Andre's Cucina & Polenta Bar

7.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  7     

Amazing food! I had the rump steak with a balsamic and mint glaze and it was phenomenal. Best steak I've had in years. I would definitely recommend Andres. Only (small) criticism is that it was very noisy in the restaurant and made it hard for my husband and I to hear each other without yelling.

Dec 07, 2011 

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  10      Service  8      Value  9     

Came to this place for the first time last Friday night. The joint was seriously full which gave it a great vibe and was buzzing. We took the waiters advice and did a $45 Banquet. The food was excellent and seeing thats the case here and its busy, I'm not looking at what the toilets were like or having a waiter stroke my ego as a diner.

Aug 07, 2011 

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  7     

What a fantastic place! Andre has done a great job since Masterchef. Little hard to find unless you know that it is part of the Medina apartments.

Packed on a Wednesday night. Awesome wine list (Spanish, Italian, Aussie). We let the vivacious female waitress order for us and we were not disappointed.
Amazing entrees of fritto mare, smoked buffalo mozzarella with prosciutto and raw vegetables with onion soil (wow!).

Mains of sous vide steak (best I have ever tasted) with 12 year old caramelized balsamic. Two polentas (truffle and mushroom was one), two pastas (smoked eel...mmm). Great wine recommendations. $100 a head including wine but we ate so much and drank 6 bottles of wine between us. Fantastic place!

Jul 25, 2011 

3 Below Average

Food  7      Ambience  3      Service  1      Value  1     

Food was tasty, service was appalling. I had to ask for clean wine glasses 3 times. The menu is incredibly over priced for what you get. The staff are not as knowledgeable as the previous reviewer would lead you to believe. It is in the lobby of the Mantra hotel, it shares the toilets which are dirty and not worthy of a place charging $30+ for main meals. I would not visit this place, save your money and go somewhere else.

Jul 17, 2011 

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

A wonderful experience. I loved the tapas style Italian menu, the idea of sharing out food makes the dining experience all the more fun. I was impressed with the wine list's good coverage of Italian and Australian wines. Then when it came to the food we were a bit at a loss as to what to pick from their menu and specials but the waiting staff were incredibly well versed in their menu.

These are clearly staff who know the product because they have eaten it before and are passionate about the product. We ended up with the antipasto plate (an excellent choice), the slow cooked steak (done very well, maybe a bit more well than I would normally go for) and of course, some polenta. The combination of favours and presentation was fantastic.

For dessert, the waiters were only all too happy to make suggestions. I was smitten by the idea of banana donuts and they did not disappoint. The balls of dough had a light crisp on the outside but inside was soft and fluffy and tasted strongly of banana. For Masterchef fans out there, yes, Andre does work front of house and from the way he looked after his diners, you can see that, that works well.

Nov 07, 2010