Elio's Osteria — Restaurant in Brisbane City

Honestly, if I could review this place 6 stars, I would. I went for dinner with the family and originally had a larger group with plans to do the banquet, unfortunately, most of the family had to cancel leaving us at a table of 4. After being seated, we explained the situation to the waitress, knowing that they're not obliged to still let us do the banquet and expecting to be told to just order off the menu, instead she went and spoke with the owner and came back with a more than fair alternative, if anything it was more suited to our new table size then the full banquet, we agreed to the combo deal and ordered some drinks. From this point on we were treated again and again to some of the best food I've had in brisbane and amazing, and I mean amazing service from some of the most lovely wait staff I've had the pleasure of talking to. To top this off the chef even personally came and checked on us to ensure that the food was to our liking and to ensure we were happy with the alternative offer, explaining how he personally tried to plan the set meal so that it would provide us both a chance to experience a variety of foods but also that we really felt we were getting our money's worth, well he got it spot on! The whole night, it felt like their one goal was to ensure that you left not just full, but happy too and every single one of us at that table did. If you're reading this trying to figure out if you should give this place a go, just do it, you...

We had not been to Elios in many years and reading the reviews it looked to be worth a try . Firstly the 2 mirrors in the dining area are filthy as were the lanterns on the tables that look bulky and tacky. We ordered 2 drinks , the lemon , lime bitters was flat … entrees came out arancini had a nice flavour however the presentation was below average served on a old looking white plate , a teaspoon of garlic aoli and a rocket leaf , the cheese garlic calzone looked like a rock on a plate and that’s being kind , it did have cheese but the garlic was minimal and if your looking for that nice buttery parsley flavour you won’t get it here ! Mains was a salad which was warm and tomatoes were not fit to consume, powdery and falling apart and hardly no salad dressing. Carbonara had little sauce and tasteless, husband ate it because he was starving. Next was a pizza with the works , I did take off 2 ingredients beef and anchovies but this pizza was the worst pizza I’ve had, literally no cheese or toppings it was disgraceful to even have this on the pass for the girls to serve . My concerns were dealt with very quietly and normally I would pay and just never go back , this food was unacceptable to serve , yes you had tables filled but there were a lot of people not finishing meals . I took little notice of the staff in kitchen but I’m assuming they don’t know traditional Italian cuisine because this experience was below average. The...

Went with realistic expectations given that this restaurant is a local and suburban favorite but left, sadly very disappointed.

That disappointment stems from the mismatch between the many five star reviews Elio’s has received and our reality that we experienced.

The online booking system was a breeze but it asks you to highlight if the booking is for a special occasion. In our instance it was our anniversary.

Despite that information, no recognition was given to that on arrival and we were seated in the back courtyard area next to the outside storage spaces. It was also very dimly lit - even the waitress said she would have to guess how much pepper was being cracked as it was too difficult to see.

It also seemed to be the children and family seating area.

If you take the time to request what a booking is being made for, then use that information to personalize the greeting on arrival. If you are not going to acknowledge what you ask for in the booking, then don’t bother asking.

The reason that made us book at Elio’s was the excellent food reviews. We had the arancini balls, lasagne and penne amatriciana.

The arancini were flavorsome but deep fried to excess. The promised subtle flavors of the penne pasta were sadly missing. Instead the penne was bland and stodgy. Thankfully the lasagne was quite good.

Maybe it was just a bad night on Elio’s behalf.

Sadly, it blemished an...