Ain't Nonna's — Restaurant in Wollongong City Council

Tonight we dined at your restaurant, Ain’t Nonnas, and what a complete disappointment it was. We ordered the Mum’s Spaghetti and Meatballs, dry, reheated meatballs slapped onto hard, undercooked pasta with huge basil leaves thrown on top. There was no flavour, no care, and certainly no love in that dish. The Rigatoni alla Vodka was just as bad, again, hard, undercooked pasta and not a trace of creaminess. My friend is half Italian and we were honestly disgusted. I’ve had better Italian meals at a pub, which says it all.

The service was just as shocking. The blonde waitress didn’t check on us once during the meal, not even to ask how the food was. We paid $88 for food that was awful, service that was non-existent, and an atmosphere that was terrible. Tables are jammed so close together you can hear every word from the people next to you. It felt cheap, rushed, and uncomfortable.

Looking back at other Google reviews, it’s clear people have been complaining about the exact same problems, undercooked pasta, poor service and nothing has been fixed. Italian food should be cooked with passion, made to be enjoyed and remembered. Instead, this was careless, soulless, and a total waste of money.

We didn’t just leave disappointed, we left angry and deflated, with our entire night ruined. A meal out is supposed to be something you look forward to, not something you want to escape from. Tonight confirmed one thing: it might be called Ain’t Nonnas, but I can tell you now, it sure ain’t it, and it ruined our...

I was expecting a little bit more. The starters were the highlight - the arancini were beautiful and crispy on the outside and melting inside. The zucchini flowers were also lovely - with a really fresh lemony zing. However, the mains were just ok - the pork ragu had barely any meat and was not at all thick and unctuous like it should have been. The gnocchi had a great texture but the sauce was marred by the addition of too much rosemary which was chewy and woody - and over flavoured the entire dish. Probably would not have been so much a problem if the waitress had not recommended fresh truffle to be added to this dish at an extra $20 a pop. Now I love fresh truffles and added to the simple italian dish cacio e pepe it truly shines shine - but on this dish you couldn't even taste it due to the overwhelming rosemary flavour. The wine was great and the staff seemed friendly if a tad disorganised - we were seen by four different waitresses over the course of an hour or so which does indicate a well-run floor. My suggestion - maybe increase the prices of the pasta so you don't have to be so sparse with the serving size or the ingredients. And pls - learn to use truffle properly. It's a travesty to waste such a...

I have been looking forward to coming here for the past year and was so disappointed both in the food and the service. I ordered pasta and was underwhelmed with the sauce and the fact that the pasta was hard and undercooked.

As far as the service goes - we booked for 6pm - my friend arrived at 6:15pm - at 7:15pm without asking if we were finished or would like any coffees or the bill, our bill was brought over to us in a way to get us to leave. We continued our conversation and at 7:30pm we had an eftpos machine brought over and shoved in our face. It was incredibly rude - at no point were we told the booking was for 1.5hrs and there was nothing on the booking confirmation about a time limit and there was no acknowledgment that she needed the table or anything. As a couple of mums with kids we don’t get a chance to catch up often and when we do it takes a lot of organisation - to have a 1.15hr chat and be pushed out the door was pretty poor. Would never...