Review Il Baretto - Sydney

Great little place that serves good honest food. Friendly and helpful service. Highly recommend to anyone. Relaxed and comfortable atmosphere. We had the squid and garlic bread for starters, Gnocchi Gorgonzola, Beef Lasagna, Carbonara and Penne as mains. The coffee is great too.

BYO pasta house in surry hills. Vongole was good, but wouldve been better if it was a bit suacier. Carbonara, the eggs were a bit over cooked, but okay. Duck ragu? It was alright... pretty decent place for a quick pasta, but certainly not the most amazing place. BYO is would be the key reason why i would revisit, of i do... also keep in mind you can only keep the table for 1.5 hours

One of my favourite restaurants in Sydney! The food never dissapoints. Thier must try dishes are the Mushroom Risotto, Parpedelle Duck Ragu, and Saltimbocca with pan fried potatoes (special only available sometimes!) Also thier Bruschetta is a must to start. The staff are fantastic - Brendan always provides a great chat when he's in! It's always a pleasure to dine at il baretto, thank you to such a great institutaion. This place is my partner and I's "local' italian restraunt and we live an hour away!!!

Little Italian place in surry hills serving freshly made pastas and other italian dishes. They have a menu which changes regularly and a specials board. We ordered from the specials and got a couple of dishes to share. Starting with the thinly sliced cappachio that was topped with rocket and parmesan. We got the risotto with porchini mushrooms. which was quite a strong taste and rice cooked al dente. We also got the duck ragu, deliciously slow cooked meat on a fettuccine as well as the gnocchi gorgonzola. This was very cheesy and always a standout. Accompanied with a salad of lettuce, tomato and olives. The pastas are reasonably priced and good sized servings. It came out so fast, I don't even know how it was cooked! If your heart desires it they have desserts and the ever famous tiramisu. Staff were all super nice and even the chefs said hello.

I like the food here and the prices are very reasonable. But I think sometimes the pasta dishes can become too rich with too much olive oil, cheese and salty elements.

Went there 4 years ago based on my instagram record of the photos to try their famous duck ragu, not impressed, the pasta was hard and salty, the duck smell was too strong.

Some of the best pasta and my favourite place in Sydney to eat Italian. My favourite is the papardelle with ragu, and the risotto. Only downside is that you can’t book and it’s cash only - please get an EFTPOS machine! Parking is usually pretty easy in the area too.

Premium price not matched by premium service. This restaurant is INCREDIBLY popular and considering it’s not cheap (mains $25-$30), you’d think the service would be pretty good. Wrong. On arriving I had a waiter (who I presumed was out the front welcoming people) literally shut the door in my face - “we open at 6” he huffed. It was 5.58pm. What the?! So sure enough by 6.05pm the door opened and we all had to give our names and number of people to be seated....even though the restaurant was empty?! Such a terrible first impression. Anyway tried to forget because I knew the food would be good as I had been before. Bruschetta as fresh as I remembered. House wines ok. (It’s BYO too which adds to its popularity). Main of duck was underwhelming and within seconds of me putting my fork down the staff were on us “do you want dessert?” No. Which resulted in the bill being unceremoniously dunked on our table - the message was clear - get out we’ve got people waiting. Oh yeah - cash only. They’ve either got to bring down the price to justify the burn and churn style, or start making customers feel more welcome. But hey - they won’t care - there’s a line every night (and the pub across the road is full of people waiting for a table).

Delicious authentic Italian place - absolute must try the spaghetti alle vongole - first place outside Italy I've had it so good. Need to go back to try other Roman favourites like Carbonara and Amatriciana. Short but good wine list and byo also welcome.

Very busy place. We ordered the duck pappardelle and squid ink crab pasta. The duck pasta had like a gravy sauce which I thought was odd for a pasta, despite it being their specialty I think the other meals are much better just because of that sauce. It needed a bit more flavour also. The squid ink and crab pasta was tasty. Looking at other people's food I had major food envy for the prawn pasta though, it looked the best by far.

Lets start with the Caprese salad, straightforward ingredients and simple assembly. Disappointing the way it was plated up. Arriving on the table, the bocconcini, tomato wedges and tiny strips of basil leaves were randomly scattered of the plate, not even enough basil to cater for the 4 servings or dressing. I have ordered this salad and made it many times, each bocconcini horizontal segment is topped with a sliced tomato and basil leave/s on top then drizzled with olive oil and vinegar. This is how it should be presented to the diner as an assembled portion, not this messy affair of forking each item to your entree plate. The way food looks plated up is what arouses and makes you want to taste it. <br/><br/> Was told the duck Ragu Parpadelle is their signature dish. I was disappointed with dish before I even tasted it. The very sight of the smooth glossy light brown sauce drowning the pasta made me doubt it was a real Ragu. A Ragu is a meat-based sauce that includes vegetables, etc. that binds the meat and pasta. This was a thickened salty stock with no evidence in taste or duck meat was used in its preparation.<br/><br/>As to the pieces of “pulled” duck meat in the dish, it was dry and tough. I think they added the precooked duck at the end of assemblage.<br/> <br/><br/>I note many other Zomato members were critical with the duck Ragu Parpadelle in recent times but positive a few years ago. Google Duck Ragu Parpadelle and see what it looks like, certainly not swimming in a sauce.<br/><br/>An Italian relative on mine who is a highly respected commercial hospitality consultant has dined at ll Baretto. I felt vindicated about experience after telling him about my disappointment at a family function next day. He paraphrased my experience as he had also ordered the same menu items. If fact he was told the reason the Caprese salad is served disorganised is how peasants have it Italy, well sorry we are not peasants.  <br/><br/>We both concurred the reason this restaurant is so busy is more likely to due the urban hipsters (peasants) who have no real sense of good Italian food. This is confirmed by the lack of any Mediterranean diners, a very overrated place. I have been harsh in my review but honest as it was a real let down. The cash only policy is strange and inconvenient.

Came for lunch on a Thursday. Really friendly service- waitress was attentive but didn't hover. Food was served in a timely manner. The porcini risotto was okay but nothing extraordinary- bordering on bland.

Went there a while ago. Had the carpaccio, the ragu and panna cotta. Carpaccio was nice and light. Papadelle was proper all dente (what you want in pasta) but not much duck in the ragu. The panna cotta with the chocolate syrup was probably the best even tho the syrup made it a bit on the sweet side. Overall I enjoyed my evening there and since most, probably not all, of the pasta is freshly made, which should be commended.

It's a simple concept here. The menu is on a large piece of butchers paper on the wall. There's a specials menu that's another piece of paper. The list of food options is not lengthy, but there's plenty of choice. They don't stand on ceremony here, but the food and service speaks volumes. We started with a serving of garlic bread while we studied both menu's and made our next selections.

Il Baretto is an unpretentious and cozy Italian family restaurant located along Bourke Street. I ordered the Bruschetta al Pomodoro and Pork Cheek Pasta. The Bruschetta was toasted for too long and tasted dry and hard. The pork cheek pasta was alright but nothing special.

Brilliant place for family meals. Very friendly staff. Great fresh food with authentic flavours. Not a very extensive menu but a good menu

Friendly neighbourhood trattoria dishing up superb homemade pastas and simple salads. Luckily my Gnocchi Gorgonzola was on point, otherwise I would have had massive food envy over the Papardelle with Duck Ragu! <br/><br/>No dinner bookings, so just rock up with your BYO and remember to bring cash as credit cards are not accepted.

Little Italian place in surry hills serving freshly made pastas and other italian dishes. They have a menu which changes regularly and a specials board. We ordered from the specials and got a couple of dishes to share. Starting with the thinly sliced cappachio that was topped with rocket and parmesan. We got the risotto with porchini mushrooms. which was quite a strong taste and rice cooked al dente. We also got the duck ragu, deliciously slow cooked meat on a fettuccine as well as the gnocchi gorgonzola. This was very cheesy and always a standout. Accompanied with a salad of lettuce, tomato and olives. The pastas are reasonably priced and good sized servings. It came out so fast, I don't even know how it was cooked! If your heart desires it they have desserts and the ever famous tiramisu. Staff were all super nice and even the chefs said hello.

Ordered the Gnocchi Gorgonzola and the garlic bread. Both were rather average. Service was good and there is an uncanny feeling that you are in Italy.

Wow - the food here was incredible! We ate at Il Baretto after jumping onto Zomato in fact, looking for a good place to eat in Surry Hills. Well, this place lived up to it's rating! Some of the tastiest Italian food we've ever tried - very authentic, too. Service was excellent too - the girls who served us were lovely. Just remember to bring cash with you otherwise you'll be in for a walk up the hill to the closest ATM! Highly recommended.

I loved this place that first time I went there..definitely my type of restaurant because I'm pasta addicted! <br/>I had one of the greatest prawn pastas here and came back after a month to eat it again and it was gone!!!! So devastated but the other pasta options were great...this prawn pasta was cooked in prawn oil.....Drool! We also had the gnocchi Gorgonzola here and that was amazing. <br/>Il Baretto is a great place to chill with your friends with a glass of wine and good food. They have BYO and serve the wine in long glasses which makes it feel super cosy and comfortable! <br/>Loved this place bring back the prawn pasta!!!!

Special service. Excellent gnocchi and polenta with chorizo. A very wonderful place to spend an evening. You might wait a while to get a seat but it is definitely worth the wait. Have the panna cotta, you will not regret the choice!

Maybe I am missing something but the reviews for this restaurant are unnaturally high. Ordered a very basic spaghetti cabonara and I have to say it is the most disappointing spaghetti I have had in my life. Traditional spaghetti carbonara has an egg coating at the very end of the cooking process. This carbonara certainly had it, unfortunately it was scrambled in my spaghetti and I could see egg chunks! Absolute no-no!<br/><br/>Also shared the duck ragu parpadelle with a friend. Whilst pasta itself was quite good (al dente, home made), there was just chunks of duck and spinach thrown into the pasta with brown gravy. I would have hardly called it a duck ragu. Both pastas had too much salt and the duck sauce appeared to be just thickened stock.<br/><br/>Our wine was served in water glasses, not to sound a snob, but that broke the atmosphere a little. We also had an order messed up 2 times in a row although the manager was quite apologetic. This is certainly a no frills italian joint and very much value for money but I personally left completely dissatisfied.

Pretty good pasta dishes, chilled out place and reasonably priced. If you have craving for pasta and dont want to go to fancy this is a pretty good option

Got to the restaurant at 5:45 for a 6pm dinner, the place wasn't open yet, but there were already a few people waiting. We were seated inside at the back of the restaurant, and can see a couple of family with kids also dinning there, good to see that it was family friendly. We wanted to order the spaghetti alle vongole (spaghetti with clams), but it was not available that night, so we got the prawns version instead. The pasta was perfectly cooked, the prawns were juicy. It was cooked in olive oil instead of a tomato based sauce, which did leave a bit of an oily mouth feel afterwards. Overall it was a nice dinner, and enjoyable if you need a pasta fix.

Probably wouldn't bother going back for a while. At least not during the wet season. Being told at the end "cash only" then having to walk to find an atm in the rain ruined my night. The staff are lovely the pasta it's self is nice but the sauce of my rabbit ragu tasted like nothing which was really disappointing.

I stumbled over this gem of a local cafe/restaurant when needing a quick lunch. I was not expecting such great quality and attentive service. The menu seemed so attractive that I wanted to try them all and watching the chef and his team prepare with such love means I have to come back with my wife another time to laze away the evening and hopefully share some other dishes with friends. Its all BYO so bring your best Sangiovese or Nebbiolo.

Quality Italian pasta place, pasta made fresh daily. Very cozy place to dine and great service. Spaghetti Carbonara is my favorite dish. No bookings accepted.

I don't know about their other pasta dishes as i've only been there once but had the duck ragu and without exaggerating, it was awful. Would give it another chance but I wouldn't recommend that dish at all.

No frill Italian restaurant that does BYO and offers authentic and tasty pasta.  My favourite was the duck ragu Pappardelle.  Other things such as spaghetti alle vongole and saltimacco alla romana remind me so much of traveling in Italy. This little gem resembles quality home style cooking that many little restaurants offer in Italy.  They don't take reservation, so I usually ring before hand and leave my number.  It is a perfect place to come during the week when I can't be bothered to cook myself.

The venue screams that local Surry Hills vibe, it is relaxed, it is hugely popular and it caters to a lot of locals. I tend to experience the “life is always greener” thing when in Surry Hills, I used to live about 500m away years ago and I love this Cosmo lifestyle, it is superb, I watched the people coming home, saw the man come in for his pre-dialled take-away for one – he was a serious looking suit and it looked like the wife was away on business. I saw the wealthy couple come in to eat their weekly favourite and I saw the freaking gorgeous blonde-haired Dutch backpacking twins come in for dinner with what looked like the lovely Asian twin girls for a double date meal – the cuteness level on that table peaked.

I go here at least once a week. The food is good quality, but the menu could be a little more substantial. It's mainly all pasta with only one other non-pasta dish for mains. So if you don't like pasta, and the one other dish doesn't appeal to you, then there is little you can do. They are BYO but their wine list is really limited and doesn't offer much price variety.

Good value for money. Food is not fancy but a solid decent feed and very tasty. The staff are very friendly and attentive. Only problem is the wine list - it's stocked and priced for a much fancier establishment.

Our favourite local Italian restaurant. The staff are sufficiently friendly, they're down the road from the best coffee house in Sydney (Artificer) and they do amazing Italian food. Doesn't get any better than that. Their lunch specials are ridiculously good value for money. Where else can you get a big heaping serve of spagbol for 14 bucks!? The food here is simple, tasty, consistent and they come in very hearty portions. That's a big tick in my book.

Super friendly staff and a relaxed atmosphere with great music, the menu is seemingly traditional and simple Italian. We ordered the beef carpaccio which was stunning and simple, the rotollo pasta dish was also really yummy, however the duck ragout paparadelle was a little different then expected, it was very creamy and so so much sauce that it was almost soupy I guess i expected a thicker dryer sauce. I would definitely return, however maybe ask for more detail on the dish. The pasta itself is beautiful and fresh.

Unfriendly. Came for a quick meal was 5 mins before it had open - peopke had already sat outside. Been a local was a shock to tell me we're not open but did not offer you can sit an wait. Just said were not open til 5 mins- plain rude!

Great food - BYO WINE GLASSES. Beautiful food. Authentic, flavoursome and well presented. <br/> <br/>I will however like to suggest that you purchase wine glasses, especially considering you charge $3p/p corkage. I watched my $45 2010 GSM poured into water glasses, almost to the brim, like ribena. It hurt. <br/><br/>But the food was great! As was service, thanks guys!

The chatter continues, the atmosphere builds, the waitress get into the rhythm of the evening (the service here is perfect). The entrée is a beautiful plate of beef carpaccio. Thinly shaved beef with fresh slices of pecorino cheese slices, rocket leaves and a dash of balsamic.

The staff throughout dinner were attentive and friendly. I like this restaurant, the food and the ambiences and will definitely come back! I also highly recommend the gorgonzola gnocchi (especially if you're a cheese lover) and their pork ribs dish on their Special Menu - I'm still mesmerising about the pork belly.

The Pappardelle with Duck Ragout is of course a no-brainer. It is creamier than I remember but the large chunks of duck and fresh pasta are still satisfying.

I love Italian food because, apart from French, Chinese and Indian, it is one of the great cuisines of the world. <br/><br/>To me, these four cuisines are among the richest in food culture that date back thousands of years into the pages of history.

Bottom Line - Simple and delicious Italian food. Lovely atmosphere. Reasonable prices. I don't know how we haven't written about Il Baretto sooner. It's been one of our favourite neighbourhood dinner spots since we moved here (nearly a year ago!!).

il baretto is somewhat of an institution in Surry Hills and has been so for over 12 years. It’s BYO, menus are handwritten and wine is served in what many would view as water glasses. It’s affordable, authentic Italian. It was about time I dined there.

‘The Mother’ ordered the beef lasagna and OH MY GAWD. It was unbelievably good! It was perfect! I wish my lasagna was that good. ‘The Mother’ kept glaring at me as I kept stealing a spoonful every couple of minutes. It was THAT good.

Either come early or late to grab a seat at il baretto because it always seems very busy during peak dinner time and it wouldn't be uncommon to wait for an hour. Thankfully the cheap Carrington Hotel directly opposite accommodates those waiting for a tabl

D: "Where do you want to go to dinner" G: "I don't know what I feel like, im not sure if im hungry.." (lies.) D: "But you told me to come meet you after work for dinner" G:"K fine, whatevs, just drive to surry hills.." D:"Toko, Birra or Baretto, lets go t

The service at Il Baretto was fast considering out busy it was. I loved our benchtop spot looking out onto the street. The restaurant is in Surry Hills, a part of Sydney that carries on being lively well into the night so there was plenty to peer at. I found the food to be disappointing, considering how many rave reviews I read. I don't get it. What's the big deal? (Also note: CASH ONLY!)

Il Baretto has been in the same location on leafy Bourke Street for years. It was open long before the south end of Crown Street became cool with the arrival of the cashed-up (M G Garage), the flash hot chick (Toko), the underdog (Red Lantern) and the new

A business life cycle (I feel all my high school business studies flowing back to me now) is said to start with a development stage followed by an introduction phase, then one of exponential growth to be followed by a peaking then flattening maturity stag

Zen has the slow cooked lamb shanks ($28) in tomato piccante with red beans and roast potatoes. The lamb is incredibly succulent and even delicious to the non-lamb eater that I usually am.

Fabulous Ragu. I am a Perth resident however visited this gem on a recent work trip. We arrived around 8:15 and after registering our name were sent down the road to their partner bar to have a few drinks whilst waiting for a table. We had to wait an hour but that was okay as we had some great pinot grigio. We all had the Duck Ragu and the Tiramisu - both were top notch. The only thing that is a shame about this place is that there is no card transactions allowed, and no atm. But the food and atmosphere is highly recommended.

Eccellentissimo Italian. FOOD: The menu is small and authentic Italian. I have been to Il Baretto a few times now and have always had the same dish for main course - Pappardelle with Duck Ragu (fresh egg pappardelle pasta with tender roast duck in a rich stock based sauce). It is one of my favourite dishes in Sydney (but would be better if they didn't cover the pasta in so much of the sauce). The other dishes I have had a cheeky bite of have also been very good, in particular the Polenta with Spicy Sausage.<br/><br/>VENUE: Not very exciting but a nice casual setting.<br/><br/>SERVICE: Great family style service. However, I am not a fan of serving wine in water glasses.<br/><br/>VALUE: Mains are good value - most less than $25. You can also BYO for $3.<br/><br/>X-FACTOR: Limoncello.

Bruschetta/ Duck Ragu. Bruschetta was a nice starter. The Duck Ragu was also nice, though the pasta was overcooked. The service was average. Serving sizes were average. Nothing really WOW'd me.Maybe I didn't choose the right items on the menu. Would I come back? Not sure.

Only good for money.. The waiters's attitude is good, but the ability need to be improved. We ordered wines, didn't come until we finish entree. Also, no water until we ask for it. The food really need to be improved. We ordered Italian sausage and beef Carpaccio for entree. The best I can say is average. For the main, we ordered beef lasagne and carbonara. The lasagne is ok, I won't say great. The carbonara: the pasta is too dry; the bacon is bad; the cream sauce is weak taste. It is the worst carbonara I had so far. However, the food proportion is huge. Since the price is around $20 for a dish, it is really good for money. Anyway, it is not my type of restaurant.

Nice!. Had a great lunch here some weeks ago, we had a mixed platter with cheese, olives, pickles and salami really delicious and some specials! Prices are not cheap not expensive, but for good food in Surry Hills it's ok!

Fantastic service! Simple Italian food done really well. Great value for money.

Tasty but bring Cash.... Tasty food, friendly service, but very defensive when you ask why its 'Cash Only' <br/><br/>If I am paying over $100 bucks for a meal, I would expect to be able to use a card.. <br/><br/>On that basis, I wouldnt give them my business again.

Only accepts cash, made us walk half a kilometre in the rain for the ATM and then said they the reason for not having eftpod was they didn't want to pay bank fees. Food was average.

Yummy. We've been to il baretto a couple of times now and have loved the food! Although it may seem pricey I think it's great value as the portions are fairly large and the quality is consistent. I've enjoyed the duck ragu, beef carpaccio and the risotto porcini mushrooms. It's also got very friendly and helpful staff, we felt very well looked after. I will go back again.

Extremely poor customer service, very rude

So overrated! The waitress got halfway through explaining the menu, and then said: and you guys know the rest right.<br/>Why bother blabbing on about the too half and then serve us a big plate of indifference? <br/>The wine was served in cheap water tumblers. Authentic? I don't know. Unpleasant? For sure. <br/>I had the duck ragu - the pasta itself was nice but the sauce was kind of chinesey and didn't go with the pasta. Too much corn starch? Weird. <br/>Then it took 15 minutes to get the bill even tho there were people queuing for tables outside (I wanted to ask them why) and when I put my card down to pay I was told instantly they don't take card. Why are you hovering now when we couldn't get the bill for 15? <br/>Unless you reall-ay want to be "scene" don't bother

Great value for money, amazing pasta dishes, decent portions, very tasty and authentic. Highly recommended!

Fab pasta. You can't book so put our names down and had a drink at The Carrington over the road first. Small BYO restaurant with a great buzzing atmosphere. <br/><br/>Bruschetta and Lasagne were particularly tasty. Homemade fresh pasta with a lovely rich bolognese sauce. You can only order pasta for a main course. <br/><br/>The waiter could have been slightly more friendly but overall, a great meal.

Simple pastas- casual dining. Il Baretto, does the casual dinner very well. The cheaper pastas are consistently good, but if ordering the more expensive dishes- expect not to be wowed.. Sopra, Tavola etc are consistently better at that price range!

As with every place these days, be prepared to wait for a table. Food simple and delicious, but I wouldn't wait for over an hour. Come early, go<br/> across the street for a pre dinner drink and its an enjoyable night!

Nice enough. Took us ages to get a table.... they dont take reservations. I had gnocchi and it wasnt that amazing.... i guess i was expecting better. I dont want to be too harsh though, I'd still recommend visting :-)

Fast and friendly service. Good portion sizes and tasty. <br/>Thanks!

It's ok.... This place is ok. The food was nice enough but nothing amazing. I found the restaurant itself to be on the cold side (atmosphere wise). It's noisy and not a place you feel like you can have a cosy big dinner.

When did carbonara start to be charged at 28 bux a plate ? <br/> Still if the quality of food was exceptional I would not complain . My veal meatballs were ok if not bland .. Those I make are filled with herbs as these should be, and they were juuust warm .crank up the microwave . <br/>Nice staff. Average food though the wait list would have you believe otherwise . What do I put thAt down to ? <br/>Most people can't cook in which case I understand why they think this is great . <br/>Ill pass.

Beautful. Great great wonderful beautiful

Great little Italian restaurant. What a great little restaurant. This is the second time I have been, the last was about 2 years ago and the prices are still very reasonable. One hat restaurant and voted best BYO restaurant, for good reason. Very enjoyable dinner and service.<br/><br/> Visited November 2012

You'll have to rock up early to score a table, as they don't take bookings, but it is well worth it. The food is simple Italian cooking that just hits the right spot each time. Duck pappardelle and pesto risotto are a must!!

Food OK, Service Not. Having heard so much about this restaurant I was really looking forward to checking it out. The first disappointment was that you couldn't book so we had to wait an hour for a table - the pub across the road was fun while we waited.<br/>The Calamari and Carpaccio for first course were pretty good. The Spaghetti Vongole lived up to my expectations despite it being drenched in a bit too much olive oil. I suppose it was a little overpriced for cafe style Italian but the house wine was good value. The service was ordinary and the waitress quite brusque and the disappointment continued when at the end of the meal we were told it was cash only! I asked why they couldn't have told us this when we arrived or whilst we were waiting but they didn't seem concerned about their customers. Won't bother going back. 6/10

Amazed at how good their tiramisu and panna cotta was when I first tried it 8 yrs ago and they are still maintaining their standards to this day. I still think it's the best I've ever had even after spending some time in Italy.<br/><br/>Can't say the same for the food though. Just get dessert for take away.

Dined with the fiancée on a buzzing Saturday night. Their specialties are well and truly the pastas. However, they do honest true Italian home style cooking where they combine a few simple good quality elements extraordinarily well (eg. Very fresh beef carpaccio w/ fresh rocket, lemon and pecorino cheese). I had the spaghetti arrabiatta from their standing menu - it was lovely! (the chilli was nice and strong and cut through sharply) and the special lamb cutlets with rosemary and potatoes was also very good! The vanilla bean pannacotta w/ bitter creme caramel syrup topped off a lovely meal superbly. Love this place!! Great for a cosy romantic date night.

Miss this place. A favourite of ours when we lived in Sydney. We lived in the North Shore so the fact that we came to Il Barretto so often is a testament to how good it is! Waiting for a table is no problem as you can just have a drink over the road. Went up a few weeks ago and glad to see not much has changed.

Never lets you down. Used to go to Il Baretto a lot. There is no good reason why I have not been there for some 5 years or so. Today was a cold day and my son and I felt like a good hearty bowl of pasta. We can all make a bowl of pasta at home so if we are going to pay for it, it must be REALLY good. This is exactly how it is at Il Baretto. Molto Buono!!! Honestly there is nowhere to beat this place. Inexpensive, consistently excellent and very, very tasty. Pasta cooked slightly al dente as it should be, everything made to order. Go and see for yourself!! Oh and the portions are very generous.

RUDE STAFF - RUNNY RAGU. LIke the previous reviewer even if the food was amazing ( which it isnt ) the attitude of the female front of house manager was enough to never return. Lacking all tact & manners & was pushy to the point everyone at my table felt uncomfortable. Duck ragu was like a runny orange soup with pasta. Really disappointing

Was told years ago how great this place was. Well after two recent tries I can confirm it's not anymore. <br/><br/>Was served a huge mound of rocket & parm salad in a tiny cereal bowl. More ended up on the table than in my mouth. And the cheese was just three big slabs on top (a bit lazy); quite a process to eat that took my enjoyment away. <br/><br/>Served the main almost immediately after the entree so it was not hot by the time I got to it. <br/><br/>On try #1 the duck ragu was oily and oversauced. Hugely disappointing and there is much better nearby. Try #2 the main was a bit better but nothing special. <br/><br/>Plus, they are cash only which shows they're more interested in their own convenience than in the customers'. <br/><br/>Won't return despite living nearly next to them.

Used to love this place, and was really looking forward to some nice Italian food. Service was friendly enough, but when my 85 year old grandmother asked for a child sized serve, she was refused. No compromising at this place. The pasta was far to oily (i ended up with a soup of oil and breadcrumbs) and the lasagna was pretty bland, with nothing to add flare to the beef slop and pasta sheets. Pretty disappointed in general.

Special: squid ink angel hair pasta with crab meat, tomato and shallots is the best pasta I've ever had; to die for; a life experience.

The Best Gnocchi. While living in Sydney for 11 years we dined at this restaurant and had take away on many occasions. Who cares that its cash only, once you have been once you know so just get over it, its really no big deal. The duck ragu and gnocchi are magnificent. We regularly ordered takeaway and just drove by to pick up - much easier to do this than to find a park and wait for a table. Great value, fantastic food wish you were in Brisbane!

The best carbonara I have EVER had.. anywhere.. made without cream. and the panecotta is to die for

With several rather scathing reviews, I felt I must contribute! Big fan of this place, went there for my third time tonight, arrived at 730pm and it was packed with a estimated 1hr wait. We weren't keen to wait that long for a table, however just as we were leaving something became available. Service is good and spot on. I have to laugh at the criticism around being cash only and not seating your group until the full party is there. People need to get real, it's not Cafe Sydney. The mains are $16 to $26, BYO $2pp. I love earning points on my credit card, but when the food is this good, reasonably priced and service is friendly and efficient I'm more than happy to run with cash only. If your restaurant is consistently packed full at 6.05pm every night, you'd be a fool to accept credit cards. Highly recommended. Great Italian food, very reasonable prices and efficient service.

Great food, reasonably priced. We arrived just after 6pm on a week night but it was already ful inside but the 2 tables outside were available. The restaurant is BYO and cash only. We shared bruschetta which was very tasty. I had Gnocchi Arrabiata which was plentiful and delicious, and Tiramisu - delicious. Can't wait to go back!

Tolerance level for food allergies needs to be improved... Despite this restaurant being one of my favourites before being diagnosed as a coeliac, I must say that the reception of my gluten allergy was not as good as expected from this restaurant. Yes, it is primarily a pasta restaurant, but I ordered carpaccio and a salad - which are both great - but I had to check that there were no condiments that contained gluten. these enquiries were met with ignorance and attitude. I was offered a meal containing polenta, but the polenta arrived with a sauce which had not been checked for its gluten content. Given the reception I was given, I did not trust myself to eat it.<br/><br/>So, overall still great pasta, carpaccio and salad, however if they are to compete with the likes of "A Tavola" who will be putting gluten free pasta on their menu, they will have to change their attitude and knowledge level of food allergies. Unfortunate.

Italiano. I am obsessed with italian restaurants this month it seems. il baretto is one of the best. causal dining but very popular. we got a table and had the most amazing lasagna (so filling though) and the duck pasta was a stand out. they do not take bookings but there is a quaint pub across the rd to have a drink. get there early! especially for a larger party

The foood was terrible and overpriced. Our wine became hot, as no wine cooler was given to us. We drank wine out of water glasses. The service was shocking.

Reliable vongole. We always go back here. Love the vongole and the duck ragu is not bad either. The pasta is not too rich and reminds me of something home made and full of flavour. Hate the long waits, is a bit cramped at times and pretty standard in terms of decor and ambience.

Worth boycotting. The owner was opposed to the Bourke St cycleway and still moans about it. What a nob. Show her how you feel about that by boycotting il baretto.

Restaurant with good food hates it's customers. We ate here tonight and the food was great, the Parpadelle with Duck Ragu and the Pannacotta were the highlights.<br/><br/>Unfortunately this is one of those restaurants that hates it customers. No bookings, corkage and CASH ONLY. <br/><br/>The 'no cards' policy is really astounding. It's 2011, we have iPads and iPhones, but we can only pay with cash money like it's the goddamn middle ages. Time to start caring for you customers in ways other than the gastronomical guys.

The duck ragu is a must! Homemade pasta with duck jus. Fantastic!!

Unbelievably rude treatment. They don't take credit cards, bookings which is fine but another thing they DON'T tell you is they don't allow you to have a table if the rest of your party is not with you despite your waiting patiently outside for 15 minutes. Absolutely ridiculous considering my party were are all stuck in traffic on the bridge at peak hour.<br/><br/>Unacceptably rude, will never go back, and absolutely spoiled the nice food. I do believe they overcharged us also so look carefully at your bill.

Wonderful service, excellent value, great risotto and a panacotta with caremalised red wine sauce like I've never! OK so we had to wait for a table but it was 8pm on a Sat night so simply went people watching on nearby Crown St. Will definitely go back.

Good food but could be better. Il Baretto serves good pasta dished but I feel they could be improved. The desserts are fantastic so leave plenty of room for the pannacotta!

Great food. Always great service. Love the pre dinner drinks across the street! Service always fabulous and good value. Cash only though so don't get caught. Not that keen on the new wine bar - particularly the $50 limit on eftpos!!

Used to be great. I make a point of going to Il Baretto at least once every time I'm in Sydney. Their panna cotta is the best I've ever had. <br/><br/>Still is, but now, everything else is a mess. <br/><br/>The pastas have been slowly going downhill. The more subtle dishes (like vongole) I crossed off my list last year. The kitchen staff couldn't consistently get it right. I stuck with the more difficult to get wrong pastas, like arrabbiata and bolognese. Last week, even those were disappointing. A few others I tried were not dissimilar to airplane pasta. Sad.<br/><br/>The owner just opened a new wine bar, Fico. I assume that whoever kept Baretto's kitchen in line has moved on. Guess I will too.

Best Italian I've had outside Italy! The signature duck ragu tageletti is amazing. They have massive bowls of traditional dishes like bol and cabinara for only $14 and they're also outstanding. My only criticism is that you can't book so on a busy night I've waited for up to an hour...but it's always worth it