Buon Gusto

2.5 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  6      Service  2      Value  1     

I simply cannot believe this place has got Any decent reviews, surely we can't be talking about the same place?! I had been wanting to go here for a while because it looked like a really cute and authentic Italian. We went on Valentine's night but hadn't booked. They sat us down, gave us the menu and brought some 'complimentary' antipasto. Whatever it was was cold and nasty.

Only after we had tried some of this did we were realise that it was a compulsory three course set menu at $45pp. We just wanted a nice bowl of pasta or something, but feel like we were manipulated into having three courses, and paying a damn sight more than we'd anticipated.

The food was absolutely disgusting. The so called gnocchi they brought out tasted more like canned cannellini beans in tomato sauce and random blobs of mozzarella. Then onto the mains, I had the mussels which came with no bread for the sauce and no finger bowl. My partner found some bone in his chicken breast?! The sauce they put over it was a horrible grey looking stodgy gravy.

Green beans were served with the meal and somehow half of them were old, stringy, shrivelled up things, and the other half were barely cooked?!The 'gelato' they speak of for dessert was no such thing. It was slimy and cheap and I wouldn't be surprised if it was some own brand bulk buy rubbish.

The service was useless, no-one knew what was going. There is absolutely nothing authentic about this place. Any Italian worth their salt would be ashamed to put that food in front of anyone. We actually felt like we were in an episode of 'Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares'! Never again!

Feb 15, 2012 

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

Had the best dinner last night at Buon Gusto, best seafood ever!

Feb 01, 2012 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  8     

Buono Gusto has got to be one of Sydney's most under-rated Italian restaurants. It has a family feel that can't be replicated by a chain or Darling Harbour tourist-trap.

I go once a week for my little taste of Italy. The staff are as authentic as the food. I haven't asked but they all seem to be one big family. There's a mumma in the kitchen and the "loving sons" the dining room waiting on a clientele comprising locals and students from the uni across the road.

I've sampled just about everything on the menu and they always seem happy to accommodate an off-the-menu request. They often whip-up the most amazing Caprice Salad or risotto marinara.

The decor borders on the tacky but it really depends on your taste. Personally, I'm tired of the clean lines and blinding-white surfaces of the Nuevo italian restaurants that shamelessly charge $10 for a bit of Bruschetta. A few chianti bottles and checkered table clothes are a welcome change.

It's a relatively short menu but there are always new specials. I can recommend practically everything on the menu. Make sure you leave room for dessert because they have the most unbelievably authentic Tiramsu. No cake and cream in a martini glass here. Just a giant slab of alcoholic soaked deliciousness.

A three course dinner for two with wine will cost you around $120 and, let me tell you, it's easily the best value meal you'll eat in Sydney this year. If I'm wrong, please write me a rude reply. I'm confident I won't get any.

Feb 24, 2011 

2.3 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  4      Service  1      Value  3     

Food is absolute horrible. Vege over cooked, from yesterday, reheated. Garlic bread burned. Source watery and lacking in substances and body. Atmosphere looks like cater for university students. Service, waiter extremely rude, waiter just dump garlic bread and walked away, I would expect waiter to serve in front of us and not on the next table. Value what value.

Nov 19, 2010 

2.3 Not Recommended

Food  2      Ambience  3      Service  2      Value  2     

This restaurant was recommended by someone so we went there with high expectations. It was one of the worst restaurants I have ever been to. They brought the specials out on a plate with cling film on top which isn't attractive. The waiter kept pestering us to order even though we told him we needed a few minutes to decide. We eventually ordered and to our surprise, the food was in front of us in just 5 minutes. Our lasagna was cold and the veal parmigianna was disgusting. We thought that because there weren't many items on the menu all the food would be cooked fresh but this wasn't the case. The waiter wasn't friendly and the food was very expensive for what it was. This restaurant puts Italian food to shame.

Oct 13, 2010 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  9     

Had a very pleasant dining experience here on 16/7/10. The decor is authentic and the food and service very good.

Jul 18, 2010 

4.8 Average

Food  4      Ambience  5      Service  5      Value  5     

Came here for lunch with work colleagues. Terrible food. All mains came with the same cold tired vegies. Flies were hanging around. Unattentive waiters. I can't believe we wasted our money on this dump.

Mar 09, 2010 

7.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  8     

Had dinner here on Saturday night. My partner and I really enjoyed this place. We had not booked and we were greeted with a smile. The decor is cute Italian style. The service really friendly and attentive. The food delicious. They bring out a small complimentary anti pasto plate to start, which is a nice surprise. All of our meals were generously portioned and tasted terrific. We were made to feel welcome and we definitely would return.

Mar 01, 2010 

6 Average

Food  4      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  6     

Was at a party held there, the service was so fast we felt that we were being pushed out the door. The pastas were way cooked too al dente to almost hard and the veal pizzaiola had a strange taste to it. Seafood platter was also overcooked and tasteless. Nice locale but the food has little to recommend it.

Feb 05, 2010 

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

Awesome authentic italian food, great atmosphere.

Dec 19, 2009