Ischia on Claisebrook

We went here for family lunch and while we had a nice time overall, there were three main issues that made this 3 stars. Firstly, some of the food was pretty average depending on what was ordered. In particular the Pollo Parmigiana & the Linguine alla Vongole were both very bland. They didn’t seem to have been seasoned at all. In my brothers words ‘it’s not often someone can make a parmi flavourless’. On the flip side though, my husband said his Ragu was one of the best he’s ever had. Second issue was the noise. The restaurant looks nice but it’s a lot of hard surfaces for sound to bounce off. Even after it emptied out a bit it was still really loud. Third issue we had, and probably the biggest problem for us was that they charged an extra $7 for gluten free pasta. My mums a coeliac so we’re very familiar with the extra costs associated with having to order gluten free, but this is by far the most absurdly expensive rate we have ever been charged. It appeared to be regular store bought gluten free penne. There is absolutely no reason they should charge this much. For this reason alone we probably wouldn’t come back. I’ll end on a good note though, because it definitely wasn’t all bad. The decor was really nice, other than the noise the atmosphere was great and the service was absolutely outstanding.

Update Edit: Daine and James, I know exactly who you were and to shame me for my genuine review and you both to write false truths is appalling! You both were not there alone with your girlfriends I know exactly where you were sitting and who you were with. Little do you know the cameras were pulled up and a full investigation was done and I got a phone call with full apology and proof was shown that what I said was accurate so before writing untruths on a social forum make sure you get your facts straight! I also at no stage criticised the food or waiters! The food was very good, waiters were wonderful and they accommodated my gluten intolerant friend! My review was exactly what happened and at least they did the right thing by calling and apologising. It’s dealing with people like you and your family who had no idea what was going on but felt like they had to get involved and even to look and know that I would be writing a review and for you to look for it Shame on you both 😡 And you James calling me Nicole the Mole-when you get to read this like I told you to your face you are an immature idiot so grow up and don’t ever shame and name call people! I never used awful words on my review like you have and I did praise what was done properly unlike you! Please do not book a function here if you don’t want to feel embarrassed! I booked 2 months ago for my 50th birthday, I drove 35 minutes from my home to speak to Aleyandra who was very lovely and suggested having it here instead of Highgate as we could have the 19 people sit comfortably on the side of restaurant where air conditioning was and I would be able to have my cake table set up separately! I also confirmed multiple times via phone with Marina and Aleyandra and even spoke to them on the morning to cancel one guest due to Covid. I told them I would be arriving 20 mins earlier to set up place cards and take photos before guests arriving. On arrival I was instantly upset, the section I had booked out 2 months prior was full of people including a party for an 80th that had only been booked 2 weeks prior, we were greeted by a very rude man who said we were there too early (20 mins) who faced up to my son and told us to get out of his house (restaurant). He was the owner which was even more appalling! There was no apology about the confusion as it looks like they had forgotten all about my function and we were left standing until 7.10pm with the guests unable to come in because there was no where for them to sit and it was very uncomfortable. The owner asked the 80th birthday party guests to move to a smaller section and they refused and started having a go at us and we didn’t even know he was doing that! It basically ruined my night and when I explained and showed him I had multiple confirmation messages and who I spoke to he did finally come up with the table in a different spot than what was requested! I will say the food was lovely and so were the poor waiters who witnessed everything were fine too! I told them at the end of the night that I expected an apology and the owner didn’t show his face again! I chose an Italian restaurant as we are Italian and so were our guests, however I was very embarrassed to say I was treated so rudely by the owner to another Italian! I paid a lot of money and if I didn’t have the function with everyone arriving I would have walked out. I will NEVER go to this restaurant again and definitely do not recommend anyone wanting a beautiful stress free night for a special occasion to not book here either to have it ruined!