Cucinetta Sydney — Restaurant in Sydney

Cucinetta Sydney Hunters Hill Review 2 course Menu divided into Antipasto. Pasta, Secondi, Dolce at $70 a head. Instead of serving everyone’s first and second courses concurrently the meal is served Antipasto first followed by Pasta then Secondi then Dolce. Resulting in people ordering a main and dessert having to wait through two other courses before receiving any food The restaurant served every other group of customers before our table of 30 including a group that arrived an hour after us. No food was served for 2 hours and 30 minutes despite our repeated requests for food to be served mains were not served for approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes Unable to wait such an extended period for food 3 people left without receiving any food. We were told that we would not be charged for one of those meals and the meal would be supplied in a takeaway containers, 2 meals were not supplied and were charged for. One takeaway container was supplied with a pasta but no dessert. 10 people we were charged for left the restaurant having only received one course no dessert was supplied for them as takeaway or in any other form. The three children were not given the children’s dessert. Claims were made that we were given 2 free tiramisu’s ignoring the fact that we actually were not served 13 desserts. When asking when the food would be served a member of staff started laughing at me. When I said the restaurant clearly could not manage the menu format, a staff member agreed they could not but could provide no solution. Wine servings/glasses were no more than 30 to 40 ml. We bought three bottles of wine to combat this the staff refused to put the bottles of wine on our 3 tables and were observed to use some of those bottles of wine to serve other groups of customers. To obtain any drinks, wine or soft drinks repeated requests were required and drinks were served after at least a 10 minute wait. The staff were rude, unhelpful and disrespectful. Food. Everything was doused in sugar and the portion sizes were extremely small. For example. Fish 2 twenty cent piece sized pieces of fish doused in extremely sweet sugo sauce. Veal 30 gm of meat slice into 4 pieces with a cloyingly sweet mayonnaise some leaf and a slice lemon. The duck ragu pasta was a textureless lump of again overly sweet sugo sauce no discernible duck and wet soft pasta. Buratta floury tasting cheese with a sour cherry sauce that was extremely sweet One customer ordered gnocchi and was served the children’s penne. A bowl of chips was $18 and calamari and chips $35. I do not recommend this restaurant and would give it less than one star if at...

I had been eagerly anticipating a visit to Cucinetta ever since spotting it on Facebook, and I’m happy to say it did not disappoint. We arrived on a rainy Saturday afternoon for our 12pm reservation, and despite the dreary weather, the restaurant had a warm, welcoming vibe. There were only two other diners seated when we arrived, but we were shown to a table with an incredible view of Sydney Harbour—such a lovely setting!

Our waitress was incredibly charming, and her attentive service set the tone for what was a thoroughly enjoyable lunch. We kicked off our meal with four different antipasti to share, and they set the bar high for the rest of the meal.

The Focaccia with confit garlic butter was an absolute standout. The bread was light, airy, and perfectly baked, while the garlic butter was so rich and flavorful—it could have been a meal in itself. The Calamari Fritti was another winner. It’s hard to go wrong with calamari in Sydney, and this dish was no exception—crispy, tender, and cooked to perfection. The Scallops were a revelation. I’m not sure what they did to elevate them, but they were so incredibly tasty that I could have happily made them the main event of my lunch.

We also tried the Fried Zucchini Flowers, stuffed with five cheeses on a bed of passata. These were well-seasoned, though in all honesty, they didn’t quite blow me away. Perhaps it's a matter of personal preference, as I do think my dad makes the best stuffed zucchini, but these were still enjoyable nonetheless.

Now onto the mains: The Pappardelle cooked in a beef cheek ragu was rich and hearty—definitely a crowd-pleaser. The two men at the table loved it and devoured it quickly. The Vincenzo's Gnocchi was also a hit, with the pillowy-soft gnocchi soaking up the savory sauce. The highlight for us ladies was the Crumbed Veal. While it was beautifully cooked and incredibly generous in size, it was a little too much for us to finish—though I’d chalk that up to being an “Italian thing”—where portions are always hearty and satisfying!

With two cocktails down and dessert to round off the meal, we were definitely left with smiles on our faces. By the time we left, only three other diners had come in, but I put that down to the bad weather and it being a Saturday when most people are out shopping rather than dining.

In summary, Cucinetta lived up to all expectations. The food was delicious, portions were generous, and the service and atmosphere were wonderful. I’ll definitely be back to explore more of the menu...

We choose to celebrate a special birthday at Cucinetta Woolwich, but unfortunately it was far below expectations.

Our table was not ready on arrival even though we arrived on time. This was not a huge deal, but it would have been nice to have been offered a drink while we waited.

We were seated near a christening, which had a number of screaming children. This was not necessarily the restaurant’s fault, but consideration could be given when booking a function with children in close proximity to other diners.

Shortly after we were seated, an older waiter came and, as we understood, advised us of a special before we had the chance to properly consider the menu. The waiter was wearing a mask and had a strong accent, and it was very difficult for us to understand.

Before we ordered our food, this dish was brought out to us. We tried to explain that there had been a miscommunication and we had not intended to order the dish. This is where the matter should have ended.

On top of drinks and three courses of food, we ordered a bottle of wine. The older waiter poured two glasses of wine. He returned and topped up a glass and to our confusion, the bottle was empty. We thought this was very strange but didn’t mention anything, and proceeded to order a second bottle of the same wine.

When the waiter came back with the second bottle of wine, we asked that it was left on the table. He was reluctant to do so. On pouring this bottle, we realised that we only were poured less than one-third of the first bottle of wine. We are unsure if this was some sort of revenge for the mix-up with the special, or a genuine mistake.

We started to feel that the older waiter was becoming cold and somewhat hostile towards us.

Efforts were made to rectify this by a super friendly and young waiter - including ensuring that we were not charged for the bottles of wine. However, money was not the issue, and the treatment by the older waiter was completely unacceptable and it had tainted our night.

I’m really not sure how this place has managed a gain and keep a hat, but it was definitely not reflective of our experience. I would not recommend this place to anyone!

EDIT:

It was clearly mentioned that efforts were made to rectify the issue but our evening was already ruined after receiving very hostile treatment from your waiter. The money wasn’t the issue.

The level of attitude and disrespect for your customers is very evident in your response and a fairly good indication of how we were...