Otto

7.3 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  6     

Apparently Woolloomooloo Wharf is the place to be seen if you are a "celebrity" maybe even a washed up one. I "celebrity" spotted at least 5 people on my recent lunch trip to Otto. If you don't get caught up in the designer sunglasses and rolex watch wearers then it's a nice place to spend a sunny afternoon.

The food was good, spanner crab spaghettini bursting with bubbles of ocean trout caviar was simple and elegant. The creamy salt cod stuffed zucchini flowers with spencer gulf prawns was tasty, although the zucchini flower stuffing was a little too "paste" like and lacked texture. Also one of my prawns was not fully deveined. At $29 an entree, I would expect that attention to detail. Ordered a caprese side salad, which I thought was overpriced for a half dozen cherry/baby roma tomatoes, a basil leaf and a slice of mozzarella, even if it was buffalo.

Wine list is extensive, and service I couldn't fault it. If I came here again I would definitely try the aged parmesan. I was eyeing off the table next to us which had a plate of triangular chunks adorned with olives and crusty brown bread. I was almost tempted to nab a chunk after they had left their plates half full but thought the "celebrity" set would probably frown on that type of behaviour.

Dec 31, 2008 

7.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  7     

Otto surprised me. I was quite ready to knock it given it's 'celeb' status in the past. We did a family lunch with one 2 year old in tow, had a wonderful table outside with sufficient coverage given the occasional light rain. The service was cheerful and obliging, especially with the 2 yr old, the food was wonderful and quite reasonably priced. A great day out and not too much of a dent in your wallet for the quality, unless you order alcohol. Highly recommended, especially if you have children.

Dec 31, 2008 

3.5 Below Average

Food  6      Ambience  4      Service  2      Value  2     

Service...? what seervice? It wasn't awful, it was just non existent. We had to call over a waiter whenever we wanted anything, to order for example, and he did not put my side salad order through. No personality, no attention!

The food was okay but over designed, and considering I had something with blue cheese as an ingredient, flavourless.

One hat! Try going in and dining anonymously, and see if you still get good service and food. I would pay the prices if I was receiving something special, but this was not something special, we'd all seen it all before.

Dec 23, 2008 

7.3 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  7     

The food warrants a return visit. I've never been disappointed with my meals there. Restaurant has a slightly cramped feel, however, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Service has been consistent but nothing to rave about. I love their aged parmesan. I hope they never take that off the menu, it's what keeps me going back.

Dec 19, 2008 

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  8     

Otto has exceptional quality food for the price. We love it.

Dec 08, 2008 

6.5 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  5      Value  5     

Couldn't wait to see what all the fuss was about. Lunch for four on a Saturday. Nice view and pleasant surroundings. Wait staff knew their menu and the specials were very impressive. Great rounds of gorgeous bread varieties with a beautiful olive oil for dipping. Two of us had the beef (beautifully cooked) although the accompaniments of a teaspoon of mash and two asparagus was disappointing considering the $42 price tag. Two had the salmon special.

The verdict was delicious although the chef clearly doesn't know what medium rare salmon looks like as both orders were cooked through. The salmon came out on a plate from which I'm sure one could serve a whole pig. The accompaniments on the same plate were placed carefully all around the great white surface and looked like a children's textured painting. The presentation was just too pretentious. The tomato and buffalo mozzarella salad was lovely but we didn't get much for $14. The rocket and nectarine salad was delicious although we fought over the 3 slices of nectarine.

Desserts were $20 each and although pricey were well worth every cent. The chocolate mousse was divine and the lime tart with berries was the best I have ever had. I hated that our wine was not left at our table on ice and that we had to wait for the staff to realise our glasses were empty before they retrieved it from the fridge. I believe that once wine is opened it should remain with the customer.

Service was very average. When we did have their attention it was professional and thorough. We just didn't get their attention that often. We had a bottle of wine and three pre dinner drinks with our two course meal and the cost was $105 per head. While there were some great aspects to the lunch I did not feel I got value for money.

Nov 24, 2008 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  7     

I had dinner with my partner here the other week and found the service to be fantastic, the food to be consistently good and the setting speaks for itself. Would certainly come back again for a special occasion meal.

Nov 23, 2008 

7.8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  7     

I had a lovely evening out with friends for dinner at Otto last night. Service is variable - some lovely wait staff but one or two people can be a bit abrupt. Having said that, I was pleasantly surprised that the food was brilliant and not the celeb hangout hyped nightmare that it could have been.

The kitchen were very obliging. They sent out entrees halved on two proper sized plates for both our entrees - 2 couples were sharing dishes and did so with good grace. Our waitress took the effort to explain the delay with one entree and took responsibility for an oversight on her part. It was professionally done and much appreciated.

Our entree was a pasta dish with crabmeat - superb. The other shared entree was smoked salmon in a cold tomato based sauce - also excellent. My main was salmon and it was perfect. Stunningly presented and the flavour of the prosciutto was subtle. My dessert was a muscat cream and ice cream combination - again perfect.

My only gripe is how dark it is outside, the pen torches are a nice touch but perhaps not necessary if there was more light outside? Thanks for a lovely night, Otto. Our interstate visitors had a great time.

Oct 19, 2008 

5 Average

Food  2      Ambience  9      Service  5      Value  4     

Been coming here for years. Won't go back until they change management. Again
what a shame, we use to love it so much. Over styled, over designed tasteless food, nothing like the great Italian food they once served.

Oct 06, 2008 

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  10      Service  9      Value  9     

I took my partner here for his 30th birthday and we had a fantastic evening. The service was friendly and not "in your face" like so many other places tend to be.
The food was delectable. We started with a dozen natural oysters and the Olive E Grissini (must try this!) with a couple of glasses of Bollinger.

We skipped the entrees as neither of us has such an appetite that we would be able to get through 4 courses! For mains, my partner had the twice cooked pork belly with a side order of potatoes, and even though I am not a fan of pork I loved it. I had the Spaghettini Con Polpa D'Ostriche E Caviale Di Trota Di Mare (Spaghettini with broome peal meat, ocean trout cavier) and it was divine! I highly recommend this dish to anyone who loves pasta and seafood.

When it came to dessert, we just couldn't decide what to have and so ordered the selection plates of the Otto desserts in miniature. This was a fantastic choice as we got to try five different desserts, wish more restaurants would have this option. By the way, the frozen pistachio and caramel crunch nougat is fantastic!!

The winelist was extensive, but not overwhelming, and we were very happy with the Christian Salmon Fume that we ordered. All in all it was a fantastic evening. I have read reviews on this site that says that the food is overpriced and the quantities are too small. I found just the opposite. The value for money, for the quality of the food, was exceptional and the portions were perfect and a nice change from other restaurants that serve a days worth of food as one portion!

If you appreciate quality food then try Otto, we will be back for sure!

Sep 08, 2008