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Awards
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2007 |
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SMH Good Food Guide 2007 - Editor's Picks - Favourite Mediterranean |
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Related Editorial Content
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User Reviews on Vini
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 71 comments
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| Overall |
  
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Average |
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Food 5 |
Ambience 7 |
Service 7 |
Value 5 |
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After reading the reviews, I thought this would be a great little place to take my husband for a Friday evening bite and imbibing session. We thought we'd try the house red, big mistake, very disappointing. The crab pasta was over cooked, well past al dente and the crab seemed to have scuttled away because I certainly didn't see much evidence of it being there.
There was also no sign nor offer of bread. We then decided on the cheese plate, another mistake, too cool tiny blocks of very average cheese. In fact we have far more interesting remanence lying around in our fridge. What a shame, a big build up with a poor offering.
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IFYAI -
See my reviews 1 , 22 June 2009
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| Overall |
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Highly Recommended |
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Food 9 |
Ambience 7 |
Service 9 |
Value 8 |
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Wow! Vini is the real thing, went there for lunch after an exam and couldn't have chosen better. Italian food was light, tasty and well prepared. Staff were knowledgeable about the food and wine also. The setting is quite "urban" but comfortable enough, even with a bub in a pram. Sides were worthwhile beans with feta were great. Recommended wines matched the dishes well and dessert (signature pannacotta with the funny name that I've forgotten) was delicious! Note that there is a limited bookings policy.
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porkman -
See my reviews 14, 14 May 2009
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| Overall |
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Recommended |
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Food 8 |
Ambience 7 |
Service 7 |
Value 7 |
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I had a nice meal here, service was good (not great but not like others have experienced). I think it's a great little local.
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ladida -
See my reviews 6, 14 April 2009
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| Overall |
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Highly Recommended |
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Food 9 |
Ambience 8 |
Service 9 |
Value 9 |
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Went back after ages and glad to report the food and service are still great. Earlier review below and it still holds true.
It's one of our absolute favourites, don't know what the reviews below criticising the service are on about. I find the staff really genuine and warm and the food sublime. Worth a wait and even that's not such a hardship with upstairs at the Clarendon just around the corner. The pasta is so good I have to admit I've never tried the other mains. The Barbera wine from Piedmont is to die for. All in all a winner.
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todi -
See my reviews 27, 09 March 2009
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
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| Overall |
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Highly Recommended |
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Food 9 |
Ambience 9 |
Service 9 |
Value 8 |
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What a mixed bag of reviews. Vini's got a lot more space than it used to, after the renovations. It's still cramped and crowded but I think you can get in easier. At least it's got a lively energy. I took a friend for their special "Umbrian food" night - and for that special occasion, you could make reservations. Yippee. The pasta with asparagus was perfection.
The roast pork with lentils was beautiful. Hmm, I'd say the food was more like an 8.5, but I'll be tough today. The service was absolutely fine, and I like the energy of the hostess, the wine is superb, and it's nice to have a buzzy, high quality, wine bar and great restaurant in my neighbourhood.
(4 Dec 08: I'm upping my scores from my previous rating, went for another Tuesday regional night. The atmosphere was good, the food was superb, we had great wines.)
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andyq -
See my reviews 57, 04 December 2008
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| Overall |
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Below Average |
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Food 7 |
Ambience 3 |
Service 1 |
Value 3 |
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I recently had one of my worst dining experiences to date here. There was an error made with one of my companion's order and he didn't receive a meal with everyone else. First of all our waiter told us what I consider to be a blatant lie in claiming that my friend was supposed to be sharing someone else's lasagne. A ridiculous excuse for what was blatantly an error and one that could have been easily remedied by admitting it and getting him something else.
Instead, when the error was pointed out our waiter quite literally laughed in my friend's face. It then took another member of our party going to heatedly complain before he was served anything at all. My friend ended up eating kitchen scraps (as none of the mains were left by this point) at least half an hour after everyone else had finished eating. There was no apology or acknowledgement of this or the original error, in fact the staff's attitude was contemptuous.
We were at the restaurant for a birthday celebration and, therefore, unwilling to make an issue at this and dampen on our friend's night but I consider the attitude of the staff at this restaurant disgraceful, just as people, let alone service workers and I would never, ever go here again or recommend anyone else do so.
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GaryBusey -
See my reviews 1, 26 November 2008
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| Overall |
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Below Average |
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Food 5 |
Ambience 6 |
Service 4 |
Value 2 |
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I am glad Vini has expanded as the selective "no bookings" policy was a royal pain. Saying this, the food has not lived up to expectations (or price) and it's still really squashed inside.
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tamzin -
See my reviews 10, 16 November 2008
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| Overall |
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Average |
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Food 8 |
Ambience 7 |
Service 2 |
Value 6 |
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Have been here several times, and always loved the food. The service, however, is So dependent on who's working on a particular night! Yes, yes, we know about the wait to get in, that why we arrive at 5.30, half an hour before the kitchen opens. I wish I could state the name of the waiter who is clearly the one referred to in so many of the reviews here!
Please, Ms/Mr Vini, just get rid of him! He is not interested in being in the Service industry, not at all. I could not believe that when we had two courses (only offered the menus at 5.55 pm), that when we ordered dessert, we were told we'd need to be out by 7.30 pm. This is just so not right for a restaurant that does not take bookings. As a concession, we would be "alright" to take any remaining drinks into the bar to finish off. Hello! Three course dinner, in a restaurant, not an RSL bistro, expected to be started and finished and out in 1.5 hrs.
If that's what you want, just drop the prices 33%, then you'd be justified with the attitude of our waiter. After rushing us, when we put the credit card down, our waiter saw it and ignored it, so much for the people waiting for the 7.30 pm non-booking!
Really, the food is great, but someone needs a good talking to, your patrons are paying good money, and that money is what goes in to your pay packet!
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Barack Obama -
See my reviews 2, 10 October 2008
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| Overall |
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Average |
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Food 6 |
Ambience 7 |
Service 6 |
Value 6 |
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I was really looking forward to checking this place out, and was lucky enough to score a table on Saturday night at the last minute, after Billy Kwong told us our table would be ready in an hour and a half. No thanks Kylie.
We found in tucked away on Holt St and were immediately seated. It's a great little space but really is very crammed. Four or five times I bumped into a waiter or someone else just sitting down, and moving my arms as you do in a restaurant. This is actually potentially dangerous, eg being bumped with a fork in your mouth.
The waiter was very friendly and knowledgeable about wine, he recommended my mum a nice, subtle summery wine which she loved. It was also only a $9 glass! We ordered an entree of mixed Crostini which was great. The broad bean was absolutely sensational while the others were good but weren't as perfect as the broad bean. We were ready for our mains, and they had been ordered at the same time as the entree.
We sat comfortably drinking our wine, and waited and waited, and waited. It must have been 45 minutes until I said to one of the waiters, not the nice guy that served us but a different one, to check on our food. He walked off and made absolutely no effort to do so and instead hang around and served another table. I was really, really annoyed by this. Finally we saw our food emerge in the hands of a waiter who then proceeded to walk past us and out the door. Then back inside to converse with another staff member, and finally over to our table.
I had risotto with squid which was quite good - tasty, moorish, but nothing extraordinary. My mum had a pork lasagne which was nice enough. Both dishes were essentially simple blocks of flavour, with not much depth. They were however, very fresh and extremely good considering the prices. The rocket and parmesan salad was amazing - 10/10. With a smidge less salt it would have been sheer perfection, fresh, crisp leaves, bursting with flavour, with freshly shaved parmesan and a slightly sweet dressing made this maybe the best salad I have ever had. It went through a distinct three stages of flavour, first sour, then peppery, then a sweet clean finish. Sensational. The desert was delicious, but was essentially good quality choc chip ice cream. The rhubarb was nice though.
I plan to return to Vini in the future to try something else. Don't get the risotto; it's good but not amazing. A nice little place.
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mico_m -
See my reviews 7, 30 September 2008
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| Overall |
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Recommended |
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Food 7 |
Ambience 6 |
Service 8 |
Value 7 |
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I can now say I've had 5 visits to this little jewel in Sydney's inner dining circle, and I really don't need to edit my previous review. But I will for the benefit of the curious readers looking for something different. I love the "wall of wine" list, with names I can barely pronounce let alone know what the wine is. But I'm experimenting with them, and am slowly distinguishing the barolo's from the dolcetto's.
I dined on the duck and pumpkin rotolo, on a Friday night, my partner reveling in the salt cod ravioli. The pannacotta as usual, wrapping up the meal perfectly. So here's the old review, still very much relevant... We have been to Vini on three occasions, and every time, the food and the wines we've had, keep us looking forward to returning.
Wines by the glass are interesting and extensive for such a small restaurant. It makes me wonder why so many restaurants don't put more effort into choosing wines that could excite the average Joe and enable them to break out of the often monotonous commercial selections commonly offered. A gentle push is sometimes all we need.
As for the food, well, let me say, I've always thought gnocchi a quite bland and doughy experience, until I tried some here that my dining companion ordered. WOW! The next time I came it was just as memorable, as were the other dishes. I can understand other diner's frustration's with the busyness and pace of the restaurant.
Also, the no reservation's policy does not impress me either, but I can forgive Vini for this. Try it on a "take it easy" tuesday rather than fast friday.
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champagneandoysters -
See my reviews 22, 09 August 2008
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