Caesars Cucina Italiana

6.3 Average

Food  7      Ambience  4      Service  7      Value  7     

It was early on a Sunday afternoon and there weren't many people about, but we did have our three young kids with us. The service was excellent and entertaining and the food was beautiful. We had a chicken fettucine which was perfect and wood fired pizzas which were spot on. The service was quick, friendly and at around $70 (drinks included) we thought it was good value. the only negative is the Piazza as a whole. the place is a dead zone... I recommend this place.

Jan 09, 2012 

6 Average

Food  7      Ambience  4      Service  7      Value  6     

I wasn't really impressed the place looked quite basic no real atmosphere. The pizza was quite nice and the staff were friendly. Just not a good vibe, nothing really made me want to go back. It is more of a place you go to have lunch (eat) not so much a place you got to enjoy with family and friends and actually enjoy your experience.

Nov 24, 2011 

7.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  6      Service  9      Value  7     

I wonder if I went to the same place as the reviews below? I did, but admittedly it was a very quiet Monday lunch.

Less than a month off the plane from an Italian stint, my wife and I decided we missed Italian food so headed to the Forum. Not much open so settled on Caesar's.

Service was attentive without being overbearing, and we never wanted for anything. Ordering and receiving food was all done very efficiently and we had a very enjoyable lunch, timing of everything was great, neither rushed nor left waiting too long.

Pasta and Risotto mains were wonderful, and enough for us to want to make the 30 minutes trip again. Nice wines and great coffee. It is a tad expensive, but overall a great lunch. Maybe it goes a bit more pear shaped when busier, but even then the food was that nice that I don't think it would be affected that much.

Only real downside was a 3.3% surcharge on Amex, which didn't bother me that much but is a pretty steep surcharge for a restaurant.

Aug 15, 2011 

3 Below Average

Food  2      Ambience  3      Service  6      Value  1     

Like the earlier reviewer I wish I had ripped out the thing and looked it up on Eatability! But alack alas no. It was a sunny winter Saturday afternoon and we walked over to Leichardt looking for some sort of tapas and our internal compasses swung off their axis and went bust and we ended up in the forum.

And then one of the other restaurants recommended Caesars as doing tapas. Up until then it had been a lovely day. We enter and notice lack of punters, share a nervous laugh and order anyway.

Garlic cheese pizza is not the rocket surgery of gastronomy. This example had not enough garlic, no herb, too much cheese and dough undercooked even though we did say that we enjoy it well done. Mark 5/10 Emma 4/10.

Chorizo next with some sort of fried fruit maybe apple and then hammered with paprika or some other hot hot spice thrown on after cooking. How do you destroy chorizo to this extent? We both give it 3/10 only. It is a dish that keeps on giving, it burns burns burns the tongue afterwards!

Roma tomatoes with goat’s cheese and ribbons of grilled zucchini! Mmm sounds good! Perhaps, a real estate agent should have written the description and called it “Tomato thing - Renovators Delight!

A single microscopically thin ribbon of partly grilled zucchini on an unripe and almost frozen cold roma tomato that has been spread with a goats cheese so mild even I could not taste it and I am not that big of a fan. It was nearly impossible to cut the tomato. At least the roma should have been drizzled with fragrant olive oil, sprinkled with a touch of sugar and a crack of pepper and baked for a bit. Minus minus out of ten.

Prosciutto wrapped around bocconcini 6/10 from Emma but prosciutto not the best quality. At last me piece de resistance! Seared scallops with prosciutto! Don’t get moist yet. Scallops on the overcooked side, prosciutto thicker than country bacon, with loads of fat which I like so give it a 6/10.

No care, no love, no joy. Italian restaurant, Spanish food, Greek owner, Chinese cook, English waiter, what were we thinking? Oh and a knuckle at the next table hoovering everything that ain’t tied down much to the disgust of his girlie and her parents! The waiter was pleasant and had learnt not to ask the hard questions such as “how was your meal?”

Aug 03, 2011 

5 Average

Food  6      Ambience  4      Service  7      Value  3     

Second visit for me was much better than the first time the portion sizes are great here thats for sure and its good food. Not the best and to be honest I felt like I could have cooked a better pasta at home. My partner thought his schnitzel was way over cooked and I also agreed that it was very dry. Which was annoying since he was paying for the bill and had been looking forward to it.

We took our nephew here he enjoyed his pizza but you can't go wrong with a pizza unless its microwaveable. I had carbonara which was heavy and very greasy it was a great portion size but very average. The second time around was with friends much better and the pasta was lovely good portion size too. The waitress was the same one I had before she was really nice and she remembered me too. My nephew also liked her the first time around...lol

Mar 31, 2011 

1.8 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  1      Service  4      Value  1     

I normally read the reviews on eatability and stupidly I didn't and I only have myself to blame. Arriving here on a Saturday during dinner and only 3 tables were occupied should have been a warning to me but no, I was oblivious.

I was surprised to see Tapas on the menu and thought we'd give it a go. Big mistake! The food was hands down the worst tapas ever tasted. I know tapas is small portions but how can you justify $12 for 3 average sized garlic prawns? Or a plate of dips, each dip the size of a teaspoon?

The word has spread people and I am surprised the owner hasn't read what their customers have been saying. The power of the internet is pervasive and posting a negative review on fb, on eatability and word of mouth will cause this place to fold and hopefully something decent appear in its place?

Nov 21, 2010 

2.5 Not Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  1     

Food wasn't too bad, but getting it was an ordeal. Took at least half an hour of flagging down waiters and telling them to take our order, only for them to walk off and do something else like set up a table. Hey guys, look after the people already in your restaurant BEFORE trying to get more in there. If I hadn't been there for a friend's party, I would of walked out. They weren't that busy, but the staff obviously aren't trained for the any sort of business.

I could see there was no communication between the kitchen and the pizza/bread guy, made evident in those at the table ordering pizza getting there food AGES before anyone else. Very unprofessional to serve food in drips and drabs.

That being said, one of the waitresses was amazing, and things seemed to get done a lot faster if she was the one whose attention we managed to get. But that's not enough to make me want to go back.

Sep 21, 2010 

5.3 Average

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  1      Value  5     

Staff were terrible. Only made up for the fact the pasta was quite nice. I feel sorry for the chefs who have to work with the waiters. Ordered bruschetta for entree and mains a short while later for the table. No entree was served until asked around 1/2 later. Garlic bread arrived and the mains were wrong. Bill arrived and still charged for the bruschetta. Overall disappointing experience.

Aug 16, 2010 

1.8 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  3      Service  2      Value  1     

Avoid this place and The Italian Forum at all costs. Inedible slop is the only description for the food. This is lazy, cynical cooking at its worst. We went after a Sunday night film in Leichhardt. Admittedly with low expectations as our first choice wasn't available but still hopeful that we could at least find something edible.

How wrong were we. The pastas were utterly overwhelmed by salt. Our waitress didn't know what the specials were. The cutlery had not been cleaned properly. We were given the wrong wine. It was a total farce. And to add insult to this litany of woes, they charge prices comparable to decent Italian eateries in such suburbs as Surry Hills.

I suspect most of what passes for eateries in The Italian Forum are just as disgraceful. This is a destination for the unsuspecting or the unimaginative. If you value food at all stay away.

Aug 16, 2010 

6.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  6      Value  7     

Out of all the restaurants in the Forum this is probably one of the better ones, it's good solid no frills food. The service is fine, but they do drop the ball from time to time, forgetting to bring us water, forgetting our garlic bread, and it took us ages to flag someone down to get the bill. I also found it a little odd having a "tapas" menu in a restaurant that positions themselves as being "authentic italian". Having said that they are friendly and you'll get a decent feed here.

Aug 04, 2010