Caffe Sicilia Surry Hills, Sydney

User Reviews of Caffe Sicilia, Surry Hills

Displaying: 1 - 10 of 48 reviews

8 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 8

I have only just discovered Caffe Sicilia, and absolutely loved it. We were just driving past and decided to go there because it looked beautiful and atmospheric.

The decor is brasserie style, and has that timeless look: it could be 1890s, 1950s or right now. The staff are absolutely fantastic, and the food was amazing. It was so great I went back for a second visit only 2 days later, and had just as good an experience. It felt like a truly authentic Italian dining experience and I would happily go back again and again.

I would recommend both the rabbit and the duck, two of my personal favourites, so easy to get wrong, but beautiful when done well, which these both were. I was very happy with the wine list which was thorough without being too vast.
And always a nice surprise, despite having enjoyed sumptuous meals, on both occasions the bill was much less than I'd imagined.

May 27, 2012

James A.
1

1 of 1 reader found the following review helpful

7.8 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 7

I have been to this place several times - breakfast, lunch, dinner & takeaways. The service has always been superb. I really like the cute Italian accents and the promptness whenever I asked for anything. Even the Samoan bouncer chatted with me each time I passed by the joint. So I am really surprised to read the bad service in the other reviews.

I agree that the servings can be quite small and overpriced. However all my dishes have tasted delicious. We love the pastries.

May 01, 2012

T L.
4

1 of 1 reader found the following review helpful

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 10 Service 7 Value 9

I am always happy to come back in this fantastic place, where I can taste the authentic italian style. I have been here many times, every time I tried new dishes and always loved them. The service is friendly and makes you feel very comfortable.

Apr 18, 2012

little baby
3

0 of 1 reader found the following review helpful

4 Below Average

Food 3 Ambience 6 Service 4 Value 3

Very disappointed with restaurant. When we were seated we were asked if we wanted still or sparkling, my partner said still. The same waiter comes back 5 minutes later to ask again. We said still. Another waiter arrives pouring sparkling into our glasses before we can say anything. We let it slide.

We order our food after being harrassed every five seconds by three different waiters. Also we order a very over priced bottle of wine. Nearly every bottle on the list is over priced. We ordered Frutti misto to share which is ok but not great. I ordered veal cutlet for main and my partner ordered gnocchi with Balmain bug. Both dishes had hardly any flavour especially mine. The veal was so tasteless and the meat was dry and tough.

When our plates were collected I mentioned to waiter the meal was poor to which he stared blankly at me and then turned to my partner who repeated what I said. Again nothing! That waiter looked like he was the one in charge so I expected a bit more service than a blank stare. Don't eat here - the service and food is below average but for some reason they think they can charge high prices because it looks authentic.

Apr 08, 2012

Melreviewsyourfood
1

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 10

Had one of the best dining experience! The food is fantastic and the atmosphere is so lovely. People that put cheese on seafood dishes should have the decency to avoid places with a certain class.

Mar 28, 2012

Jackat Pearl
1

1 of 2 readers found the following review helpful

3.8 Below Average

Food 2 Ambience 7 Service 5 Value 1

We attended Caffe Sicilia today for lunch and left laughing at how bad our experience was. We chose it due to its décor and how popular it appeared. We will not be back. My friend ordered the Balmain Bug gnocchi($25), and was poo-pooed when she asked for cheese on her meal. Sure it may not be customary but it's rude to insult someone based on their preference.

My other friend had a salami sandwich ($8) and thought it was okay. I ordered the beetroot and ricotta ravioli with prawns ($24). What I got was 4 ravioli which were okay, the sauce which was nice and 2 very overcooked unclean prawns. We all ordered the cucumber mojitos which arrived in dirty glasses with a piece of dry cucumber hanging out the top. Hardly impressive. I made my feelings known on the prawns but received nothing more than a hurried comment that the kitchen would be informed. Nothing more.

Our bill came to $99. I'll leave it to you to guess whether we were offered our change from a $100 bill. Never again.

Mar 25, 2012

yummo
15

1 of 1 reader found the following review helpful

7.5 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 7 Value 7

I love going to this place, so ambient and the food and coffee are both nice.

Mar 17, 2012

euphorically
72

1 of 2 readers found the following review helpful

3.8 Below Average

Food 6 Ambience 7 Service 1 Value 1

Went a few weeks ago to Caffe Sicilia and we ordered the Tiramisu which was very nice along with a few biscotti and coffees.

After our sweets and coffee, we felt like something Italian and savoury. We ordered the gnocchi, it came in fifteen minutes and it was delicious. I got up to pay my bill at their counter, it was then I realized on the docket that they had charged me $38 for a small plate of gnocchi. I asked the senior staff why it would be so ridiculously expensive for something simple of potatoes and cheese? He did not reply with an answer.

Suddenly one young Italian guy approached the counter, I asked him Do you normally charge $38 for a plate of gnocchi? Again, no reply.

The attitude of management was so stuck-up and snobbish, I find this so pathetic to charge people $38 for a plate of gnocchi with no reasonable explanation along with waitstaff that came off rude, shallow and "plastic" in personality.

The ambience of the place is very Italian rustic, which is what attracted us to this establishment in the first place. With this experience, it's unlikely that we'd go back again.

Mar 11, 2012

lifestyle161
2

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 9 Value 8

Walked past and saw this place one night and decided we wanted to try because it looked so nice with its traditional italian decor and al fresco dining. We were shown to our table which was a great spot with no other tables directly next to it. Each table has a bowl of complementary mixed olives to nibble on as you wait. Then they brought us some lovely bread buns and balsamic and olive oil for dipping.

For entree we ordered the white bait fritters which were superb and the bug meat gnocchi which was also very tasty. Then we had the duck marylands and the seafood couscous. The duck had a nice flavour but was overdone so was dry. It was served with a tiny eggplant pesto stack which was nice but so small it was hardly worth putting it on the plate. The seafood was very nice but the couscous was barely there, perhaps, 3 tablespoons.

I presume they want you to order sides, hence, the reason for the tiny embellishments. This always irritates me about Sydney restaurants. Its not good enough that we go to their establishment and spend 200 bucks they have to try and milk as much out of you as they can but thats just how it is these days. However, it didn't work with us because we didn't order any sides.

For dessert we shared the semifreddo which was enough and very nice. Overall the food was delicious and good value, however, the wine prices are extortionate. Our wine was 2/3 the price of the food! Was a nice drop but unless you are with a group of four people who can split the cost of the wine then it really inflates the bill a lot. Next time we will just buy one glass each if there's only two of us.

The service was great, however, as another reviewer below has mentioned the waiters aren't coordinated. We had about 6-7 different waiters serving us and as soon as we finished a course they would take the plates straight away which is a definite no no amongst more experienced waiters. Lots of cute and friendly italian men and a couple of girls. All travellers with thick accents. It added to the authenticity. We really felt like we were in Italy.

We enjoyed the show they put on also having a bit of a joke and banter amongst one another. Lots of Italians dining also which goes to show just how authentic it is. We will be back for sure. Loved it.

Feb 19, 2012

saffy5000
17

0 of 1 reader found the following review helpful

5.5 Average

Food 5 Ambience 5 Service 7 Value 5

We had dinner on Valentine's day. We didnt't make a booking and the staffs gave us a table that we had to leave by 8:30pm. The waiters were attentive by providing the special on the day and remember what we had ordered. It was good service. However, the value of the food is not that great.

We ordered the blood orange salad scallop as entree, paid for $17 and got 3 scallops. The mains were the crab spaghetti $24 but a small plate, the scampis $27 and got 4. At the end, they gave us a small bag of lollies for Valentine's day. Overall, the service was good but the food is not that great to die for.

Feb 15, 2012