The Restaurant Pendolino

Food is above average. The atmosphere and service is impersonal and cold, even a touch snooty without reason and that comes from having dined from the likes of Hestons and Michelin starred restaurants. There are nice touches such as the three olive oils including house specials. The menu is set - three course, with a standard starter/ first course. Four course if you choose dessert which didn’t impress my table so we skipped it. If you’re not sure what to choose, there’s a 6 course degustation or just follow what’s in the 6 course to guess what’s the star dish. The first / starter course is interesting with tastes and modern presentations from lollipop meat, to beetroot crisp. The second course of Beef Crudo is very good. Paper thin raw beef with hints of cheese that you won’t be able to see but will definitely taste and beef tendon crisps - enough said! The main/third course, is surprisingly good if you choose the fish (cod). The ravioli is rich and a little oily. The risotto is recommended and smells as good as it looks.

All the dishes me and my family ordered today are perfect. There are 3 types of olive oils on the table for the breads, and all 3 tastes excellent. The service of their waiters are really nice, best service I’ve experienced in Australia so far. I love this restaurant, definitely will visit again if I have chance!

Really excellent service. Every staff member went above and beyond to make our dinner special. Great food, excellent pairing with wine menu. Would come back here anytime.

I came here to celebrate a friend's birthday. I've been here a number of times over the years. The staff were very accommodating as we had a baby in our party. Great, friendly service from all the staff, and a great wine suggestion from Heesoo (I hope I got your name right). Heesoo and the rest of the staff made sure we were looked after the entire time we were there. The food was very good, and while not everything worked for me, it was all prepared and cooked with a high level of skill. Overall a very good night (this place filled up very quickly). I'd go back there anytime.

Really lovely time was had. Big shout outs to the Charcoal Foccacia and Michael who waited on us. If you have the time and $$ to invest in doing the 6 Course Degustation AND wine pairing, it's wholeheartedly worth it. Food and wine both delicious. Palate cleanser at the end was sharp and did the trick. Was appreciative of swapping out one dish for another, despite it being a set menu. The only things I could maybe nitpick were that the courses felt like they came out a little too quickly, especially given there was wine to finish with each one and the plates while nice looking don't really let you cutlery lean on it. Cutlery kept sliding onto the plate and into the food. Not the end of the world, just a little messy.

Delicious food and genuinely a fine dining restaurant that I see myself returning to. The quality of the food was divine. They also prepared lovely present for my bday. services were really attentive. The only thing I would mention was that there were some drinks served from the carts without the pricing being introduced. We have no issues paying for things, but would have been great if we were notified.

The Restaurant Pendolino deserves more than 5 stars My husband and I booked a 4-course meal for his birthday dinner and everything was just sublime. From the complimentary breads (which I must say deserve a review of its own as they were amazing!) to the first course all the way to the end of the meal, everything was just beyond compare. Although, the night wouldn’t have been perfect if it weren’t for the exemplary service of their staff, all of them, and we would like to make a special mention to Oliver, Andrew, and Ben, for taking pride in their service and making sure that we are having one of the best dinner experience we’ve ever had in a while. They deserve all the compliments they will be receiving and have received, as I’m sure this was not and will not be the only time they’re recognised. The whole time we were there, my husband and I were already planning on coming back. We sure do hope they receive more than bountiful glowing compliments. I am a bit confused by some of the reviews stating that they were surprised when they were handed their bill, implying that they were somehow duped into paying hidden charges for drinks, for that was just far from our experience. They certainly make you aware of the costs of everything that is not part of your meal, e.g. handing you a menu of wine selection before pouring you a glass from their cart. You really have to pay attention to your sommelier and the wait staff. One bit of advice, don’t go there and ignore them, and then complain about having to pay for the wine. I’m sorry if that sounds a bit harsh, but this restaurant and its staff deserve better reviews, fair reviews. Before I forget, hats off to everyone in that kitchen, you guys are magicians! The food, my goodness, it’s just perfection! Thank you The Restaurant Pendolino, you’ve earned our patronage.

The atmosphere was excellent. The staffs were very attentive and food presentation was very nice. The ingredients used were high quality. However, we find the taste a bit lacking for the price. The complementary olive oils were good. Red wine risotto and the mix seafood main were great. Truffle pasta was a bit too salty for me. Pork belly was not tender at all. Recommended for the atmosphere but not the food.

4 course menu. Tasting plate and entrees were nice. Mains were just not special and certainly didn’t justify the price. They seemed pretty made to reduce kitchen staff to bare minimum. Wine in a restaurant is usually 2 to 3 times the cost of buying the bottle. 5 to 6 here. Focus is too much on maximising profits. Very disappointed

We went there to have dinner before go to a Movie during the Sydney Film Festival. And very conveniently they have a pre theatre menu. That includes a tasting plate with 4 bite-sized experiences. 2 of them I liked very much, simply delicious. The sweet corn soup was good. And one of the options was very salty for my taste. Talking about salt, I would like to suggest to the chef to keep a little bit of salt at the table to enhance the flavours of the three types of olive oils on the table. The experience is great, although for the first and third olive oil option the salt bring more the fruitness of the third oil and balance better the lemon olive oil. Regarding the dish, I can say is one of the best pasta dishes I've had in Sydney. I had the blond duck bolognese and was perfect in every bite. Be aware, the dish has nothing even close to a traditional bolognese. Is a white sauce base dish. But was amazing. Well balanced and executed. My wife had the ravioli, and was perfect as well. But my favourite was the duck. We had the merengue dessert, such well thought dish. Where we got an entree for the dessert, that was a new thing for me, and then the dessert well balanced with all elements right. Sweet, acidity, crunchy. About the wine service, was very good with attention to detail. Nothing to complain about it. At the end we got nice chocolate balls 😋. That was a surprise. Probably we will go back for the 6 course menu, but the 2 course menu already made my night.