Ambiance Ristorante — Restaurant in Wollongong City Council

My husband and I tried this restaurant today, we won't be back.

We had a bruschetta before our main meals arrived.

I ordered the carbonara pasta dish, it arrived with a raw egg yolk on top and the dish was mixed in a runny liquid that looked like cream. I asked the waitress about the raw eggs & she said the egg would cook through as I mix the pasta around, the pasta was not steaming hot, it wasn't hot enough so it went back to the kitchen, when the dish returned I could see that the raw egg had been removed but it did not look like any egg had been mixed in, the dish wasn't warm so I asked the waitress about the egg and she said the raw egg had been removed but the pasta has already been cooked in egg. I then tried it and it was so salty that I actually couldn't eat it. My husband orded the risotto and that was also really salty, he also couldn't eat it.

Went to the counter which the same lovely waitress asked how everything was and I told her I couldn't eat it as it was too salty and unpleasant, she went straight to our table to remove the dishes and informed whom I believe would be the owner whom offered for the cheff to remake the carbonara meal but I declined, she then didn't charge us for the carbonara dish which I appreciated it but then said that they meals can be salty "as we use pecorino cheese"

I explained that been Italian I also use Pecorino cheese but that was way too salty to the point it couldn't be eaten & getting a raw egg on top of a "carbonara" dish with what looked like was mixed with cream was not pleasant. She assured me that they don't use cream so I asked her what was that runny liquid and she stated that they mix the pecorino with the egg white ........ I was still unsure about that response as the liquid was runny, not even creamy and I said carbonara doesn't have liquid in it which her reply was "well we obviously have difference of opinion."

No wonder why Italians say "you eat...

I absolutely adore Ambiance Ristorante, their food is absolutely delicious, the service is always completely impeccable and the atmosphere is always jolly and cheerful, if not a bit loud at time!

However I will say there needs to be serious improvements to their bathroom, such an unpleasant bathroom is so out of place here- its closer to a petrol station bathroom than that of a high quality, expensive restaurant. It feels like they spent everything on making the restaurant itself beautiful and disregarded the bathroom. I’m hoping they have plans to renovate it underway!

Don’t let that put you off though, that is my only complaint really worth noting- though some dishes fall a bit flat in complexity, I’ve never been unhappy with a meal. If you’re going to treat yourself to dessert from a restaurant, get one from here. The brookie is to die for, and the sauce that comes with it is something that crosses my mind more than I want to admit. I would suggest splitting it between 2 at the end of a dinner!

And lunch also has a great variety of food, I was very impressed with the italian american burger - it hits the spot and it’s great to be able to get a burger like that without having to go to wollongong central.

And the muffins, freshly baked and DIVINE. I typically am not a fan of fruit in muffins but Ambiance Ristorante showed me how delicious it could be. Please, go check...

A very busy and professional restaurant that delivers the best food in Wollongong and Sydney as I'm from Sydney and worked with some of the best in the industry before I moved down here.

A lot of pressure when working A la carte. It gets very busy and nothing like a cafe that just makes coffee and serves sandwiches or cakes.

Customers usually understand that it's a personalised experience they're paying for, especially in a smaller establishment like Ambience.

I sat, ate and watched the open kitchen that brought back a lot of memories from Sydney then started to admire the pressure that the owners were under. They still were able to deliver my family and I a memorable experience with outstanding presentation and taste under the circumstances of a few setbacks. You try running a bloody successful restaurant with picky customers and little thanks.!

Considering unreliable staff that reflects on the business, unreasonable customers that think it's a drive-through at Maccas....and the BS COVID that almost had them shut for good!

I can’t believe the negative feedback from some customers, get real and start to appreciate the quality instead of a few unfortunate circumstances.

Keep up the great work Ambience and see you again and again...