Grappino Trattoria Paddington — Restaurant in Brisbane City

I've never before posted a Google review but feel compelled to do so in this case. My fiancee and I went for dinner this evening. To be fair our entree, his main and the wine were barely okay...nothing good or spectacular, just barely edible. My main however (the Scallopine Al Funghi ) was horrid. Imagine boot leather tough meat topped with a creamy, fatty, entirely bland and tastleless sauce with a side of fettucine that had the literal taste and texture of cardboard. I would note that I am not a "food snob", I will happily eat a pub chicken parmy or a good old meat pie. But honestly my meal was just awful and I could have enjoyed better from a frozen ready to eat meal. Nonetheless we paid in full for our horrid meal, despite the fact I ate less than 1/3 of my dish. I would note that this is not, nor was ever about money or trying to scunge a meal. We paid in full and didn't ask for a refund. What we did do was offer our feedback to the owner. I attempted to communicate to him politely that we, and myself especially didn't enjoy our dish and it was a little disappointing, that is was overly salty and drowned in a tasteless, goopy sauce. The first indication something was amiss was when I approached the owner, said hello and his response was "what's your problem"? Obviously they have a lot of people coming to them with complaints rather than compliments, otherwise why ask that? Upon telling him my concerns he launched into a tirade of ABUSE. I wasn't nasty or rude or asking for money back but nonetheless he chose loudly verbally abuse me and make threats of violence. I can only say after my experience that not only is the food bad at best and terrible at worst, but the owner is an absolute pig of a human being and a despicable person. I had taken with a grain of salt previous reviews about the police being called to this place after a verbal altercation with the owner, but honestly, after tonight's experience I can absolutely sympathise with these other diners. In summary, the food is horrid, the owner is a rude, abusive pig and you will be left feeling nauseous (from the food) and ripped off if you dine here. I just feel terribly sorry for the poor wait staff who have to tolerate this pig of a man day in day out, at least we only had to encounter him once....as we'll never...

Unfortunately we would not recommend. Our party had a very poor experience at this restaurant from start to finish. Booked a table for 7.30pm for a table of 3 (as number of days in advance). We arrived at 7.33pm to see our table be given away to two walk-ins (as this was the only table available in the whole restaurant). The waiter then emotionally dumped their horrid night on to us noting the whole evening had been a disaster and would some how find us a table, noting he had no stuff due to Covid. But thought it suitable to still accept walk ins. Once they found a table, it took another 20 mins to be given menus and drinks. We ordered entrees and mains. Our entrees came out quickly and we note the entrees were delicious (only positive of the night). Once mains arrived, only 2 of the 3 mains came out. We waited another 30 mins before we could finally get the attention of one of the waitresses to ask where the third meal was, only to be told they had forgotten to give it to the kitchen. The third meal finally arrived after 9:00 pm with an apology. The restaurant then cleared with only three tables left. The waiter that sat us was sitting with the couple who he gave our original table to. We received no further service after this, including the clearing of our dirty plates. We then went up to the register to pay, with no discount of the forgotten meal. Very disappointing for a restaurant with great reviews. Our party of 3 were celebrating a special event, and this...

I was disappointed when searching for Grappino contact details and it came up “permanently closed”. What? No! Could not be. I love this place. So rang, and sure enough the website search engine was wrong, thankfully. So four of us went last Thursday night. My guests were foodies from Melbourne, and been in the industry for 40years. So it would be interesting how they rated my favourite Italian restaurant. For entrees we had the Garlic Snails, Porcini Mushroom Soup and Sand Crab Cannelloni. My guests were taken aback. It was superb! Then for mains we had the Veal Fungi, the Maiale Pork Cutlet, and Sand Crab Cannelloni (main size). Delicious! We then all had the Mandarin Crepes for desert. The service was fantastic as usual. Food exceptional! But it was nice to have my friends speak so highly about the food and service. It would have to be one of the best restaurants they have been to. I always knew, but it was great to share it was others. So for the best Italian, get over to Grappino. By far the best Italian restaurant I have been to. And thanks to the staff again for a great meal and great service. It made...