Review Ombretta - Sydney

I’ve been wanting to have dinner at this small restaurant for several years and finally got there. The wait was worth it. Super nice dishes, small and well balanced. The food price is fair, but perhaps the wine is a little too expensive. Anyway, big thumbs up!

This restaurant is a total taste tour de force of the best cuisine in Sydney. More importantly, it is the true testament to the great hospitality of the Venetian people that they make you feel like family. I enjoyed thoroughly every bite of every meal which jumped off the plate into my mouth. The pasta was divine, the meatballs were perfect and the desert was divine. I cannot recommend this place highly enough ! A must enjoy

Part of the charm of this restaurant is the legitimate Italian service and despite not knowing what they were saying most the time when explaining the menu - I don’t care 😍 swoon! Menu varies depending on the region in focus and we were happy with the pasta, chicken liver pate and lamb dish. Shared a couple of plates as well as a dessert. Fairly yummy

Love the food but didnt like the italian guy’s attitude at the restaurant tonight. Not sure if he had a problem with me and my partner. We were just there minding our own business enjoying the food so we were surprised of his attitude and how sarcastic he was to us as we got the bill, paid and left. I guess they only choose who they are nice to. Definitely wont go back here anymore.

Fantastic hospitality and wonderful authentic Italian food. Potentially one of the best Gnocci I’ve had in Sydney. The owner of the restaurant takes pride in the menu and the service of his guests - our glasses were always filled.

Always excellent authentic regional Italian dishes. Exceptional, genuine good service. Cosy decor inside and outside courtyard area. Menu changes every month to reflect a different region of Italy. Good wine list and cocktails. Monthly Degustation night is a must.

Came on a Monday and it just happened to be their $15 pasta day. Appeared to be authentic Italian with even the waiters speaking in Italian. Service was not good because they didn't seem to want a family of four there, even though we were sitting outside. The lead waiter who was male was the worst. I'm sure the Italians sitting indoors were enjoying their experience but I probably won't be back.

Omg Ombretta hombre! If you don’t like freshly made pasta, amazing Italian food or friendly service then don’t come here. If you do want a great meal with a cosy ambiance then stop reading reviews and bring your ass down here! Bring your partner and go home and make love with each other after being turned on by the amazing flavours at Ombretta.

Fresh ingredients, great service, amazing food - partner and I stumbled on this place looking for a decent dinner in Glebe. Have brought my folks back for round 2 - it is serious good eats! If you want a laminated menu - look elsewhere. They serve what is fresh, available and in season. I’ve ordered a dish just to be advised they are all out - that’s great to hear! No microwaved dishes or frozen muck! Wine list also great - never a bad drop. Good for dates, dinner with family or dinner with friends. I’ve also seen parents bring young kids - it’s tops.

Love coming here. Better than all the food i ate in Italy. The worst thing about this place is choosing what to eat when it is all so mouthwateringly delicious. Will recommend to others and will definitely come back soon. That pumpkin gnocchi was unreal. Yum yum yum

Always an amazing evening. This Italian restuarant has a great rustic charm which is echoed in the authentic regional flavours of the cuisine. The montly regional menu variation means there is always something new and exciting to try. And it has always been consistently good! In addition their well curated wine menu contains some exceptional Italian wines and the staff are very friendly and knowledgeable. A real local gem :-)

From the food, the ambience, the friendly staff and the authenticity, it never fails to be a good night. Love the place!

My partner and I always love this place since we decided to walk in and being amazed with the service and the foods. We were having a nicest seafood (vongole & cozze) as entrè. Cannot remember which region was that. Host was very helpful. Ever since, we came back for few times, trying another dish from other regions.. never fails to amaze me. Deliciously tasty!

This place was amazing. My partner and I were staying in Glebe for the weekend. Not knowing the area we went for a walk up the road to check out the food scene. What won us over was the incredibly friendly waiter who was so warm and welcoming to us and explained the nights specials. The food was even better. So well presented, absolutely delicious and of high quality. I highly recommend this place, it will not disappoint.

We have truly discovered a jewel in the heart of Sydney! The food and service is superb to say the least. We came for the Valentine’s Day dinning experience which was wonderful and we’ll certainly come here again���#bestgnocchiandseafood #goodselectionofitaliandrinks

Fantastic food! An intimate comfortable setting, catering for gluten free and best homemade limoncello !!!!

Seriously some of the best Italian food I have EVER eaten. The food is incredible and the staff create an amazing atmosphere for you to enjoy it.

What a great find! We will definitely be back! Delicious menu and fantastic service. Loved the authenticity of the food - true to the relevant region!

We've eaten here lots of times, always great food and Italian wine selection (especially the organics) and of course very friendly and attentive service

We felt like we were in the back streets of Italy, in Glebe! Amazing delicious authentic Italian food. Buono

Always such an amazing dining experience. Excellent service, amazing food and gorgeous setting. We love coming back to try the different regions.

Homemade pasta, delicious anti pasto and an ever changing menu depending on region, who wouldn't love it?

Highly recommend. Monthly regional menu gives great variety.

We just love Ombretta... Real Italian hospitality at its best, consistently great food.... The closest you'll get to eating in Italy!!!

I return to Ombretta frequently and have always found the food and service to be impeccable.

This place continues to please. The food is delicious always.

Nice atmosphere. Food was overpriced but tasty enough. Probably better value elsewhere as it wasn’t fine dining quality. Pretty standard food so should be priced accordingly. Better places to go in the surrounding areas for Italian. Also no pizza?!?!

I enjoyed the whole experience. Food and wine was swell. Dig the way the menu represents a different region in Italy each month. Definitely will be back soon

This is one of our Glebe faves. It’s great that the menu is different each time - every month the menu is from a differ region in Italy. The service is very professional and efficient. The pasta dishes are always excellent - best lasagne I have ever had. Very reasonably priced too - $25-$28 for pastas and $30-$35 for mains.

I am a Glebe local and have visited this restaurant twice. The first time was for dinner over two years ago when it first opened. I won't review the dinner being so long ago but I do remember it being very nice, a couple of teething issues as it was the first week, but overall a good experience. <br/><br/>This review is for the breakfast. My husband and I visited on Saturday morning and sat outside on the footpath on the cute green tables. There is also an undercover outside area at the front of the restaurant. The seating area has a lovely ambience and is a beautiful place for a morning coffee. It wasn't too busy and I was eagerly awaiting a delicious pastry and a coffee to start my day. I had walked past the breakfast menu for the last couple of months thinking that it looked very delicious and couldn't wait to try it. Unfortunately, my experience was a bit of a disappointment. I was expecting to be munching a delicious Italian pastry with my coffee. As my husband perused the menu I went inside to see what pastries were on offer. On the footpath, they advertise a pastry and coffee special and on the menu itself it says 'See our display of assorted pastries at the counter'. Excitedly I made my way to the counter imagining all sorts of heavenly Italian pastry delights, instead I was greeted with exactly two types of pedestrian looking pastries - a crossiant and a fruit danish. Disappointed and confused, I retreated back to my table, telling myself that perhaps they had a mad breakfast rush and all the delicious sfogliatella and bomboloni had already disappeared, but knowing in my heart this was unlikely as it was 9.30am and we were one of two tables. <br/><br/>Instead I settled for toast with jam - a strange choice you may think (there were a delicious looking 'non-french toast' on the menu but I wanted something simple and not too large). I tend to judge a breakfast establishment on the quality of their toast - I mean if they can't get toast right then you really have to question the rest of the food. Sipping my coffee which arrived quickly (and was good), I was feeling quite peckish. The waiter arrived and with a flurry set down my husband's 'bre-bre- breakfast roll', a roast beef and fried egg roll which looked (and he confirmed was) very delicious (though he did say that it was a little on the smaller side and if you were particularly hungry one may find it not quite enough). And then the toast arrived. <br/><br/>I blinked and looked down before me. One small piece of sourdough cut into 3 strips with two pats of Allowrie butter and a little dish of berry jam. Let me repeat that, for $5 I received one small piece of toast. The toast itself was delicious as was the jam - a good quality rich berry jam but the size of the toast was absolutely ridiculous. When one orders toast I think a reasonable expectation would be that a serve is 2 slices. For an extra $2.50, I could get a whole loaf of Sonoma sourdough down the road. Charge customers $6 and supply two slices but $5 for one slice is just a bit too cheeky. And I am not 3 years old, I do not require my toast to be cut into 'soldiers' unless they were trying to make it look like there were more pieces on the plate.<br/><br/>I really wanted to love this place for breakfast, unfortunately I won't be rushing to go back which is a shame. As we live locally, weekend breakfasts are very much part of our routine. There is so much potential for strong weekend morning trade at Ombretta - it is such a cute restaurant and such a lovely spot for breakfast. Hopefully they will rethink a few things, it would be wonderful to see this place bustling in the morning.

Ombretta is a small place that is big on quality. Facing onto Glebe Point Road, it is so well insulated from the hustle and bustle outside that it is almost an oasis from the outside world. Here at Ombretta you sit back, forget the day you've had, and simply enjoy the food, wine and charming service that awaits you.If you try to decide what you want in advance from their web site - you'll fail. Their dinner menu isn't there! It really can't be as it changes every fortnight to reflect a different region of Italy. If you're desperate then ring and they'll tell you what's there. It's really not necessary to do this though, the food is going to be good.

Ok! So brace yourself for honesty! We visited this morning with 2 other friends after our morning tennis. Menu looked OK, coffees were good and creamy, food was rubbish! I asked for scrambled eggs on toast and was told by the waiter I couldn't have scrambled eggs because the chef thinks it's boring and to that end they don't make it! REALLY? WTH! If you're going to make foods you like, then you shouldn't open your cafe to the public! What breakfast place doesn't make scrambled eggs? I ordered frittata instead - I shouldn't have bothered! Absolutely rubbish, junk! My gf ordered 2 poached eggs on toast - she got 1 poached egg and a massive slice of bread lumped on the side. Frankly, we thought we'd check this out bcos we hadn't been before but it's not worth the time! No wonder it was virtually empty! <br/>

It's ok nothing special.... Saturday night dinner - starter was good but main course was bland and uninspiring. Service was poor and staff seemed annoyed that they had to work on a Saturday night and having to interact with customers. Will not be returning.

Dined here on a Sunday night a few weeks back. Overall the service was passionate & capable however a few pedestrian mistakes such as not offering water however this did not impact on the experience.<br/>Salumi plate to start was great quality especially with the Byron bay buffalo mozzarella. The pasta cooked al dente with a well balanced sauce.<br/>The fish of the day was mackerel, succulent & very well cooked.<br/>The winelist is very small yet concise with some smart & interesting Italian drops.<br/>The menu traverses the regions of Italy so expect a different style of food each day. Great experience & would definitely return.

A class act. I ate here on the recommendation of a friend. Menu is totally in Italian, which seems difficult until the handsome Italian waiter comes and explains every menu item to you! Food is delicious, service casual but attentive and ambiance low key and intimate. A great dining experience.

This place is great. Avoid Fri & Sat nights if you can and the experience will be better. A neighbourhood gem.

The only thing better than a set menu is a vegetarian set menu – I love having someone else choose what is best. Ombretta came recommended by a friend who knew one of the owners from shared time in Venice. Pretty solid intel there, so we booked. The Tuesday night dinners seem the go – 4 course set menu for $55 (not unlike Berta’s Sagra dinners actually)*. It’s an adorable little restaurant, store front based on Glebe Point Road. I love this kind if space – cosy and warm. For primi we has Torta Pascqualina – a ricotta, chard and egg tart. It was very simple but good, rustic & with lots of that earthy chard flavour. Then for secondi a pasta – trofie al pesto con fagiolini e patate. This was also gorgeously green, with al dente pasta, tender potato bites & crunchy green bean morsels. Then more green – faggotini di verza con polenta. Cabbage dumplings are one of my favourite Italian dishes, and the creamy chestnut spiked polenta was like a warm embrace. Dessert was cialda alle mandorle con

We went there for a family dinner and it was an amazing experience. The menu changes regularly and all items were in Italian and the staff did an amazing job at explaining all items and the region this was representing in Italy! <br/>The food was amazing and service could not be faulted. But the best display of customer service came when the Eftpos machine stopped working and the ATM next door was also down. The staff simply explained the problem and solutions ranged from bank transfers to IOU's. There willingness to not inconvenience the guests was this teams master stroke. As a person who works in a hotel I completely understand these accommodating staff and appreciate being on the receiving end of this amazing example of superb customer service. I will definitely be back! :)

Very poor valentines dinner. Ey guys you spactnot chicken was terrible no flavour no color !! Very salty , the skin was soggy ! The chat potatoes under cook ! The tuna was very small for a big plate , the salmon pastry was ridiculous smal ! But you have great wines and good charcuterie plate ! <br/>I'm very disappointed I live at Glebe ! I don't think that I will going back ! Your prize are so expensive ! For the quality of food you give it ! Thank you for ruin my food experience on your restaurant! <br/><br/>The charcoal place sell better roast chick for $12 bucks

Absolutely Wonderful!!. My husband and I went to Ombretta last night for his birthday dinner and it was absolutely wonderful! From the minute we arrived the service was impeccable with the waiter seating us in a pleasant table near the window. The wine list was excellent with the average bottle price at $40, and when we queried the $25 bottle of house wine the waiter was kind enough to give us both a generous sample before committing to it (which we did because it was delicious!). The entire menu was then explained to us in detail. We opted for a shared antipasto to start, a pasta and risotto for mains, a shared tiramasu for dessert with 2 coffees, and all of that with the bottle of wine came to exactly $100! This is the most authentic Italian restaurant I have been to in Sydney and I can't wait to go back.

Ken and Leslie Fearnley. We had the pleasure of dining at Ombretta on 10 October and we could not fault it.<br/>I read a review comment which was very negative about the staff. From our experience this is ridiculous. The lady who served us went out of her way to fully explain the menu and she was at all times polite and attentive.<br/>Possibly the complainant would be more comfortable at a fast food chain.<br/>We will eat again at Ombretta at the earliest opportunity.

Delicious pasta! Terrible service though, they were brushing us off just because we were young...didn't refill our water, offer drinks or dessert. They weren't friendly, didn't converse and didn't even smile. Didn't realise how much bad service can ruin a meal.

Great Italian. Amazing homemade pasta, and the antipasto was also fantastic. Like a trip to a northern Italian village restaurant

Fish of the day was rubber. Had a really bad experience at this restaurant - the whole fish was so rubbery I could barely get any flesh off it. The potatoes were under done and floating in oil. Won't be going back.

Delicious, authentic Italian - finally!. Came here last week on the suggestion of a friend and owe her an enormous thank you! Loved the warm welcome and the short but inspired menu - such a change from many Sydney "Italian" restaurants. Highlights were the delicious antipasto plate and divine agnolotti, stuffed with goat's cheese in lemon <br/>butter sauce. The pannacotta was creamy, wobbly and melted in the mouth and all this served up with genuine warmth and Italian hospitality. Can't wait to go back.

The worst meal in Glebe. I had the worst experience, we booked for dinner a week in advance for 7pm. We waited very patiently for our food which was delivered at 930pm. The main course, the duck was not cooked, I politely asked for the waiter and explained I was unhappy with the meal he just said order something else the time being 10pm. He made us pay for the whole meal not even offering an apology, to the slow service and food that they must have cooked in the microwave. If he believes it was ok then they shouldnt be calling themselves Italian.

One to miss, every plate was disappointing.. You know that feeling when you pay for a meal and walk out hungry?

Phenomenal. Went here last night after hearing the hype, and it was well worth it. The menu was filled with authentic italian favourites, the staff are all italian as well which really adds to the experience. Big thanks to our lovely waitress who explained the menu and helped us order. Great service and even better food!

Disappointing. Sunday lunch - dry, brittle kingfish carpaccio and a sad, grayscale, old broadbean salad. I felt like I was eating leftovers. I won't return.

In Reply of Laura H. Hi Laura, I am Niccolo Fagherazzi, owner of Ombretta.<br/><br/>Firstly, I am terribly sorry about your bad experience, it looks like you HAD to write something bad about us, which means that you really had the worst time! That really is the last thing we wish to happen to any customer. <br/>Next time maybe you could grab our attention a second time and patiently explain your needs the same night, as I can only see a misunderstanding behind what happened.<br/>In that way you will have a great dinner as everyone else at Ombretta and we will avoid a bad review, that honestly is just bad advertisement, isn't it?<br/>A few thing I need to say about the review now:<br/>- We never actually had a tomato bruschetta on our daily changing menu, I cannot really help you with that issue, I don't know what you mean by 'toast' (we bake our bread daily) or 'tomato cut in half' (it is not summer, we don't serve raw tomatoes). If bruschetta would happen next year I can guarantee it would be the best you have ever tried. <br/>- Being a restaurant where pretty much everything is cooked to order, I really cannot understand why any of our waiters, which they love their job, our food and ultimately our customers, didn't help on the occasion of a non specified 'dietary requirements'. We can obviously always organise more than one gluten free, dairy free, nut free or vegan option, even if our menu is quite small.<br/>- About the meat you are right, we do cook our meat dishes up to medium (we do accept medium), because we believe it is a waste to overcook a T-bone or even a beautiful fillet, beyond that grade. This is not a 'traditional Italian method', as you say, it is more the way you enjoy that product at its best. We simply treat what we cook with the highest regard, because we love our food. <br/>- Price wise I am sorry you found our menu expensive (and 'small serving sizes'..?). Obviously you didn't appreciate the choice of quality behind the price, which is anyway taking our most expensive mains rarely on the $30 mark. <br/><br/>Thank you anyway.

Menu was over priced for small serving sizes, waiters were unhelpful with dietary requirements. The entree bruschetta was 1 slice of toast with a tomato cut in half. Chef refused to cook meat "well done" or medium as it wasn't the traditional Italian method, and didn't have time for customers preferences. As Glebe locals, and with great restaurants surrounding, bitterly disappointed and definitely not a feather in the cap for Glebe point road.

Great Food. If you enjoy the taste of Italy, fresh market food and a menu that changes with the seasons then you will love Ombretta. Michael and Noccolo do a fantastic job and don't forget to try the anti-pasta

Lovely setting, good service and tasty food. Sadly...badly cooked steak, food was all cold and very over priced for what you got!. $31 for a badly cooked Sirloin with a small amount of cold black cabbage. Will not be returning again.

Great food, coffee & atmosphere. Very nice organic wines. Had my wife's birthday there, large group, staff & service very friendly & quick.

Thank you. Hi, My name is Michael the co owner of Ombretta and I'd like to thank everyone who has enjoyed OMBRETTA that has given it a mention and thumbs up here on urbanspoon. It means a lot to us that we have been able to satisfy you. <br/><br/>I do feel it necessary though to respond to a negative comment made recently by someone who joined urbanspoon in order to give us a negative comment. The reason I feel I need to respond is that pretty much everything they said is either false or questionable.<br/><br/>Shared entre dessert and most expensive bottle of wine will give you a total of $88 in total at the most. <br/> You then need to add 2 of the most expensive main courses to reach $150. Then that would be $75 per head. So i think we either overcharged this person, in which case please return for a refund or they been intentionally misleading<br/><br/>In response to the fresh pasta vs packet pasta question. Sometimes we make it, sometimes we don't. Whatever the case, the price will always reflect handmade over packet pasta and regardless of whichever one we use, the pasta dishes are kicking butt anyway.

Ate an incredible hand made pasta here when it first opened - sad to say readers - things have gone off! At $75 a head (we shared an entree and a desert, one bottle of wine) I would hope for a lot more wow than packet pasta. Won't be coming back - I think they are simply too busy to put the charm and original signature they had when they first opened back into this place.

Perfect for Occassions big and small!. I came to ombretta with a party of 8 for a special occasion; my brother's 18th birthday. the staff went out of their way to make sure we had a good time, the food was absolutely delicious (note! you order one antipasto, either a primo or secondo -not both- and a dolce!). it was brilliant value for such a special ambience, kind and thoughtful attention to detail by all staff and delicious food! thoroughly recommended for all occasions, big and small.

Hip Hip hooray!. We celebrated my sisters birthday there on Wednesday night and had a blast. The food was outstanding, the staff were friendly and the sexy italian accents did not go unnoticed. It was warm and cosy and we very treated with some home made limoncello at the end of the night. This place is great value, we will all be back. Thanks Crew.

UUUHHHMMM...... I ate here recently with my partner. The service was really excellent and the food was fantastic. But the pasta was the real star - perfectly al dente and delicious. I cant't fault this place !<br/><br/><br/>-----12 May, 2014-----<br/><br/>GREAT. I love this place whenever I get to Sydney I try to get to Ombretta. The food is great, fresh flavours, seasonal ingredients and brilliant staff; the wait staff.... know the menu inside out, they are welcoming, engaging and happy to offer knowledgeable advice on the food. I cant wait to go back!<br/><br/><br/>-----11 Mar, 2014-----<br/><br/>FAVOURITE. Great service, great food. Beautiful Italian food and wine. Would be back many many times!!<br/><br/><br/>-----19 Dec, 2013-----<br/><br/>Simplicity. Excellent simple quality Italian food, service was excellent nice friendly bunch of people, small restaurant gets pretty loud precise menu so quality is very good the mozzarella was really good will go again overall a very nice evening out<br/><br/><br/>-----17 Nov, 2013-----<br/><br/>LOVE THIS PLACE. All the fantastic reviews here previously are accurate. This place is a gem. Its small, cool and fun with amazing food. This is a place you fall in love with and won't want to leave.<br/><br/><br/>-----21 Oct, 2013-----<br/><br/>GREAT. Loved this place. I had the best bucatini all'amatriciana I've ever had. Given my small appetite, duck with apple caponata to start, but god it was gorgeous! Very good value I feel although $24 for pasta it may seem like a lot compared to some other places, but you have to taste it to understand why! Lovely wine list, wine by the glass very reasonably priced starting at $7. Dessert delicious too.<br/><br/><br/>-----10 Sep, 2013-----<br/><br/>Wonderful duck and great risotto. I can't wait to came back again.<br/><br/><br/>-----20 Aug, 2013-----<br/><br/>THANKS GOD. Saturday l had dinner at " OMBRETTA " for the first time and l just want to say thanks GOD finally a real Italian restaurant. Great and tasty food. The atmosphere and service MAGIC. Thanks Ombretta

Delicious food and such a wonderful intimate atmosphere!! The staff are very accommodating and friendly. Perfect for big groups and small groups alike. I would definitely return!

Such a nice dinner here last night! Gorgeous quality Italian with a twist. Good value for money. A lovely bottle of house red. And the service was wonderful, we were talked through the menu, and through the meal the lovely staff brought us extra things to try. Really enjoyed it. Will go back again for sure.

Went without a reservation - staff were very friendly and accommodating; organized a table with minimal fuss. <br/>The food was lovely; the homemade salami in the antiopasto made by owners Michele and Nicolau was superb, the mains were authentic and the desserts were scrummy - very happy to have such a great new local.

Food awesome. Atmosphere awesome. Love it. Thanks. Carbonara.... Yeh that's how you really should make it! Yum.

Checked this restaurant out last night on my way home from work. There was a big queue but we got seated at the bar straight away! Really friendly, and casual feel, and a great atmosphere. It's simple with a Italian menu on the chalk board, with some classics on there. Anti pasti was excellent. My husbands favourite pasta of wild boar ragu was on the menu, which he was happy with. Coffee dessert similar to a tiramisu laced in alcohol, was light and fluffy and so good. Overall a fab local restaurant, and we hope it stays!

Good food, good atmos, and good service. Restaurant / wine bar, <br/><br/>Best anchovies I ever ate...<br/><br/>Everything was very tasty.<br/><br/>Staff were very nice and polished but were not trying to be too formal. <br/><br/>Had a really nice duck ragu pasta. It was only a standard Sydney restaurant / wine bar-sized portion, which is on the smaller end of the spectrum, but It was big enough for me. <br/><br/><br/>This restaurant carries the torch from a classic old glebe family home-style Italian restaurant that until recently occupied the premises.<br/><br/>La Tavolaccia was BYO for the last 30+ years and did best home-made gnoccis I've ever eaten. not too fluffy, light and doughy like all the other house-made gnocci i've ever eaten. If they got the recipe from Julie's mother-in-law and put in on the menu I'd be a very happy chappie.<br/><br/>I'm glad a good joint has replaced the old glebe classic.