Review Baia The Italian - Sydney

A generously portioned meal and a delightful service. Diego, thank you for the suggestions on the order for food to come out, as well as what wine could pair with the dishes which we have ordered. Your attention to detail made our stay very memory, and the chef helping to prepare the birthday surprise with fresh servings of fruits was the icing on the cake, please pass on our thanks. Overall a truly delightful evening indeed.

WHERE: Darling Harbour WHO: Baia the Italian WHAT: Italian dining with harbour views We thoroughly enjoyed our meal here. Delicious flavours and lovely service. A gem find during a rainy week in Sydney x More details to come

I loved the atmosphere here, dined here visited last night. Ordered the brucietta as entre Seafood pizza and beef ragu as mains The staff was very lovely and service at table was outstanding. Dinner in general was very tasty and heart warming. Seated outside so the only downside to eating here over the weekend is the music from next door was overpowering so it made it hard to have a chat at the dinner table otherwise the menu and food is good I would definitely come back and thank you to the staff for being so lovely.

Amazing food and ambience. If in Sydney you should try the duck ravioli 😋 absolutely divine and exceptional wait staff . Thankyou to Matti for making our dining experience pleasurable. 5☆

What a good experience. Staff were very good, food was delicious. The Mull Wine was the one of the best I have had.

Beautiful outlook onto Darling harbour. The food was amazing, great flavour and generous portions. The staff were very professional and helpful.

Perfect, fresh tasty food. Brilliant staff. This place is a “must do” location.Worth it!

Nice restaurant nearby the Darling Harbour. Good food, and wine. Extra thanks to Rebecca, she did a great job as waitress.

A large, italian restaurant located on Darling harbour. Known for its Pizzas we thought we would try the contadina pizza and the fresca pizza for main and the salt and pepper calamari for entree. The Calamari was not bad but not great either. It was a good serving size but the amount of batter on the calamari was too minimal. It really didnt live up to the $24 price tag. Pizzas were quite large and at $27/28 you would hope so. The pizzas themselves were overcooked and lacked a appropriate amount of meat but there was alot of cheese on them which was a positive. We Both had cokes $4.50 each. Service was quite good and staff were very attentive until you need to get up to pay your bill and you end up waiting in line. Lovely Ambience with a great view but we probably Wont be back.

As far as destinations and ease for accomodating large groups, this place is a winner with several areas indoors, outdoors, sectioned booths and private dining rooms available for use. The main sell here is location location location (Cockle Bay Wharf to be precise) and so it doesnt have to go to extremes when it comes to the menu and with it’s large foot traffic of tourists can get by serving crowd pleasers.

Very good food and service, a great place for couples and families.

Actual rating: 3.5<br/><br/>We can here on a Friday night and ordered the cheese and meat platter, as well as pastas. The platter was fantastic, but the pastas took a really long time to arrive - the staff were very nice about it and gave us a discount though. They were huge portions but not particularly amazing in flavour.

It was my first time here at this restaurant and it was disappointing to say the least. My boyfriend and I were waiting to be seated for over 10 minutes, multiple staff saw us waiting yet ignored us. It would be understandable if the restaurant was super busy, however it was a Wednesday night and there were many available staff members who could’ve helped us but instead we were ignored. After 10 minutes we walked in to speak to a staff member and they finally seated us. <br/><br/>The food was over salted, we ordered the frescha pizza and creamy fettuccine. Both dishes were so salty that it left us parched for water. <br/><br/>Our server however was a nice girl, who was friendly and helpful. If not for her I would have given this place a rating of 0 <br/><br/>I had high hopes for this place however I was left disappointed <br/>

We came here for our anniversary dinner and we couldn’t be more pleased. On the night the fire alarm went off so the kitchen was down for a while. The staff were super friendly and gave us complimentary bread and kept us updated on everything. When the food came out it was delicious and freshly cooked. I loved the creamy chicken pasta and the truffle mash. What a great restaurant with delicious food and top service.

I tried this place for my birthday dinner and can happily say it's a new favourite for Italian in Sydney. The portions are generous, food is pretty authentic, and waitstaff are very attentive. With a view that overlooks the harbour it's also a gorgeous location

Very professional and friendly staff, enjoyed the lunch special which includes an alcoholic drink, a main and a hot beverage for just $22. Highly recommended.

The location is great in front of Darling Harbour bay so you can enjoy your meal and the view. Don't miss the happy hours, really good deals. Pizzas are good, tasty dough, gnocchi were fresh, good sauce and sirloin steak was perfect. Friendly staff but the service is a bit slow however I recommended this place, worth try it, it's perfect for a relax lunch or dinner during the weekend.

Love the location of the place. Would be even better at night. The ambience is good with interesting theme and music in the background. Food was delicious with filling portions. I had the spaghetti bolognese and the kangaroo steak. Presentation of the steak was remarkable. Only thing that I could comment on is the service. Took a while to be seated (nobody at the reception) and it was difficult catch the attention of the waiter to take our order as well. But otherwise, a must visit!

Spaghetti Bolognese was so delicious, Tuna pasta is so so, coffee is okay, sweet potato looks good to try. I saw they have live music in Wed night.

Very busy during Saturday peak hours yet they found us two seats without a reservation. Friendly service and food was commendable. Mains were delicious. The mousse was my personal favorite. Panna cotta was quite good too.

We ordered the mussels for entree and they were stone cold with a couple being mildly warm. Clearly they were sitting there for a really long time, and unfortunately when it finally arrived it was below average. <br/>I ordered the yellow fin tuna pasta and again it was sub par, bland, and not much tuna was given. For the prices these menu items are offered, I can’t say it was worth it. Hopefully this gets taken as constructive criticism and the menu get reconsidered and refreshed. <br/>On the upside however, the service from all the staff was really great!

Good food, but very poor service <br/><br/>We went there today for lunch and the service level was disappointing.<br/><br/>Food was great lamb and fish was well cooked and tender, but mussels were very salty.<br/><br/>It’s a hot day but we were not offered with water until we asked...<br/><br/>Eventually we got “kicked out” with a waitress handing us the bill indicating we have to go, though no one asked for it. We didn’t even have the coffee which was part of the lunch set and I felt so unwelcome by the restaurant.

I had dinner in this place a year ago and I came back on the weekend.<br/>On my previous review I was complaining about the portions, too small. Now are definitely bigger.<br/>Last year rice seemed not enough cooked and this time was right. Bread with cheese is as good as it was. I ordered gnocchi the time before and this time calzone pizza, filled with cheese, double smoked ham, semidried tomato, spinach and pesto; it was pretty good.<br/>What disappointed me was the arancini, I didn’t like the sauce and the combination of flavours; they were not traditional arancini.<br/>Service was terrible! They forgot our drinks, they kept dropping things around, they didn’t pay attention to us when we were calling them and even if they kept walking close to us. The only one who was working good close to our table was a waitress who looked like a manager. And I don’t understand why they don’t leave a jug with water on each table! It was so annoying keep calling them every time our glasses were empty. They are too busy and messy to have the control of all the glasses on the tables.<br/>A good thing in this restaurant is the view on Darling Harbour, but the place is very noisy. And because it was Saturday night we enjoyed the fireworks they make every week on the water. It can be romantic without all of those people and tourists.

Arrived at 8pm on a Saturday night, limited tables available so when we were seated right next to the club next door we accepted it was one of the only options available, after an hour of barely speaking with each other due to the loud music we finally received our mains... this was after the waitress acknowledged the significant delay. It's safe to say the experience did not improve from here with our food being under cooked for one meal and over cooked for the other and lacking in flavour, do yourself a favour and go elsewhere with the prices of meals I would expect so much better!

It is more like a 3.7 hence score a 4, the set menu with entree, main, dessert and a beer for $35 is great value for money, my friends and I had that and it’s worthy, also they have happy hour which makes it even better, well done guys

The food was OK at best - as an example, the oysters Kirkpatrick had bbq sauce rather than Wooster sauce, but the location and service was lovely. If you want to have a nice spot to have a weekend lunch, but not fuss d with the food, nice place for a weekend lunch.

The place is on the cockle bay wharf on darling harbor, so the location is nice. The pizza and pasta here are nice. The staff was also friendly

I’ve never been here for a meal, just ordered cocktails and dessert. The cocktails weren’t that special but their tiramisu is pretty good! Service is alright

Great Italian place on Darling Harbour... We took the kids and they had Steak - a large serving for them - and they ate it all... we had pizza and gnocchi - beautiful and tasty...<br/><br/>Have a try of Baia, you won’t regret it!

So we ate dinner at the restaurant and brought a small cake for celebrating friend's birthday.<br/>They said they don't allow cakes from outside. Thats something we all heard for the first time. We all have been doing it whole life. I mean we are spending 200$ on dinner and still we are being told that they are making an exception this time as it's not allowed. How could we know that an Italian restaurant also makes full fledged cakes :p .<br/>Anyways, that was bit rude and we wont be going again! <br/><br/>P.S : Be careful if you think of having a birthday lunch/dinner with a cake there !

Negative: unfortunately they didn’t accept our 25%off <br/>Entertainment voucher cuz they said we ordered the $22 per person lunch special. Other restaurants always let us use the entertainment voucher even when ordering lunch specials, so we were disappointed at Baia. they should specify that on their lunch special menu then, so that we would have ordered from their normal menu! <br/><br/>Food: (2/5 stars). Food is not good. Steak was tough/chewy. Grilled fish was oily , not sure if they even grilled it versus pan fried it, it tasted very low quality and bland. Meatballs were not good, very dry. Worse of all were my fries.....soooooooo soggy, I couldn’t eat it, just threw it away, tasted old and rubbery. Fries r so easy to make, I don’t understand how they could have messed it up so badly!!?? Very very disappointed in the food here. <br/><br/>Coffee: (5/5 stars) cappuccino was yum!<br/><br/>Ambience: (5/5 stars) great! beautiful water front Harbour view and relaxing alfresco dining. Great vibe!! <br/><br/>Service: average.<br/><br/>Toilet: none inside. <br/><br/>Price: (2/5 stars) $22 lunch special per person. They have good lunch and dinner price deals , but normal menu prices r high. Unfortunately ,food tastes bad so I end up paying a lot of money to only throw the food away :( awwww<br/><br/>Conclusion: food is sooo bad, so I suggest to only come here for cup of coffee or wine and enjoy the water view! I hope they change/improve their menu/food/chef.

Nice and polite staffs. Fettuccine with prawn, tomato and chili. The fettuccine 'broken' in pieces which is not my preference. Prawns cut into smaller size doesn't make the dish looks decent. The deep fried vegetables on the top, I assumed is deep fried, give a interesting texture with fettuccine. Mojito with lychee just average. No surprise, but it is a classic drink in the menu.

Waited 40 mins for the steak, spaghetti and calamari. Entre came at the same time as Main. Medium rare steak was raw with no sauce. Staffs were arrogant and inattentive. Don't waste your time and money.

The ambience of this place was amazing. You can enjoy the river view with your cuisine. We ordered vegetarian pizza which was amazing. Had thin crust, properly cooked veggies and it was properly baked. I will definetly recommend this place.

Amazing food and location is perfect!!!! I would definitely recommend the scallops for entree and the braised lamb for main course, well worth $$$!

What a devastating experience! Waited for at least 5-7 mins to be seated. No one was at the host desk greeting guests and the staff were trying to avoid eye contact even though the staff saw me. Ok fine. Finally sat down and the table was dirty. Ok fine I’ll clean it myself. Placed an order and asked for two glasses of water. Water didn’t arrive and I had to<br/>ask once again. Second time, still didn’t arrive. And my partner asked one more time. And it fianlly arrived. I decided to just stand up and leave since the entire dining experience was already ruined. And the waitress chased after us and said to me now that we have placed an order we had to pay for the meal before we go. She didn’t take the ownership and said she didn’t know what she did wrong. I wanted to talk to the manager to give some constructive feedback hoping that it will help, and I am a bit disappointed that they thought a 25% discount would make things go away.

The service was disgusting and slow. Our male waiter needs training or maybe that's just the way of the Italians very arrogant and rough. I waited 45 min for my main. I would not return.

Baia the Italian offers average food with a great view of Darling Harbour. I personally find the price a little bit too high for the quality of the food and the restricted diversity of the menu. We were there during lunch time and made use of the AUD$ 30 special (2 main courses + 2 drinks). We both had the fish & chips (see photo) which was ok, however, the batter on the fish was a little bit too thick and I had stomach pain for the rest of the day. The personnel was not very friendly, it looked as if they were annoyed and we were not ordering enough. Great for a one time experience.

Personale gentilissimo,cordiale ed efficiente.Servizio ottimo e cibo ben preparato,le linguine agli scampi sono state le migliori assaggiate a Sydney fino ad oggi,pasta al dente nella migliore tradizione italiana e pomodoro usato nel modo giusto.La carne ed il pesce erano freschi e ben cucinati,l'insalata ed i bocconcini,anche se ne avrei preferiti di più...erano freschi e buonissimi.Cosa aggiungere...? Il posto perfetto anche per un italiano esigente lontano da casa per ricordare i sapori lontani...

Great food, our waiter is very friendly and helpful. Would rate 5 stars, however: the blonde girl working in the bar this Australia Day afternoon is extremely rude- I have a hearing impairment which led me to need to ask her to repeat herself, her response was rolling her eyes at me and yelling the reply. Very offensive considering my impairment. I hope other customers are not us unfortunate to be served by her.

Our experience at Baia was perhaps one of the worst Italian dining experiences that we have ever had. Firstly, the service was extremely poor and it seemed as though the place was very understaffed as we had to wait a long time for our food and drinks to come out. The white wines that we ordered came out warm (instead of chilled). Our cutlery was also dirty and we had to ask the waitress to get us new forks.<br/><br/>My partner ordered the Spaghetti with market fresh seafood as the main and I ordered the Open style ravioli stuffed with braised duck leg ragu. My ravilio dish was extremely distasteful and bland. For the first time ever in my life, i had to add salt and pepper in order to give it some sort of flavour. The meat tasted as if it was reheated and nothing on the plate tasted fresh. My partner was also extremely dissatisfied with her dish and she said that it tasted extremely bland and it seemed as if the dish was reheated and not fresh. We only ate a small portion of our food as we could not stomach the rest.<br/><br/>I have never had the need to write an email to a restaurant about their food and poor service. However, this dining experience was so extremely bad that it left a very sour taste in our mouth. It ruined our evening. I cannot describe how utterly disappointed we are.

The wharf has an exuberant atmosphere which charges up the eating hubs in the area. The service is timely, a bottle of wine, a good slew of acquatainces and an Italian mix of goodies, which obviously includes pizzas and pastas is all you need to have a perfect evening. It's not the inn but the whole package of the surrounding and the spirit of Sydney which makes the place a total hit. If you're at the wharf, do visit Baia it's worth it. By the way, do keep a few extra dollars in your pocket.

I had the beetroot salad with polenta chips.y friend had the duck ravioli. My salad was a little on the overly acidic side but the polenta chips were lovely. Two for one cocktails at happy hour (they need to be the same cocktail). My mohito was excellent. The staff were on the serious side but the view was beautiful. The music was quite loud but it still had a relaxing vibe to it.

We tried the $35 sunset menu. Entrees we had the aranacini balls and the lamb meat balls. Both were amazing. There was a little bit of a wait for mains (It's a Wednesday and the place is packed) but there was a great live musician playing so the time passed easily. For mains we had the prawn chilli linguine which was delicious and the semolina gnocchi. The gnocchi was semolina, different but not too bad. For dessert we had the sorbet and the orange and fennel infused panacotta with candied orange. The sorbet was good but the panacotta is an absolute must!

Bad experience. The service was very slow and with bad attitude. Never go there again. The sunset menu tastes not good. Although it's cheap, it should not be such bad.

$20 lunch specials with your choice of pasta/pizza, a glass of wine/soft drink and a coffee to finish up your meal! <br/><br/>The food was decent. Would definitely recommend for lunches.

I tried out Baia a little while ago where we ordered the formaggi and salumi (cheese and cured meat) board which was beautiful, and for mains we ordered a few different pasta's. The location itself is really nice and overlooks darling harbour. Overall it made for a very nice night, and I would return again because I enjoyed the atmopshere (and anywhere that does a a good cheese and meat board are winners in my eyes).

Service was on point. Food was good, but not mind blowing. I had the pizza (a tad but mediocre, I have to admit) and my partner had the kangaroo, which was cooked well. Which well with the red cabbage. The best bit was the panacotta dessert.

Ordered the main specials pizza and kangourou meat. Nice food and hospitable service. The specials include wine or beer with coffee for 20$ which is well priced for the portions and the location.

We did visit this restaurant during lunch time and ordered from the lunch special menu. We waited over an hour for our food and drinks. Asked about it few times, non of the wait staff was really bothered. With a simple excuse that they r busy, they tried to solve the problem. But other customers who seated after us got served way before. Food was average and the coffee was terrible.

Ordered half a dozen Oysters, smells and not fresh, however the staff keep saying it is fresh and take it back to the kitchen.The manager come out with the same one and says they are fresh. That is fine, didnt want to argue and didnt have them as I didnt want to risk my heath. Paid $24 for that smelly not fresh oysters, never going back to this one again .

Had the lunch special here which was $20 for a dish from a select menu - pizza, pasta and meat dishes on offer with a glass of wine or soft drink and a coffee to finish. Ordered a pizza, a beetroot risotto and 2 kids meals - fish and chips and a pizza. All came out within a reasonable time however the place was not busy at this time in the afternoon. Service was lacking a little, unfortunately they seemed to spend more time trying to chase the seagulls away then making sure the customers were all catered for. We had to ask for water, no pepper or Parmesan was offered when the meals were delivered and nobody offered us the hot coffee that was included in the deal either. The beetroot risotto was quite light and fresh, with large pieces of beetroot and walnuts throughout. Unfortunately when I got to the bottom of the bowl there was a piece of red foil paper in the dish, which then meant I really didn't feel like eating the rest of it! Hopefully this was a one off mistake. <br/>Suitable for Kids - Yes there is a children's menu available including pasta, pizza and fish and chips.<br/>Nice spot to dine on Darling Harbour, but I would probably try some other options before returning.

Come here for lunch on a fine day & sit outside. Get the $20 lunch special, which is a drink with main and coffee. <br/><br/>Don't expect fab food - mains are on the small side & none of them are that good (I've tried the fish, pasta, meatballs, steak & risotto) but they're edible. At all the other Darling Harbour waterfront sit-down places, a drink and coffee alone could cost you close to $20, so it's well worth setting your expectations & coming here for the bargain & the view.

Came here for a friend's birthday party and the view from our table was definitely beautiful, with a good view of the Saturday night fireworks. The staff were very accomodating, however the food was quite disappointing for the price paid. Even though presentation of the dishes were up to par, the meals were not very tasty.

$20 lunch special, i choose the beef sirloin. Steak was overcooked; i had wanted it medium rare, but it trned out closer to medium well. The sides were average at best. I think there are better places out there for lunch in this area

Value for money <br/>Glass of beer, wine with a main meal plus a coffee at the end for $20 at Darling Harbor. Food is good quality and you would pay much more for much less around Sydney. <br/>

Located at Darling Habour, Baia has $20 lunchtime specials but also 2 for 1 cocktails/drinks from 5-7pm. Alfresco seating as well as indoor seating. Good for after work drinks.

Solid Italian restaurant in Darling Harbour although a little on the pricey side, in my opinion. The food was good but it was not mind-blowing, nor did it seem particularly authentic. Like most restaurants around Darling Harbour, they seem to cater for a tourist's palate, at the expense of showcasing some more traditional and more stunning Italian dishes, rather than simply the usual bolognese. The location however was superb. Right on the water in the Cockle Bay Wharf precinct, can't get much better.

Came here for a work lunch, and for 20 dollars the lunch menu is actually quite nice. Now this includes a drink too - so a bonus right there! I've actually been here before, so I am sort of combining my experiences here. The portions are a little small - I find this particularly for the dinner menu where for the price you pay you arent exactly getting much. In terms of the food itself... I had the vegetarian risotto for dinner which I found very under seasoned and bland. From the lunch menu I ordered the prawn linguine which was nice, however needed a touch more of salt during the cooking and less of the salt at the end. The prawns were tender, but some of them had become tough and over cooked. My colleagues that ordered the fish lunch special said the fish was too salty. The arancini balls however were considered very nice. The service is very average. The staff doesnt really smile at you - they sort of do their thing. They were a little confused overall and got 2 of our orders incorrect. This was a real shame. The redeeming factor for Baia is I suppose the views, but really it's not anything special.

got a beautiful pizza which tasted really nice but wasn't incredible whatsoever. the wait took quite a while and it's is quite pricey for the amount you're getting.

The location is great but the food was average. The pasta was bland and the pizza was okay. The music was very loud so we could barely hear each other talking. Overall an okay over-priced experience.

Terrible service by the so called manager - he is rude and arrogant and thinks he can speak to the customers however he pleases. Well guess what buddy you're an ass! Food was average. Will not be returning!

A booking for 43 people on Friday, 30th December, we were lucky to have our own platform in the restaurant though during speeches, it was extremely unfortunate they couldn't lower the volume of their music as we couldn't hear the announcement of awards.<br/><br/>The booking was booked for 6:30pm and the whole group had settled by 7:15pm though it wasn't until 8pm that starters filtered at our tables.<br/>The problem was the communication with the waitstaff, when asked, "how much longer for the food?" as people were becoming intoxicated on alcohol simply waiting for food, they said 5 minutes about 3 times in a span of 30mins. We then asked if they could bring out even simple olives just to settle the stomach. Waitstaff had to double check but did not return. Asked again, they returnes in 5minutes stating they can't provide olives without bread. So we asked for olives AND bread but they wouldn't serve that as it may clash with our set menu even if we were willing to pay the add-ons. It was very odd!<br/><br/>Nevertheless, when the food finally arrived, the meatballs were the winner of the starter platter. The sauce was very fresh with a tangy tomato tinge.<br/><br/>Pizzas were a hit and miss. Margherita pizza was the best also with that tangy tomato paste emphasising the freshness.<br/>I did not have the pasta sadly as I could only handle so much gluten though like the pizza, some weren't as good as other toppings.<br/><br/>$140pp with no dessert. Certainly wont return again. There wasn't any individuality that stood so much out to me other than the meatballs which aren't enough to call me back!<br/><br/>

Came here for my sisters birthday dinner in a group of 15 on a Saturday night. <br/><br/>Our reservation was for 7.30. The whole party was here at 8. Nobody approached the people that came at 7.30. They ordered their own drinks from the bar without being prompted.<br/><br/>Firstly, the entrees were ok. Nice but nothing great. They were ordered again by us prompting the waiters to approach us and begin preparing the entrées for us. Nobody approached us again and we had to ask them to take our order.<br/><br/>Secondly, the mains then took an hour to come out and were completely messed up. Steak came out with no chips or sauce and by the time the sauce and chips came out the meat was cold. I spoke to the manager who said to me that he brought out the chips and sauce himself and it was right after the mains coming out. That was a lie because my meat was cold and I had to wait for them to fix what was on my plate as it wasn't what I ordered.<br/><br/>The desserts, which we ordered with mains, came out another 40-50 mins later. Which again was messed up. We ordered 2 types of desserts for the whole table and they got this messed up. We waited 10 mins (and counting) because I am no this review as we wait for this to get fixed up. <br/><br/>The brought out the bill and started clearing our tables before they even fixed up the mistake they made with one of the desserts. I had to get up again and approach them to ask for an update where they said it will be another couple of mins.<br/><br/>The dessert was nice I have to admit but this is the only great thing. I would not recommend this place at all. It was horrible and the service and food overall was soo bad i was horrified to have dined is such a horrible place.

Positive - Amazing view of the darling harbour. Live music on Wednesday and Friday to keep u entertained. Extremely courteous staff. <br/>Negatives - extremely long waits for the food to come, pricey.<br/><br/>We waited about 25 mins before our food came we ordered spaghetti with Napolitano sauce and Angus steak with wild mushroom sauce (the sauce was just enough for two bites).

We were here for a birthday dinner and were disappointed by the service. The pizzas and pastas were tasty but pretty standard. Although we had a reservation, we were being rushed out before our time had elapsed.

This rating is more for the ambience and location, but zero for the food. The lunch $20 special is appalling, poor quality lunch special, we were a full table of 12 and we all had different lunch special, it was unanimous that we will not be returning to this place for lunch anymore.  You would think they can make a safe dish like fish and chips, but the fish wasn't fresh at all, its probably the cheapest basa fillet type fish as well. They couldn't get their batter right too. The only thing edible is the salad on the side. Other dishes we ordered were the lasagne, meat balls, chicken pasta, they were all just as bad. They don't make their own pasta (if they did then they must be terrible at it), they dont make their own mayonnaise. That place is packed because of tourists - but I would recommend going to a more quality restaurant like meat and wine co. just down darling harbour.

The starters are quite bland and the main course are pretty average. However the dessert is very beautifully plated and tastes good. I think their winning factors are the view and the dessert. The others are pretty average.

Just had a lasagne for lunch. It was terrible - bland, sauceless and claggyAlthough I shouldn't be surprised given it was a $20 lunch special, including wine at such a prime location.<br/>Great spot though, we were sitting next to the water in the sun.<br/>The Calzones looked pretty good though and they are massive - see the pic.. The feedback though was that the filling was meagre, most of the size is made up of crust and air.<br/>Looked promising but won't be back.

love the vibe and the view from this place ,food was way low than i expected but apart from that,have to said the service was awesome,went there to celebrate my friend bday,the manager offered us to cut the cake into pieces and made it better with a little ice cream garnish,which is really wonderful

We went to Baia last night and it was not a good experience. We booked two weeks ago and asked for a table out front under the heaters. This did not happen. Our table was not ready. We ordered a pizza for entre to share which was amazing. For mains we ordered the steak done medium with salad on the side. The steak came out well done and had to be sent back for a freshly cooked with apologies from the chef but the salad did not arrive. The salad eventually came out after we had finished eating and it was the wrong one. They said that they would not charge us for it. We did not eat it. My scallop risotto came out and was not cooked properly and had no taste. It was plain risotto in a dish with a tablespoon of red wine jus in the middle two pieces of scallop in the centre. When I questioned it they sent it back and gave us 10 percent off the dish which I had hardly eaten and then presented us with the desert menu . We have eaten here a couple of months ago and it was amazing but last night was very disappointing and no one seemed to care and the worst part was we paid $140 for the night which just seemed a waste of money when our whole night was spoiled. The thing is that tables around us seemed to be having issues as well. Very disappointing.

1. So we went to Baia the Italian expecting high quality food and high quality service, but alas we were let down. At first our waitress was quite nice but then by the end we got a side eye from her. <br/>2. This was meant to be a wonderful birthday dinner but their knowledge of sodas was sorely lacking. I asked for a Solo TWICE IN A ROW! But the waitress stared at me blankly as if i was speaking a foreign language - but i thought my English was quite superior. I'm pretty sure Solo is a national delicacy in Australia, but unfortunately it wasn't provided.<br/>3. The pizza entree was very good, but then i got to the main and it went downhill from there (but the potatoes were delicious). My medium rare meat was raw and lumpy and fat like what, did the cow have diabetes??<br/>4. They cancelled our dessert and they made it seem as if it was our fault! Apparently the pannacotta ran out and this male with an Italian accent was a bit upfront and wanted us to change to a tiramisu! Then we waited around 55 minutes for our sorbet! How long does it take to scoop 6 scoops of sorbet that taste like body lotion?!! Then this waiter who finally arrived with our dessert was like 'You were waiting for me, no?' I mean maybe he was trying to be funny but EXCUSE YOU NO NO ONE WAS WAITING FOR YOU WE JUST WANT TO EAT! <br/>Overall i don't think i'll be coming here again this century.

Been there without checking the notes on the internet, wille never make that mistake again.. Bad food, overpriced,staff without any interest for your wellness.. Better buy a frozen pizza and eat it at home watching Netflix !

It took them 20 minutes to arrive with our drinks. All of the staff members looked very relaxed and didn't have any sense of urgency. We should've realised that it was going to take 40 minutes for our mains to come out when after over 10 minutes of staring at closed menus I got up and had to ask someone to take out order. Food was ok but the service put a dampener on our evening. I wouldn't recommend at all if you're in any way hungry and would like to be served within an hour. It's the second time we have been here and it was the same story the last time. Very frustrating and not cheap!

Amazing place. We were there in January. Although we didn't have a reservation and it looked full to the brim we were seated at a lovely table with views for the fireworks. The staff were friendly and very helpful. <br/><br/>We ordered two entrées and pasta for the main. Everything was delicious. Will definitely come back.

<br/>Came here for breakfast two days back to back on the weekend as I was staying in the area<br/><br/>The place had a number of people dining so it drew me in. I ordered the eggs benedict served with the ham. They were one of the better poached I've had in Sydney the past few months. White was cooked but yolks soft. The knives were noticeably sharp which made cutting the muffins easier and more enjoyably. <br/><br/>The customer service has a bit to be desired. My waitress almost threw the my coffee as she walked past. Took ages to be seated both times. Water had to be asked for both times. <br/><br/>The 2nd day I ordered the ricotta hotcakes. They tasted wholesome with fresh berries and fruit. Some of it tasted a bit doughy and had to ask for some maple syrup to help it along. <br/><br/>A bit exxy for what you get but the food quality is there.

Took my friend visiting from Auckland to dinner here tonight (8/1/16). I had made reservations for 8pm seated outside so we could watch the fireworks if our dinner ran over time.<br/><br/>We got there a bit early by 7.40pm and without a minute's delay we were seated, even though we were quite early. They sat us according to our preference. We ordered drinks.<br/><br/>For our mains she went with the barramundi and I had a pasta. Both were extremely nice dishes.<br/><br/>We really enjoyed our dinner here. The ambience was nice, the staff great and the food amazing!<br/><br/>Definitely will be back!!

The food was nothing short of amazing. The staff were well presented, friendly and very professional. The cost of this place was very reasonable, I would actually go so far as to say very inexpensive when you consider the excellence of the overall experience.

Would recommend! Lovely location looking right out to the harbor. <br/><br/>The food and staff were all lovely. I really enjoyed my pasta, my friend got the same but doesn't eat shrimp so ordered without and wanted it spicy, like extra, extra and they were very accommodating about this. <br/><br/>Also, possibly the best chai latte I have ever had from here!

Had the sunset value meal deal. Good variety of choices to choose from however not a lot if you don't feel like a carb heavy dinner. Had the salmon bruschetta, the bread was dry and not toasted. The salmon mousse was way too salty to eat. The meatballs were nice though! I enjoyed the prawn linguine for my mains, but I hear the lasagne was quite heavy and cheesy. Overall, the experience was pleasant due to harbour views.

Attended a work function for 17 on Friday night, 730 <br/>They had a full house service was polite but slow <br/>Food was delicious I had salt and pepper calamari for entree and the sirloin for main panacotta for desert <br/>Entree and main cooked to perfection <br/>Main poorly presented, a $45 piece of steak of a bed of fries with a basic salad in a bowl <br/>Desert was soft and unformed <br/>Overrated, overpriced even though prime location- no view from inside table won't be rushing back

Baia The Italian is a popular waterfront restaurant located at Cockle Bay Wharf in Darling Harbour. It’s an Italian restaurant stalwart that has been operating in that location for many years consistently serving up food to Sydney locals and tourists alike. Thanks to Bindaree Beef I had the pleasure of visiting the restaurant to sample another of their delicious cuts of beef.

Dinner friday night. The food excellent but service poor overall, extensice beverage options, reasonably priced. Atmosphere and ambience can't be faulted

Arrived late after work event, only Pizza on menu available... Worst most expensive pizza ever... Soggy and crust so thin it just collapses. Have been here before and it was great but tonight the service was so slow and the food was terrible...

Had $20 lunch included beer/wine, mein choose from pasta, burger etc and coffee.<br/>Good value but the pasta we ordered (cream pasta!) didn't taste much.. which was very sad but the other was good. I wouldn't order pasta..<br/><br/>The otherday I came here for dinner on Saturday.<br/>It was so packed as the fireworks in darling harbour! So beautiful

Went for dinner last night in a group of 6 friends and was really happy with the location, food and service. Will definitely go back to Baia again.

Spacious casual dining restaurant facing darling harbour. Staff are attentive. Food is good for its price. Music wasn't loud and it will play from 80s to jazz (very diverse) but it's nice. Love their wine and pricing is also reasonable.

B A I A ☆ T H E ☆ I T A L I A N<br/>Unfortunately this place has to have the worst customer service that I have ever experienced. Rude, arrogant & slow. The food... Well its pretty hard to stuff up bacon and eggs. ✌ @foodiesguidetosydney

Great food,fast service. Maybe a tad too fast wish we could of paced our meals a bit better but otherwise amazing. Could recommend that maybe the staff should learn some wines, when you ask what type is the house wine and they don't know its a little sad but food was amazing.

Incredibly great pricing for some genuinely top quality food!<br/>I 110% recommend the Sunset Dinner - $30 for a full blown 3 course meal with a drink (incredibly filling!) Vegetarian options are also available and equally as delicious.<br/>You get a nice view of the harbour lit up at night this way!<br/>Breakfast/brunch is lovely here too - I completely recommend that you try this place!

Situated in Darling Harbour, this Italian restaurant is certainly not cheap. However if you come at the right time, aka before 7:00pm, you'll get the $30 deal witch is a three course meal. Which is pretty good despite the smaller sized portions.<br/><br/>The food itself is pretty decent, having only been there once I would say it's worth going again just to try out the rest of that special menu. Good for a night out if you want to treat yourself to something a little fancier.

Went for a weekday lunch and they had a $20 special including wine and coffee. I had the prawn linguine and it was amazing... Probably the best I've ever tried! My friend had the steak, salad and potatoes. Both dishes were cooked to perfection and the staff were incredibly polite. Highly recommended.

$30 sunset deal a bargain. We dined here for their 3 course dinner on Saturday night. The food was great, the service was lovely and the price was awesome.<br/>Will definitely come back next time :)

Big Fans. We have found Baia to be excellent in all aspects, fast service, great food and an excellent location. We first had the sunset meal deal a few years back and whilst the meals have changed (still great), you would have to take into account the increased expenses that this restaurant has to pay - staff, electricity, food and rent! We discovered the $20 lunch meal last month when I was craving fish and chips, and found the serving size generous and the meal delicious. With a soft drink and coffee, this was incredible value. My daughter has already returned with 2 friends in tow and we can recommend - the fish and chips, pizza, steak and chips and risotto. We will definitely be back! "Soooooooooo good", was the comment by my daughter."

Located in the heart of Darling Harbour, Baia the Italian offers a reasonably priced dinner menu of three courses and a drink (house wine, beer or soft drink) for $30. Our City Experts popped in for a quick sunday lunch (lunch menu priced at $20 for a main meal, drink and tea/coffee) of mozzerella pizza and house beer.  The pizza was a taste sensation and the base nice and thin just to their liking.  Our City Experts will be back for a full dinner review over the coming months. Related Good Things $30 Dinner Menu Great Pizza Bad Things Hedge Blocks Great Views The Breakdown Taste 8 Price 8 Service 8 Ambience 7 Categories Darling Harbour Tagged eat 0

Overlooking the beautiful Cockle Bay Wharf, Baia The Italian delights with a traditional Italian menu with views to boast. Inside brown leather chairs huddle around tables, wine bottles cover the walls like books as the sleek cocktail bar is illuminated, creating an intimate and elegant dining experience. The day was painfully hot and my clothes clung to my body in the sweltering heat. Upon arrival at Baia The Italian I was briskly shown to my seat, which was thankfully in the shade, I couldn’t help but notice the beautiful custom-made cutlery and leather-bound menus. For starters we ordered the Calamari ripieni alla luciana $22.50 (Stuffed Calamari) and a Baby Spinach salad with balsamic and parmesan $22.50.  Both meals were presented beautifully with generous portions. The Calamari had a unique taste and I hadn’t realised there was prawns inside the stuffing until I re read the menu, which goes to say I could not taste them, I wouldn’t have this entrée again. The mains came out quick

I really wanted to save the best until last. Trying to eat healthy, even while eating out, I immediately flicked to the 'salads' page of the menu, and picked out the Insalata Al Polpo, "pouched octopus with lettuce, boiled potatoes, celery, black and green sicilian olives, parsley, garlic and chili served with extra virgin olive oil". Having never actually choosing a salad as a mains before, I was highly interested to see

Although I have to say the food was good, there are definitely better places to grab a pizza in Sydney.

Baia The Italian rests on the harbour, and although the view is spectacular, the food and the service isn't. There are some stand-out elements, but overall this is quite an average restaurant.

This is an old favourite of ours with great views and good food but the menu seems to have changed lately and we're not yet convinced it was for the better. Its still a solid option

...we sauntered down the road down to Cockle Bay and found a sleek looking Italian place called 'Baia The Italian'. The place looked fancy, staff well dressed, and who could resist an Italian accent anyway? The girls agreed (and our one male friend was happy with the location being in front of a bikini photo shoot) and so we walked in. Looks aren't always what they seem. The place looks nice, the staff look nice, even the food looked nice. Below is my friend Tash's Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon and Apple Scented Hollandaise sauce. Looks nice right? Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon But the place leaves a dry taste in your mouth and this is when looks don't matter. As with any food establishment, d

It has been a couple of years since I last visited Baia the Italian at Cockle Bay wharf, but I was pleasantly surprised by the revamp that the place has undergone in that time. It used to be a restaurant with mediocre Italian food that was fairly overpriced but they have really upped their game now.

we have another ouffer for this restaurant so we’ll be back within six months plus the food was fantastic.

Put off right at booking time. Rang the restaurant to make a booking for 10 of us for lunch on the weekend. Was told I have to leave my credit card details, including expiry date and code as any booking for 10 or more needs a credit card to hold the booking.... ok.. have never come across this but thought I will go along. Then right at the end, the waitress mentioned if there is no show or cancellation, there is a fee $20 per head... seriously... there are so many restaurants at Darling Harbour to choose from . Why I am being charged a cancellation fee . Have absolutely no intention to not turn up but let me tell you, this is the biggest turn off I ever have when booking a restaurant. I then said ok let me book for 9 people and I won't bring my son and the waitress said " I have your credit card details anyway !!"..... forget it , I rather go to another restaurant. Baia , please reconsider your T&Cs. Really your food is not that great anyway and your harsh T&Cs and your waitress attitude is such a put off

Service was fine, unobtrusive. Entree of bruschetta was nice but nothing to write home about. Pasta was average at best. Saffron and rabbit pasta was a tiny serve with the pasta stuck together in a large clump. Hubby had the spaghetti with fresh seafood and tomato sauce- heavy and pasta broken into little pieces. Not much to write hoe about really.

Service was a little slow but it was a crazy busy night so it was understandable. Great food all round, good wine list and a perfect view for the summer fireworks. Definitely be back