Valentinas Sydney — Restaurant in Sydney

Good American Diner Style Food with Mediocre Service

On a Sunday where max temperatures exceeded 35 deg, we arrived at Valentinos 12pm sharp. As expected, it was bustling and wait for a table was expectedly long (30mins). We were led to the outdoors table, partly under the shade but still hot. It was understandable, and we figured we could brave the heat. We ordered maple iced coffees, the huevos rancheros with sour cream and pancakes with blueberry sauce.

With how busy it was, we expected some delay with our food. We did not, however, expect to WAIT FOR 40 MINUTES. In the heat. We were not, unfortunately, forewarned. Although we appreciate how busy the staff must have been and the Sunday chaos, it was very poor service to leave us in the heat wondering when the food was going to arrive. To reiterate, at this point we had waited 30 mins in the heat to get a seating (not something predictable to staff) + 40 mins in more heat for the food (I’d think more predictable to the staff) = 70 mins of just waiting. We really, really would have appreciated the heads up.

As for the food, it was decent. Pancakes really hit the spot with a generous salty tang to it and lots of maple syrup and a square of butter. (I’m on the fence about the blueberry sauce. It was far too generous and soaked the pancakes, but I think it’s a preference thing). Huevos rancherous was similar - not mouthwatering stuff, but hits the spot and does it well. Beans were just the right level of savoury kicking spice and umami, potatoes were on the heavier side but just right and crispy on the outside. The star of the show, though - maple iced coffee. It was DIVINE and perfect. I especially loved how it was premade with oat milk, which really complemented the maple syrup flavour.

Overall - Food is decent but service is rough (authentic to American diner style) and would not recommend visiting in heat or bad weather. If you do end up nearby on a hot summer’s day, do yourself a favour and grab a maple ice coffee to go but save the rest for...

An unassuming standalone American style diner in what should be the reasonably-equal-opportunity cafe suburb of Marrickville, Valentina’s manages to thrive with a weekend patronage lineup to rival a ticketing queue to a Taylor Swift gig. While the cuisine is relatively unremarkable - mainly bolstered by omelette style egg muffins and pancake stacks - this diamond in the rough has managed to create a word-of-mouth buzz bigger than the sum of its parts. Both times I’ve been (once as a party of 2 and once as 3) I’ve been listed on the sacred clipboard and stood among other hungry would-be brunchers eagerly awaiting a table.

The challenge of this establishment lies in its relatively small footprint compared to its popularity. If seated inside, the experience is diminished by the dull roar of a completely packed dining room, leaving little opportunity for decent conversation with friends or colleagues. This, coupled with the understandable if not still irksome rushed undertone of waitstaff to have your order, have you served, meals finished and your table freed up for the next guest post-haste, places a heavy burden on the food itself to carry the overall experience. While the diner-style items are enjoyable and timeless as breakfast sustenance, I’m not sure it’s enough to warrant the almost hour-long wait for a table and earn the kind of local fanfare Valentina’s seems to thrive upon. Where Sydney, much like Melbourne, has cultivated a strong café culture, this comes out as less of a 'my local' and more of a tourist attraction, appealing more to those drawn in by the hype than to regulars seeking an authentic café experience.

There’s decent street parking, and I enjoy that unlike many other establishments, pancake syrup is in abundance enough from a table-shared pouring vessel that you’re not waiting to bother...

Really excited to try this place out, but were left highly disappointed due to poor attention from waitstaff.

Waited 20mins to get a table, understandable as it was a weekend and were willing to wait.

40mins passed after our order was taken, coffee had come, and thought something was up as tables who came after us started getting their food first. Asked a lady to check on our order, whereby it was brought to our attention that our order wasn't sent through due to a system error. She then asked us what we ordered and assured the kitchen will make it right away.

15mins passed and yet tables who came after us were getting their food before us once again, despite being promised that our order would be made next.

At this point we were quite annoyed and proceeded to leave. We were told at the counter that our order hadn't been sent through again, and that it seemed like there was a glitch/bug with their ordering system and our specific table.

Gentleman at the counter apologised, assured that our orders will be made ASAP, and put our orders on our house due to this. We really appreciated this kind gesture from him.

Food was ok, the highlight was definitely the potatoes. However, the waitstaff really, really need to be more attentive and pick up on situations like this, where it is apparent that certain tables have been waiting for extended periods of time without any food.

The design of the diner itself is very nostalgic and has a nice cosy vibe. Liked the open kitchen space + bar seating where you can overlook the chefs and baristas.

But the service was really a let down... Wouldn't return...