Bar Conte Surry Hills — Restaurant in Sydney

Hmmm, this was a tough one and a bit of a mixed bag. The ratings went up and down throughout our experiences.

We actually tried to dine here on a whim a few months ago. Understandably, it was busy, so there were no available tables, but the server who spoke to us was quite rude, so it did turn us off on coming back.

That was until a recent Saturday when we were in the area and decided to give it another chance. This time, there was an available table but were told we'd have around 1.5 hours, which was fine. The person who did initially greet us was a bit curt, but he was just friendly enough.

So we then proceeded to wait for a very long time until someone finally served us, also realising we didn't have water yet. So she swiftly got us water and took our order. We ordered a pasta, the steak, and a salad. She asked if we wanted any starters too, so we thought, hmmm, maybe the servings are small, so we did get an additional starter.

The starter came and went. Then our pasta and salad came. I was thinking, perhaps they're really resting that steak. When we finished our pasta and salad, the same waitress came back asking if we wanted dessert. That's when I mentioned we still had the steak coming. She went 'oh', then quickly rushed off.

Another person, perhaps the maitre d, came back apologising that our steak wasn't put through and they were preparing it now. To compensate, he kindly gave us complimentary salami and fries with our steak.

We also ordered a couple of rounds of cocktails, and even the curt but friendly enough waiter was all of a sudden nicer and apologetic to us. We started getting way nicer treatment overall.

Was the food good? Honestly, everything was delicious except the steak. The steak was a bit overcooked, and I suspect they didn't rest it long enough as was trying to rush it out to us. We were also quite full by the time the steak arrived.

So, would I recommend this place? Yes. The food is really good. But please, just be polite and friendly to everyone, even if you're busy. You never know when you're to make a mistake, so it's best to treat everyone with more manners than an...

Conte

Bar Conte in Surry Hills Foveaux Street and Riley Street is named after the inventor of the Negroni, Conte Negroni. As inspiration, this Italian bar is home to over 20 types of negroni’s. By the day it’s also a cafe, with ONA coffee, panini and sweets.

The dining space is intimate, dimly lit and Italian movie posters and art adorning the walls.

We begin with drinks and enjoyed a “My Old Pal” negroni, made with Campari and Rye Whiskey which was a great version of a Negroni. We can’t believe how many negroni variations can be made. Peruse the list and opt for your preference.

In addition, the bar also has some of your other favourite cocktails and we enjoyed a superb Amaretto Sour too.

The food at Bar Conte is of bar snack style and you can start with some olives, foccacia or gourmet meats. We opt for the Black Angus Bresaola, which was light and delicate and needed nothing more than the sprinkle of pepper it came with. We also had the marinated eggplant with caprino (an Italian goats milk cheese) which was nice to go with the appetiser.

If you’re after something a little more substantial, try the gnocchi Sorrentina, which is their house made gnocchi in a rich and delicious tomato sauce. Furthermore, we highly recommend ordering the jumbo prawns, flavoured by a bisque butter, lemon and parsley. These totally melted in the mouth, the flesh falling away easily from the shell. Kurt commented that these prawns were the best he’s eaten all year, so that’s a huge compliment.

Considering it’s a negroni bar, it’s not surprising that they also have items that are negroni infused such as the salami or even a tiramisu. Overall the food was excellent, yet expensive. For the food we consumed and only one drink each, our bill was $140, as the mains are around $30 each. However the quality of the food and service is great, but you may want your visit to be for a...

Really cool vibes and good drinks, however very poor service which means all of us agreed we would not return or recommend. My friend made a booking and requested to be sat inside, when we arrived, we were asked if we would prefer outside, to which we said no, we prefer inside.. and were given attitude and felt as if we were inconveniencing them. We were sat at a table set for 2 people (there was 3 of us total) where we were then ignored for over 15 minutes without given menus or water. I ended up having to go to the bar to ask the bartender if he would like us to order at the bar or table, to which I was met with confusion, attitude, and made to be felt in the wrong again. He told me to grab a seat and someone came over and threw 2 menus on the table (again... there was three of us) to which we had to ask for an extra seating placement and water. The menu noted they would charge 10% for table service and we were all blown away that this was the case, as we all work/have worked in hospo and have never seen anything like this in another other bars (keeping in mind this place is already very expensive), and the service up until then was absolutely horrible. We finally were served by a person who was nice although seemed new so couldn't answer our questions (if he was new, totally fine and understood). After we got our drinks a different server came over and asked if we liked our drinks in a condescending tone which we all felt weird about. overall, 82$ for 4 drinks and olives, horrible service, and my friend was upset on her birthday...I won't be going back to a place that makes me feel so self conscious for simple existing in a space and I don't think whoever is reading this...