Andiamo Trattoria Chippendale — Restaurant in Sydney

I am generally not one to complain, ever, and I am still quite embarrassed at this whole situation but feel it necessary to share. Yesterday evening I was craving neapolitan pizza and Google brought up Andiamo. I walked to this cute street and was promptly seated as a single patron. I ordered the rocket and prosciutto pizza and asked my waitress if I were able to get it with the bianca sauce instead. No problem. When my pizza arrives it is rock hard (as in you can literally snap the dough in half), crunchy and there is no sauce. It is just arugula and prosciutto and parm on top of hard overcooked dough. I try to eat a piece to see if I can enjoy but I simply can't. I'm going to have to complain and the thought mortifies me. Finally my waitress comes over and I tell her that I am embarrassed but this pizza is hard with no sauce. She nods understandingly and says she will take care of it. I feel better. After waiting a while my second pizza is finally delivered. It seems softer so I bite into it. It is still super dry with no sauce and quite a bit harder than I expected (but softer than the first pizza). Is all the pizza like this or is it just because there is no sauce? After what seems like forever a waiter comes by to speak to me, my displeasure obvious. I ask him if they even have a white sauce and he tells me that their white sauce is an olive oil mix or something that soaks into the dough. Ah - this makes sense. Classic miscommunication (I am a traveler) that wasnt communicated to me when I first ordered the pizza or upon my first complaint. I mentioned that I was expecting an actual white sauce but they dont have one. Still deeply mortified and unsure what to do I ask to please order anything else. He seems hesitant but allows me to. I eventually settle on a penne with rose sauce, but have to wait quite a while because they need to cook the penne. I feel dejected and hopeless at this point and it has been quite a while since I sat down - well over an hour. I feel like a nuisance and hindrance and not particularly well taken care of by the staff. Time between each interaction is at least ten minutes of awkward waiting. Finally I get my pasta! And it tastes like a bit harder than a la dente pasta that I could make from a box with a jar of premade pasta sauce. I was so underwhelmed at this dish for the price tag of $20. I just ate it silently so I could leave. I then sat and waited for any staff, watching them laugh and chat by the bar as I awkwardly sit there. By this time I've been there over an hour and a half and I just want to leave. Finally I get my bill and mistakenly tip them way too much (once again due to a miscommunication!) and just hustle out of there. Overall, I was deeply upset with my experience here. The staff were slow to help and I felt forgotten about, seemingly not concerned with my displeasure at all. The pizza was unpalatable and the pasta disappointing. I wasnt charged for the pizzas or my second beer so that was a plus, but I have never felt so embarrassed or...

Where do we begin....let's go in depth here. In summary - avoid. Full story below.

To start, went here with the family on Easter Sunday. I will say that waiter provided a good customer experience. He was helpful so well done to him. The other factor, however- he was the only wait staff that there was - and us alongside one other table being the only customers.

Let's start with the entre - we got cold meats polente chips e.t.c were quite good - shame that the gorgonzola sauce tasted like battery acid rinsed in bleach. No, not joking. It was beyond disgusting.

Now for the mains. This is where the 'resraurant' belly flopped like the Costa Concordia. All pizzas were cold - not room temp, not hot - cold. Tasting like they were made yesterday, put in the freezer, and reheated n left on the balcony near lake como in the winter. The margarita looked like Dahmer had a field day and the truffle mushroom tasted like it was made by someone on mushrooms. The ravioli - oh that was the kicker - it was well undercooked with half frozen peas and 0 sauce of any description. They threw in what looked like one cherry tomato cut in quarters. The mains were beyond pathetic.

We honestly would of been better of eating Woolworths pizza and latina ravioli. It was an absolute abomination of a meal and not even worthy of the rats that plague Surry/Chippendale to eat. Hey they probably would of left it to.

And coffee's - I mean we didn't ask for iced coffee's but hey a half espresso that's gone cold - that's why you pay such an exorbitant price right?

The best bit was the wine - no jokes or sarcasm - probably because it's pre-bottled and they don't have anything to do with the contents. Even the mineral water was flat.

Also, to add insult to food you wouldn't serve Scotty from marketing, a 15% surcharge? 5 or 10 sure but 15?

The only reason this gets one star was because of the waiter being a decent human being. Beyond pathetic. Save your stomach and your...

Located alongside Spice Alley, and surrounded by artisan chocolatiers, small bars and trendy restaurants, Andiamo Trattoria brings a new dining experience to the vibrant Central Park dining precinct.

Be prepared to be transported to a little slice of Italy as soon as you step through the doors. Rustic, homely, yet contemporary, you'll be warmly welcomed and well looked after by the highly personable staff. As they would say, benvenuto nella nostra casa (welcome to our house)!

Enjoy honest, homestyle Italian cooking. We were treated to a Tuscan feast, with a delicious journey through antipasti, pizza and pasta, and culminating with a succulent 24 hour marinated, six hour slow roasted lamb shoulder with a lemon gravy and roasted potatoes, and finishing with tiramisu with Italian espresso and panna cotta gelato.

The Polpette were small bites of deliciousness. The meatballs in the tomato sauce were wonderful. The Arancini and Spinach e Ricotta Fritters were both crunchy on the outside with creamy fillings in the middle.

The pizzas had crispy bases and the toppings were rich in flavour but not heavy at all. Just the right amount.

The gnocchi were soft and the accompanying mushroom sauce was lovely. Spaghetti Marinara had a good balance of seafood in it.

The Lamb was so tender and melt in the mouth. A sign of a great slow cooked lamb is if it can be cut with a spoon and this certainly fulfilled this promise. The potatoes were crispy and the accompanying salad was a great foil to the richness of the other components. Absolutely scrumptious!

Finished off with a decadent Tiramisu & Panna Cotta...