L'unico Ristorante Italiano

7.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  6     

Had a great dinner for two here tonight. The service was brilliant, staff were so friendly and the complimentary dessert wine that arrived with our bill was a lovely touch. The food was excellent - pizza and pasta without fault. And the gelato is divine! Saturday night and the place was packed, yet service was attentive and we weren't kept waiting. Will be going back again.

Jan 21, 2012 

2.8 Not Recommended

Food  2      Ambience  6      Service  1      Value  2     

Waited in a mostly empty restaurant for over 20 minutes for someone to take our order. Then another 30 for the entree as they forgot then quickly brought the mains out. One was hot,the other ice cold and when we tried to tell them they argued with us. They took it back and microwaved it... unbelievable.

Jan 18, 2012 

1.3 Not Recommended

Food  2      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  1     

What a disappointment! The best thing about this restaurant was, we didn't get food poisoning. Where to begin? We were shown to our table and before we had even been presented with the menu were asked what we wanted to order. We ordered a white and instead were given a bottle of red wine.

Our mains came out before our garlic bread. The waiter tried to clear my wife's plate before she had finished. We decided not to have dessert as we felt like we were being rushed out the door anyway (despite it being a Thursday night and the restaurant less than half full).

In the end there were two bottles of wine on the bill (both the white and red) and the cashier tried to get us to pay for both as it was "our fault" that both bottles had been opened. My advice, if you are unfortunate to go here at least check your bill before you get over-charged.

Jul 15, 2011 

3.5 Below Average

Food  3      Ambience  7      Service  1      Value  3     

Very low standards! One of the two entrées arrived (the order was for two entrees and two mains) before a second waitress asked if we were waiting on anything else or would we like the dessert menu (not a good start). The couple sitting at the table next to us had been waiting over 15 minutes for initial service until they bid us goodnight, got up and walked out.

Our mains arrived and yet another, different waitress asked if we would like to cancel our entrée (whatever happened to actually wanting it!). The poor front of house service continued with another waitress bringing out a pizza neither of us had ordered (after offering it to 2 other tables) and then asking if we would like our mains (what the...!). The senior staff explained that the wait staff were all new, so why were they all rostered on the same night? (Poor personnel management).

It wasn’t because they were busy since a third of the restaurant was empty! The Carpaccio di Manzo was plain and the presentation boring. The fennel served with the beef had a grey tinge, was beginning to dry and lacked flavor and aroma indicating it had been cut and refrigerated for a significant time before serving. The Crab and Moreton Bay Bug Lasagna contained quite a few pieces of shell, in both dishes (easily avoided if attention to detail was observed during preparation).

Overall, a very unimpressive and disappointing experience that was shared by more than one table that night (08 Dec 10).

Dec 08, 2010 

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  8     

I booked L'unico for my mother's birthday dinner last night and I had such a fabulous experience that I decided to write about it straight away!

There were six of us and five of us arrived half an hour late, but the staff were very understanding and insisted this was not a problem. We ordered two breads as an entrée and they sent out a third bruschetta for free! All were delicious. I ordered a salmon and cream fettuccine, which was delicious but so large I couldn't finish it. Another one of us ordered their signature dish, which I think was L'unico chicken. It was served with cashews and cream and looked delicious.

With the exception of my brother (who had a bit of a bland pesto pasta) we all loved our meals. We had brought our own cake for my mother, and the lights were dimmed while the staff led us in singing happy birthday. They had also lit sparklers and put them on the cake, which was a nice touch. When the lights came on, they poured each of us a free glass of Italian sparkling wine.

I found the staff very helpful and I loved the complementary bubbles. What made the night for me (and my mum) was the way they made us feel like special customers, even though it was our first time there. L'unico was an accidental last minute choice (the restaurant we originally wanted was fully booked) but I'm very glad we went there!

Dec 08, 2010 

2.8 Not Recommended

Food  3      Ambience  4      Service  1      Value  3     

My partner & I wanted a simple dinner mid-week and tried l'unico as they were so quiet, we hoped to be in & out quickly. We'd been before - they were okay. And were happy to go back. We were seated and before having a chance to look at the menu were asked for drink orders. We still wanted to browse the menu so asked for 2 minutes.

Another waiter came 30 secs later to give us water and offer wine - we asked for a minute to think about it. A minute later, a third waiter asked for our order - we said that we'd told the other two guys that we needed a minute to decide. When we did show that we were ready to order, it took 10 minutes to get the wine served; we were one of three tables there! Our order for food was taken. It took ages to come out and was overcooked and tasted bland and pasty.

The moment that we were done eating our plates were whisked away and we were offered dessert. Again we asked for a few minutes to digest and look over the menu. Then the 2nd & 3rd waiter harassed us again for our order. We saw a dessert go out to another table - it looked a bit drab, so we decided to give dessert a miss and paid the bill.

I mentioned to the manager that we felt pressured by the staff who obviously didn't know what the others were doing, and then still waited so long for food to actually come out. I said this once the bill was paid, to not look like we were after a discount - just offering honest feedback. To this the owner then mocked us and suggested that when we come back next time, he'll have no staff on, to make sure that we don't get any waiters coming to us. I assured him that we would never come back, thanks to his appalling manners.

Nov 26, 2010 

2.5 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  2      Service  5      Value  2     

This place is also listed as Cipriani's Restaurant. At least the invoice says that. What can I say but utterly awful. An insult to food.

They advertise organic Angus beef from Murrambateman on the menu displayed outside. We had an osso bucco that was drowning in oil, with undercooked carrot, zucchini and partially raw potatoes. A steak that was equally submerged and overcooked with the same disgrace to vegetables on the side. The carpaccio itself was ok for texture, but flavourless (menu said lemon and garlic, all they did was drop exactly three drops of oil, around which the carpaccio was placed on the plate).

Service slow until time to collect plates, at which time seagull service arrived. I can't blame the wait staff, all of Indian extraction as it turned out, for the poor food. Following on from that, I can't blame them personally for their performance suffering under either appalling management and a woeful kitchen.

All in all, in a city full of mediocre eateries, this is the worst by far. I took a business guest out for dinner and was embarrassed for having chosen this dive of a place.

Nov 18, 2010 

6.3 Average

Food  5      Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  5     

While the fried calamari entrée was excellent my pizza was below average and my wife's chicken risotto was watery, lacked taste and gave her indigestion later that night, possibly due to the presence of parmesan cheese, something she's sure was not mentioned in the dish description. The restaurant's Quonset hut like cavernous feel, high ceiling, fake Rococo paintings, European booths and earthy colours did give it atmosphere.

Our waiter seemed a little slow on the uptake although that may have been a language issue, and service overall was fine. I found this place in a fancy book left in our hotel room and I chose it based on photos of some delicious looking dishes and the fact it seemed less expensive than presumably comparable places listed in the same book.

From my experience of Canberra restaurants trying to appear a cut above the rest that this is about the same quality as you can expect from most of them, which is quite average, but without the same degree of rip off prices, and I guess by that measure we didn't do too badly.

Oct 12, 2010 

9.5 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  10     

I found the warmest welcome on arrival, the place was buzzing with live pizza and happy diners. I loved the risotto and my partner's cannelloni (hand made) was to die for. The menu had too much to choose from, so next time I'd like to try the chicken dish with the prawns. I can't wait to return.

Aug 30, 2010 

4.5 Below Average

Food  3      Ambience  7      Service  5      Value  3     

If only I read the reviews prior to dining here! It was way over-priced, the quality of the food was poor ie. carbonara, marinara and veal dish were overly salty, the fettuccine was undercooked, the lamb shanks hadn't been stewed sufficiently so the meat was too firm, the accompanying vegies had a bizarre taste, the costly salad used coarse rocket leaves and a bland vinaigrette.

To top it off, I realised after paying that they had ripped me off an additional $12 by overcharging when I later checked their menu! The only saving grace was the calamari, our friendly waiter (although the service was a bit lacking) and the family-friendly ambience.

Jun 08, 2010