Toscani's

3 Below Average

Food  1      Ambience  5      Service  5      Value  1     

I ordered the seafood fettuccine pasta (can't remember what it was called, the one with the bugs) and it was truly awful. The pasta was not fresh, but rather, overcooked and the presentation was awful - as though it had been stirred in a pot with the sauce and dumped onto the plate. Not to mention the entire dish had this awful off-seafood smell. It was really gross.

We also ordered the arancini balls which were the diameter of a 20cent coin and came 5 on a plate for $12 or something ridiculous! My friends ordered some creamy pasta which was very, very oily, and the Toscani's chicken which had a nice sauce but I was told the chicken was rather dry.

Overall, a disappointing experience with the (pricey) food.

Jan 31, 2012 

1.5 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  3      Service  1      Value  1     

I only wish I had read the reviews before we went there for dinner tonight! The service was horrible. Firstly we requested for a high chair from one (of the 6) waitress and then when the kids meal arrived we had to ask another waitress for the still missing high chair.

We ordered the mains, an order of pesto chicken, the kids meal was spaghetti (which they said was free with an adult main) later I discovered that this was only free if I paid the full price for the steak on the specials menu... (something they tell you if ask why you're being overcharged for a main that was their specials menu! We also ordered the rump steak and the garlic prawn pasta.

The two pastas that came out were exactly the same except for the chicken and the prawns in each. When questioned about where the pesto was in the chicken Pesto pasta, the waitress replied "That is pesto!" Clearly not when the exact same cream sauce was used on both pastas. We discovered later (when another waitress took it back to the kitchen) that they had forgotten to put pesto in the pesto pasta!?

Both pastas were barely eaten and tasted bland. We refused to pay for their mistake and only paid for the one pasta instead of 2. There was no apology offered for their mistake.

The steak came out with lumpy gravy and instead of medium rare it came out rare with blood all over my plate, the meal was not nice at all! The only plate that was close to finished was the children's meal of spaghetti because it was the only thing edible on our table.

A word of advice, educate your staff so they know what is on your menu and show them what pesto is because they clearly have no idea what it is! We won't be back. Don't waste your money!

Dec 03, 2011 

3.8 Below Average

Food  2      Ambience  5      Service  5      Value  3     

Went here yesterday for a late dinner. The prices are very high and the food was horrible. I ordered one of the specials, lamb with rice and salad. The lamb and rice were microwaved, and half of the salad became really disgusting under the rice. I think, chef just throw everything in a bowl and wait us to eat them. Won't go there, ever!

Sep 20, 2011 

5.8 Average

Food  4      Ambience  10      Service  8      Value  1     

I found the staff friendly, the venue open and spacious with great natural light. But having said that the prices for meals are far too high! I can understand if the quality of the food is top notch but, unfortunately, it isn't.

I have a feeling rent in the Parramatta area is sky high and management feel the need to bump up the price to compensate. I had a chicken fillet burger with salad and chips and it came to $16.50. If you're looking for a great value meal (like I was) this is not the place for you.

Aug 29, 2011 

1.8 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  1      Service  4      Value  1     

I had the beef ribs, they were disgusting! $30+ for gray extremely fatty meal. Even the chips were bad almost like they had been double fried. After complaining I was given a 10% discount. Will never go back!

Aug 15, 2011 

6.3 Average

Food  6      Ambience  6      Service  7      Value  6     

Went here on Wednesday for afternoon tea. They have a variety of different cheesecake slices for $7.50 each. I got the cookies and cream cheesecake, which was delicious. My friends also got their salt/pepper squid for $18. The squid pieces aren't overly deep fried, but there's not much (only about 6 pieces) with mostly salad underneath. Not sure if it's worth what you pay. The ambience is casual and the staff are friendly.

Aug 04, 2011 

4.5 Below Average

Food  5      Ambience  5      Service  4      Value  4     

Great place for a coffee date with friends, other than that nothing special in terms of food. Pastas lack flavour, steak is always overdone and salads are always too small! Good service but not exactly great.

Feb 17, 2011 

8 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  8      Service  10      Value  7     

We stopped in for dessert late one night, Service was great, staff was very assertive and helpful. My husband had the pancakes which were so tasty and mouth watering. The kids and I shared a slice of Cheesecake which was not up to scratch at all, it just did not taste right. The waitress was very understanding and did not charge us for it which was really great, totally have not had this anywhere else, we have always had to pay for bad food. So thumbs up for that. Keep up the good work !

Jan 05, 2011 

1 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  1     

The most appalling dining experience I've encountered. I visited the joint in hopes of celebrating the finale of a theatre production and left borderlining crying. The night was doomed from the start with the maitre d' not even acknowledging my party at the door. We almost had to grovel to gain entry. We were subsequently seated in the most unfortunate table due to its location. It was next to the cash register, thus it was a high traffic area.

My friends were repeatedly bumped by staff they didn't even apologize. When we asked to move, we were told 'no'. Then, when I promptly spoke with the senior staff, he began to argue with me, which was an audacious and incredulously insolent act. He was by no means apologetic and he essentially yelled the following phrases throughout the very public confrontation, 'you shouldn't be telling me this now, what can I do?' and 'Stop complaining.' and a most salient phrase included, 'no! You're wrong. That never happened. I've been here all night.'

In addition, my food, the novelty 1m pizza (and I stress novelty) took
an eternity to arrive. I had practically eaten my arm in anticipation and I was utterly disappointed when the food actually arrived, 30 minutes later. The pizza base was so salty, I thought I was drinking sea water. The topping was also sparse. Overall the pizza rivaled pizza hut (if that) and was very underwhelming.

The bill was approximately $90 and that was relatively expensive considering we only had a few mouthfuls of the extremely salty pizza. I cannot recommend this place after the reprehensible service (in particular the insolent staff), in conjunction to the repulsive food that was served.

Oct 10, 2010 

7.3 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  7     

Great, reliable restaurant located near Westfield's. The chicken risotto is one of my favourites and the special's menu is always great value. Generous servings and helpful, polite staff. Drinks are a little pricey, but the food will have you coming back.

Sep 03, 2010