il centro

service was good,foodwas nice, their crab lasagne was nice, dessert was good. child friendly, has high chair, and chef was very nice he made a dish that's not on the menu to suit my fussy son.

pity thefoodwasn't hot.. whilst service was enthusiastic and professional we felt a little like it was assumed we were not accustomed to dining at such restaurants and explanations were perhaps a little condescending. none of us had been at il centro for a few years but had been before.
my big disappointment was that my duck ravioli was just a poorly reheated obviously pre prepared dish. not good enough for dining at this level. my microwave at home could have done a better job.
my tiramisu was also disappointing, not a slab of luscious moist cake dripping with cream and liqueur from a freshly made pudding , but instead a moulded single serve tower, sort or resembling a snowman, with as much soul.
shame.

very disappointing!. we've been to this restaurant a couple of times and have left happy before but not so this time around i'm afraid. although the starters were very pleasant the main courses were both disappointing, my partner had what should have been a very nice piece of sirloin but unfortunately it had been over cooked- a major faux pas for a decent restaurant! and my main course of fish of the day would have been quite happy being served at the local pub! not the standard offoodi would expect at this type of restaurant. frozen chips and an overcooked piece of coral trout was not what i had expected from their fish of the day dish. needless to say we won't be back!

we had such a lovely dinner here last saturday night. the sand crab lasagne was everything promised and more. i felt a little disappointed in two things though. the waitress seemed put out with small requests. for example when i requested bread she snapped how many? and seemingly slammed them down in front of me on her return. they were so busy though so perhaps she didn't mean to come across this way. she did come across rather curt and unfriendly throughout the dinner though continuously pursing her lips. also towards the end of the night i could smell bleach being used in the kitchen to clean. i asked our waitress if this was common practice when diners are still eating. she said that she would check what was going on and went to the kitchen. when she opened the kitchen doors, i could see two people with gloves on scrubbing what i assume were pots. the waitress returned and said nobody was using bleach which was pretty silly to say because they were and if she honestly could not smell it then she believed who ever in the kitchen had just lied to her. we were right in front of the kitchen bench and it was either used on the floor directly behind the counter or somewhere nearby. i am pregnant so the smell became almost unbearable and i had to walk outside. the shame here is that the hard work that went into thefoodservice was ruined for me. after our table spent close to a thousand dollars (for party of five) it was a shame that such highs were mixed with such lows.

simply great. service is okay, butfoodis good. i recommend.

i’m sad and disappointed that this restaurant has changed so much - was a ‘go to’ for special celebrations and catch ups. it used to have excellent, consistentfoodand top notch, professional service. there were quite a few issues with our meals (for a group of 6) on our last visit and the service was some of the rudest i’ve experienced, ever. in terms of meals, calamari was slightly undercooked and oily, the sand crab lasagne recipe has changed and the portions are smaller, out of three steaks ordered at the table, none of them were cooked correctly and one had to go back to the kitchen as it was significantly over cooked, the pepper sauce was almost inedible. the service was not good and the worst part of it involved my drink order. i was ignored as the waitress asked another two at the table what they’d like and offered to get a taste for them. when she returned, i asked for a description of two different whites - one i said i liked the sound of more and would it be possible to taste it before she poured. her response “well i’ve got to get to other tables so it will take a while”. unbelievable. i don’t think they’ll get my repeat business. such a shame it’s changed since the george’s sold it.

i had high hopes but a rare night out but il centro did not live up to expectations.
the table wasn’t ready when we arrived, no worries. we were told to have a seat at the bar and order a drink, we did. not that there was table service. after about ten minutes we were seated and then our drinks followed a few minutes later. the seat for two was lovely, outside but still enclosed. the weird thing is that our table was against the glass wall, and on the other side of the wall was another table but with five. one person was at the head of the table, forced to stare at our mugs the whole dinner. it was a bit awkward and i felt sorry for all involved.
anyway, after perusing the menu and waiting for some time i flagged down someone so they would take our order, the female waitress looked at me like i was crazy and said someone would be around soon. someone came round quite quickly after that, advised the specials and tried to scurry away. not so fast! we put our order in: entree of sand crab lasagne (had to try it here!) and the bruschetta of the day. mains ordered were the veal scallopini and porchetta.
entree came out in good time. the bruschetta was as described but not as expected. b said it was surprising tasty, i thought it was a bit unappetising and couldn’t finish a single piece of it. the famous lasagne was also not to my liking. the sauce that i think was meant to be the hero of the dish, tasted like a caramel. the pasta sheets and crab were really nice but i could not get overly this sweet sauce on it.
then the mains. i didn’t really have high expectations after the entree.
veal was unexciting, pretty standard but less pretty than you could get at any italian joint. the porchetta was dry, one piece was visually dry, like when a piece of meat is left out in the fridge without a cover on it. it had gone dark and crusty on one side. side was the pear, walnut salad, which was fine but uninspired.
i don’t think we had the same server twice, no one was particularly friendly or warm. so service andfoodwas lacklustre.
this dessert fiend skipped dessert because i couldn’t face more disappointment in one night.

i love thefoodthere, very yum. however, their service was a bit debatable, normally bread for start is free, but they charge, and also they came to me said they can arrange some ice cream for my baby, i said thank you. i thought they were just being nice, but they charged that ice cream as well. they could just come and ask me if i d like to order desert, that would sound proper. because i didn’t want to order ice cream, and they didn’t ask me what flavour i want , so i thought it was just a gift. feels like i got trapped.

excellent food, exciting menu, great service and clean and modern setting. on the pricey side of dining experiences, but worthwhile for an occasion.foodwas served promptly.

probably the only couple of minor things i can think to critique would be: the size of the table allocated to our dining party of 6. it was probably better suited to 4 people. no one had any elbow room and it wasn't like the place struggles for space. and secondly, one of the waiters was a little frustrating to deal with, as his english was very poor, so orders had to be repeated 3-4 times before they were properly comprehended.

re-visited this one-hatted restaurant last saturday for my birthday celebration. well, it was as busy as usual. our table was allocated near the front entrance so we enjoyed the river view while we were having our dinner. we were greeted and served by very professional wait-staff. other than that, it may be my high expectation, overall dishes were only average to somewhat below my benchmark. entrée of quail and daily chef recommendation seafood soup did not ring the bell. quail was bland and fortunately the whole dish was saved by the taste of polenta, figs and crumbed walnut, otherwise the negative impact would be quite high. seafood soup was done with good taste and enough seafood but the presentation of the soup was not that great. mains of their signature sand crab lasagne and risotto gained back some marks. however, i would prefer the presentation of the lasagne as the same as their advertising picture with crab shells; having said that, the quantity of crab meat and the texture of pasta deserved thumb-up. risotto came with generous amount of king prawns, rice of the risotto was done spot-on but the king prawns were slightly overdone. at last, we ordered the daily special banana soufflé, which was good but still has a big gap from the soufflé that i had at vue de monde. overall, ambience 4/5, service 4/5 andfood3/5 so review mark 3.5/5.

i wish i had taken more photos of all thefoodas it was delicious and cooked perfectly, however i was too busy eating it! i was a late walk in and you accommodated me and my friend without hesitation. our waitress also was very friendly, happy and helpful especially with wine selection. i really enjoyed your arancini, confit duck pasta and souffle. yum 😊 would definitely go here again!! 😊

tried to make a booking online but no luck , but i still went on a sunday night. good thing i did because the manager gave us a table!!! cant complain to that!! thefoodis spot on! im a fan of the crab lasagne it's so creamy, tasty and u can really taste the crab! the steak is cooked perfectly. the waiter that serve us is so helpful and always making sure we don't wait too long . overall my experience in this restaurant is excellent!!' i would definitely come back!

i have been going here for years, on and off, and it remains a standout on the eagle street pier scene. thefoodand wine is exquisite and the on-site sommelier always makes excellent recommendations. i can never go past the sandcrab lasagne, but when i have, it has never disappointed. congratulations to the owners for maintaining such a high standard for all these years.

very nice and formal dining to spend time in a group. fabulous location with spectacular view to the river and bridge. very tastyfoodwith lots of vegetarian options. little expensive as the view costs lots of money. highly recommended for formal parties.

4.5 stars 2016 - amazing service, excellentfoodand an astounding view is just 3 things you are going to get when you dine in at il centro. their sunday set lunch menu is such good value and the menu changes every week, however if you do go here make sure you get the sand crab lasagna (it's amazing). 
4 stars 2018 update: came here again for a work function... blown away by the food. sand-crab lasagne was delicious and my main of carbonara and veal was amazing. portion sizes were huge, i was full after my entree but i had to make it to my creme brûlée. slight downfall was the shell in everyones lasagne other than that really impressed!