The Etna on Darby — Restaurant in Newcastle-Maitland

We dined at the Etna as a party of 3 tonight. We arrived late, but the restaurant was really lovely and understanding. The restaurant is a beautiful, nostalgic space, real 'nonna cuisine'. It is beautiful and unpretentious. I love the nets and photos on the wall. I also really appreciate the flags hung out the front and the elderly italian clientele inside. Took me straight back to Naples! The waiter was really helpful and patient, and the menu is extensive. Food arrived very quickly too! We ordered garlic bread and garlic prawns for entree, both of which were delicious. The 6 garlic prawns were swimming in a delicious garlic chili oil (there was only meant to be 5, but they gave us a 6th so we could share- thank you!) which we mopped up with our garlic bread. Very naughty but delicious! I had the Etna special for main - a big bowl of creamy garlicky pasta filled with prawns, bacon, squid, mushrooms, and chili. The pasta was perfectly seasoned and very generous - I could only eat half! It was so good though, my friends found a way to finish it off! One of my friends got the seafood hotpot. She is italian and seriously rated the dish. It came with risotto and a beautiful rich tomato sauce. My friend relished the oil slick in her tomato sauce- "they are not afraid to give you a substantial sauce!" The hotpot was packed with mussels, vongole and prawns. I think it is the happiest I have seen her. My other friend for the prosciutto pizza. It looked awesome- he quietly worked his way through the whole pizza. He said the pizza was one of the best he has had- he loved the coarse layer of mozzarella which was melted on top- nice and golden. It was topped with delicate and fresh prosciutto and rocket lettuce. He said it was beautiful and fresh! We all left uncomfortably full, but happy. Thank you for a very...

The Etna is the real deal. The vibe is warm and homey, the walls are a photo album of great family memories that are great to look at. Very heartwarming. Tables are a bit close to other diners, I didn’t mind at all, but including it here incase you do.

When the meals were brought out, chilli and Parmesan was brought to the table by default. We LOVED this!!!

I had the blue swimmer crab pasta from the Specials board. I thought this was listed as $41 on the board, but was charged at $47 dollars on the receipt. I have only just noticed this now leaving the review, which makes me think that the special board might need clearer distinction between 1’s and 7’s. Despite this, it was worth every dollar. The quality was off the chain, it was so delicious, and portion size could definitely feed two people/meals (mine was so delicious I almost finished the whole thing).

My party were both very happy with their meals and would recommend them to others (Etna Special and Waterview pasta). These sat around the $36 mark which could seem steep at first glance but as above, quality and portion size more than justified this price. There was a generous amount of ‘additions’ in both pastas (mussels, prawns, etc).

Garlic bread is an absolute steal! $10 and we got 6 pieces (2 pieces each). It was pretty good.

Our servers Jasmine and Robe were both great and made the experience seamless and pleasant for us.

The Etna delivered exactly what I expected when I arrived: a homely Italian vibe, miracle-level pasta and great, down to earth service. Highly high...

We ordered at 5.30 and received our main at 6:40. At 6:20 I saw a staff member to ask what was happening as people who’d arrived after us had eaten and left. At 6:20 their reply was it was cooking. At 6:30 I followed up again to a separate staff member, who said she’d follow up (she never returned to let us know the outcome). At 6:40 the food finally came out without a single apology for forgetting us. We had to rush to eat it as we had our son to collect from a bday party at 7 up the road (thinking arrival at 5:30 would allow us ample time to eat). Because of the delay, this added to the inability to enjoy the meal. We went to pay and asked for a discount given the poor service we’d received and were outright told no. No solutions offered, no care or even empathy offered. Just all about the money and the F you to us. Even though the food was fair, will never recommend as service is as important. If you can’t run a restaurant,...