Sarino's — Restaurant in Sydney

Unfortunately, I can't give this restaurant more than 2 stars. I REALLY REALLY wanted to like this restaurant as I fell in love with the stylish and sophisticated interior as well as the atmosphere. I even loved the design of the menu. We went on a Friday night as a group of 10 for a birthday. I was overall disappointed with the quality of service for such a quality restaurant.

Why I am giving it 2 stars: We ordered 2 share platters and received them in ONE plate, however they did not bother to inform us of this. So we were waiting for the other one until we asked the waitress where our other share platter is. The serving size was barely enough for more than 4 people. (Only 2 pieces of bread and assortment of roasted veggies and prosciutto).

After our entree, we waited almost 40 minutes before our mains came. This was quite ridiculous considering that there really aren't that many tables in the restaurant. (You can see from the photos on their website). I understand that quality is important, however 40 mins for some pastas and steak is quite absurd. No apologies or a thank you for waiting was spoken.

The food was ok. Steak was not bad but it was really hard to enjoy the experience being annoyed and hungry. The Cassarecce was not bad however it was bland and lacked deeper flavour. The Char-grilled striploin had a better flavour. The sauteed greens was actually my favourite.

The service we received was no where near the quality you would expect from an upscale restaurant. I don't think I saw our waiter smile once (tall girl with curly blond hair). I didn't want to call her out, however the experience really depends on not just the quality of the food, but also how customers are treated. Not expecting much, however they should know what the customers need and try their best in providing the best service they can, especially at a place like this.

It is honestly such a shame because the restaurant itself is BEAUTIFUL. From the navy accents of the chairs and the curtains, to the intimate vibes, it seems like the perfect place for a date or a birthday dinner in the North West.

I hope the experience is better for anyone...

Based on all the positive reviews, we must’ve visited on an off night, as our experience — particularly the quality of the food — was really disappointing. This was especially disheartening as several people had travelled a long way to be there, and the restaurant came highly recommended by a friend.

That said, the venue itself was lovely — the décor was beautiful, the ambience perfect for a large group, and our waiter on the evening was fantastic. The space allowed for great conversation without it being too noisy, which we really appreciated.

A few guests ordered entrées, which arrived promptly and were thoroughly enjoyed. However, we then waited… and waited — around 1.5 hours — before asking the waiter how far away our mains were. During the delay, another waiter mistakenly brought out a duplicate round of the same entrées. These were left at the table due to the long wait, but we were still left wondering where our mains were.

When the mains finally arrived, several guests were disappointed. The fish of the day was undercooked in the centre, the gnocchi was cold, one side dish never arrived, and the side that did was missing some of its ingredients. The Eggplant Parmigana however received glowing reviews from a friend. We sent back the fish, but by that time, everyone was hungry and just made do with what they had.

We proceeded to order dessert, which thankfully arrived without delay — making the delay with the mains even more confusing. Needless to say, there were a few frustrated guests by this stage.

As an apology, the waiter kindly brought out complimentary cannolis — though we did notice these being given to other tables too, so it’s unclear whether that’s standard practice. Since we had already ordered and eaten dessert, it would have been more meaningful to remove the cost of the desserts from the bill.

We were refunded for the undercooked fish and the two sides, but overall, the table left feeling quite disappointed — mainly due to the poor food quality and long wait times. Thankfully, we had great company, which helped turn an otherwise frustrating evening into something a little...

My partner and I went to Sarino's restaurant for dinner. After reading the amazing reviews we decided to try it out. Overall we had a good night but I probably wouldn't go back again.

The decor and ambience are lovely - it's classy while also being cosy and intimate. There was live music that really suited the venue and thankfully blended into the sounds of the space such that you could still have an intimate conversation. I also really appreciated the fact that I could see all of the chefs working professionally in the background. I could see that each meal was bespoke.

I found the menu to be a bit limiting - but this is down to my personal taste. I like small menus, I think this allows venues to focus on the things that matter. The service was a bit lacking. When we did receive service it was polite, fine but I wouldn't say it was where I would expect it to be for a venue like this.

Before we ordered we were served a cute amuse-bouche that I really enjoyed and I thought it was a lovely touch. We ordered the Sardinian flatbread with ricotta and honey as a starter which was great. Light enough to allow room for the mains. I ordered the beef cheek pasta and my partner ordered the Mulloway fillet. We shared a radiccio and baby gem lettuce salad. Each dish was perfect. The seasoning was perfect. The pasta was beautifully al dente, the fish was crispy on the outside and the salad, a generous serving, was fresh. The orange segments in the salad were a lovely splash of flavour and it was just a good partner to the rich pasta dish.

For dessert my partner ordered the chocolate delice which had a lovely flavour but was very grainy and powdery. The strange texture interrupted what I thought was supposed to be a deliciously smooth and velvety mousse. I ordered the tiramisu which was as good as one could expect a tiramisu to be.

Overall we had a good night and enjoyed the food but...