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.
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.
Sir And Mlady Dine Out
+4
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
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!
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!
Don't Believe The Hype
+4
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
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.
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.
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.
Gastronomous Anonymous
+4.5
‘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.
Gianna - TheEmptyFridge
+4.5
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
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
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.
VENUE: Not very exciting but a nice casual setting.
SERVICE: Great family style service. However, I am not a fan of serving wine in water glasses.
VALUE: Mains are good value - most less than $25. You can also BYO for $3.
X-FACTOR: Limoncello.
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.
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.
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.
Bruschetta and Lasagne were particularly tasty. Homemade fresh pasta with a lovely rich bolognese sauce. You can only order pasta for a main course.
The waiter could have been slightly more friendly but overall, a great meal.
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
across the street for a pre dinner drink and its an enjoyable night!
Fast and friendly service. Good portion sizes and tasty.
Thanks!
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.
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!!
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.
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.
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 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!
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
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.
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.
Unfortunately this is one of those restaurants that hates it customers. No bookings, corkage and CASH ONLY.
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.
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!!
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
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!!!
Sarah charles (Thewhereto)
+4
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.
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.
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