Same with everyone else, average food (so average they did not even bother with simple decorations, food looked exactly like how your sister would make your lunch pasta), but heavenly gelato!
I love going here for the coffees and the gelatos. I have been going here for the past three years. They do indeed have the best gelatos, and probably Sydney's top 5 coffees. The food is average, but then for that value I'm not complaining. I don't get why people think this place is so bad, it's not supposed to be a fancy place, it's the place to go on a relaxing afternoon to have coffees.
And about the service? I have never thought that the staff is rude or ignorant. I agree that some of them don't smile as much as the others, but that doesn't bother me at all.
I went back and tried Bar Italia again after a very average meal and coffee. Now I agree it’s not supposed to be anything more than a middle range cafe, however they are charging top dollar. This makes the whole place really unaffordable for a small family. I still find the pasta tasting processed. The sauce seems to taste processed and the pasta wasn't cooked. I asked for arancini and got a strange look am I in the right place. I really think that there is better elsewhere especially now for the price.
The only thing that I have here is an affogato. They have good hazelnut gelato.
We've eaten here before and it wasn't pretty. So I'm always blown away with how busy it is, I just don't understand it. The senior staff is so rude, when I was in line an old lady in front of me asked if there was any chance she could get skim milk and the senior staff said "You can order what you want, but you won't get it". Granted there are signs up stating they only serve full cream milk, but he didn't have to be so rude to her.
This is a place for the gelato loving people and the short black and macchiato friends. Great coffee as far as the short types are concerned but anything that is offered in the milky department is a no no. The flat whites, lattes, cappucinos are no where near as potent or desirable as the short blacks or machs. Maybe it's traditional Italian logic not to fuss about the milk types of coffee but I get dissapointed all the time with my milk themed coffee compared to my amazing espresso. Gelato is delicious all the time.
Why do people make a fuss of the atmosphere? The atmosphere is what it is - that's the appeal of this place for me. It doesn't pretend it's anything but a place to grab a quick feed or a coffee 0- if you're expecting a fine dining experience then this place probably isn't for you.
The gelato is excellent, that can't be disputed (it's probably the best I've ever had in Australia), but the main meals are very takeaway-shop quality. They're cheap though. Staff are ok - not polite, but certainly not rude. Coffee isn't to my liking, but they make up for that with exceptional coffee gelato.
Food is mediocre, but the gelato is AMAZING - best I've ever had. I base my rating of 10 on the gelato only! The prices of the gelato (and everything else) keep rising, but it's worth it. You can also ask for 2 or 3 scoops in a dish and pay accordingly - you don't have to get 4 like the sign says. Don't expect the staff to bend over backwards to accommodate you, they can sometimes be rude...but if you're only going for gelato, who cares.
They only serve coffee one way - no skim milk, no decaf, and no soy milk. This is the way it has been for years, and anyone who's not fussy is happy with it. If you want your no-fat decaf lattes, go to one of the other many soulless, stainless steel places around.
The place still has the same unpretentious atmosphere, even if the prices have gone up - it's been running in Leichhardt since long before the yuppie invasion. I recommend sitting out the back in the courtyard :-)