Ullo Dee Why — Restaurant in Sydney

Our little crew used to be fixtures over at Wok Bar, so when Ullo popped up with its snazzy renovation, our expectations were sky-high. Think dark, sultry colours and a throwback '70s flair that had us at hello. They snagged us the perfect spot on the veranda, ocean view and all, and got us sorted with menus, water, and drinks in a snap.

But then, we hit a bit of a snag. The wine service was a tad off - the glasses missed those handy pour lines, leaving us with pours that felt a bit stingy. A chat with our waiter did get us a better pour, though it seemed like we were playing roulette with the amount of wine we'd get each time we ordered more.

Digging into the main event took its sweet time - about 20 minutes of waiting even though the place wasn’t exactly hopping. It felt like we were on a quest to catch the eye of the waitstaff whenever we needed anything.

And the food... well, it was a bit of a mixed bag. Our pizzas decided to arrive at their own leisure, and not altogether. One made an entrance stone-cold and not even what we ordered. We're no strangers to the pizza game, especially with our roots tracing back to Italy and many a meal at Bar Reggio, but these slices just didn't hit the mark for us.

Turns out, we aren't the only ones who've noticed the snags in service speed, portion generosity, and keeping the eats at the right temp. It seems like these hiccups are part of a bigger pattern rather than just a one-off bad night. Our night at Ullo didn't quite live up to the hype, and with the vibe that feedback isn't their jam, we're not too optimistic about things looking up anytime soon. It's with a heavy heart we say we probably won't be...

Unfortunately - Underwhelming.

Well, where to start. Most weird thing was one member of our group ordered his meals and drinks and the waitress immediately turned around and left, leaving the rest of the group without any chance to order - how odd.

My mocktail glass was chipped in two (!) spots, resulting in a cut in my lip, this should really not happen, and a good bartender should see that.

Food prices are steep, I mean $11 to add a cheese ball to my Margarita pizza? Even for Sydney that is rough.

Food was ok, however the pizzas arrived cold (which is sad, given that only three tables were occupied during a weekend lunch). Other places outside were buzzing with people.

Homemade lemonade was water with sugar syrup, and 80% ice.

Waitress never asked if we want more drinks or any desserts (which we actually did), it was almost like she was annoyed that we ordered things. She just disappeared most of the time to the back of the restaurant.

Other table guests seemed somehow disappointed as well, given their looks...

Left with a 190$ bill for a table of four and a lot of disappointment, which is sad as we were driving almost 1.5 hours (with high expectations) just to try this place out.

When we asked for a take-away container, the waitress just put our pizza pieces in box and put it on the counter, no chance for us to take home some of the salad and entries - again a first for me...

Kudos to the guitar player though, he was great and really entertaining.

Not too sure if I will return, again quite sad as we had...

We dined here on a Sunday afternoon (website promises live music from 4-8pm but there was none, hate that). It's had a nice makeover since it's Wok Bar days, feels modern and relaxed. But maybe too relaxed for the staff! After being seated and having our drinks order taken, we were ignored for a full half hour until I ended up having to call out for someone to come and take our food order. It wasn't busy and there was a waiter and waitress just metres away at all times, but they didn't so much as look in our direction. Note: I had read the same thing from others on Google reviews, so this wasn't a one-off. It was so bizarre. Anyway, the sausage pizza was delicious and big enough for two to share, margarita was great (though it irks me when the already small glass is only 3/4 full. Why?) - in fact if they had asked me if I would like another, I would have said yes, but they didn't. It's like they're trying NOT to make money hahaha, so strange. We'll probably give them another go but might wait till they've been open for a while and sorted their...