Correction (5 October 2026): an earlier version of this page listed places and details we could not stand behind. It has been rewritten from scratch: every place below was confirmed at two independent sources on 5 October 2026, and every price was copied from the page it was published on.
Three places for Italian food made it onto this page, which is a short list, and each one earned its place by showing up at two independent sources. Two of them are in Deer Park itself. The third, Cantina by The Boardwalk, is in Caroline Springs, so this is a list of Italian in and around Deer Park.
The page is about the sit-down side of Italian: what a table gets you, what the menu prints, and when the doors are listed as open. Only Cena had a menu with prices that we could read, so it gets the most room. For the other two we say plainly what we could and could not see.
The quick picks
| If you’re after | Head to | Order this | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| A sit-down dinner with pizza, pasta and larger mains | Cena | Margherita (pizza) | $24.00 |
| A pizza café with listed daytime hours | Don Luigi Pizza Cafe | see below | not printed here |
| A trattoria-style restaurant in Caroline Springs | Cantina by The Boardwalk | see below | not printed here |
Cena — 75a Mount Derrimut Road, Deer Park VIC 3023
Cena’s menu runs from pizza through pasta to larger plates. Its Margherita is printed as “tomato, mozzarella di bufala, basil” at $24.00, and mozzarella di bufala is mozzarella made from buffalo milk, softer and wetter than the cow’s milk kind. The Funghi pizza is $26.00 and lists fior di latte (cow’s milk mozzarella), porcini, wild mushrooms and truffle oil. On the pasta side, the Gnocchi Zucca Spinaci is $34.00, and the menu describes it as lightly fried gnocchi with pumpkin, baby spinach, goats curd and balsamic glaze.
Cena’s site also lists a Rigatoni Carbonara at $32.00 (copper pressed pasta tubes, pancetta, parmesan, egg yolk and cream) and a Chicken Parmagiana at $36.00 (schnitzel, tomato, mozzarella, chips and oak lettuce), the schnitzel-under-cheese plate that Australian pubs made a staple. For takeaway, the site advertises an on-going Pizza Takeaway Deal: any 3 pizzas for $49.
On the practical side, Cena’s site says “We do strongly recommend making a reservation for Friday and Saturday nights.” It also calls the venue “spacious family-friendly” and says it has “a vegan cheese that can be substituted onto our pizzas”. The hours it prints are closed Monday, 5:00 – 9:30 PM Tuesday to Thursday, 12:00 – 2:30 PM and 5:00 – 10:00 PM on Friday, 5:00 – 10:00 PM on Saturday, and 12:00 – 2:30 PM and 5:00 – 9:00 PM on Sunday.
On the menu (copied from cena.melbourne/menu and cena.melbourne on 5 October 2026):
- Margherita (pizza): $24.00
- Funghi (pizza): $26.00
- Gnocchi Zucca Spinaci: $34.00
- Pizza Takeaway Deal: any 3 pizzas (on-going deal): $49
The classic: a Margherita is the baseline pizza, just tomato, cheese and basil, so Cena’s version at $24.00 is the simplest way to judge a pizza menu before moving to the Funghi.
Don Luigi Pizza Cafe — 72 Neale Rd, Deer Park VIC 3023
Don Luigi Pizza Cafe is listed in the brimbankshoppingcentre.com.au food directory, and the Australian Good Food Guide gives its address as 72 Neale Rd, Deer Park. We could not read a menu for it, so this page prints no dishes and no prices, and we will not guess at a pizza style it has not described.
The listing on don-luigi-pizza-cafe.edan.io, a third-party page, prints these hours: 9 am–5:30 pm Monday to Wednesday, 9 am–9 pm Thursday and Friday, 9 am–5 pm Saturday, and 10 am–5 pm Sunday. These are listed hours only, so confirm them with the café before you go. The Australian Good Food Guide’s feature list for the venue includes “Child Friendly”, “Delivery”, “Functions” and “Takeaway”.
BYO / takeaway: the Australian Good Food Guide tags it for takeaway and delivery, and nothing we read states a BYO policy, so that part is not stated.
Cantina by The Boardwalk — Shop A5, 1-7 Caroline Springs Blvd, Caroline Springs VIC 3023
Cantina by The Boardwalk is the one place on this page outside Deer Park. The Australian Good Food Guide lists it at Shop A5, 1-7 Caroline Springs Blvd, and the Spring Lake directory at springlakecs.com.au places it on the ground floor at A5. It is here because the Spring Lake directory calls it “a brand new trattoria-style restaurant with an emphasis on home-style cooking” and says to “expect Cantina to house a grand selection of Italian wine”, while the Australian Good Food Guide files it as a cafe. We could not read a menu, so we cannot say which dishes it serves or what they cost.
We have not printed opening hours for Cantina, because the two listings we read did not agree on them. Check the times directly before making the trip.
The style: the centre’s listing calls it trattoria-style with an emphasis on home-style cooking, but neither listing printed a menu, so treat this entry as a place to ring ahead rather than a recommendation.
Quick answers
Where can I get a sit-down Italian meal in Deer Park?
Cena at 75a Mount Derrimut Road is the one with a menu we could read, covering pizza, pasta and larger plates. Don Luigi Pizza Cafe at 72 Neale Rd is also in Deer Park, but we could not read its menu. The third place on this page, Cantina by The Boardwalk, is in Caroline Springs.
How much is a pizza at Cena?
Cena’s menu prints the Margherita at $24.00 and the Funghi at $26.00. Its site also advertises an on-going Pizza Takeaway Deal of any 3 pizzas for $49.
Do I need to book at Cena?
Cena’s site says “We do strongly recommend making a reservation for Friday and Saturday nights.” The same site also says “we have quite a large space and can usually accommodate walk-ins.” It lists the venue as closed on Monday, so check the day you plan to go.
What hours does Don Luigi Pizza Cafe list?
A third-party listing page prints 9 am–5:30 pm Monday to Wednesday, 9 am–9 pm Thursday and Friday, 9 am–5 pm Saturday and 10 am–5 pm Sunday. Treat those as listed hours and confirm with the café.
How we checked
We checked every place on this page against at least two independent sources on 5 October 2026: OpenStreetMap, the places’ own websites, the Australian Good Food Guide, don-luigi-pizza-cafe.edan.io and brimbankshoppingcentre.com.au. Every price is copied exactly as printed on the page linked under Sources, on 5 October 2026. Menus, prices and opening hours change, so check with the venue before you go. The cover photo is illustrative, from Unsplash, and does not show any place on this page.
Seen something out of date? Email [email protected] with the page link and what has changed, and we will check it again.
Sources
- Cena: openstreetmap.org/494689931, cena.melbourne, agfg.com.au/cena-123908, cena.melbourne/menu, cena.melbourne/about
- Don Luigi Pizza Cafe: openstreetmap.org/6110287560, don-luigi-pizza-cafe.edan.io, agfg.com.au/don-luigi-pizza-cafe-84564, brimbankshoppingcentre.com.au/food
- Cantina by The Boardwalk: agfg.com.au/cantina-by-the-boardwalk-136041, springlakecs.com.au/cantina
