Folk Lounge & Dining — Restaurant in Sydney

When my partner and I heard about Albi's coming to Gymea, we were so excited we love Albi's. Their food and service are always impeccable, always a 12/10 When we arrived we saw our favourite waitress and she greeted us straight away we were seated in a booth near the live music which was so classy we went to the bar ordered our food and drinks and sat to soak up our surroundings. The drinks arrived in a timely manner, and then shortly afterwards, our appetisers arrived. we had the signature garlic bread. Nona's meatballs and soft shell crab in a bisque all amazing!! Meanwhile, always being checked on .Shortly after our mains arrived, the fish and the lamb shoulder were beautiful hot and well cooked and presented!! We had a beautiful night, and it looked like our surrounding tables were also enjoying their evening. I definitely feel every establishment when starting a business with 2 conjoining and very different businesses mind you will definitely have problems when starting out, but it's knowing that and giving some time to appreciate that.

The only thing I would say is for dinner it should be table service this is where you can allow for more drinks to be served and desert to be offered .Diners are guaranteed to drink and eat twice as much if offered at the table. When having to order at the bar, it also takes away the experience of fine dining. It also gives us an opportunity to express our appreciation to our host. It's all about the connections you make and how you made your customers feel, we went to Albi's yes for the food, but more so for the waiters and waitresses...

First time dining with you and sad to say but probably the last, had a booking for 7:30, we were on time and front of house staff were quick with getting us seated and were warm and friendly. Ordered within 5 minutes of being seated. Ordered a foccacia bread for entree. Ended up waiting until 8:35 nearly an hour for foccacia bread. Before we had even finished our bread a waiter older female really short blonde hair took the plate without asking if we had finished with the meal!! (We hadn't and were starving by this time) Mains didn't come out until nearly 9pm and Unfortunately it was not worth the wait as the lamb was dry and both meals extremely bland and under seasoned, we were really disappointed considering how long we waited for them. I totally understand that venues get busy and there may be wait times but thought that patrons would have been notified upon ordering if there was high wait times at the time. Really sorry to say that we had this experience considering we had just paid for a 5 year membership to the club and was looking forward to having our first date night on a long time without...

This venue has the potential to be excellent, but there are areas in need of improvement. The meals were not served at the appropriate temperature, and the pricing, which reflects a high-end establishment, did not include table service. Additionally, the dishes were served at different times, and some had conflicting flavor profiles.

The restaurant offers a variety of seating areas, some of which are beautifully designed—cosy, dark, and inviting. However, we were seated near the entrance in a section that felt more like a bistro hall, which detracted from the overall experience. This area felt disconnected from the rest of the restaurant, which appeared far more atmospheric.

The eye fillet, unfortunately, was disappointing, with inconsistent flavors that overpowered the dish, and the meat had a boiled texture. The pasta dish lacked flavor, was overcooked, and the lasagna was burnt on both the top and bottom, yet lukewarm in the center. On a positive note, the garlic pizza was a standout.

I’ll give it a few months and revisit to see if improvements...