Ciao, Mate! — Restaurant in Bangalow

I don't like whining about prices in reviews..we know what they are when we sign up...its like a soldier complaining they got shot after volunteering for war, understandable but futile. Here though, some prices are secret. And they are by coincidence the most aggregious. $34 pasta is a thing nowadays. I've been in awe since a tavola first sprung a $30+ pasta on me a decade ago...you got me a good one fellas! But that was for hand made pasta with a brilliant sauce. Here, $34 gets you well cooked, quality packet pasta, with a nondescript sauce, blandly under lemoned ricotta, a scarcity of pancetta that's not well rendered or caramelised, and almonds that are just stale...not "the sauce softened them up" stale....stale stale. That's not to say it wasnt a gently pleasant pasta...just not a surprise price "never mind the price, it was delish". The pizza was a fine example of the global aged dough into super heated oven thing. But when you add $8 for ok anchovies and $4 for a few slithers of nondescript green olives (chunks fellas...we want olives in chunks) to a $25 base price, you get a $37 individual sized pizza. The tiramisu at $12 is a reasonable price...flat and alcoholic, though enjoyable enough...a better layer of marscapone would help this out considerably. Good service completes the deal...2 people share 1 pizza, 1 pasta, 1 dessert, (mediocre 80pc carrot) pickled veg (no drinks) for $91. It's not...

Unfortunately we really struggled to eat the food here. The restaurant looks great and it's a vibing atmosphere. However, I guarantee you will struggle. We ended up abandoning the "special" prawn pasta (I suspect this was the first attempt at an xo sauce). Additionally the pizza was very burnt on the bottom, with a dry yet evenly puffed crust. The salami was not crispy despite being cut delicately thin. I therefore suspect this is a result of an extended cooking time with poor heat management in the oven. I'm a bit confused because it didn't taste like wood-fired pizza - anyone expecting AVPN style will be disappointed. I think they are being a bit disingenuous and at this price point we expect a much higher quality.

Speaking of which the wine list was a mixed experience, with some heavy hitting, minimal intervention domestic champions, but underwhelming options by the glass. At $16 a glass you should be able to get a decent langhe nebbiolo - not some rubbish from northern nsw. Pinot? no no... maybe some classico. The list needs serious attention, but perhaps that's the real income stream here and the glassware will disappoint any wine drinker.

The ideas are right, the fit-out is fantastic and vibing, but the execution is lackluster and underwhelming verging on completely inedible. I expect with the introduction of a competent chef/mentor that this place would flourish, but day-to-day they are...

I’ve dined in here multiple times and had a great experience but one night I decided to order a takeaway Margherita pizza and tiramisu online for 6pm pickup. I arrived at 550 and spoke to the short blonde hair manager, told her I was aware I was 10 mins early and sat outside and waited. She handed out pizzas to my friends that ordered for 615, and she saw me waiting so I didn’t want to be annoying and say “where’s my pizza”. I waited until 630 and then when I went up to the door again to speak to her, I said I’d been waiting for 30 mins after my pickup time and she gaslit me saying “you never spoke to me”. Yes I did, you’re the door manager, I didn’t speak to anyone else. Also sorry but do you think I’ve just been sitting out the front for fun on a Friday night for 40 mins like I have nothing better to do. I watched her walk to the kitchen, came back empty handed and says “I can’t find your order”, I show her my order confirmation again, and she glances next to the door, low and behold, my pizza and tiramisu was sitting there the whole time. I got handed a cold pizza and warm tiramisu with no apology. I worked as a pass manager for a pizza restaurant for 2 years dealing with customer pick ups and I was honestly surprised at the way she handled this, bit of a...