challenges. Southbank has a minimum group size of 15 for these classes, according to the website, so this is a group-focused offering rather than a solo activity.

The business began in Parramatta in 2003, founded by the Criniti family, before expanding to locations across New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia. Its stated approach combines inherited family recipes with traditional Italian techniques and ongoing experimentation, while placing importance on ingredient quality and suppliers. In Southbank, that makes Criniti’s a practical option for a family gathering, a shared meal with friends, a celebration or a larger organised event. Its 4.1 Google rating from more than 7,200 reviews provides a useful snapshot of how the venue is received, while the menu breadth and group offerings are the clearest reasons to consider it.