Una Volta — Restaurant in Newcastle-Maitland

Had a very nice meal with two excellent, like-minded friends. This is the sort of place you want to go with people who are going to enjoy a similar experience to yourself. With people with broad, unafraid palates looking for a long chat and a series of excellent experiences. The menu is set weekly and if you are like me and make your engagements well in advance, it tends to be a bit of a gamble - but I have no doubt that for my desire it would always play out fine.

The booking process was made easy by phone and I received confirmation for my booking at each phase - including after I had to change my booking number. I did find that Una Volta was more responsive to a voicemail than by text, but they were pleasant entirely.

On the evening, yet another of our party was unable to make it and the staff and kitchen catered to this change of plan with a much appreciated grace. Given that this is a prix fixe meal I can understand how much difficulty that puts the economies of scale for the business, yet all was effortlessly handled.

We had a lovely multi-plate course of antipasti - fig, gnocco and proscuitto, fried seafood, caprese tomato and fresh mozzarella, and bread, olives and dipping oil.

Then a delicious ricotta and spinach filled crepe with a nice tomato sauce.

Then slow cooked lamb shoulder in an unexpected but vibrant dressing of pine nuts, capers and sultanas - in a delicious reduction with root vegetables and a simple radish salad.

Because we had come with 3 instead of 4, our serving probably was small between the 3 - but the waitress immediately sensed this and brought additional lamb. Even at detriment to their interests, Una Volta saw the benefit of purveying a good experience to patrons. I was already fairly full of lamb and bread, but the gesture (and the resultant extra-filledness) was highly appreciated as the lamb was beautiful.

Lastly a choice of two desserts - panna cotta and mousse, the choice of which was split across the table, and each beautiful.

Is it expensive? Surely, and I'm a notorious cheapskate. There is also $10 corkage - and only one of us was drinking.

Was it lovely? Very much so - the atmosphere is conducive to great conversation (and a jazz pianist in house) and a slow journey through the courses. The waitstaff were delightfully kind and attentive.

Would I go again? Surprisingly, yes, and even fairly eagerly. What I expected to be a once-off "I've had this experience now" sort of event - is actually something I would go routinely for due to the execution and experience that I had - and my faith that a different menu would be as exquisitely delivered.

Thank you so much...

I visted Una Volta for our anniversary recently and while not terrible, we were both overall let down by the experience.

As the menu is picked for you, we sat down ordered drinks and waited for our first dish (just bread and olive oil). We were quite hungry and waited 30 - 35 mins before asking the waitress, only to wait another 5 more minutes before getting our bread (almost 40mins without food).

This is far too long for a highly regarded restaurant and while we got 1-2 apologies from the staff, I think a tiny gesture would have gone a long way like taking 1 drink off the bill or offering a free bowl of chips even - does not have to be much. The patrons next to us had arrived 40mins after and were being served their mains the same time as us.

We did share this feedback when they asked how the meal was but all we received was another brief apology and a quick skip of the tip screen.

The food overall is decent, they do use fresh ingredients and dishes are plated well with good garnishes. With a menu chosen by the chef, it would be nice to see their personality in it but the taste and flavour profiles were all very 'safe' choices. Little creativity, innovation or uniqueness. The bread, zucchini flowers, mussles and cannoli were quite nice. The Lamb was a bit dry and we didn't finish it.

The waitresses we had were friendly and the overall atmosphere is nice. The venue can get a bit loud during the peak of service and it can be hard to hear the front of house staff. Another minor detail is that we indicated it was our anniversary and there was no acknowledgement of this or even the chocolate writing on the dessert plate.

Also an Old Fashioned was one of the 6 cocktails offered on their menu, however the bar uses standard small ice cubes for this instead of the single large block/sphere. Otherwise it was well mixed.

Overall we wouldn't be back or reccomend this to friends as you'd be paying ~$100pp but I'm glad we tried it to see what the...

Another very impressive dining experience at Una Volta last night. The fare and service was absolutely excellent. We chose the set menu of 4 courses. Within the 4 courses, we were served 8 sublime dishes including a rocket, beetroot & walnut insalada. THE FOOD: Hard to pick a stand-out dish but the antipasta of Stracciatella, Persimmon & Pangrattato is unforgettable as is the Kingfish Crudo with Cucumber, Citrus & Chive. The main of Arrosto di Manzo Beef Fillet with Caramelised Onion, Cavolo & Pickle (a fantastic addition) was excellent. The Dolce of Millefogie, Mandarin & Honeycomb was superb. THE SERVICE: Is very good. Two staff attended the busy evening and they were on point in every way. The service warm & subtlety attentive. Each course was presented with knowledgeable flair & any question asked about the wine & food was expertly addressed. The staff know their craft & they are well supported by their chef. It was obvious that the staff enjoy working at Una Volta & they take pride in their service & in the food/wine that they offer. THE WINE: An excellent wine & beverage menu which is...