Pellegrino 2000 — Restaurant in Sydney

It has a very tight menu.

Few entrees, 4 pasta and one rice, 2 meat dishes plus 3.5 dessert options.

The octopus appetizer was very satisfying, tender while crispy. This deserves a Bravo or Brava to the chef.

The pasta disher are very simple and maybe that is the greatest value. Very straightforward tastes in well done al dente pasta. And they are not drown on "parmesan". We had the ravioli and the rigatoni dish and both were of a fine taste. The rigatoni was a bit on the toothy side for my taste but everyone is different. The ravioli was a really good dish. The frutti di mare was quite good with plenty of sea food.

The desserts were nothing special and I was slightly dissapointed from the Tiramisu. I have expected a wetter base but maybe it must be just me that got used it to a more drunken Tiramisu.

The atmosphere is nice resembling a wine cellar but I needed more light to read the menu. Either stronger light or bigger letters on a different menu paper might helps "old people" like I am. The wine list could have been a great list but I could not go through the really long list of wines because I couldn't read them. And sometimes, a very simple puerly Italian wine list can be advantageous. I do not want to read through Australian wines until I find a simple, mass produced but refreshing and very matching Chianti or a cool Valpolicela. This would be though very "unaustralian" where food serves only as excuse for alcohol.

Staff was attentive and professional but I missed a bit the "personal" note. Paying attention on small hints or being more adaptive to guests style is something that can give an edge to the service. Nevertheless, the staff is very professional and very good in their jobs.

The restaurant was full, even it was a Monday. As you know this place has a long booking list.

It is a good choice for "Australian" expectations and I would love to taste the polpo...

4.5 for food, -2 for service. The service truly ruined my last dinner here in Sydney.

Our server, a blonde young lady managing the outdoor tables, was cold and unwelcoming from the start. She didn’t ask if we wanted any drinks, or mention any specials. She just stood there in silence, waiting for us to speak first. There was no sense of engagement or care in her tone or words.

When I asked if she had any wine recommendations, she just stared at me with a blank expression, saying nothing, no follow-up question, not even “What kind of wine do you like?” After an awkward pause, she finally asked, “Red or white?” in a flat, almost irritated tone. It felt like I was being difficult for not giving her a full answer upfront. Instead of guiding me through the options or even trying to help, it felt like she was waiting for me to serve her the answers.

When I misunderstood a dish, thinking it was fish rather than steak, she repeated “It’s a steak” more than once, in a dismissive tone. I asked her to place the order for the appetizers first and said I needed another minute to decide. But she lingered at the table and told me the kitchen would take longer if I didn’t order now—making me feel pressured and uncomfortable. I had to insist 3 times before she finally stepped away.

The most disappointing thing was when I finished my glass of wine. Without asking if I wanted another or offering any alternatives, she simply took the empty glass away. I had been planning to follow up with a red wine, but wasn’t even given the chance.

Throughout the meal, she never checked in or asked if we were enjoying our food or needed anything else. Her service was passive aggressive, at times condescending. I can’t say definitively if her behavior was racially motivated, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being treated...

Very nice experience, definitely book down stairs if you want a more family friendly atmosphere. Upstairs and by the entrance has a more after-work and yuppies kinda crowd. Bit of a funky smell on the way, especially by the stairs when being shown to our table, but that's expected for an older building packed to the brim with people. Nice charm otherwise. Couldn't fault the service, very helpful and patient, running through the menu. Buffala mozarella entree was nice, but wouldn't recommend unless this sort of cheese on its own like Burrata is really your thing. To me this cheese doesn't carry enough of a punch, like say goats cheese to enjoy on its own. Surprisingly, the eggplant dish might have been the nicest entree dish at our table, definitely an earthy, acidic and tangy taste. Novelty-wise for the taste buds, that one was 10/10. I did really enjoy the foccasia bread with truffle oil though. Enough to go for seconds of it. Carbonara was probably a more authentic style than I'm used to, but unfortunately not the kind I'd go for again. Mildly enjoyable, but lacks the creaminess and egginess of a good one you'd typically have. Mixed feelings about the guanciale too which they use instead of bacon. I enjoyed only the very burnt bits of the guanciale, but found the other majority of it to taste too porky. Penne was al dente, but again, would have preferred a longer pasta type instead to soak of the sauce better. Creme caramel with the whipped banana cream was otherwise really enjoyable way to end the dinner. Would try this place again, but with a...