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Il Casale

Overall Rating

6.0

 bullet Read 31 reviews 
 bullet Review this restaurant 

 

 

374 Darling St
Balmain NSW 2041

Phone (02) 9810 2992

 

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Il Casale Details

374 Darling St
Balmain NSW 2041
Phone (02) 9810 2992

view map Map

Cuisine

Pizza, Italian

Opening Hours

Dinner Tues-Sun

Average Meal Price

$28 - based on one entree & main course only

Prices

Entrees $5.00-$17.00
Mains $15.00-$19.00

Licensed & BYO

Corkage per bottle $2.00

 




Overall Rating              6.0  
 
Food                6.6  
Ambience                5.9  
Service                4.9  
Value                5.9  

 

Average based on 33 votes
(The Overall Rating is calculated using a Weighted Average)
       
 

 

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User Reviews on Il Casale


 
Displaying 1 - 10 of 31 comments
 
Page: 1  2  3  4   Next
 

 

 

Overall             Recommended
Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 8

 

You walk in the door and you feel at home. Great service, friendly and very helpful waiters. Pizza is excellent but you must also try the Penne Crab and the Spaghetti Prawn !! Deeeeeelicious! BYO wine for a reasonably priced night out of great Italian food and service.
 
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ginadegeorge  -   See my reviews 1review, 05 October 2008
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Overall             Highly Recommended
Food 10 Ambience 10 Service 6 Value 10

 

I've been there many times and the Casale is my favourite place in Sydney. The pizza is fantastic and the food is delicious. I don't understand why the people wants to destroy a nice place like that.

In a busy day, Friday or Saturday, I guess it's easy to cause any inconvenience, no one is perfect and also it does not exist a perfect restaurant !! This is definitely such a great place to spend your time and your money ! Trust me, don't pay attention to other opinions, get your own!!!
 
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lucilla  -   See my reviews 1review, 07 September 2008
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Overall             Average
Food 5 Ambience 6 Service 5 Value 3

 

Have been driving past and meaning to go here for a while. Finally made a booking last Sat night only to wait outside for 10 minutes while they sorted things. Understandable but unfortunately the wait didn't pay off.

Bruschetta was terrible; loaded with floury horrible tomatoes. Mains were worse- we both chose different versions of veal.... I don't think it was veal at all. If it was the kitchen staff should be shot. More like tepid minute steak in a variety of tepid sauces. Sides were undercooked veges, very very disappointing.

To top it off we were served entrees and mains within 15 minutes of arriving and were out of there in 25 minutes (not hard when I didn't really eat my mains). Such a shame- is it that hard?
 
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Balmain70  -   See my reviews 3reviews, 15 May 2008
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Overall             Not Recommended
Food 2 Ambience 2 Service 1 Value 1

 

Dined here last night after a recommendation from a friend that there was a lovely authentic Italian place on Darling St. Unfortunately, we couldn't quite remember the name and Il Casale sounded like the one.

Upon entering we asked for a table for two and apologised for not booking. The waitress looked at us like we had just stood on her foot and told us to wait while she went out the back to consult with the owner. There was one table occupied in the restaurant at the time.

We chose a lovely table near the wall and were quickly asked for drinks. I was impressed with the promptness, but when the soft drinks came out a minute later they were warm, flat and clearly not worth $4.40.

A few more groups started to enter and the ambience lifted a little. We ordered bruschetta and it was awful. It was like having chopped tomato on toast. On closer inspection, we found celery and hardly any basil. The bread was stale but doused with olive oil to try and hide it. Only 2 pieces and nearly $9.

We had a laugh and I ordered pizza thinking...'you can't stuff up a pizza.' I was excited to see the pizza arrive only a few minutes later, but I've never seen a wood-fire pizza so badly burnt. My partner’s meal didn't arrive at the same time. I'm actually not one to complain that much and the size of the pizza was good so I figured I could eat around the burnt edges.

Sadly the pizza lacked any real taste, and was burnt on the bottom as well, so I ate what I could. I counted 4 pieces of ham and it was soggy in the middle. Probably the worst pizza I've had for $21.

The chilli muscles arrived not long after but the chef seemed to have forgotten the chilli. By this time, we weren't having much fun. Other tables were getting attention, but we were left alone. I wondered if the staff realised their mistakes and thought leaving us would be best.

Eventually my charred remains were collected by the waitress and after mentioning that it was a little burnt she raised her eyebrows, shrugged and walked away. I obviously had no idea what good charcoal tasted like.

We'd had enough at this point and promptly left. I didn't ask for a discount, but asked why there was celery in the bruschetta. I was totally ignored. We found out the recommended place was further up the road. I wouldn't eat here again. It was so disappointing and over priced.
 
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CaptainF  -   See my reviews 1review, 20 April 2008
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Overall             Recommended
Food 7 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 8

 

We had a really enjoyable dinner here. The pasta was delicious and we really rated the pizza. Yes the toppings are pretty limited traditional italian choices (not your nouveau australian gourmet choices) but the staff were very entertaining, bit of a comedy act.
 
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ru88ish  -   See my reviews 2reviews, 18 March 2008
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Overall             Recommended
Food 9 Ambience 7 Service 6 Value 7

 

Best pizza and pasta in Balmain by far. The staff are comical in an Italiano kind of way, but that just adds to the atmosphere of the place.
 
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Helen_777  -   See my reviews 1review, 14 March 2008
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Overall             Recommended
Food 7 Ambience 7 Service 7 Value 7

 

Woodoven pizza in Australia needs to be at a higher standard. Its obvious that this place nearly has it right. It can be a bit soggy in the middle of the pizza but the size and thickness of the base is quite right. This place is really only a pizza restaurant so I suggest ordering a pizza and a salad like I do with my partner. Our bill came to $41 with some drinks included. I'd go again but sit outside if you can, its better than inside!
 
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soycino  -   See my reviews 15reviews, 03 March 2008
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Overall             Below Average
Food 5 Ambience 5 Service 3 Value 5

 

Food was ok but the service was comical. We asked our waiter where our food was and a minute later we were told that they were sorry for the delay and gave us the bill. We explained that we haven't even eaten yet and that caused an additional 20 minute delay, one hour for a pizza is not good at the best of times and even worse when your eating with a pregnant woman.
 
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billypepper  -   See my reviews 3reviews, 08 February 2008
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Overall             Below Average
Food 6 Ambience 4 Service 1 Value 1

 

I ate here with 4 other friends a few Thursday nights ago and we sat down to what we seemed would be a great night, the place was 3/4 full and people seemed to be enjoying the food. Sadly for us that was the highlight. We ordered a large pizza and 2 pasta dishes to start and share. Alas shortly after putting our order in we were challenged, rather rudely by the senior staff who imformed us that we had not ordered enough food and implied that we should not be eating there if we didn't order more, which we would have done had it not been for the appalling manners of the senior staff.

We go out as a group once a month and out of all the restaurants we have been to we have never been spoken to in that manner. We left the restaurant early and continued our dessert and coffee at a more hospitable establishment. We will never recommend or set foot in this restaurant again and pity the next person who enters this restaurant with a small appetite.
 
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gigi_balmain  -   See my reviews 3reviews, 29 October 2007
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Overall             Recommended
Food 8 Ambience 7 Service 6 Value 7

 

I enjoyed my experience at this local Italian. Pizza was very good; staff were very friendly (and a bit crazy) but service was a bit hit and miss. Never the less I would definitely return. Good atmosphere, good food.
 
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Marvin Starvin  -   See my reviews 29reviews, 12 August 2007
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 31 comments
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