Buon Ricordo

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  7     

Aboslutely love this place, tucked away in paddington behind kings X. The private dining room upstairs has plenty of ambience and is an excellent venue for parties or corporate events, where the service is excellent. Their food is divine, try their signature dish, truffle egg pasta and you will not be disappointed.

Apr 01, 2012 

3.8 Below Average

Food  3      Ambience  8      Service  3      Value  1     

Oh man, they really do charge an arm and a leg! for 2 people: 1 entree dish (I had the Truffle Fettuccine in the entree size since none of the mains seem appetizing). 1 main (my partner had the T-Bone Steak), 1 bottle of mineral water, 1 bottle of sparkling water, 1 basket of bread (I think is complimentary, but was charge to the bill anyway).

At the end of the night as we were walking back to our car, my partner turned around and asked me "Did we just get punk'd?" He showed me the billed and I nearly fell over! My partner didn't enjoy his steak, but there was nothing else on the menu that he wanted. My fettuccine truffle was nice, but it was literally 2 fork full. We didn't even touch the bread.

And the waiter though knowledgeable which we appreciate, was pushy and a bit rude, after we made our order, and it wasn't like everyone else with the entree and mains etc, he just didn't really want to acknowledge our existence in that restaurant. I had a look online menu had a lot more to it, compared to what was available that night.

Feb 06, 2012 

10 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  10      Service  10      Value  10     

Even though its lost one of its hats it is still my favourite restaurant. The service is exemplary and food outstanding.

Sep 27, 2011 

6.3 Average

Food  5      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  5     

Well what can I say, Armando Percuoco needs to learn to take a bit of criticism instead of being the rude and arrogant person he is. Went to dinner at Buon Ricordo excited that I would finally taste this famous chefs food. Instead, when my veal returned (only having eaten half), I commented that I was slightly disappointed as I felt that the Parmigiano overpowered the veal.

Let me add, this was said very discretely! Armando did not like this comment saying "This is your problem as I have sold thousands" before laughing at the top of his voice so everyone could hear and walking away. Awkward? Yes and rude. It seemed that the Neapolitan chef does not like to be told that his food was not of standard.

Luckily I didn't start with his signature dish which by the time I had finished it, the truffle oil had overpowered all the other flavours of that particular dish. My friend, however, ordered the quails with soft polenta. Quails were drowning in the amount of sauce on the plate, and the “Soft” polenta was grainy and tasteless. Disappointment Plus!

I must add though, that the wait staff were extremely professional and gracious. Food was Ok, have had worse and have had better. Would I return there? Not anytime soon!

Jun 14, 2011 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  10      Value  8     

We were seated upstairs on this very busy Saturday night. We absolutely loved it. The very knowledgeable waiter and Sommelier helped us having one of our best nights in a Restaurant ever.

The food was very good but the long lasting memory will be the service we received. Despite being very busy the staff made us feel welcome and special and that is very rare now days. Thank You Buon Ricordo.

Jun 05, 2011 

2.5 Not Recommended

Food  5      Ambience  2      Service  1      Value  2     

Two hats? Bah more like two gotchas! Booked 10 days ago when I asked if I could bring some special wine. This was specifically agreed. The day before I confirmed the booking, because it was to be big mother’s evening. On the night I was confronted by the duty officer at the front desk and told in no uncertain terms “No BYO and nobody would have agreed to my request”. The argument in front of my party did not let up.

We were about to depart when the D.O. came back with a compromise and would let us have one bottle for a $20 corkage. (I had brought extra wine as I was unsure of our wine and food preferences). We bought 2005 Pewsey Vale Riesling for $65 (3X retail price) and it was served in cheap wine glasses. When our BYO 1994 Menzies was brought to the table in a small decanter with distinct distain, I asked the Sommelier to give us red wine glasses instead of the cheap white wine glasses.

He replied “they are our standard red wine glasses” and walked off. Even in “no hat” good restaurants we are always offered red wine glasses, often of good quality.

Perhaps, he was in a huff because we were not buying his reds with their 3 to 4 X markup. Hill of Grace for $950, 1990s Grange for $1200. The food waiters and the food average for a 1 hat.

When we left I suggested they might like to check their records with the person who took the original booking and call with an apology. “Really?” was the cheeky reply.

It is time these pretentious restaurants realised that BYO is exercised by those with extensive cellars, not to save money but to have their own cellared wine. We do this 3 X a week. Cheap skates we are not, overpaying for 5 small dinners ($520) deserves some respect. 3 people had 2 entries.

May 19, 2011 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

This is real old-school dining and is still around after all these years for a reason. The service is slick and the room is traditional and serious downstairs and a bit more funky and noisy upstairs. The wine list has good Italians but also lots of Australians. We were really happy with the recommendation from the Sommelier.

But lets not beat around the bush. I come here for the truffle pasta. And it seems I am not the only one as we saw at least one person at every table having it. It made the room smell of truffle and the anticipation of getting my own even greater. And then it came.

The waiter grated on the parmesan and then mixed in the egg with expertise. He said he did at least 10 of these a night. And then finally I got to eat it. It is heaven on a plate and just made me smile.

We also had other things which were all great but nothing compares to the truffle pasta. How could you have a bad meal with that?

May 17, 2011 

6.3 Average

Food  8      Ambience  5      Service  7      Value  5     

This place is a little hidden treasure.

We ordered the John Dory fillets with egg and parmesan batter with pea puree, Snapper fillet on a bed of zucchini flowers with mint, parsley and zucchini sauce, pasta with scallops, chestnut mushrooms, white prosciutto and rosemary, the Aged Black Angus beef, 300 days grain fed wrapped in pancetta, with foie gras and Madeira sauce and the Strawberries with fine layers of puff pastry, crema pasticciera and hazelnuts for dessert.

All the dishes were cooked to perfection and extremely flavoursome. Everything just melts in your mouth. I could tell the chef had a great talent for balancing flavours. The dessert menu was nothing wow for me. It was ok, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that they weren't too sweet.

The service was great. Wait staff were friendly and attentive, and they opened doors for customers. The place is decorated nicely with a large painting displayed at the front desk. It was extremely busy, with guests coming in after 9 pm.

The only concerns I want to point out are that it can get very noisy and it's very difficult to find parking. The front desk do offer to call taxis for guests when they leave though. Also, for the lactose intolerant, they don't stock skim or soy milk.

Overall I had a pleasant experience and will definitely be back.

May 04, 2011 

9.8 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  10      Service  10      Value  9     

My husband and I celebrated our anniversary at Buon Ricordo on Saturday evening. The choices on the menu were so enticing that we decided to have the six course degustation menu with the matching wines. We were delighted with our decision. Every course was superb and the wines were expertly matched. We left it all to the chef and the produce of the season. The food is modern and up to date.

We had a wonderful table upstairs where the décor is very contemporary and features some amazing artworks. You would never guess from the exterior façade what lay within! The staff were very professional and courteous. Our desserts had a fabulous touch, “happy anniversary” was finely written in chocolate on our plates. It was a wonderful anniversary celebration. Highly recommended for special occasion dinners.

Mar 28, 2011 

7.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  7     

We sent our A Table for Six single members to dinner here on Saturday night and the feedback we received was they enjoyed the restaurant. They found the staff to be very friendly with good service. The menu was interesting and well prepared. Only down side was the room was a little noisy, but that is always the case at a popular restaurant when people are enjoying an evening out over a beautiful meal and a few drinks.

Mar 23, 2011