Review Dolcissimo Haberfield - Haberfield

Super authentic Italian cuisine! We enjoyed the Meat Lovers Pizza (+Anchovies), Seafood marinara, Stracciatella soup. Every dish was heavenly and we ended our meal with Tiramisu and Hazelnut gelato 😋 We were promptly attended to and served our dishes in under 20 minutes. Will be back the next time we visit Sydney!

Booking for 6.30 for 14 people. Service disgusting, last main meal arrived at table at 9.20pm. No ice for drinks…….. No gnocchi (was on menu) No pizza (was on menu) No calamari (was on menu)……… We were the only customers in the restaurant. Food when it eventually arrived was delicious . We have been to this restaurant many times over the years but will certainly not dine there again. Would not recommend it to anyone!!

I Have found this restaurant to be very hit and miss in the past but tonight I ordered a meat lovers pizza via uber eats abd I must say it was absolutely delicious.i hope they can keep up the standard.

I’m sure there are people who read reviews prior to going to a restaurant and I did the same prior to visiting Dolcissimo. What some reviews left out is how authentic and laid back this restaurant is. We were ushered to a table quite quick and it took us a good few mins to decide which dishes to pick coz you’d want to order everything. Once we ordered the food and drinks (they do serve alcohol) we had time to relax and nibble on bread. I recon it took around 15-20 mins for the food to arrive and it was delicious. I read a few reviews about how long the food took but we didn’t care at all. We were not in a rush and with food like that it’s worth the wait. The chef is friendly and yes he’s Italian so you know you’re getting the real deal. We’ll definitely be going back

Had the best Bacon and Egg roll in Sydney! Waited about 10mins, without any issues. The owner was pleasant, courteous and very professional, I’ll be back for sure.👍🏿

Staff must of been on a break as we were waiting for hours for a pizza tonight and I didn’t see anyone using the pizza oven for at least 45mins. The waitress was very nice and present, the rest were off in their own worlds and had to be reminded that we were in the restaurant and still waiting for food. Vote ALP

Terrible service , arrived at 7pm ordered pizza and it still hadn't arrived by 830pm (simple Margherita pizza mind you) . My kids didn't eat had to take them to another restaurant across the road pizza arrived in 10 minutes. These guys are pathetic.

Big Italian eatery with a huge menu. Multiple dining rooms with a different feel in each. The pizza is excellent, the pasta is simple but good in a way that's difficult to achieve at home. Tiramisu is really good! We dined early on a Saturday night (630). Didn't have the issues with a wait for food. The price is not cheap - but there is a decent amount of food per serve.

Really enjoyed the pasta and vino.  Went for the spaghetti with prawns with a glass of san giovese.  thinking next time ill try the pizzas .

Amazing food and even better service. Highly recommend to all. Compliments to the staff and owners. The pizza is a must try probably the best I've ever had :)

Great food for a reasonable price. Reminds me of a typical Italian restaurant in Italy. The spaghetti marinara and salt and pepper calamari are amazing!

Why did I not check Zomato before making an impromptu visit? Completely concur with everyone else on here ... for average at best, service ridiculously slow and inattentive ... and I normally enjoy a slow meal, but these guys take it to a whole new level.

Comedy store Inner west.<br/><br/>Service: if you want your night ruined and walking out with a fool mood this is the place to come to. On a Saturday night at 7pm, we walked-in because the other popular pizza joint were booked out. We group of 8 people, they didn’t offer us the quieter booth areas. No smiles here, had to ask 4 times for water, all the staff faces were grumpy disgruntled employees. I took my friends from western suburbs here to shown them our area and they didn’t respect my business. <br/><br/>Vibe: as exciting as a 1970s Italian black n white film on a Saturday night. It’s too bad prime location in Haberfield opposite Pappas. <br/><br/>Food: Average is being probably being too nice. Salad didn’t even have one single olive in it. <br/><br/>Value: $120 for bad pizza. I’ll rather eat frozen pizza from Coles than come here again.<br/><br/>I was very upset by the lack of courtesy shown to me and had to call the manager to let them know my review. Please just sell up and retire... Haberfield needs to modernise like Burwood. <br/>

Booked a table for Father's Day and walked in to a very packed room and consequently the service was very slow.  We had to flag the wait staff down several times to get any attention at all, so the meal stretched longer than we had planned.<br/><br/>On the plus side, the food and wine were excellent. I have to mention the snapper fillets I ordered; lovely and fresh, pan fried in olive oil and herbs. Delicious!<br/><br/>The bill for five came to around $260.00 which was reasonable. I'd go again but perhaps at a quieter time.

This place has the best Italian menu is Sydney. I have taken so many of my friends and family here. The vibe is REALLY ITALIAN. I love being able to walk into an Italian restaurant that doesn't feel like it is Australianised! Although the vibe is very Italian, in the heart of the Italian community, anybody can still walk in and feel extremely comfortable.The customer service is lovely, the waiters and waitresses are friendly and are always making sure you are  happy with your order. It is one of the only restaurants i know that encourage you to customize your dish the way you want it. And the food is made with LOVE!!!! It is quite busy and sometimes you have to wait, but seriously, it is so worth it. <br/><br/>+ They have the best gelato ever.

"I hate Apple maps," David muttered under his breath as we missed the final ramp towards Neutral bay, "Wait, don't tell me it was Google-"<br/>"It was Google maps.." I responded, clinging onto any excuse to shift the blame elsewhere despite being responsible for navigating that night. He reluctantly continued onto the Harbour Bridge, flooring his C-RV out of frustration. The tension was rising faster than V-TEC could kick in. Time was running out. I could sense David's burning rage foreshadowing what was to come later on in the night. "Want to get Italian? I know somewhere in Haberfield" he suggested, "I can't remember what it was called though"<br/>"Sure, let me look it up!" I couldn't find anything that even remotely matched his description but we continued towards Haberfield anyway.<br/><br/>Once we arrived, he held my hand and lead me to a dimly lit restaurant situated on the corner of Ramsay street. How romantic, I thought. I peered through the windows, and to my surprise the restaurant was nearly empty. This didn't discourage us though, as we'd arrived fairly late into the night. Upon entering the restaurant we were greeted by a grumpy albeit adorable old man. He seemed the tsundere type. Hostile at first, but secretly warm-hearted inside. We requested to be seated in the corner of the restaurant to which he was fairly accommodating and did not oblige. David and I watched intently as the man carefully laid out a tablecloth for us. We were handed menus and given time alone to ponder the extensive selection of menu items. <br/><br/>I decided on the Capelli D'Angelo Con Capesante e Cicale Di Mare, eloquently described on the menu as pasta in the shape of very long hairs. David ordered the Fettucine Alla Boscaiola. A classic choice for a classic gentleman. We also chose an entree of Bruschetta Al Pomodoro to share as we were very hungry.<br/><br/>We received the bruschetta within minutes. The dish was decorated with a slice of capsicum and a piece of lettuce. We appreciated the idea of a side salad to compliment our bruschetta, but alas we did not eat it. I finished my slice quickly, David took a little longer. Regardless, we were both impressed with the taste and portion size and eagerly awaited our next course. <br/><br/>Dolcissimo is across the road from Pasticceria Papa, home of the famous ricotta cheesecake. Realising we wouldn't make it by their closing time, David quickly stepped outside to purchase some cannolis. I was seated next to the window, and was given quite the jump scare when he knocked on the window while I waited for him to return. First he surprises me with Dolcissimo, now this. The man is full of surprises, I love it! I was truly on the edge of my seat anticipating what else would be in store for me. <br/><br/>Our mains arrived about thirty minutes after our entrees, as the menu had predicted. Such precision. The waitress kindly announced the names of our pastas as she set them down onto the table. It was at this moment we realised the tsundere man had taken David's order wrong. We swallowed our tongues, then swallowed our first bites of pasta. It was delicious! The serving sizes justified the prices being on the higher end of the pasta spectrum. Throughout the night, we joked about how hilarious the whole experience was, from the awkward setting to the interesting characters we met. We laughed about how funny it would be if it was our first date, or if they turned the lights off by accident.<br/><br/>Suddenly, we heard a woman scream. "IS SOMETHING BURNING?!" I immediately burst out laughing, as did David. We couldn't believe what was happening. "TURN OFF THE AIR CONDITIONING!" she continued to scream. The waitresses scrambled to the power switches to ensure a fire would not ensue. The music turned off, followed by the lights. At this point we questioned whether or not we were even real. The situation was too surreal. "SORRY!" the woman yelled, turning the lights back on.<br/><br/>Like all good things, our meal finally came to an end. We made our way through the smoke-filled restaurant and drove home, laughing the entire way.<br/><br/>I've eaten lobster spaghetti at a high-end restaurant in Italy. I've sampled some of the best sushi Japan has to offer. However, my night at Dolcissimo was something else. We hope to be back again soon for yet another enjoyable and unique dining experience.

They have the best ricotta cannoli! Sincerely! The best ricotta cannoli in haberfield, or even in Sydney. <br/><br/>However, pasta is not that impressive. The olive oil is okay but the overall feeling is not as much as rich i was expected for. The prawn is not really big enough and the texture is not excellent as well. We ordered Caesar salad, but the salad is somehow losing something or gave something too much, so the favour is to some extend, a little bit disappointing. I cannot figured out the exact reason. <br/><br/>About the overall atmosphere: I was sitting outside the wind was nice and cool. But the horrible thing wad that I got more than 10 angry bites from crazy mosquitoes! <br/><br/>The service is lovely.<br/><br/>I still love Italian food and Italian people. They are lovely.

Don't even bother trying this place! I barely want to waste my time reviewing it! In a nutshell, the food is good, but the service is terrible.<br/><br/>We went with family for a special celebration dinner. By the time they brought an ice bucket for our bubbles, we’d already finished the bottle.<br/><br/>Our main pasta dishes took about 45 minutes to arrive, by which point we were absolutely starving and beginning to wonder if they had lost our order. While the pasta was good, our pizza seemed to be missing. We asked a waited if it was coming. He scurried off in a hurry as if to look into it. 15 minutes later – nothing. So we asked another waited about our pizza, and at this point we were visibly irritated. This waiter, instead of being apologetic, just got irritated with us and practically yelled at us “it wasn’t me who took your order, it was my boss!” We told him to cancel the pizza, paid our bill at the front counter (not knowing how many hours we could wait for the bill to arrive at the table!) and left. I will never go back again. NEVER AGAIN!

Una schifezza, d'italiano vedo solo il nome sull'insegna, sconsiglierei chiunque ad andare, vi consiglio a questo punto di farvi la spesa e cucinare a casa vostra.

Yuk! How is this place so busy all the time? The food was terrible! The atmosphere is terrible! The decor is terrible! The service is terrible!

The service is too poor to give this place a good rating I'm afraid. We waited 40 minutes between entree and main. During this time we tried to get the waiters attention but they purposely did not look around, and when we finally were able to ask them when our mains would be ready they just said soon. We didn't even get any water at our table when we sat down, and trying to hail a waiter to get us some took another ten minutes. Finally when we tried to leave we asked two of the waiters for a bill, both had said yes and we never got the bill. 15 minutes later we decided to stand up and find a register to pay at, and it literally could have been that easy to walk out because nobody pays attention to you. We then went and paid at the gelato area. <br/>Onto the food, the pasta is average. We got the salmon fusilli which lacked flavour and the salmon was just dry. The cannelloni was overly cheesy and without much tomato sauce to accompany it. The antipasto on the other hand was very nice. But this was $40 each for a shared entree and one pasta each...definitely not cheap. We ended up being at the restaurant for two hours because of the slow service...were not even having drinks. <br/>Won't come here again to be honest.

Got some take aways from here<br/>Pretty bad coffee. Bad soy milk (not bonsoy), too hot and too strong and a bit bitter. Won't be rushing back anytime soon

My favourite Italian restaurant.<br/><br/>I have been frequenting Dolcissimo's for almost 10 years, the food consistently tastes great!<br/><br/> I highly recommend the garlic prawns.

Dined here last night for the second time in the last 12 months, same experience as before - waiters were somewhat unfriendly, abrupt and seemed eager to have you in and out as quick as possible. Meals were decent, pizza - big & yummy, pasta - reasonable, salad - nice but small.<br/><br/>In a nutshell, food was pretty good but couldn't get past the waiters. They were clearly the owners and showed a lack of customer service skill and knowledge or simply cared not to apply it. <br/><br/>Probably wouldn't recommend in a city where choice is paramount.

used a voucher here from groupon, would not recommend otherwise. the customer service was really bad, staffs were not friendly and seemed like they didnt even care. the food is probably best described as 'home cooked', wasnt anything spectacular... definitely not coming back here again.

Hmm.... What can I say about this restaurant... It's very disappointing that for such a popular restaurant, they don't care an ounce about customer service. The staff are very rude and snobby and it wasn't the first time this has happened. I always try to give this place another go, but leave disappointed. <br/><br/>The quality of the dishes has definitely declined. The pastas were so salty and the pizza was soggy. We left the pizza half eaten, but wanted to get it take away. After asking a staff member for them to be packed there was a lot of confusion when we asked for our left over. We finally received our pizza wrapped in foil, and it wasn't just one slice or two, we had over half a whole pizza left. When I opened the foil to check, we found it wasn't even the pizza we had eaten. They had thrown ours out and just palmed off someone else's left overs to us! So not on! They went onto say that we didn't for it to be boxed up. Eventually the owner or manager informed us that they will be making us a new one. Funnily enough they gave us the exact number of slices we had left. <br/><br/>So disgusted with the service! Will never go back and have never gone back since this happened!

My review is very different then most of the reviews, I actually had a very good experience. I went to dolcissimo for lunch on a Sunday when We first arrived we were greeted and were told to sit in the cooler area as it was a hot day. We then were greeted by our waiter and was given the menu, when we were ready to order I asked the waiter if he could add prawns to one of my pasta dishes he was happy to do so. We ordered the gamberini pizza which was one of the best prawn pizzas I have had, we also had the chilli pasta which I added the prawns to it was delicious and very flavoursome. Our food came out within 30 minutes and the waiter was clearing our old plates and giving us new cutlery after the salad and bread, I would defiantly go back there again.

Sam: When I was living in Haberfield this was my go to place for breakfast, firstly they open on some public holidays. Two the coffee has been constantly good for the year I lived there. Does get busy at the brunch hour which suited me fine as I am early riser. <br/>Used to order the omelette with Italian sausage and prosciutto, also the big breakfast was nicely made. Good Italian café with well and freshly made food.

Delicious authentic italian food. To die for gelato. Share an entree and a main between 2 people & you're set. If you're waiting around, demand to be served... Yum!

Absolutely TERRIBLE!!! We have just left after waiting over an hour.... just to be told that they were "starting" to make our pizzas. When we asked about it, they told us we were unreasonable to expect our meal.... that some customers had been waiting since 6.30pm (it was then 8.45pm!!!!!). Crazy! I will never set foot in that restaurant again!

the service at this place was incredibly slow and the staff were extremely impolite. Our table had not been cleaned from the previous diners, no cutlery, no water offered, no menus. 20 minutes to receive a menu, then the waiter expected us to order immediately! 45 minutes to receive one piece of garlic bread each which was barely warm!! The salad was fresh but ordinary. Spaghetti Bolognese toted as the only homemade sauce in Sydney...crap!! watery and tasteless!!! The pizza was the only saving grace!! We left before dessert and then we were overcharged by $20!! We noticed at least 4 other tables complaining. NEVER EVER returning!! I dont know how they have  a business!!!

As two diners, we came here on a Tuesday night with a great discounted voucher. We were impressed by the decor - a large, spacious restaurant with white tablecloths. Service was good; we were well-attended to. And food was delicious! The garlic & herb bread was great. My Mamma Mia pizza was brilliant - amazing crust and great taste, not oily at all. My partner's Gnocchi with Bolognese was also great. We also had the Caprese salad which was average but good. The only let-down was the gelato for dessert... after a great meal, we were served gelato in the takeaway containers with a plastic spoon (despite still sitting on the table!). Not sure what would've been so hard about putting it into an actual bowl with a real spoon!<br/>Aside from that though, would definitely recommend this place. Not sure we would come again at full price however, as it's not particularly affordable considering you're in Haberfield and the prices are more like city prices. That said, food & decor & service was all great.

Always a nice Sunday feed with the family. Great pizzas and fantastic coffee and gelato. A favourite we keep coming back to because of the food. The pizzas are second to none. The service can be very patchy. They have no idea how to organise their waiting staff. They are not allocated tables and are inattentive so you just have to grab whoever is rushing past. The waiters are always busy but not sure with whose tables!!

How do I even begin to describe how terrible this place was. It absolutely ruined my day. 1. The service was terrible im sorry for the employees but they were ridiculously slow and didnt even provide us with table water. After he served us the guy even picked his nose?!?!?!?! Also his hands mustve been really oily cause he left disgusting finger prints on my plate. 2. The food was even worse. After waiting 20 minutes we thought that the food could be redeeming. We had ordereds chips which were barely cooked (still frozen) yet covered in oil. I had a chicken schnitzel roll and the schnitzel had been cut in half and then into smaller pieces as if they had decided to split one schnitzel my between 4 sandwiches. My sisters foccacia roll appeared to have been chopped into thirds with the middle pi ece missing. How do you expect people to be satisfied in any way? We also had a chicken caesar salad. The chicken (if any) was grilled to the point of being burnt and the bread tasted stale. Overall this is probably the worst dining experience ive ever had and would definitely not recommend.

WARNING: If I could I would give this place a 0. The service was terrible but the food was even worse, our table was dirty with crumbs and no table water was even provided upon seating. We ordered a Chicken Caesar salad and 3 chicken foccacias and a side of chips. These "chips" or rather frozen raw potatoes were undercooked and we made sure they were taken back. The foccacias thenselves had about enough chicken to feed a FAMILY .. YES A FAMILY OF ANTS. Never going back to this place again - absolutely appalling.

I wouldn't even give this place a rating. We got food poisoning and when we rang to explain we were hung up on . Very rude . I wasn't even asking for a refund .

Disappointing. I was very disappointed and embarrassed (family birthday celebration) with the experience. <br/>We had purchased vouchers and found the meal very different to previous meals there. <br/>A special menu for voucher holders was produced.<br/>The Greek salad had 4 small pieces of feta and no olives and very little tomato in it , both it and the Caesar salad was not made with cos lettuce, the pasta serving was half the size of the usual serving size.<br/>Food was very salty and was dehydrated for the following 2 days.<br/>Food was bought out in such a rush that there was no room to place all the food on the table. <br/>No fresh plates or cutlery and tables squeezed in so tightly that wait staff could not get past.<br/>The serve of gelato was also half the usual size and staff were very rude and did not serve the flavour requested.<br/>I don't understand why they sell the vouchers if they are so ANGRY when people want to redeem them.<br/>Have been burnt twice when using vouchers here, it won't happen again,!!!

We had v.good service (apparently a rare occurance). I think the key to a great meal at Dolcissimo is: arrive early and get your order in before it's t busy. Our first pizzas arrived fresh & hot within minutes of being ordered. But later in the evening things became very slow, and the quality wasn't as good.<br/><br/>Our waitress could not have been nicer nor more attentive to our group's needs - given the other reviews, perhaps they're trying to improve.<br/><br/>I would go back, but I think for a more consistent experience in the same price bracket, I'd recommend going to Il Locale, just up the street.

Want the awkward feeling of being in an Italian's home and they didn't even invite you for dinner? Then go to Dolcissimo!. This is the first review I've ever done for a restaurant, mainly because I was so underwhelmed and surprised at such poor service. We were waiting for such a long time to be seated, with at least 3 or 4 passes by staff totally ignoring us. We finally just walked towards a table and asked a passing staff member if we could sit there. It then took more than 15 minutes to get menus, again, after trying for a while to catch someone to ask. After waiting again for some time to actually order, we had pasta and pizza, which we found to be quite good. Apart from one guy, who was friendly and attentive at the time when he came to the table, the rest of the staff appeared to be stressed, grumpy, bothered just when we wanted the basics, like just to be seated, and really didn't seem to care about service or the customers. The overall feeling of the place was that we'd come into someone's house, uninvited, and that it was a huge chore that they had to do anything for anyone. The only reason we stayed was that our friend had requested we go here, as she had been here in the past. She also commented that it 'was really bad!'. To get gelato at the end of the meal, we had to actually go out to the take away counter and wait there, as it seemed quicker than being at a table.

Should be closed down!!!!. Had the most horrendous experience.Had a living social breakfast voucher booked in for 7am on Friday.Very long story but after waiting 40 minutes for my food my order was wrong.(and l was only person in there)When l told the "chef" he started abusing me,yelling and telling me to get out and that he was going to call the police.I asked him to stop yelling at me but didn't.This went on for for about 10 minutes.By this stage l was SO upset l left the premises and burst into tears.l could not believe what had just happened.l will be taking this further.

Great night. We had a birthday party for my husband with over 30 guests. We got lots of positive feedback about the night. There was plenty of delicious food, one friend with complex dietary needs was well taken care of, the room allowed people to mingle, and the cake provided by the restaurant was great. I know this restaurant gets mixed reviews - I think you need to be able to embrace the vibe and focus on having a good time rather than expecting clockwork service - it's busy, and sometimes a bit chaotic, but we had a wonderful night. My husband loves this trattoria style Italian food, and the atmosphere, so for us and our friends it really was perfect.

Worst Service and food. To be italian I am without words at how poor the service and food is at Dolcissimo.<br/>This used to be a place where people gathered and enjoyed good service and good food.<br/>My husband and I went for Dinner and like the other reviews were left standing waiting for a table... Once we were finally seated it took 20 mins for the waiter to take our order after I had to get up and ask the waitress behind the counter playing on her iPhone that we needed service. <br/>The waiter took our order without apologising for the wait or anything.. We ordered a Italian Salad and 2 pastas..<br/>The salad was appalling as when I took a bite there was still dirt in the lettuce!<br/>We will never go back again... Honestly if you don't want to be there then find another job...

Lone Wolf. Today of all days was the worst... I entered this restaurant at my own risk.<br/><br/>The first thing I noticed was they were short on staff, there was a lone soldier (waiter) attempting to server over 200 people. I could see that I was going to be here for a long time. After everyone complaining, yelling and carrying on as if they were starved to death, the owner/ chef came out to the abuse this lone soldier for no reason in front of the horde of starved people. It was extremely disrespectful and painful to watch this and to know it was not his fault I had the rage and anger to write this review. <br/><br/>I would never go back to this 'PLACE' ever again and do not recommend it for anyone that is in a hurry or hungry for that matter..

Arborio rice and fresh seafood cooked in white wine, extra virgin olive oil with garlic and parsley, this had a light taste, compared to the other fancy-looking dish, the Spaghetti Marinara, which Justin ordered. With an assortment of fresh seafood in a tomato, garlic, white wine, extra virgin olive oil & parsley sauce, we've had that before and yes, it is DA BOMB! Anyone who patrons this eatery MUST try this dish!

Even with lousy service, there seemed to be an endless queue of customers.

The occasion was K's birthday and a bunch of us gathered at Dolcissimo in Haberfield for a celebratory dinner. I arrived there and was left waiting downstairs as the waiters walked by and couldn't seem to be bothered to look after me. Was not too impresse

A trip to Haberfield on Sunday afternoon meant I couldn't get my ricotta cheesecake fix from Pasticceria Papa because they were closed! But not to worry, we head across the road to Dolcissimo instead for some pizza, pasta and, according to them, 'Australia's finest gelato'.

Joke of a restaurant....Dominos & Pizza Hut anyday !. Went there last night with my partner, booked for 8pm Tuesday night.<br/>Had our entree and my partners pasta served within 10 minutes of ordering come out together.... That was strange but fine, ended up waiting just shy of 2 hours waiting for a mamma mia (mushrooms, salami) pizza... We weren't the only ones waiting on pizza everyone was complaining and other guests complaining to each other. Very awful business - tried to order drinks and funny enough never showed up after asking 3 times we just gave up. By the time my pizza came out it was almost 10pm so I just asked for a take away box from the start and finally got to eat it when I got home.<br/><br/>I have never been to a restaurant with such awful service. I will never come back and I will ensure everyone hears of our experience.<br/>I wouldn't even stop in to use the bathroom.<br/>The fact when other guests were asking about the wait on their pizza were told "ITS A LONG LINE OF PIZZAS YOU HAVE TO WAIT" - I'm pretty sure that's not how to answer a question especially when people have waited just shy of 2 hours for a pizza that tasted like rubbish.

Food and service best joke in Sydney.. The pasta was drowning in oil and enough salt to put the dead sea to shame. They claim to have the best bolognese in town. We think they win the award for most horrible service and the only thing that could beat that was the atrocious quality of their food. We waited two hours for the pizzas we ordered and even then there was a big fight over which pizza for which table when the pizza arrived. We highly recommend this place to bring your worst enemy and even then you are being too generous on them.

Not Like the Others. I've now been here three times, and while I agree that the service isn't always spot on and it is a bit pricy, I think the reviews are quite harsh and people have ridiculous expectations of a good meal, which you can have here. The pizzas and pastas are fulfilling with decent toppings, I would recommend the gnocchi with pesto and mamma mia or mexicana pizza, both with chilli, if you can't decide. The salads are simple and gelato with 2 or more flavours is a nice way to finish the meal. I've never had the problem of not getting the attention of a waiter/waitress but be patient as they have a large service area to cover, and maybe get to know the people you're dining with a little better while you wait, otherwise pick better company next time. And if you overhear a bit of drama in the kitchen, then you're experiencing classic Italian soap opera entertainment that you won't get anywhere else. Dining out should be as much about the food as the occasion and company you share your meal with, so focus less on the nitty-gritty and try and enjoy yourself. The food here is what keeps us coming back, and of course the ability to doodle on the table top.

Didn't get to try the food but, feels old, and is much too expensive!. I came in looking for takeaway pasta for lunch (I work nearby). The price for a takeaway pasta was ridiculous. I would expect to pay this amount in an upscale restaurant with mind you, a nice fit out and great service. <br/><br/>Service was horrible. I got no eye contact except for when my card "didn't work" more about that later. I was wearing a dress, not a revealing one in fact, but both waiters eyes were locked on bust and legs. Once I had made my order of a takeaway pasta, I was told the price. In my head I was thinking this must be a really great pasta or a massive serving. I paid by card, as I didn't have the cash on me thinking my lunch would be t have put the order through without checking payment first, if it was going to be such a hassle.<br/><br/>I would have gone back at a later date, but probably not. I went around the corner to Single Rosetta to get a salami sandwich. I was very pleased with that.

Terrible is an understatement!. Went to Dolcissimo for the first time on Friday night and it was terrible. From the service to the food it just kept going from bad to worse. I really wouldn't recommend going here. The pizza wasn't good at all (and that's the nice way of putting it), it was bland, it was not filling and the topping was far from fresh. Also ordered a side of chips and they were very undercooked. First and last time , nothing can save this place.

Dissatisfied and still hungry. Very disappointed with both food and service. At the time of my family's arrival, the restaurant was rather empty with only one other table of 6 dining inside the restaurant. <br/>Service; older male waiter did not welcome us, was very disinterested and did not make eye contact when taking our orders. <br/>Food; did not come out on time, orders were wrong and very inconsistent. The eggs were overcooked and basically hard boiled when poached was ordered. Chai latte tasted like hot milk with no flavour and the cappuccinos tasted burnt. <br/><br/>Overall, for a quiet place with multiple cooks coming in and out of the kitchen, it is not unreasonable to have expected an enjoyable, tasty meal. But this was not the case. Half of our family left the restaurant hungry. <br/><br/>Their policy, which was conveniently positioned right next to our table, outlines that they devote themselves to providing quality service and food. We beg to differ. <br/>We will not return.

My expectations were shattered. What a bore!. From all these terrible reviews, I was expecting a faulty towers experience.<br/>But no.... it wasn't to be.<br/>I attended with a work group.<br/>The food was delicious. The service was efficient and polite. I had a pizza. The base was delicious. The flavours very authentic.<br/>We had fun, and I would go back.... however a little more drama, and some yelling from the kitchen would be fun.

In dire need of Kitchen Nightmare's help. I remember the first time coming here and I just remembered feeling that it was dim and shabby. Nevertheless the food was good. Usually I don't comment on the service but I have to say this place is really unorganized.<br/><br/>Second time visiting as we craved pasta, the food was still spot on but once again the service / management of the restaurant was way off point. The table next to us upon arrival was left dirty and was cleaned until we left which lasted a good 45 minutes. Each staff who came by would take one plate and it was enough to make you wonder when the next person may come and attempt to clean the table. The place needs a good clean and new lighting. <br/><br/>The food is definitely good but due to the lack of service and the cleanliness of the dining area it leaves a lot to be imagined as to what the kitchen is like. Someone call Gordon Ramsay and fix this potential up.

Was concerned but it turned out great!. I read the reviews after vouchers had been purchased to come for dinner with friends and I was quite concerned that we might be in for an unpleasant service experience. I must say that we were very pleasantly surprised with very nice, well organised wait staff that carried out their job with a smile on their faces. We had great food and plenty of it. We had a very pleasant night, felt very welcome and enjoyed ourselves. Very happy customers!

Worst service I've ever experienced. We went to this restaurant with a coupon, as we had done previously. On our earlier experience we had noted service was not crash hot, but excused it as the food was nice. However, on this occasion nothing could justify the service! We experienced all the same issues as other reviewers have noted...the waiting unacknowledged to be seated, waiting for our orders to be taken without menus, waiting for 15 minutes for 3 of our 4 drinks and waiting for an hour for pasta and somehow even longer for our pizza! But the final straw was waiting to pay for our overpriced drinks and witnessing the woman, who seemed to be the owner, yelling from an outside table where she was seated having a cigarette, for someone else to attend to our bill. This turned into a yelling match between her and a waiter to find someone to attend to us and when no one came, she eventually came in and attended to us. This was the most appalling behaviour I have ever experienced and am at a loss to see how these people seem to have no clue on what the word 'service' means! Needless to say, we won't be back!

Worst service ever ever. How does this restaurant manage to stay open and get paying customers. Three years ago we walked out swearing we would never go back. Took a chance at lunch time today and if anything the non service is worse, the staff weren't interested, the food was okay(ish), we waited over an hour for a pizza and a very ordinary serving of poached eggs and smoked salmon. Hardly gourmet fare that takes a long time to prepare, that's it, never ever again!<br/><br/><br/>-----11 Sep, 2014-----<br/><br/>Worst service ever ever. How does this restaurant manage to stay open and get paying customers. Three years ago we walked out swearing we would never go back. Took a chance at lunch im today and if anything the non service is worse, the staff weren't interested, the food was okay(ish), we waited over an hour for a pizza and a very ordinary serving of poached eggs and smoked salmon. Hardly gourmet fare that takes a long time to prepare, that's it, never ever again!

Worst service, and told "no you don't!" When we asked to buy gelato as we were leaving.. It took 10 minutes for someone to acknowledge that we wanted to be seated for dinner. <br/>The menu's were filthy <br/>You could over hear the owners yelling at staff to get out of the way, move hurry up! <br/>The waitress's faces looked exhausted and as if they were about to cry.<br/>Our pizza came out in a take away box when we were dinning in and my pasta came out with tongs no cutlery. We also weren't offered any parmasen cheese. <br/>When finished we were sitting for approx 30 minutes waiting for someone to clear our food. <br/>We asked to take away the left overs, when the containers came out they were sitting in the bag upside down. <br/>When paying you are required to go around the counter into the food prep area which is a health and safety hazard. <br/>We also tried to purchase gelato to take away, after asking we were met with No you don't! And the woman walked away into another part of the restaurant. <br/><br/>Worst service ever. Rude to their over worked staff. The entire time whilst eating dinner the owner who look well under presented for someone serving food was constantly bashing on the bell that hard that it didn't ring.

Looks like things haven't changed. Thought I'd drop in here (on Urbanspoon) to see if anything has changed with this place as we stopping coming here 3 years ago. Mainly due to the extremely slow, bad service and arrogance of the staff. Not even being loyal customers changes their attitude, as we did have faith in this place over a few months to see if that made a difference, but to no avail. Pity nothing has changed over the years going by the reviews. Maybe they have lots of their own family and friends keeping this place open! Far better places in Haberfield and Leichhardt to go to nearby. Save yourself the agony and disappointment and go elsewhere.

Great food poor service though the wait for the food is worth it. Most of the whingers on this site must have their head up their ass get over yourselves the place is not as bad as u make out.<br/>U are not royalty!

Great italian. I've been going for nearly 8 years and the quality of the food is fantastic. go for the calamari, the gnocchi and any one of the pizzas and you'll be amazed. The service isn't outstanding but it's sufficient and attentive so best order. This is probably the best place in the area in terms of food.

Despite all the bad reviews, I have been coming to this restaurant for about 10 years. I do agree that sometimes the service lacks, but the food has always been exceptional. <br/>The Filetto di Manzo and the pepper steak have always been deluxe - if not one of the best in Sydney and better than most steaks I've had at very expensive restaurants. <br/>Not only the steaks but the penne arrabiata, ravioli and the spaghetti marinara have never disappointed. <br/>If you come to this restaurant you do sometimes have to be prepared to deal with the lack of service and a longer wait but the food is worth it.

All round worst cafe/restaurant in Sydney. Zero service, inedible food, disgusting coffee and most of all, staff who couldn't give a f$&k if you were there or not. Do them and everyone else a favour and shut this place down

STAY AWAY. Rude service, the food was rubbish and the owner does not care. <br/><br/>Come on Sydney people , we deserve better vote with your feet.

BAD. Not OK anymore, will never go back.<br/>My wife and I have been coming here for 10 years, and 1 year ago on a busy Saturday night, they sat us upstairs....we had no plates or glasses on the table, I had asked if this was the correct table. I went to the kitchen and set the table myself. Last night we went for our anniversary, there was only one other couple in the restaurant. I ordered chips immediately as we walked in for the children... (they never came, however I saw the other table receive chips later) The seafood risotto has always been my favorite, but NEVER again, empty clam shells, 2 tiny (once) frozen prawns, and 2 crab legs ...with NO CRAB MEAT inside....unsure how long this has been in the freezer. NO ATMOSPHERE....my wife asked a waitress if it would be possible to have some music on......nothing. My wife ordered the calamari, worst presentation we have ever seen ANYWHERE..... lucky the kids pizza was OK, completely overpriced....but ok! Service was not rude, but could have been better. I paid the bill , noticed they were charging me for the bowl of chips....they did remove that from the bill eventually!

Please do yourself a favour and stay away from this place. So many negative reviews cannot be wrong. We waited close to 2 hours for mains last night and we weren't the only table experiencing the wait. The staff had no idea about providing service. Once the food did arrived it was diappointing to say the least. STAY AWAY!!!

Service? What Service?. WARNING: BAD REVIEW - NEVER GOING BACK<br/>We have been to Dolcissimo a couple of times. The service has not been good. Ever. But last night was the finish. We tried to get into a couple of other local italian restaurants that were closed and finally settled on Docissimo against our better judgement. Hoping that miraculously maybe it would be better. Wrong.<br/><br/>There seems to be a disconnect between the kitchen and the waitstaff. There is no system for ordering. Mains come before appetisers. Mains for some guests come way before others. Some mains don't come at all.<br/><br/>We ordered simple things; two pizzas, penne and veal parmigiana. Two appetisers; calamari and caponata. The pizzas came first. They were ordered as mains. Then the calamari, then the caponata. The other mains just didn't come at all. When we got up to ask after them no one seemed to know their whereabouts and frankly were disgruntled that we have the nerve to ask. In particular, the girl at the cash register. I know a little Italian and she actually spoke about me in a derogatory manner to another waiter. Right in front of me!<br/><br/>Then when we asked for the meals to be packed to take away we got the eye-rolling mentioned by others. Of course then the meals appeared at the table on plates. <br/><br/>All this would have been made better by an apology or real demonstration of caring about diners. After all, it's us poor buggers that are paying their wages. And the food isn't that great that they can get away with that type of service.<br/><br/>These Leichardt/Haberfield locals won't be going back EVER. And will tell the story to others. Something to think about Dolcissimo.

Appalling. We go to this restaurant at 11.30am the place is less than half full. We order coffee & water while we decide on food. Neither water or coffee arrives, we call a waitress to remind her & she is annoyed saying they are busy. A large ugly sing looms over our table telling customers not to complain!. We order our food which arrives one by one at ten minute intervals before our coffee. The food ok my Sicilian panini had the ends of a slab of salami that you couldn't bite thru. The staff looked stressed & not at all friendly. We then asked for the bill which surprise surprise didn't arrive. We eventually got up & went to the counter to pay I told the woman of the bad service & she didn't care one bit!! No way we will go back this place is terrible

Sydney's "Soup Nazi". For all of you Seinfeld lovers, this restaurant is equivalent of the "Soup Nazi" from Seinfeld. In line with most other reviewers, I'd say the service is terrible, but wouldn't be right in saying so since it needs to exist for me to make a judgement. <br/><br/>I'm a regular at Dolcissimo, and it's the fresh, consistently good food that keeps me coming back. Do yourself a favour, Do not go there for dinner on a Friday or Saturday night, go when it's empty (usually late afternoon) grab some menus yourself, decide and order inside at the counter.

We had a lovely night for a friends special birthday. The food was delicious and the service was good even though there has been unfavourable reviews. The staff were even happy to book us a cab and made sure that we left safely!

Service is patchy at best though usually bad, the food is okay but too expensive for what it is. Prime location has made the owners and staff apathetic about standards.

A cautionary 'Saturday night' tale. Our table of eight arrived for our 7pm reservation,<br/>We were ordered upstairs with abrupt hesitation.<br/>Up top we were greeted with mayhem and confusion,<br/>Waiters looking highly irritated – at first it was amusing.<br/><br/>I stopped one in his tracks and again said, we have a booking,<br/>'It appears your table was given away when no one was looking'.<br/>We are assured a table was near – just a 10 minute wait.<br/>This was just a ruse - time ticked on and legs began to ache.<br/><br/>50 minutes later we were ushered back downstairs,<br/>Seated by a breezy window - on a table – dirty and bare.<br/>Another 20 minutes passed, waiters oblivious to our existence,<br/>Hunger and hypothermia propelling our persistence.<br/><br/>Menus finally 'thrown' with contempt on our table,<br/>Stale bread and butter – this restaurant's staple.<br/>We ordered our meals and advised a 25 minute wait.<br/>An hour later we are starving and staring at empty plates.<br/><br/>When we complained about the wait we were met with contempt,<br/>The rude, unprofessional waiter behaved as if he was heaven sent.<br/>Six of the eight meals finally arrived,<br/>The pizza was missing – now hardly a surprise.<br/><br/>To say the food was average would be an undeserved compliment,<br/>Bland and of poor quality – accompanied with a side dish of arrogance.<br/>All of our entourage had several complaints – quite specific,<br/>The 10 year-old at the table described the experience as 'terrible and horrific'.<br/><br/>However, most amusing was what was hung on the wall.<br/>The mission statement - more like a disclaimer and warning to all.<br/>Apparently 'quality cooking' takes time, not rushed it implores.<br/>And if you have an issue with that – well there is the door.<br/><br/>As a patron I expected respect and consideration,<br/>Not to be treated like cattle – offered no compensation.<br/>I urge Sydney patrons to vote with your feet.<br/>Don’t waste time, money and self respect on this below average eats.

Just went onto urbanspoon to see the reviews and I was amazed how so many people felt like me about this restaurant-TERRIBLE SERVICE!

Great food with Variable Service. I'm genuinely surprised that the other reviews for this cafe are so negative. I live close by and it's one of my go-to places for lunch or dinner with minimum fuss and yummy food. Especially love their pastas and their pizzas aren't the best in Haberfield but they're still very good quality. Yes, the service is extremely variable but you get as many thoughtful and funny waiting staff as you do the surly type. The place is always packed, especially with Italian customers. That plus the fact that you wouldn't last 2 minutes in Haberfield if your Italian cuisine wasn't impeccable are generally enough recommendation for anyone. I've been going there for years, it really is yummy.

Don't worry about the food they can't even make coffee

Mediocre food and terrible sevice.. We had dinner here recently using Daily deal vouchers for two couples. <br/>From the moment we arrived we were treated as second class patrons by the owner and the staff; banished rudely to the empty upstairs with the word "UP" when we had specifically booked a table downstairs in the restaurant section, only to be ordered downstairs a few minutes later by the word "DOWN" after our friends had arrived and complained . We were then seated behind the door in the cafe section.<br/> An unsmiling surly waiter jabbed a forefinger around the menu impatiently highlighting what we we were able to order as "Voucher patrons" we having needed to be reminded as the first explanation was too hurried. He said he could not hang around. Perhaps they were all terrified of the owner.<br/>The main course arrived midway through the entree and we asked for it to be taken back until we had finished. The waitress wasn't too pleased about this, from the expression on her face. <br/>The food was ok but really nothing special. The service was very sub standard and the staff were rude and should not be working in a service industry. A smile or a pleasant "enjoy your meal" would have helped. We would not go back or recommend it to anyone. We thought it might have been because we had vouchers and were not paying full price but having read many reviews it seems that this is a regular occurrence.

Not a god experience. Booked well in advance and requested a downstairs table in the quieter restaurant section as I am recovering from a hip replacement and using a cane. Told the guy who took the booking we would be using two vouchers. No problem... Until we arrived.our friends had been sent up a narrow staircase to the empty function section. We. Explained I could not go up there and we required a table in the section we had booked. Told by the surly owner that was not possible , that the guy who took the booking didn't know what he was doing and that table allocation was at he owners discretion. We were then told what we could've have from the menu. Ordered two antipasto platters. They were virtually thrown onto the table. Not even halfway through this the mains were plonked on the table. We requested they be taken back until we had finished the entree. Rolled eyes by the waitress who stormed off with them. Terrible surly service. We are local and will<br/>Never return and I have circulated the details of this horrible experience to many friends. It's a boycott!

Very average food. Expensive specials. It's a pasta ordering type place. Awkward service with wait staff being uneducated with what's on the menu. Wouldn't return, not my type of place.

THE WORST EXPERIENCE. Do yourself a favour and don't ever go to this restaurant! The 'service' was non existent. My partner and I were seated upstairs and it was very much a case of out of sight, out of mind! It took half an hour before I finally flagged down a waiter to take our order. We waited and waited for our entrees. The food was ok but the frustration in having to get up and find a waiter to enquire about our mains was definitely not worth the dinner. We spoke to other customers there and they were all in the same boat, swearing that they would never attend this restaurant again!<br/>It was appauling service and in fact one of the worst I have ever come across, hence I refused to leave as much as a cent for their tip.<br/>I sometimes wonder how on earth the business has survived in such a competitive market. If you go next door, you will get great service and good food!

Never again. I would never go to the restuarant again. The food was okay but the staff would have to be the rudest I have ever dealt with. Left for ages between courses and treated rudley when asked for coffee (which never ever came). Do not waste your money at this place

If eating good Italian food with woeful service sounds good, then this is the place for you. In fact I shouldn't complain about the service because there wasn't any. The owner took our order and was more concerned at watching his staff than taking our order, that my meal didn't arrive until they were reminded for the third time and three other orders at our table were wrong. Thanks for making a family birthday get together truly memorable for all the wrong reasons.

Terrible service! Probably the worst service I can remember experiencing in Sydney. Shame cause food was ok but I would not return!

A disgrace. The food is good but definitely not worth the horrendous service. I'd go so far as to say the service at Dolcissimo is a disgrace to the Italian community who pride themselves on their warm and attentive hospitality.<br/><br/>It's sad and insulting that customers think they need to put up with this kind of poor service. If you're paying $20+ for a pasta, you at least expect a smile and moderately attentive service.<br/><br/>For example, we waited over 20 minutes for a bill, despite asking two separate waiters (who were not run off their feet). Finally, we went to the counter and even then, everyone was "too busy" to give us our bill. One of the older waiters shouted indignantly "these people have been waiting for 20 minutes for a bill and they've asked twice; get them a bill". This was cold comfort because he'd been on the floor at the times we'd asked for the bill. Even then, not a single apology, from anyone. It was apparent that they couldn't care less.<br/><br/>I've been here before and the service was woeful then. The second time confirmed it. The staff mope about, are awkward, rude and neglectful. Definitely avoid. There are better Italian places in Haberfield and the surrounding suburbs.

Fantastic food! Pasta is amazing. Ppl giving bad reviews bcos it is not great service, ambience and may have to wait. But above all, the food is brilliant so thats why people still go there despite all that. Finger licking good pasta!

STAY AWAY !!!!. 2nd rate food<br/>5th rate service<br/><br/>This dump is a disgrace to the Italian community. <br/><br/>there is nothing sweet about Dolcissimo!

Terrible experience this weekend. Antipasto that was just that, anti! Bocconcino that were tasteless - I<br/>imagine paper to taste like that. Prosciutto crudo that was no better. A main course of grilled veal that tasted like it was done on an electric hot plate and drowned in salt. Just terrible. I guess, if you give an establishment an Italian name, they will come!

Waited 20 minutes for a lukewarm coffee. Enough said. This place sucks at service. The marinara pasta however is nice. They hire idiots for waiters

Service was terrible and pizza disappointing. We visited Haberfield on a Wednesday night and decided on Dolcissimo as it was quite busy. We should have walked out when we weren't greeted as we walked in. Service was inattentive and unfriendly. Our order for pizza (which we ordered with the garlic bread and pasta) was forgotten and we had to chase down two different waiters to find out where it was. There was no apology for the delay, just a poor explanation that the kitchen didn't communicate with the pizzeria. The spaghetti marinara was tasty and had plenty of seafood, but the meatlovers pizza was only ok, it had enough meat and the base was nice but was very oily and didn't have much flavour. Would not return due to the service, will instead try another of Haberfield's Italian restaurants.

WORST dining experience EVER. I have never written a review before but I needed to for this place as I have never experienced worse service in my life. I can't work out how to give minus stars otherwise I would. We arrived there on New Years Day (not many other restaurants open) and we got seated straight away - it took us about fifteen minutes before a older man with grey hair (who says he was the manager but i would not be surprised if he was the owner) came up to take our order. He seemed frazzled and he was rude and obnoxious and quite frankly just horrible for no reason. He didnt want to be there and was making no pretense of it! It was New Years day and he used this as an excuse but don't open then if you are going to complain- or don't come to work.<br/>Dining out is supposed to be a treat and a nice experience and people who are involved in the hospitality industry should uphold certain standards of service and at least try to let the customer enjoy their experience even if they are having a bad day themselves. I will never go back to this place ever .

Close it down. I cannot believe there are so many bad reviews and yet....the restaurant hasn't made any changes, incredible, are the owner blind? Or are they just trying to rip of as many people as possible before it shuts its doors. Disgusting service and horrible food.

Worst non- dining experience ever.. Recently we joined friends (including two kids) for a leisurely Sunday lunch in Haberfield. After waiting 20 minutes to get a waiters attention, he spent most of our order moving furniture around and then walked off before we had finished ordering all our drinks. We then waited another 15 minutes with no action. As it was a hot day, I then asked the same water if we could please have the water for the table we had ordered and was told "can't you see I am busy". I then asked again if it was possible to get some water as we had been there for over half an hour. At this he spat the dummy completely and told me he wasn't taking my order. I then left the table to talk to someone more reasonable, and was told the rude waiter was in fact the owner. Returning to the table, I found everyone gone, as he had refused us service. My husband and I then approached the waiter again, only to be insulted again and told to leave. He and a bully of a bouncer then marched us out of the restaurant. Once on the pavement, the bouncer continued to harass us and told us to get off their footpath! And all this was for requesting some water for the table!!!! This is the worst example of rudeness and intimidation I have come across and II will be telling everyone I know to blacklist this disgraceful so-called restaurant.

Glad I didn't read reviews as I wouldn't have gone if I did. Service was great for us, we came around 6pm and ordered promptly. Bruschetta was nice and came out quickly. Only thing was missing that nice taste of garlic on the bread. I had veal al funghi with vegetables. Very rich and tasty, portion size was massive and ended up taking half home. Veal cooked to perfection. Friend had carbonara, again a big serve and also very rich but was enjoyed. I would come back again to try what else they have on offer.

Worst experience a restaurant could ever give. I used to love this restaurant....until i met their new staff. The food is decent but there are far better restaurants i could have brought food from at a cheaper price. <br/>The atmosphere is interesting....... i spent half the time sitting next to the open doors where two men were SMOKING AS I WAS EATING... the waiter did nothing and even asked them how they were going. <br/>THE FOOD TOOK FOREVER TO ARRIVE and the waiter insisted had only been 15 minutes and began to have a argument with my friend when she said 25 minutes. I was CHARGED extra for something I HAD NEVER ORDERED and the girl at the cash register didn't even say sorry or even spoke to us.

We were not greeted with a smile when we first arrived. We were simply taken to our table and almost forgotten about. We ordered calamari fritti (as entree) with a couple of pizzas. We got calamari saltati instead (which was more expensive). The calamari took a long time to arrive. In the mean time, a waiter (who could not speak english) brings a bowl of salad which we sent back as we did not order it - manager brings it back to us stating that it comes with the calamari. Waiter was not aware of this. We finished the entree and waiter brings clean plates, but fails to remove the used plates. The pizzas were topped with too much cheese and the pizza base too salty. We had finished our meal, with 5 full slices of pizza left over. We asked the waiter to pack them as take away. He failed to ask whether we wanted dessert or the bill. 10 minutes went by and we still did not receive our take away. When we finally received our take away, upon opening the box we found we now had 4 full slices plus a half eaten pizza. It seems it had been sent to the kitchen and eaten by staff before coming back to us. We refused to take it home. We still were not asked whether we wanted dessert or the bill. We asked a passing waiter for the bill, and waited 20 minutes for it to return. The waiter never came back to collect it from the table, so we got up and went to pay ourselves. Service in this place in non existent. Will never go back.

A shameful place. Worst service I've ever experienced. We went in just for a coffee on a Sunday afternoon. The restaurant was still relatively busy. We were shown to a table by a waiter not smiling and apparently with problems uttering any words at all. We asked for a coffee menu and he gave us a dessert menu that had no mention of the coffee and beverage selection. Five minutes later another waiter arrived and opened his notebook obviouly waiting for our order (all of this once again without any word at all coming from any of the staff that we had come across. We said that we were looking to get a coffee and needed the coffee menu. Visibly annoyed he walked away and came back with two menus, once again no word. Given that he looked quite busy and already annoyed we decided to order quickly in order to avoid him having to come back. We ordered two coffee and one ice cream. A minute later my friend realized that he would not mind a fruit salad as well and we stopped another unsmiling waiter passing by and asked for one. After about 10 minutes we got our coffee and the gelato which were put on our table once again without a word or a smile. The gelato was one of the worst I've ever had and served in a small glass instead of a cuo where you expect your icecream to come in. No sign of the fruit salad, but we thought that having ordered it one minute after it might take a bit longer. So we waited patiently for it "enjoying" our average coffee and terrible gelato.<br/>After another 15 minutes we thought we would check where the fruit salad was. We stopped the first waiter and asked him for it. He asked who we had ordered it to (at this stage we at least knew that he could speak, which was a big relief for us as we were starting to feel sorry for his mutism) and we told him we had asked another waiter. At this response he walked off shaking his head and muttering words of disapproval. We started to feel a bit annoyed at this point, we can accept waiting but the rudeness was starting to get on our nerves. We waited another 5 minutes and then decided that we had had enough of the place. So we got up and left to go and pay the bill. The owner/or head waiter went after us asking what was going on. When we tried to explain he stopped us after half a sentence not wanting to hear anything about it. We tried a few times more to explain but once again we were stopped, saying that they had been open for 10 years and had nothing to learn about service. Being italian I feel ashamed by the food icecream but most of all by the service in this place. I will never be back in there and I don't think a place like this should remain open, it's a shame to my people and to the hospitality category.

Appalling service. Took 14 friends to lunch and experienced a nightmare of a waiter. Service slow and disorganised. Worse was the arrogance and rudeness. Would never eat there again, would never recommend to anyone and quite frankly no customer should endure this unpleasant dining experience and then have to pay.

FANTASTIC but,.... A family friend took me there but he made sure Danny the waiter was working first !!!<br/>I sampled Garlic Prawn Pizza & the crust was perfect, great taste & maybe even too many Prawns.<br/>The Fungi (Mushrooms) was like taking your mouth to the circus.<br/>Spaghetti Gamberi (Prawns) was faultless. Pasta cooked correctly, seasoned well & sauced perfectly.<br/>I also sampled the Marinara, which I wouldn't usually order & it was bursting with flavor.<br/>Danny usually has Wednesday & Thursday off but phone ahead to check. Tell him Dave from America & Lou sent you & he will push the kitchen to take good care of you.<br/>Danny has worked there 9 years & certainly deserves a tip for his efforts.

Went to Dolcissimo last night. It was our third visit. I have to agree with the other reviews that the waiter was laughably terrible, he was in a tearing hurry and so bad that we just had to see the funny side. I speak Italian so I made a couple of quips which got a smile out of him however service remained abrupt, but it was definitely not slow. Anyway, that aside, the food was surprisingly good (I had recently eaten at one of the best Italians in Melbourne so my expectations were low). My husband had the spaghetti vongole (unbelievable, to compare with one had in Naples) and I had a veal dish served in a rosemary, butter and lemon sauce together with spinach and roast potatoes (also delicious). If you are able to laugh the service off (think of Basil Faulty as another reviewer commented), food wise and price wise this is an Italian not to miss. Oh, we finished off with a couple of espressi and a Tiramisu Molto Buono!!

The service was awful. Not only slow but rude. However the food was very good. I had mussels in tomato sauce both were exceptional. The salad was fresh with a surprisingly lovely fennel and olives.

Absolute rubbish. Appauling service, average food and ridiculously over priced. I've been here twice and both times I've regretted it. What's more, everyone I know says the same. Don't waste your time with this place, there are far better places in haberfield who know Italian food and respect their customers.

Appauling service, waited 30 mins for the entree, then 1hr and a half waiting for the mains only to realise that they forgot about 4 of our mains. worst of all, the boss took our order.

I don't think you can describe this place as bad service, there is NO SERVICE. An hour and a half gap between entree and main. Definitely won't be back!

Always good pasta without the good service!. The pasta is always consistently good. Portions are large, fresh traditional, and cooked al dente. My favourites are Farfalle Al Salmone and Spaghetti Aglio E Olio Con Gamberi.<br/><br/>This place is always full but don't expect good service. There always seems to be not enough waiters; and the ones that serve upstairs tend to be clueless.

Went for sat morning breakfast. Food was good although we had to ask for butter for toast and milk for muesli. Service was very indifferent. Was not that busy and staff just didn't seem to want to be customer friendly

My friend and I have been coming here for ages. While obviously poor service, it's only because they are understaffed, one night the barista had to take our order as well as serve drinks and do the bills it seemed. Its simply a busy restaurent and if you go you have to understand its not going to take ten minutes for food. The coffee and the gelato are to die for though.

GREAT Restaurant - an Institution. At the time I wrote this, Dolcissimo had a 57% rating and to me this is a CRIME! Walk past any Friday night or any time on the weekend and you will see the place is packed and that is because it is so good. I agree with many of the other ratings about the service, but like many places in the area, it is old school Italian and food is the focus, service is more crowd control than anything else! This is just something that you have to accept in this area. The food is always amazing, just like many of its neighbors. If you want any hope of something that resembles good service then I suggest you avoid peak periods