Fratello Italian — Restaurant in Gold Coast City

My review below the line was from my wife & I attending here a couple of weeks ago. It was our first time. We came back last night with some friends after we had told them about this superb family restaurant. After our previous great experience, my wife and I had requested a table with Miriam again. She did not disappoint, but in fairness to all the other wait staff, they were all obviously happy and extremely competent in the way they went about doing what they do and the entire restaurant was buzzing with happy customers. The food was amazing again. My wife and I have not had a 'go to' restaurant in so long it's ridiculous, but now we have found one again at last. Do yourself a favour and go to Fratello Italian Restaurant. My bet is you'll keep on going. :) BTW I think it would be best to book by phone. The place was packed again. PS I nearly forgot to mention that we have also purchased a few takeaway pizzas too. It would probably come as no surprise to you for me to say these pizzas are all five star at a reasonable price. This would have to be one of the best dining experiences I've ever had. The food was amazing as was the service by our delightful young waitress, Miriam, all the way from Sicily, Italy, who added to the authenticity of the Italian dining experience. I had driven by this place frequently for a long time and it was ALAYS packed, so curiosity finally got the better of me. I don't go out to restaurants all that often these days as the prices are generally a killer and the dining experiences are generally average. Fratello Italian didn't disappoint though and we'll be going again...

Made a booking for a special birthday celebration. Received no less than 5 reminders stating that our reservation would only be held for 15mins and we had strictly 90mins to have our meal. Heading this warning, we arrived 5 mins early and ordered entree and mains promptly to ensure we wouldn't be rushed. 45 mins later, I got the the waitresses attention who realised we hadn't received our entree (uncooked salumi and Buratta). She apologised and said she would let the kitchen know. 20 mins later, no entrees and no follow up for drinks etc. The table beside us who ordered 20 mins after we had, were already half way through their mains. I went in to advise we weren't prepared to wait any longer (especially given we were an hour and 10 mins into the 90 min curfew). As we were about to leave, the entrees turned up. Salumi served with 2 slices of thin white bread cut in half. The manager offered to pay for our round of drinks and entree so we agreed to stay. Food was OK, except the oddly matched and insufficient bread. Bianca salsicia pizza was dry and bland (No flavoured oil or salt), melted cheese on dry pizza dough, other pizzas and veal scalapinni were all nice although pizza undercooked, floppy, not crisp. All and all, staff were nice despite completely ignoring our table, food on balance was pretty good, but the damage was done. Sadly our special birthday celebration was ruined, kids literally in tears waiting for their meals, everybody hangry and deflated for being ignored. Sorry we trusted this venue with our special occasion, when we could have spent our hard earned money anywhere else on the coast. Needless to say we won't make that...

On September 6, 2024, we made a reservation for a group of seven adults to celebrate a birthday. However, upon arrival, we found that we were assigned three small tables with only six chairs, even though we had clearly stated there would be seven people. While an additional chair was eventually brought, the space was still cramped.

We had champagne and wine. Since it was BYO, we wanted to start by toasting with champagne, so we requested champagne glasses. However, the waitstaff, all young girls, seemed very inexperienced. It wasn't until the third waitress, after 15 minutes, finally brought the glasses.

On the small table, we had a burrata cheese salad, garlic bread, and pizza to share, and each person had ordered a main dish. There was not enough space on the table for all the dishes.

The worst part was that the owner himself came to take our order but didn’t take any notes, relying solely on memory for the seven main dishes. As a result, my main dish (seafood risotto) never arrived. By the time everyone else had finished their meals, I asked about my dish, only to be told that it hadn't been made yet and would be prepared then. I declined.

To the Owner:

If you are confident enough to take orders without writing them down, then please ensure the dishes are served correctly. Also, when serving a group of seven, please be aware when only six main dishes have been delivered.

I love the seafood risotto and rocket salad from your restaurant. But my main dish didn’t arrive. I had booked this restaurant to celebrate my husband’s birthday, but our friends, although they enjoyed the food, said they wouldn’t return. This made...