a’Mare — Restaurant in Sydney

average quality at degustation prices

we did the 'experience' amongst six of us. first and foremost, the service was impeccable and all the staff really attentive and friendly. cocktails were nice and unique too. this is where most of your money goes.

the food was a real let down. while nothing was bad, it wasn't particularly memorable either. amongst the six of us we got two of each dish. each plate presented to us was to be shared by three people, with the exception of the tiramisu, of which we received a sizeable scoop each. at $140per person, I would expect individual plating, not having to unceremoniously reach for and pass plates around.

the focaccia was average, bland and a little dry (I bake focaccia myself regularly). you only get one cube of it each. a big shame as the burrata came out long after we had finished the focaccia. and the leftover pesto from the pasta sort of went to waste with nothing to mop it up.

the burrata was nice, but so liquidy. some warning would have been nice so that we could save the foccacia. we couldn't even get at it with our utensils so there was so much left over.

the crudo/sashimi was good, but we barely got a morsel of each. probably the smallest sashimi course I've ever encountered.

the pasta was great and we enjoyed how it was prepared tableside. it was a shame that the servings were small.

the veal was also expertly cooked and was served along with the roast potato and salad (both OK but not amazing). a little deceptive as on the menu it is presented as three courses. there was also strangely a lot of it? once we had a couple of pieces each we got over it. the veal itself was very lightly seasoned and you get some lemon to put on it. other than that the was no other flavour.

tiramisu was also quite nice, but it was a little weird that they brought a big tray of it to show us and plopped a serving on our plate.

so really, this 8 dish experience is really 5 with a cube of bread at the start. I have paid less for more at other restaurants. overall it was a decent meal, lovely location and the service was great. but the menu was unforgivably boring. I MIGHT go back for the pasta, but when there are so many other great Italian places in Sydney, it will be a long time before I...

Been here two Sundays in a row for the Pasta Sundaes ($55 each for two of us). An overall third visit for me (First time spent $600 for two people). First Pasta Sundae, waiter was attentive and very professional when he sat us. Food was delicious. Not huge serves but didn’t expect it to be, given the circumstances. Perfect for me and anyone who doesn’t want to stuff themselves. We got a side salad ($18) and two potato croquettes ($10 each) as well. Total $174 (not sure how but maybe there’s a Sunday surcharge? Or maybe there was a 20% tip?). Everything was great. The only thing I was disappointed about was the fact that I kept running out of table water and it was rarely filled. Also finished my wine quite early and although they came and took the glass, it would have been nice to have been asked if I wanted another. By the time the waiter came near us again it was home time. Second Pasta Sundae ($55 each for two people), we sat upstairs and the view was beautiful once the sun has set low enough for us not to be blinded when they opened the sunshade. Food again was just as good quality. I felt a little judged this time for some reason. When we ordered the wine, the waiter looked at us like he had no idea what we were ordering, despite there only being one white and one red on that menu. Unfortunately once again, table water was rarely filled and once again the same thing happened with the wine. First time I thought it was just an oversight. Now I feel maybe it’s a tactic to get you out faster??? Slightly disappointed overall but still think the food is great and service otherwise was excellent. We got a side salad ($18) and went downstairs for a lychee highball ($28) and a negroni (? Cost) at the bar. $20/20% (I didn’t see it clearly) tip brought it to $234. Not sure how but once again maybe there’s a Sunday surcharge, otherwise that’s a $50+ negroni!). Whilst it was nice to be at the bar, for some reason the bar tender kept hanging out in front of us, making it quite difficult to have a private conversation. Would have been nicer if he had moved away and mixed his drinks elsewhere and kept an eye on us. Maybe it was our own fault for sitting in the middle of the bar. Note for next time if there is...

Beautiful restaurant & atmosphere & very friendly staff. Just wanted to mention though that some of the prices are definitely a bit over the top. I understand it’s a fine dining place & expensive prices are expected, but some are just a little bit too over the top, especially the $160 for half a lobster to add with one of the pastas. I wanted to get that initially but changed my mind because of the price. I find that there’s also too many seafood options in the mains which isn’t convenient for everyone because a lot of people are allergic to it or just don’t like or eat seafood. All the meat options are in the ‘secondi’ part of the menu which are like bigger starters, but I think it would be better to have more meat options in the mains.

Also, I booked online months in advance & added ‘birthday’ as a special occasion as well as allergies & dietary requirements for the rest of my guests, but I didn’t see the point because they didn’t seem to mention any of it when taking our order. They asked us as if they didn’t look at the details or who the booking was for upon checking us in. Even at other general non-fine dining restaurants, they carefully look at everything you added to your online booking & always confirm everything with the guests. Surprised it wasn’t done here considering the level of the restaurant.

I saw waiters going to other tables with sparklers & a little cake, & when I noticed they never came out with sparklers for my table like they did for other tables, I figured they had forgotten which I was confused & a bit disappointed about it considering I had added it to the online reservation & have received it at other less fine dining restaurants previously. One of my family members had to go & remind them to bring something out for the birthday celebrations & then they came out with chocolate balls covered in coconut just without the sparkler. I appreciate the last minute...