Dolcissimo

5.5 Average

Food  9      Ambience  5      Service  4      Value  4     

When ever I go past haberfield, I always see this place packed. We went there last sunday and were a bit disappointed. From the get go the service was terrible, as we waited ages to get a table though we booked couple of days earlier and the waiter was shockingly rude.

The food, however, was excellent. Best pizza I have ever had. Though my wife did not like her risotto, coffee was nice and the desserts were acceptable. Would not be in a hurry to return any time soon

Jan 28, 2010 

2.8 Not Recommended

Food  6      Ambience  3      Service  1      Value  1     

My partner and I came here for dinner on Sunday night, we were seated immediately and our orders taken in a reasonable time. However, things quickly fell apart after this. My partner's pasta took 35 minutes to arrive, however, there was no sight of my calzone. A further 20 minutes passed (during which time my partner had finished her meal, described as "nice"). No staff had came by to check on us in this time and getting their attention was difficult.

After finally getting our original waiter's attention he ran off to check on my meal. He returned a couple of minutes later telling me it was "in the oven". At this point we left. Our modest aim was to have dinner together, a fact clearly lost on the staff. While I understand this could be an isolated incident and my experience is based on a single visit, this was the worst restaurant service I have received in Sydney.

Jan 10, 2010 

6.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  5      Value  8     

Dolcissimo is a wonderful restaurant with great food. It is ashamed that the service lets it down. Management should review staff service to ensure that people have a good experience every time you come in. I have been coming to this restaurant for over 3 years and I can say the service has improved slightly. Your pizza is still one of the best I have tasted in Haberfield.

Jan 08, 2010 

7 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  4      Value  8     

We planned on going to an Italian restaurant across the road which has received better reviews on this site than Dolcissimo. But when we arrived the restaurant was empty and Dolcissimo was bustling with patrons, which we didn't expect for a Tuesday evening. Taking this is a sign, we opted for Dolcissimio and luckily got the last remaining table in the front dining room.

We were really pleased we made this decision. We were welcomed by a friendly waitress with a cheerful hello and beaming smile. The ambience of the restaurant was buzzing with happy patrons and the room has hints of a 1950's diner within its architecture. We watched many of the dishes come out as we waited for our order to be taken and everything looked hearty and delicious.

Our order was finally taken after waiting at least 20 minutes. We shared a brushetta for starters which my husband said was tasty but I beg to differ. I found the flavour bland and dull. There was a huge absence of basil (virtually none except one tiny sliver) the tomatoes were floury (not vine tomatoes) and the bread was so thick and rock hard it was really difficult to eat. Worst brushetta I've eaten.

However I soon forgot the disappointment of the brushetta when mains arrived. My Vitello Parmigiana was a gorgeous, generous serve piled a top a mix of steamed seasonal vegetables; asparagus, zucchini, broccoli and carrots, all cooked beautifully. The veal was wonderfully tender, and the side dish of roast potato, lemon, garlic and rosemary was heavenly. My husband said his Vitello Al Ferri (veal with lemon and rosemary) was zesty and satisfying.

We would have loved to have ordered dessert but after half an hour still no one came to our table. Someone quickly scurried over to pick up our dishes as they were passing through, whisking them away before we could even ask for a dessert menu. Tired of waiting any longer, we queued up to pay for our meal and observed what seemed to be a fairly disorganised to-ing and fro-ing of staff trying to cope with orders and payments.

The barista behind the bar seemed frustrated and had to throw out a forgotten order of gelato's that had melted. The restaurant desperately needs more wait staff. They have also crammed every available space with tables, more bums on seats means more revenue at the expense of the diners comfort, and the unease at which staff squeeze their way through chairs balancing trays of food and drink.

It was so busy I couldn't even manage to tell the guy who took our payment that the veal dish was spectacular. Let's hope they take time out to read reviews on this site, and perhaps think about hiring some extra staff to cope with their restaurants seating capacity.

I recommend Dolcissimo if you're after good honest Italian food and a nice atmosphere. The lack of service however lets this place down a notch.

Jan 06, 2010 

9 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  10     

Excellent Italian food. Probably the best in Sydney. Generous portions and consistently good food. Their pizzas are perfect and great value. Thin bases and not soggy with ample quality toppings. I recommend Dolcissimo if you want excellent Italian food and at the very best prices.

Jan 05, 2010 

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  9     

Update: This place is still one of my favourites and I can't believe people are complaining about the service. I have never had a problem, but again, perhaps, because I tend to arrive before the dinner rush or after the lunch rush. The food is spectacular for the price. I recommend to give it a go in a quieter time, it's open for breakfast, lunch, afternoon coffee and dinner.

This place is so popular that the best time to go is for an early dinner when it is quieter. I have consistently had excellent meals here since it first opened. From the breakfast, to the lemon chicken to the gelato and coffee it has always been good. The waiters are always very polite and efficient, some of them it seems coming fresh from Rome! You can see that this is a family run cafe/restaurant with the owners grabbing a break at a back table to feed the grandkids and reading the paper between cooking the pasta.

They also have huge TV screens tuned into the news or sport (sound down except when the World Cup is on). If you have been to Italy you will understand where this place is coming from and I wouldn't want it any other way!

Dec 28, 2009 

7 Recommended

Food  6      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  8     

We went to this restaurant last night (at the invitation of friends) with some trepidation having read the reviews on this site in advance. We were pleasantly surprised. I had the Vegetarian Risotto and a greek salad and both were good, actually great value for money. We were seated and served promptly, the employees were pleasant and overall we had a lovely evening. It is a very busy and noisy restaurant so if you are looking for an intimate dinner for two this is not the place to go. However, if you want atmosphere and a good night out which does not cost an arm and a leg then this is pretty good.

Dec 23, 2009 

5.5 Average

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  5      Value  3     

Went here with a group of around 10 people. My expectations were very low based on the other reviews here, but I have to say, we had a fine night. The pizzas were tasty and seemed quite authentic, others had veal dishes or pasta which were obviously not haute cuisine or fine dining but perfectly acceptable.

For the quality and quantity of food you get though, the value is not great, the pasta dishes in particular seem to be overpriced. Overall it's just an average place to eat. Not great, not horrible, but it's large and busy and accommodates groups without a problem. Just don't go expecting too much and it's fine.

Dec 19, 2009 

4.5 Below Average

Food  5      Ambience  4      Service  3      Value  6     

Open and indoor cafe style place, pretty standard. We ordered 2 pastas the bolognese and salmon pasta. Both were rich and full flavoured, heaps of oil and nice and hot (Temperature) Pasta was just abit over aldente.

I have a feeling it maybe family run and the wait staff look tired and just do what every they like. So you might get a smile if they're in a good mood or if you speak Italian, the barista/cashhandler just kicked a bucket across the room, odd but surprising. We ordered a coffee and it never came out but was added to the bill, when we addressed it, there wasn't a sorry but just a "ohh ok you didn't get it?"

Prices are abit high, as high as $24 for a pasta but as the Big blue sign states in the place as soon as you walkin on the left. Quality is always assured with arrogance included. We came here again in Jan 10, I've noticed the only reason why this place looks really busy is because its one of the only places that opens the extra long trading hours.

This time we ordered a antipasto, rocket salad, Mexicana pizza, to cut this short. All the food came out together within 20 minutes. So I'm really confused with ordering the anitpasto (This should come out first alone!) I could buy better food on the antipasto if I walked across to la monicas myself, give it a miss. The rocket salad had no oil of any kind at all, which leaves me even more confused. Fair enough the pizza was great. Dun waste your time people.

Dec 15, 2009 

6.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  5      Value  7     

Great food although the service can be quite slow occasionally. I have ventured to a few Italian restaurants in the area to compare and Dolcissimo continues to be one of our favourites.

Nov 17, 2009