beetee

7.3 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  7     

We came here on a voucher and found that to be very good value. It introduced us to the restaurant as we were previously unaware as it is in an unobtrusive location.

The staff were very friendly, polite and helpful. As our voucher allowed for a starter we began with the Italiana Salad W mix of fresh cucumber, tomatoes, olives, Spanish onion, nodini cheese, mixed leafs & refreshing red wine dressing-($15) which we found to very good. Our voucher allowed for two pizzas so we chose, the Chicken Pesto W grilled chicken, capsicum, basil pesto base & di latte mozzarella. ($18) and Bologna W double smoked ham, pancetta, sopresa salami, fior di latte mozzarella ($18)-both were fresh and delish, the chicken pizza would be one of the best I've had as these can sometimes be a little lacklustre, really enjoyed it.

Then for the dessert, we could choose any 2 desserts - being an Italian restaurant we just had to have the Traditional tiramisu with mascarpone, house made savoiardi biscuits, coffee and brandy ($9) and we also chose Hot chocolate pudding and vanilla ice-cream $12 - the pudding was 'to die for'-one of the best I've ever had-should have ordered 2! The tiramisu was 'ok' - but not as good as I expected and I've definitely had better, would not choose next time.

We had an enjoyable evening and the atmosphere was most pleasant, until around 10.30 when about 3 people, who we can only assume were the owners, arrived. At first they sat down and seemed to be waiting for something, perhaps a meal, but then one or two started moving around the restaurant and strange to say, it just created a very tense atmosphere, then they started noisily moving chairs around and under tables etc., effectively closing up the restaurant...

We were still eating our desserts at this time and waiting for coffees as it was only 10.30pm on a saturday night. Overall we had a lovely evening, but the end of the night did leave us with an uncomfortable vibe and not really sure what exactly was going on... needless to say, we didn't linger but would consider dining there again... though the wine prices are high and the byo charge is excessive for an informal restaurant. There are good, family style pizza places all over the Hills so we have plenty of budget friendly options to choose from so that would always be a consideration.

Mar 07, 2013

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

6.8 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  5     

Hubby and I finally got ourselves to Trevi after living in the Hills for over 10 years. We'd always heard good things and often dined in the area, but somehow hadn't made it there before. We booked a table for 8pm. Had to wait a few minutes for a table to be cleared, but this was not a problem for us or the staff.

I would suggest to that if this is a regular occurence that somewhere be designated for waiting patrons to sit and have a drink as we did feel a little obtrusive standing at the entrance of the restaurant during this time.

We were shown to a lovely window seat and generally the ambience of the place was pleasant. Very busy, always a good sign.

Must say we were a little disappointed with the menu. I really wanted Italian food there was a lot of pasta, but wasn't what I wanted, so the Italian food choices were few and far between otherwise, though if you are a seafood fan you would be well catered for (we are not though).

The entree menu did not inspire, but hubby wanted to try the Roulade of Mozzarella (mozzarella rolled with prosciutto, char grilled eggplant, semi dried toms, zucchini and basil pesto on rocket with balsamic dressing. Two large slices arrived with plates each for us to share, it looked lovely, but to our surprise (perhaps, our own ignorance) we expected the roulade to be warm, it's winter, but no, it was served cold on a smattering of Rocket.

Perhaps, had we ordered in Summer, we would have enjoyed, but being cold, the mozzarella was virtually tasteless and it was difficult to really appreciate the work in the dish because of this. Then came mains, again nothing really inspirational, the food all looked good, but nothing too exciting, we both decided on the sirloin steak (chargrilled with pomeresian potatoes, baby carrots, king brown mushrooms, with eschallot and garlic sauce).

I have to say, it was a very big piece of steak, beautifully cooked and I enjoyed every moutful and at $44.00 I would expect to! Dessert, hubby ordered sticky date, I had the choc pudding. Again, good, but nothing outstanding. My review of this place is based on the final bill. We had an attentive, but never overbearing waiter and thank goodness the place is BYO, or the bill would have been exhorbitant, but at $160, at that price I expect more.

Apparently the menu changes regularly, so we may go again, but I won't be rushing. Really wish The Hills would lift their restaurant game with some decent, sensibly priced restaurants, unpretentious but above the local/family pizza joint, sadly no-one seems to be able to create this happy medium.

I see now that there is a set menu, not sure what was on that or even if it was possible to order as we were 2 people, not a large group, but this might have been a better option if so.

Jul 30, 2012

6.8 Recommended

Food  8      Drinks  5      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  6     

We too went to Inside Out on a voucher. I thought the food was pretty good and we were all happy with our meals. I have only 2 real complaints. The first, that we went on a Saturday night and upon arrival were informed they were only BYO Mon-Thurs, even though we had phoned up earlier in the afternoon to make a phone booking. This added considerably to our bill. Had we known this earlier we would still have considered going on a Saturday But a different Saturday, without our kids.

We only took them because we had travelled to Parramatta for the ice skating and because I had the restaurant voucher we figured it would be relatively inexpensive to take them with us. All up, our 'cheap' dinner left us $150 lighter ($50 Voucher and $100 extra for my 'kids' meals/drinks and our wine)- happy to pay that when planned but it wasn't that night.

The second issue relates to lighting, fortunately, we were in a lovely little nook, but the main floor area was overlit, and I am finding this a regular situation at many restaurants these days, it diminishes the night time atmosphere in restaurants and I don't understand why they are doing this. Low lighting please.

Overall we had a pleasant, if not expensive night, but I won't be rushing back to Parramatta for meals or anything else.

Jul 15, 2011

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

7.3 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  6     

Wanted to update my review of this restaurant 1 year on. Having visited now a number of times since last year the food is still presented beautifully and still tastes great. However, they are falling down in a number of areas.

Firstly $10 per bottle corkage is outrageous and definitely not in keeping with the surrounding venues. Secondly, more often than not food is being served up lukewarm rather than hot, which is disappointing. We often order the massaman beef and are finding that the amount of meat in the dish is decreasing and seems to be more like a bowl of sauce, albeit tasty! Never try and get in without a booking at night and be prepared to be rushed out the door (a particularly annoying trait creeping into restaurants with too high an opinion of themselves!).

Lunchtimes are quieter however. Seriously, I think the biggest problem with the staff is down to the rules that are set down by management and they are forced to comply with and then the inability of most staff to understand and/or speak fluent English. I really think this is the cause of most of the problems that patrons experience. Unfortunately, I feel that this place is getting a bad reputation in the Hills, which is really a shame because we so need some more affordable but quality places to dine in the area.

May 01, 2011

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  8      Value  8     

Well I cannot believe the number negative reviews this restaurant has received. My husband and I went there midweek to celebrate his birthday. What a treat. We took the kids and my sister and they were as pleased with the food as we were, my kids ate everything we ordered, entrees of satay skewers, curry puffs and spring rolls.

Mains - massaman lamb shanks, panang chicken, and the crispy pork belly. We had a gr8 nite. The place was jam packed, the atmosphere and decor is warm, and welcoming, casual, but classy and very appropriate for the venue, the staff were friendly and attentive without being pushy, filling our glasses, replacing water bottles etc., inquiring if we required extras of anything. We were happy with the bill @22 per head, including corkage for 3 people.

The food was very well priced and it was nice to see so many fresh vegies in the mains, without sacrificing the quantity of meat in each dish. The sauces were lovely, though the massaman could have been a little creamier, the lamb just fell of the bone though but we will try the beef next time. We will definitely be back. My only criticism, the rice is delivered to table in bowls, but is charged on a $3 per person/per serve basis, so we were charged $15 for rice for 5 people, that wasn't a problem, however, it is good to know this as you would only order extra rice for the number of people who actually want it and not for the whole table.

I am so not a tipper, I firmly believe that Aussie dining prices reflect the value of the meal, however, I did leave 10% on this occasion as I think it was deserved. We will definitely be back.

Feb 25, 2010

7.3 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  7     

We came here on a voucher and found that to be very good value. It introduced us to the restaurant as we were previously unaware as it is in an unobtrusive location.

The staff were very friendly, polite and helpful. As our voucher allowed for a starter we began with the Italiana Salad W mix of fresh cucumber, tomatoes, olives, Spanish onion, nodini cheese, mixed leafs & refreshing red wine dressing-($15) which we found to very good. Our voucher allowed for two pizzas so we chose, the Chicken Pesto W grilled chicken, capsicum, basil pesto base & di latte mozzarella. ($18) and Bologna W double smoked ham, pancetta, sopresa salami, fior di latte mozzarella ($18)-both were fresh and delish, the chicken pizza would be one of the best I've had as these can sometimes be a little lacklustre, really enjoyed it.

Then for the dessert, we could choose any 2 desserts - being an Italian restaurant we just had to have the Traditional tiramisu with mascarpone, house made savoiardi biscuits, coffee and brandy ($9) and we also chose Hot chocolate pudding and vanilla ice-cream $12 - the pudding was 'to die for'-one of the best I've ever had-should have ordered 2! The tiramisu was 'ok' - but not as good as I expected and I've definitely had better, would not choose next time.

We had an enjoyable evening and the atmosphere was most pleasant, until around 10.30 when about 3 people, who we can only assume were the owners, arrived. At first they sat down and seemed to be waiting for something, perhaps a meal, but then one or two started moving around the restaurant and strange to say, it just created a very tense atmosphere, then they started noisily moving chairs around and under tables etc., effectively closing up the restaurant...

We were still eating our desserts at this time and waiting for coffees as it was only 10.30pm on a saturday night. Overall we had a lovely evening, but the end of the night did leave us with an uncomfortable vibe and not really sure what exactly was going on... needless to say, we didn't linger but would consider dining there again... though the wine prices are high and the byo charge is excessive for an informal restaurant. There are good, family style pizza places all over the Hills so we have plenty of budget friendly options to choose from so that would always be a consideration.

Mar 07, 2013

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

6.8 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  5     

Hubby and I finally got ourselves to Trevi after living in the Hills for over 10 years. We'd always heard good things and often dined in the area, but somehow hadn't made it there before. We booked a table for 8pm. Had to wait a few minutes for a table to be cleared, but this was not a problem for us or the staff.

I would suggest to that if this is a regular occurence that somewhere be designated for waiting patrons to sit and have a drink as we did feel a little obtrusive standing at the entrance of the restaurant during this time.

We were shown to a lovely window seat and generally the ambience of the place was pleasant. Very busy, always a good sign.

Must say we were a little disappointed with the menu. I really wanted Italian food there was a lot of pasta, but wasn't what I wanted, so the Italian food choices were few and far between otherwise, though if you are a seafood fan you would be well catered for (we are not though).

The entree menu did not inspire, but hubby wanted to try the Roulade of Mozzarella (mozzarella rolled with prosciutto, char grilled eggplant, semi dried toms, zucchini and basil pesto on rocket with balsamic dressing. Two large slices arrived with plates each for us to share, it looked lovely, but to our surprise (perhaps, our own ignorance) we expected the roulade to be warm, it's winter, but no, it was served cold on a smattering of Rocket.

Perhaps, had we ordered in Summer, we would have enjoyed, but being cold, the mozzarella was virtually tasteless and it was difficult to really appreciate the work in the dish because of this. Then came mains, again nothing really inspirational, the food all looked good, but nothing too exciting, we both decided on the sirloin steak (chargrilled with pomeresian potatoes, baby carrots, king brown mushrooms, with eschallot and garlic sauce).

I have to say, it was a very big piece of steak, beautifully cooked and I enjoyed every moutful and at $44.00 I would expect to! Dessert, hubby ordered sticky date, I had the choc pudding. Again, good, but nothing outstanding. My review of this place is based on the final bill. We had an attentive, but never overbearing waiter and thank goodness the place is BYO, or the bill would have been exhorbitant, but at $160, at that price I expect more.

Apparently the menu changes regularly, so we may go again, but I won't be rushing. Really wish The Hills would lift their restaurant game with some decent, sensibly priced restaurants, unpretentious but above the local/family pizza joint, sadly no-one seems to be able to create this happy medium.

I see now that there is a set menu, not sure what was on that or even if it was possible to order as we were 2 people, not a large group, but this might have been a better option if so.

Jul 30, 2012

6.8 Recommended

Food  8      Drinks  5      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  6     

We too went to Inside Out on a voucher. I thought the food was pretty good and we were all happy with our meals. I have only 2 real complaints. The first, that we went on a Saturday night and upon arrival were informed they were only BYO Mon-Thurs, even though we had phoned up earlier in the afternoon to make a phone booking. This added considerably to our bill. Had we known this earlier we would still have considered going on a Saturday But a different Saturday, without our kids.

We only took them because we had travelled to Parramatta for the ice skating and because I had the restaurant voucher we figured it would be relatively inexpensive to take them with us. All up, our 'cheap' dinner left us $150 lighter ($50 Voucher and $100 extra for my 'kids' meals/drinks and our wine)- happy to pay that when planned but it wasn't that night.

The second issue relates to lighting, fortunately, we were in a lovely little nook, but the main floor area was overlit, and I am finding this a regular situation at many restaurants these days, it diminishes the night time atmosphere in restaurants and I don't understand why they are doing this. Low lighting please.

Overall we had a pleasant, if not expensive night, but I won't be rushing back to Parramatta for meals or anything else.

Jul 15, 2011

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

7.3 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  6     

Wanted to update my review of this restaurant 1 year on. Having visited now a number of times since last year the food is still presented beautifully and still tastes great. However, they are falling down in a number of areas.

Firstly $10 per bottle corkage is outrageous and definitely not in keeping with the surrounding venues. Secondly, more often than not food is being served up lukewarm rather than hot, which is disappointing. We often order the massaman beef and are finding that the amount of meat in the dish is decreasing and seems to be more like a bowl of sauce, albeit tasty! Never try and get in without a booking at night and be prepared to be rushed out the door (a particularly annoying trait creeping into restaurants with too high an opinion of themselves!).

Lunchtimes are quieter however. Seriously, I think the biggest problem with the staff is down to the rules that are set down by management and they are forced to comply with and then the inability of most staff to understand and/or speak fluent English. I really think this is the cause of most of the problems that patrons experience. Unfortunately, I feel that this place is getting a bad reputation in the Hills, which is really a shame because we so need some more affordable but quality places to dine in the area.

May 01, 2011

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  8      Value  8     

Well I cannot believe the number negative reviews this restaurant has received. My husband and I went there midweek to celebrate his birthday. What a treat. We took the kids and my sister and they were as pleased with the food as we were, my kids ate everything we ordered, entrees of satay skewers, curry puffs and spring rolls.

Mains - massaman lamb shanks, panang chicken, and the crispy pork belly. We had a gr8 nite. The place was jam packed, the atmosphere and decor is warm, and welcoming, casual, but classy and very appropriate for the venue, the staff were friendly and attentive without being pushy, filling our glasses, replacing water bottles etc., inquiring if we required extras of anything. We were happy with the bill @22 per head, including corkage for 3 people.

The food was very well priced and it was nice to see so many fresh vegies in the mains, without sacrificing the quantity of meat in each dish. The sauces were lovely, though the massaman could have been a little creamier, the lamb just fell of the bone though but we will try the beef next time. We will definitely be back. My only criticism, the rice is delivered to table in bowls, but is charged on a $3 per person/per serve basis, so we were charged $15 for rice for 5 people, that wasn't a problem, however, it is good to know this as you would only order extra rice for the number of people who actually want it and not for the whole table.

I am so not a tipper, I firmly believe that Aussie dining prices reflect the value of the meal, however, I did leave 10% on this occasion as I think it was deserved. We will definitely be back.

Feb 25, 2010