Semola Sydney — Restaurant in Sydney

Last minute Friday night booking but they managed to squeeze us in at 7.30pm. While we dined outside for our entree, they cleared a table for us inside for us to enjoy our mains. Both waiters were friendly and attentive, and they didn’t appear to be rushed even though it was only the two of them.

Now let’s talk about the food: 👉Burrata salad (special) - refreshing, light and acidic. The creamy burrata was matched with crispy leaves. 👉Foccacia - unique airy texture and thinly sliced. Reminded me of sourdough? (Sorry y’all I ain’t no bread connoisseur 😂) 👉 Truffle tagolini - dinner special #1 - this dish smelt sooo amazingggg! I was literally inhaling the scent as other tables ordered this dish before us. Really creamy and rich coating every strand of pasta. I would highly recommend sharing this dish as opposed to getting it just for yourself. It’s much more enjoyable as a dish that you can go back and forth to. 👉 Roast duck - dinner special #2 - the roast duck had a crispy skin and meat was tender but slightly undercooked. The meat was lying in a pumpkin purée with gravy, green beans and purple carrots. Least favourite dish from the night. 👉 Bombolone Al Cioccolato- Nutella filled donut was warm and tasty. Very yummy with the vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce and peanuts. 👉 Dessert special- Presentation was beautiful and tasted amazing too. The crunchy puff pastry between layers of dark chocolate ganache/ cream.. you could really taste the high quality of dark chocolate that was used (in contrast to the chocolate in the other dessert). The white powder tasted like sherbet? ? I do think the dish could do with less sour berries and cherries but that’s more of a personal preference.

Other things to note: ⭐️ Please note that the restaurant is currently BYO and they do not have alcohol on their menu. However, there is a bottle shop along the same road and the waiter was kind enough to let us know. ⭐️ Unfortunately, it is a little loud dining inside the restaurant but on a warmer day, I would much prefer sitting outside. ⭐️ The portion sizes are on the smaller size (compared to other Italian restaurants), which means you can order a larger amount of dishes to try. However, this also means the total cost increases..

Overall, we highly enjoyed the experience as the food and service were...

I went here on a week night. Only another couple at the time when I arrived. Another two couples came later on. Definitely the places was lacking ambience. It was a bit meh. I ordered a glass of wine for 15 (the same bottle at Dan Murphy's for 17). The glass of wine was approximately 150 mls. I ordered a plate of pasta and a side of wedges. The potatoes seemed like they were heated up in a microwave, but I don't think this is possible as one can easily see into the kitchen. Just something about the potatoes that seemed they weren't cooked that day. The pasta was above average. Plus a glass of mineral water my total came to 60. My biggest gripe is when I went to pay with my card on the machine, the first screen was asking for a tip?! Select 5, 10, 15 or other!!! I ignored the screen and just went to tap my card for the total. The the employee pressed next so I could actually tap my card to pay. Honestly, the Americans complain about their out of control tipping culture, but in Australia we pay our servers a legal minimum wage so they can live. I'm struggling like most these days to pay the bills and treated myself for my birthday. I actually felt pressured to pay a tip as a opposed to there just being a tip jar at the register. It left a bad taste in my mouth. While the food was ok, I just felt like it was missing that something to make the food sensational. Maybe love? I don't think I'll be back and will try other authentic Italian restaurants. But I also don't regret going. I give the...

A poor experience accompanied by a lack of care from the staff.

Came here yesterday with my partner with the high hopes of eating some authentic Italian pasta.

Initially everything was going well. We ordered two pastas and quickly got served them. However, half way through eating, I felt a sharp sensation in my mouth. I immediately checked the food in my mouth and realized I had been served a piece of metal!

I then showed it to the waiter, who apologized and said it may have been from when they were cleaning the pots with steel wool. He then offered to remake the food for me, which I declined due to having lost my appetite (and also the fact that I was worried that they may be using the same pot they had to serve me my dish).

I understand mistakes happen, but I was greatly disappointed in the service that occurred afterwards. Normally people would take the dish away to not remind them of what horrific experience had occurred. However, the waiter simply left it on the table for the rest of the meal as I waited for my partner to finish theres.

Then, as we went to pay, the staff charged us the full amount for both meals. Normally in such a situation where a mistake has been made, the meal itself won’t be charged for. However, that wasn’t the case. We, wanting to leave as soon as possible, just paid and left.

For a restaurant that prides itself on the food it serves, it is very, very disappointing to have experienced such incident and lack of...