Amore Ristorante - Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Gold Coast City

We were really excited to be coming here as we had heard good things about the decor and food. Upon arrival it looked glorious and the fit out looked as though no expense had been spared the atmosphere was lifted by a pianist playing in the background and we all looked at each and said this is going to be amazing!! Unfortunately that is where our good experiences stopped. We had made our appointment through First Table so were dining early and were aware of the limitation of Pasta and Pizza only and no seafood. The waiter showed us to our seat but only gave us a menu with 5 pastas on it one of which was seafood so we had to ask for the pizza and pasta menu which only had 1 pasta on it…… On a side note the pizza oven looks amazing!! We ordered a bottle of Rose and glasses and our food. The menu was a little bit confusing when ordering the meatballs as you had to pick a meatball - we chose beef, a sauce, we chose mozzarella and then a side and we chose salad. We also ordered a pasta - amatriciana and a lamb pizza. The waiter returned to us and advised they had no lamb pizza…….not sure how they ran out when we were some of the first diners but anyway we changed our order to a prosciutto pizza. We were also advised that they didn’t have our chosen $65.00 bottle of rose and instead of offering us one of the 3 other $65 bottles brought a more expensive bottle with no offer to “price match” A bit rude perhaps - we chose a different bottle. The chef then came and told us that despite what the menu said we couldn’t have salad with our meatballs it came with focaccia. He said it was the fault of the waiter for not know the menu but I don’t see how as the waiter simply took our order based on what the menu said. When our food came out the pizza was amazing and we enjoyed it very much. The pasta was very tasty but the pancetta was overcooked. The meatballs were a massive disappointment. Firstly we got pork not beef and it was raw!! See the picture. We asked the waiter and was advised sorry for the mixup but that’s how pork is meant to be served. WTF. Then the focaccia was 2 small burnt pieces not much bigger than a 50c piece. The sauce was nice. They didn’t take them back!! We were not impressed at all. To us, who dine out a lot and had such high expectations this lack of service was very surprising. Anyway after that we asked for the bill. To their credit they didn’t charge us for the meatballs but they also didn’t apply our first table discount so we had to send it back to be amended. Lastly as we were in the Uber on the way home we realised they had missed a vodka and soda we had ordered. We felt it was just another example of the overall incompetence of the staff on that night. We really had such high expectations and were terribly disappointed and wont...

Went to Amore for a birthday dinner and unfortunately did not have a good experience. Upon arrival we were asked if we had a booking and after we confirmed that we did they told us “just sit anywhere”. We confirmed again that we did have a booking and then had to wait for staff to reset the table. The service was extremely slow and we had to request table water multiple times, with it only being delivered after the fourth request. At this point we had been seated for over 30 mins with no table water. We also had to request the pizza menu multiple times - one of our party members ended up retrieving the menu off another table to avoid further delays. The venue appeared to be understaffed and we noted others sending their food back to the kitchen. Multiple menu items weren’t available. Our food had no major issues however wasn’t amazing in taste or overall quality. There are many other great Italian restaurants on the Gold Coast that offer better quality food. Some of the waitstaff appeared to be trying their best and were apologetic over issues, however others seemed overwhelmed and forgetful. Sadly I would not recommend this venue...

As a local, we were eager to experience Amore, but unfortunately, it fell short of expectations. Coming from a successful hospitality family, I offer this feedback constructively.

The surroundings were lovely, with a beautiful ambiance enhanced by a talented gentleman playing piano and singing in the lobby—a true highlight. The bar was impressively stocked, but the absence of a dedicated spirit or cocktail menu was surprising. Despite this, it took half an hour for our drinks to arrive at the table.

While water was poured initially, it was not refilled throughout the meal, leaving a gap in basic table service. Additionally, an incorrect salad was delivered alongside our pizza, but no plates were provided, leaving us to eat off our bread and butter plates.

The restaurant appeared well-staffed, yet there was a noticeable lack of attention to bar service and table management. With more thorough training and refinement in service, I am hopeful Amore has the potential to rise...