The Goni's Schnitzelria — Restaurant in Sydney

Warning Review - Please be careful eating here with Nut Allergy.

I’m not typically one to leave a negative review; but felt a sense of obligation to warn anyone who is considering dining here with a Nut Allergy.

I had one of the most disappointing and downright dangerous dining experiences at Gonis Schnitzeria. Their sneaky, misleading, and completely careless approach to food allergies put my health at serious risk, and their staff’s belittling comments made it even worse.

After immediately noticing my throat tightening & my tongue swelling, I realised it was the start of an allergic reaction. We immediately asked the manager if there were any nuts in the "Mediterranean" schnitzel. He insisted there were none both in the meal, or anywhere in the kitchen.

Concerned, we requested the ingredient list from the waiter, who outright refused, doubling down on the claim that they were a nut-free kitchen. When we asked again, the manager repeatedly came to our table, not to address the reaction, but to insist on remaking the dish, saying, “I don’t think you like this, you’re not eating it anymore, let me remake it.” It was painfully obvious he was trying to take the dish away to cover up their mistake rather than admitting it contained nuts.

We pushed further and finally overheard staff in the kitchen anxiously whispering, “there’s pesto in it,” yet they still refused to acknowledge it to us. Instead, the manager returned, once again nervously offering to remake the meal.

Wanting to leave, we asked for a takeaway container, explaining we’d share the food with family who also have nut allergies (based on their repeated claims of a nut-free kitchen), the waiter smirked and said, “maybe you shouldn’t.” And it was only at this point, after making it clear we weren’t going to let this slide did he finally admit, “sorry guys, it does have pesto in it, which contains nuts.”

To top it off, I was met with degrading comments like, “why are you being difficult?” when I refused another dish, and “why aren’t you strong like your boyfriend?”

Despite the dangerous mistake and their total lack of accountability, they only removed the $35 meal with nuts from the bill, still charging us $55 for the rest—food we couldn’t even eat out of fear of contamination.

Fortunately, I had my allergy medication on hand, which helped prevent the reaction from becoming more severe. However, the lack of care and transparency in addressing food allergies at this restaurant is deeply concerning. I strongly recommend that if you have food allergies or even just expect honesty and decency from a restaurant, stay far away...

So on the day we visited a few days ago, I was sourcing places to have a meal together with my partner. This place turned up and I saw reviews stating food portions were good for the value, so here we are!

My partner and I got ourselves a regular schnitzel each (Greek and supreme) along with 2 glasses of wine. This was a huge mistake and underestimation on our part, and we had never been so defeated by food before.

Obviously, the size of the portions are really large. To give you an idea, one regular schnitzel is a very, very generous meal for two small-medium sized eaters. There's more than enough meat to go around, though the portions of sides like fries and salad are more normal. The fries were normal pub fries and were acceptable, decently seasoned, though the salad seemed to lack dressing of any kind. I have no complaints of these except that there was raw red onion literally everywhere on my dish. A little is fine, but there was just too much of it going around and I was getting overwhelmed by it since it was also in my supreme schnitzel.

Speaking of the schnitzels, they are well cooked, flavoursome and moist with a crunchy crumb coat, and very well topped with the choice of toppings you indicate in your order. Of course, my partner and I would've gladly finished our schnitzels if the single regular portion wasn't so big, but we managed to get take-away containers. Just be mindful that these are charged, so I recommend coming in with a game plan!

I most definitely recommend Goni's Schnitzelria because it's a very lovely place that easily provides options for larger groups of people, helping assure no one's going home hungry. My only criticism is that staff may want to be mindful of people who seem like smaller eaters to recommend portions accordingly because we spent a fair bit for our order (Each schnitzel is about $29 onwards). And when I come back, I'll definitely ask the staff to tell the kitchen to go easy on the red onions for...

A friend and I had a Livingsocial voucher for 2 courses and drinks. We had booked for a Saturday lunch. On arrival, we proceeded to the counter and were given menu's and our table pointed out. The décor would be a mixture of hospital cafeteria and a palatial bathroom. Sterile white tiles and the atmosphere of a wake. At that stage (and never having been there before), i assumed that table service was on offer. Mistaken i was. There are no signs to indicate that you need to order and pay at the first counter. Putting that aside, and after ordering at the counter (Garlic Prawns for Starters and then a Mediterranean Schnitzel) , our 2 courses came out to us less than 5 minutes later. Both at the same time. It never ceases to amaze me why bother having the menu separated into 'Starters' and 'Mains' when both courses are foisted onto you at the same time. I asked on plates and cutlery and was directed to the plastic rectangle pile of plates and cutlery stacked in the middle of the floor. The garlic prawns were hot and tasty, and it is here that the tasty and mostly hot part of this meal ended. The Mediterranean Schnitzel promised garlic, basil, pine nuts, walnuts and parmesan cheese cooked in a creamy béchamel sauce and melted with cheese. What arrived was 6 pre-cooked schnitzels with unrecognisable sauce slapped on topped and overdosed with congealed cheese. Some parts of the schnitzel was hot while others stone cold. Quantity and certainly not quality is the catch cry at Goni's. Unless you have had a lobotomy of your taste buds and just want to eat large chucks of uneventful schnitzel without regard to taste, stick with your local pub. I purchased a takeaway container to take the mostly uneaten schnitzel away with me as i felt bad at wasting food, but alas, Goni's schnitzel was a goner on arrival and could...