Nino continues excellence. Pendolino is a Masterpiece. The Knodel is purely my single favourite dish I have ever tasted. Anywhere. A proper dining experience, one cannot simply express a knowledge of great italian in Sydney without having eaten here.
Great food and service, hard not recommend
We had a perfect meal here, just excellent inventive Italian cuisine with a great wine list. Excellent attentive service and all sorts of nice extra touches, such as the great bread and olive oils. Just delicious.
One of Sydney’s finest Italian fine-dining restaurants. The food is delicious, although expensive, still worth making at least one visit for a special Occassion.
I had the spaghetti with crab as a entree and the duck as a main- both impeccable and delicious. They also provide an complementary bites to eat when you arrive, and a while bread cart to choose your own bread- this was such a nice touch and the bread and olive oil were so so yummy!
The wine is quite pricey but worth it when matches well to your meal. Would definitely return once back in Sydney.
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The Restaurant Pendolino is my favourite Italian restaurant in Sydney. It’s stylish, the service is faultless and very Italian, the wine list extensive and with every meal you have a mini olive oil masterclass.
When I asked the waiter for his recommendation for a pasta, he recommended the Class Pendolino Ravioli di Magro (pictured). He said the dish is life changing. When I ate the ravioli, I understood what he meant. The ravioli, handmade filled with spinach, and served with a burnt butter and sage sauce as well as grated Parmesan cheese was without doubt the best pasta I have eaten outside of Italy. This pasta dish is a game changer.
As every meal should end with a dessert, we were pleased that the desserts were as divine as the savoury parts of the meal. The highlight was the ‘Eclair Alla Gianduia’ (pictured), a chocolate hazelnut eclair served with toasted hazelnuts, sweet cream, candied apricots and nocello. Decadence at it’s finest.
The Restaurant Pendolino is one of Sydney’s finest restaurants. World class actually. #therestaurantpendolino
Pendolino is as charming as is is satisfying. The aged rich charming setting beautifully befits the love of each caringly prepared dish. My wife and I visited for no special reason and upon eating here immediately booked for the following night to bring the kids. The service is superb and the only aspect worthy of comparison to the beautiful food. When you pay a decent sum for food you expect an excellent standard and Pendolino delivers in spades.
Wonderful food experience ! Celebrated my husband's birthday and the staff was so friendly as they accommodated our 12 weeks old son pram too .Looking to coming back for more Italian magic.
Could not fault my experience at Pendolino! The food was outstanding, the service was impeccable; all round great night. We ordered the Beetroot and Burrata, Agnolotti, Ravioli Di Margo (melt in your mouth pasta) and the Semifreddo (suggested by the waiter - very glad we took his advice). Will definitely be back.
Love everything here at Pendolino. The food, the service, the ambience.. however price is more on the pricy side. But definitely worth it as they made all the pasta fresh in house from scratch using organic egg yolks 😅 my favorite was the spinach and cheese ravioli with burnt butter and sage. The mushroom pappardelle was amazing too.
Beautiful Italian restaurant inside The Strand in the city. I have visited for both lunch and dinner and the experience is fantastic for both. I like their cafe section which has a limited menu but great for a casual lunch. Make sure you save room for their tiramisu, it’s one of my favourite in Sydney!
For those Melbournians amongst us, this is the Cecconi of Sydney. Delicious Italian food served in a classy old world setting. A few nice touches such as the complimentary olive oil tasting platter before lunch and the chocolate truffle after lunch. My beef carpaccio was stunning and the mushroom parpadelle pasta was delicious although not enough pasta in it. Would have been a 4.5 if the serves were bigger and prices a touch lower. But highly recommended for a special lunch.
If you're looking for a proper fancy Italian dining experience in Sydney CBD, this is the place. I've had free lunch and paid dinner here. It's an ideal place for the business meetings or awkward dates. To be direct, pasta is great here. If you don't want to screw up your order and waste some hard-earned cash, make sure you order pasta.
These are the good/safe dishes - ALBA BEEF CARPACCIO, MSC SCALLOP & SALMON TARTARE and ‘WILD WEED’ SPAGHETTI. I had CHAR-GRILLED FARM QUAIL for main but it was a bit too salty for my liking. Other dishes I'm not too sure how good they are, but I'm confident anything pasta or risotto will be safe to order. For dessert I had TRAMEZZINO DI PISTACCHIO, it was divine. I give this place 4 bears.
There's something really charming about the Strand arcade. It's Victorian historian feel (from 1891) remains intact today. I recently check out the Pendolino in the Strand with my partner in crime. . All the shops are closed this particular mid-week night as we walk towards Pendolino. We are seated by the friendly staff in a dimly lit restaurant which has a real intimate vibe.
Does My Bomb Look Big In This
+4.5
At the upper echelon of Sydney’s Italian restaurants sits The Restaurant Pendolino, taking up a commanding position at one end of The Strand Arcade. From the moment you step out of the lift, you get the feeling that your evening is in safe hands. You’re ushered to your table to a chorus of greetings from kitchen and floor.Water, bread and an array of extra-virgin olive oils land in rapid succession; aperitivo orders are taken; the specials are explained; the sommelier is summoned.With more than a decade with this restaurant, Group Sommelier Cristian Casarin, will expertly weave your personal preferences into a narrative adventure that travels through far flung vineyards and locales. For us it’s a new grape – Albana – from the Emilia-Romagna region. It was initially a dessert varietal, but when cultivated with improved quality, makes for a lovely table wine in the 2015 Gariete Folesano IGP ($98.40).The wine’s initial sweetness makes it a perfect match to knödel. Accompanied by a roasted marrowbone, this plump bread, spinach and ricotta dumpling arrives at the table with plenty of pomp and ceremony. First elegant bone broth is poured, then...
Food deserves 5star!!! Twice roast duck is full of flavours!!!! Very cozy ambiance and good service!
Wine selections of wine which perfectly marry the meals! Good job!
Nice decor, you won't realise that outside the window is busy CBD street. Wi-fi not available in the restaurant.
Service: Good. They recommend what to have with choices. We're there a bit late for lunch, so is a bit quite.
Food: 3 main courses and 3 desserts that we've taste were delicious.
Price is affordable
Pendolino is my favourite Italian restaurant in Sydney. It never fails to impress on a great selection of entrees & mains. I always order everything to share as I don't want to miss out on anything. The fresh pasta with any type of ragu' is delicious & there's always a lovely drop of red to match perfectly!
The service is always professional.
It is a little on the dark side but that's very nice for a more intimate meal as opposed to a larger group.
I will continue to return to Pendolino for hopefully many years to come but generally only for a special occasion as it is a touch on the pricey side. Well worth it for a Birthday treat!
The food and settings are nice. I like especially their bread basket with three different olive oils. Services and staff manner is good too.
Gorgeous restaurant that feels very Melbourne-esque. It has a private dining area although not completely confidential it’s a nice space with moveable walls. The dark interior and closed windows does have a cool vibe. I highly recommend the sweet pea risotto and then semi freddo for dessert. The customer service is great and the food comes out quickly.
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There is something awfully decadent about having lunch in such a dimly lit restaurant. While the rest of the CBD works away I'm here having lunch in this very chic eatery. Lucky! The exposed brick walls help to give a feeling of rustic authenticity, while the black plantation blinds exclude light from entering the space. Who knows...maybe I could be in Rome or Florence as I am greeted by an Italian waiter with a thick accent!
To start, the bread basket comes to the table with a choice of three delicious breads. A sourdough with olive tapenade, a brown with walnuts and a salty focaccia. Now, Pendolino is famous for its love of olive oil and showcasing the best that Australia has to offer. Today we are able to try three oils with the breads. These are Pendolino Fruttato Allegro 2016 (a fruity blend), Cobram Estate Select from Victoria, and a Gwydir Grove Blood Orange Agrumato (NSW). The tasting of the oil and bread is so good my friend orders another bread basket! We both choose an amazing handmade spinach ravioli with burnt butter and sage for entree which is their signature specialty and made on the premises. Heaven! I order the Atlantic Salmon for my main with black mussels, roasted kipflers, fennel and a fennel citrus spice. Great and not too heavy! My friend decides to stick with the pasta theme and he devours the "wild weed" spaghetti (also made in-house) with ground barramundi, king prawns, capers, garlic and kale. An espresso to finish it all off. Delightful with exemplary service!
We had the degustation menu and loved every bit of it. It was very filling though, so I'd probably go with the a la carte menu next time. Very authentic Italian food - one of my favourites. Their sister restaurant la rosa is just as good.
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Came here for "lets do lunch" with a friend and we were seated right by the balcony with a view of the sun-kissed arcade below.
We ordered an entree of white tuna and salmon tartare with ligurian flatbread. A simple yet lovely dish with lots of different elements. The tartare was refreshing with chilled cucumber and onions, zesty and I liked the crisp of the ligurian flatbread.
There was only 1 main option which was a Handmade green Ligurian coin pasta, macadamia pesto, Sardinian pecorino and Tuscan kale. First of all, the presentation was awful. The dish momentarily redeemed itself as the pasta was very clearly freshly made, had a lovely nutty flavour and was coated with a luscious and creamy mix of macadamia pesto and pecorino which clung on to each disc of pasta for dear life. The problem with this dish is that, its so rich, it gets repetitive about a quarter of the way into the dish. I didn't end up finishing it and I didn't enjoy my last few mouthfuls as it just became too much to handle.
1 good entree, 1 not so great main. Not too sure where I stand with Pendolino. A pursuit to be continued.
Absolutely loved this place! The entrée, mains, dessert and wine choices did not disappoint at all! We had such a lovely time and the service was wonderful. Would go back anytime!
We arrived without a booking and were shown to a table overlooking the stairwell. Menus, drink list and water was brought to our table immediately. We ordered a gorgeous bowl of olives and enjoyed them with Proseco while we chose our meals. As we were off to see a show we only ordered mains......
After an extremely shakey start our night ended up being quite lovely. Arrived for our reservation and the staff didn't know what to do with us. We walked to a table, only to walk back to the front, only to walk back to a walk way. They were flustered as the previous diners hadn't left yet.. Anyhow we went to get a drink at La Rosa across the way and after 40 minutes we were called back. Service was average to good but food is amazing. The ravioli, polpetini and carpaccio the stand outs for entree. Everyone's main was amazing but the beef cheek the clear winner.. Amazing wine list as well. I'd give a higher rating but the start was just way too amateur...
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Wow........ In all my years in Sydney, I have never ventured beyond the street level and lower level of The Strand Arcade - well the upper levels are majority women's fine fashion (though I did discover a shirt and boot maker up there)...
The restaurant on Level 2 at the George Street end is amazing, it looks small until you are shown inside, with a private dining area, alcoves and partitions made from wine. The super efficient, friendly and professional staff with their ear pieces (I wonder if the pizza has landed) attentive to everyone's' needs.
A friend took me here for lunch for my big five zero birthday yesterday. It was SUCH a pleasure to have great service...... I had also forgotten how great simple fine Italian food really is, especially with some good Italian vino.....
I had the gnocchi (ricotta gnocchi 'ndunderi pasta with white rock's veal and tomato ragu)), my friend had the spaghetti (with ground barramundi, wild prawns, chilli, capers) - even typing it is making me want to go back again as soon as I am back in Sydney....... a MUST go to restaurant - but have plenty of time - do not rush the food or the experience.
The staff are fantastic! With an excellent knowledge of the wine menu and very attentive table service. The lights are dimmed with classic furnishings which ignite a romantic ambience for the evening. If I could change one thing about the restaurants set-up it would be the tables. They are too close together and I could clearly hear the conversations of the people next to me. We had the degustation menu and the quality was superb though portions were very small. Some dishes I loved while others I was left a little disappointed. I will be back but will make sure to order straight from the menu rather than the degustation. The ravioli was the standout dish for us.
All of our choices were beautiful. Lovely dinner and good service! Great table as we requested in the front of the restaurant. Well worth a visit.
OMG YUMMO
this restaurant was tick tick tick
Tick location - very cool
Tick service-attentive but not over the top
Tick wine
TICK food. Ravioli was best ever eaten if we have time we will go back before we leave.
Sensational birthday lunch - the beef carpaccio and ravioli were superb. The service excellent and staff magnificent. Can't wait for next time!
Do: the veal meatballs for entree, and the pork belly for main.
Don't: sit outside. Inside is so much nicer particularly close to the wine wall. Very intimate.
Tip: before you leave take a selfie with the gorgeous shops from the top floor.
All my experiences at Pendolino have been exquisite. The food is rich and complex, utterly indulgent, original and creative. And the wines, carefully selected also. Without doubt, this is Sydney's best Italian restaurant
Layout of restaurant is absolutely stunning, was seated & served quickly even without a reservation. Wine/ cocktail menu was exquisite & possibly has the largest range of wines ive ever seen. Entrees were abit disappointing, pasta was amazing especially the ravioli. Desserts were full of flavour, well portioned & up to the standard of the rest of the restaurant. You get what you pay for.
Went there for a romantic dinner. Everything was perfect and the service outstanding. Food is pretty standard stuff (no experimental dishes here), but done really really well. Will be back!
Dined at the outside café which overlooks the arcade (restaurant wasn't open until lunch service). Very pleasantly surprised at how almost perfect everything was.
Prices are justified by the quality and the taste. Coffee also hit the spot. Would loved to have a bigger serving of lasagne for the price but probably best for the waistline. The cone-shaped dessert is the parfait; do yourself a favour and order it. It tastes as good as it looks if not better.
I came here today for a work lunch and had the carpaccio, and the pasta with prawns and ground barramundi. Both were amazing!
The cheese plate afterwards also had a really delicious selection of cheese!
Highly recommended!
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I have been wanting to try out this place for quite some time and finally I got to go here thanks to a work lunch. We had a 2 course option (which had 3 options for lunch and 3 options for dessert). I chose the ravioli dish, was good and had just the right amount of flavours. Every bite was just as good as the first & I tried to savour it for as long as possible as you only get a few. There was also a sidr salad of pear & rocket & beans in a neapolitan sauce. I got a few helpings of the beans as they were so tasty! Unfortunately I experienced food envy and wished I had ordered the semifreddo as opposed to the custard pie that I ordered. The custard pie was good however I didn't really enjoy anything else from the plate because all the other flavours were too strong and overpowered. I would love to come back here to try the other dishes. The service was amazing & very attentive. Drinks were always topped up & they came around to see how everything was going. It has a nice intimate feeling & would recommend for both large & small groups, as well as dinner dates.
Fancy, classy and luxuary Italian. Staff are always friendly, helpful and nice! I've been here more than 3 times and always being comfortable here. It's good for relaxing and having a good time with family and good friends. Good wine and food. Ordered greek salad and spinach gnocchi. Very delicious and match with wine.
Awesome pasta which is a given considering its an Italian establishment. Loved the ravioli with burnt butter sage sauce. The entrees were amazing and the wines even better. Great ambience, loud and happening.
Awesome pasta especially the prawn crumbles in the squid ink pasta that make it stands out from the crowd. Chocolate hazlenut pudding was good but nothing out of the ordinary. Great romantic ambience too.
I don't normally order pasta in a dining restaurant but pen doling surely has made me change my mind. My squid ink pasta was just delicious and I regretted that I only had the space for an entree! Best pasta!
Probably one of the best restaurants I've eaten in in Sydney.
I still remember the ravioli I had, which was a crab ravioli with a lobster sauce. The first bite actually made me smile. Not much more needs to be said, it's definitely a winner.
They have these flavoured olive oils they put on the plate that are very tasty, and if you like them enough, you can buy the oil by the bottle to take home.
Two visits to Pendolino and both times the food has been excellent. Service is a little too restrained however the ambience and experience makes up for it particularly if a little romance is the order of the day.
Absolutely fantastic food.
Get the beef carpaccio
Get the burnt butter and sage ravioli
Try the mushroom paparadelle
All the pasta is home made and absolutely fantastic. Waiters for us where feat as was the sommelier. These bad reviews recently must be the work of one staff member and the food is AMAZING.
Sometimes I think people worry way too much about service. Come here for the food, it's that good all I need to do is for them to drop it off and go away but our waiters were great. I think it may be the head guy at the door that puts people off, the young people inside were Italian and friendly.
Still a class act. I've been to Pendolino many times over the years and had great experiences and today was no different. Service was attentive and there were so many tempting dishes on the menu. However the pasta is a always standout there so I went with their pappardelle with mushrooms and truffle and it was rich and devine, and I loved the pasticciotto for dessert (have never seen one on a menu in Australia).
Came here for lunch with a group of 13 people. Portions were generous and service was prompt. We had the set group menu and s few bottles of wine.
Overall I think it's a good experience although quite pricy.
I stumbled into this restaurant and couldn't be happier! Great setting and the most amazing Italian food I've eaten in years. Try it!
Francisco Javier Valencia Cepeda
+4.5
Very nice. Had dinner here a while back. Food was delicious. Extensive wine list if you are into that sort of thing. Small well thought out menu. Overall quite good.
Fresh handmade pasta’s, delicious mains and really good desserts, what more could you ask for in an Italian meal? Lovely staff and while a little on the pricey side, I reckon it's worth it!
The chilli linguine with parsley and olive oil was a simple dish but packed a lot of flavour. The pasta was rightly cooked and the fragrance from chilli was quite evident throughout the dish. The 'Cotoletta Alia Milanese' , chicken breast blended with fresh breadcrumbs, herbs and parmesan and th
Life Of A Travel Czar
+3.5
We have the entrees to start proceedings. One of my dining companions opts for the Burrata Con Pomodori Di Varieta Primaria. It’s the Heirloom Tomato Salad with Burrata Mozzarella, Sweet Basil, Baby Parsley, Red Onion and Crisp Fresh Breadcrumbs. Looks very light and appetising, certainly a quality selection. I opt for the Agnolotti Di Carne Alle Erbette to start. It’s the Hand Made Pasture Fed Beef Agnolotti with Mediterranean Herb Butter, Beef and Thyme Sauce. This place has its own pasta kitchen, so as one would expect, the pasta is flawless. The agnolotti (a type of pasta from Piedmont region) is filled with beautiful succulent beef, while the herb butter and thyme sauce provides a lovely pungent savoury overlay. The beef (and thyme) sauce also releases the wonderful juices of the beef, while the cheese seasoning provides a sharp creamy edge to the dish. One the my dining companions opts for the Carpaccio Di Manzo All’Abese. It’s an Alba style Free-Range Raw Beef Carpaccio with Tru
HAHAHAHAAHA best picture ever, right? Pre-blogging days really sucked. I think Pendolino was one of my first forays into fine dining. At that time, I didn’t even know you could take humble Italian food (it was just pasta, to me) to such levels. My outlook is naturally very different now. Glad to hear that it’s still doing well – keeping its hat in these turbulent years. I wonder what I would think of it when I go back – now I have so many more experiences under my belt. I should probably do it, just to see how subjective and variable (and thus, infinitely debatable) my tastes have changed since then! Sake Restaurant & Bar (five visits) I will never, ever tire of this popcorn shrimp. Never. I’ve been hearing people complaining that Sake’s level of service has degraded in recent times, so I should be thankful that I have not experienced this yet. My latest visit (not posted yet) involves their chef’s menu (err…their degustation basically), and I have to say, it was pretty disappointing.
Sydneylunchboxsydney
+4.5
It's good if you want a very, very civilised lunch. Don't come if you're on a tight budget. It's a lovely ambience and I think for the quality of food, it's really very reasonable. It's often overlooked as a Sydney CBD lunch often - probably because you can't grab a quick lunch there.
Priscilla @FoodPornNation.com
+4.5
To taste every single morsel of flesh is phenomenal with its melt in your mouth texture. It is so tender it doesn’t even require so much as a chew, only a gentle slip into your mouth.
The A rrosto Di Anatra Con Cavofiore Al Vino Rosso - or simply slow roasted duck leg with Sicillian red wine braised cauliflowers, puree and Fava beans, black olives and duck and thyme sauce. It is a restaurant named in honour of a special olive tree, dear to the heart of those who hail from Tuscany and Umbria. It is tucked away at one corner, the western one, on the second floor of the Strand Arcade, right smack in Sydney City Centre, the one joining Pitts Street Mall and George Street. make it past their cafe and you then enter the inner sanctum. Pappardelle pasta flavoured with beetroot and garnished with fresh goats cheese, dried black olives , red onions and Italian parsley exemplify the rustic charm and feel of the Pendolino. What caught my eye was their attempt using pork , veal and tomato ragu , served with a Gramigna pasta. The Trota , a fine name for a basic Russian inspired sandwich, places ice berg lettuce with smoked trout and zings up the final taste with a horseradis
The beef oyster blade is irresistibly succulent. The flavour is extremely intense as the collagen melts during the braising of the meat. The parsnip puree is blood-clotting rich and the sour cherries are slightly acidic and sweet. All and all it is a dish to adore.
Gianna - TheEmptyFridge
+4.5
The venue for our dinner tonight was Penolino - the exquisite and classic Italian restaurant at Sydney's Strand Arcade. What happens at Pendolino stays at Pendolino
I don't think I'd ever gone to the upper levels of the Strand arcade before. I didn't even know there was a third level. I also didn't know there was a decent Italian restaurant in the CBD. Truly a night of firsts. Let me backtrack. I have grown to heavil
Pendolino maintained its 1-hat status in this year's awards and remains the height of fine Italian dining in the CBD - all double-clothed tables and visits from the sommelier. For dinner one weeknight, we were started on three varieties of helplessly irresistible bread with two house olive oils â a fruity extra virgin and another infused with lemon. If I were able to resist even just one of the three breads â the white sourdough, olive-oil brushed schiacciata or the fennel seed topp
Penguin Says Feed Me
+4.5
We are stuffed to the brim but we know we’ll be back another day for more burrata, duck risotto and bone marrow nuggets!
Amazing experience. Came here for the Valentine's Day dinner and it was absolutely amazing. Every dish was well thought out and perfectly executed. Delicious, filling and refined. Amazing staff and atmosphere.. I will definitely be back for more!
I really like this place. I've dined here 4 times and its always been amazing. I recommend the beans salad, carpaccio and truffle / mushroom pasta. The desserts are just as good! Will always come back here to dine.
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