Criniti’s – Darling Harbour

One of my favourite places for a nice pizza.
Very busy during Vivid that affected the service significantly despite the two floor managers trying their best. Both were great people and looking really to help and solve any issue arose.

I went here yesterday and ordered Salmon and avocado and Bolognese. The food came out in a good waiting time. However the Salmon was extremely salty and tasteless (watery) I can’t stand with its taste so I didn’t eat it anymore.
I made a guts to tell the server about it but they responded nothing about my complaints, nor a word of apology. Disgusting!

This place is always busy so make sure you book. They close quite late so be rest assured this restaurant will satisfy your Italian food cravings with ease. The menu is massive! I highly recommend the rib eye steak.

An italian inspired restaurant located on the edge of the waterline in Darling Harbour. Came here for some drinks a late night and we got seated outside immediately. It was kinda crowded so they had lots to do which affected the service a bit. Even though the service was a bit slow, it didnt bother us too much since we had a great spot and didnt eat.
The restaurant overall is pretty cozy and perfect place to bring a larger party to enjoy a night. I cant say much about the food though, but it looked promising on the neighbors table. I like the view from the patio outside, but you probably have to be early to grab one of these spots prime time.
Go here to enjoy a drink or two, before continuing into the Casino which only is a few steps away!

Had 4 course tasting menu. Bruschetta, pizza, grilled seafood and crème brûlée. Big sizes for first two courses. Go easy to keep room for main and dessert. Underwhelmed on both food and service. Great views.

Came down for a late dinner and was told a 45min wait for a table — no dramas, a drink at the bar is fine while we wait.
Within 15min we were seated at our table.
Service was good, considering it was really busy (and also Sydney Festival time) — but they were well prepared with plenty of staff.
Food orders were taken along with a couple of drinks and before we knew it, our meals had been brought out. Talk about smashing it — they were!
Food tasted great, decent serve sizes too.
We were sitting inside, so it was a little noisy, not only patron noise but the music (R&B) was a little loud — loud enough that I couldn’t hear everything our waitress said when she came to take our orders. I don’t mind R&B, but just not drowning out everything.
Overall, great place in Darling Harbour for dinner. Definitely would go back.
I’ve eaten at the Parramatta Criniti’s and it was crap — shit service, really noisy, and food was much poorer quality (not sure why, but it just was).
Criniti’s Harbourside definitely my pick of a great place.

I’ve eaten here a few times. I enjoy the food here very much. They have an extensive menu. There is so much to choose from and something for everybody. Being it is on the 2^nd level it’s a nice harbour view. The evening I dined it was storming and thunder. The rain was pouring heavily and it was still beautiful and cozy.
The pizza is served on a stand providing additional room for other items. Everything from the pizza, the pasta, to the cocktails tasted great. My friend arrived as we were already finishing up. They had no problem providing her quick service. No complaints.

Awful service. 1hr wait between ordering and serving our food in an essentially empty restaurant at midday on a weekday. Each of our dishes came out 10 – 15 minutes apart. Food was very average.

Good food, very fast service!
Pizza was very good pasta was OK
Service was very sat and friendly
Would come back again!

Came here twice during a few weeks in Sydney. First night was a crazy Saturday night approaching grand finals weekend and the place was packed. Then they started fireworks in Darling Harbour and the place went bonkers. The food was good but about 6 different people waited on us, took our orders, delivered food, checked on us etc. which was confusing. Then everything we ordered came out all at once which was even more annoying. However I went back over a week later on a week day and everything was much better including service and even the food. This place has a huge menu with anything from oysters to pizza to BBQ to pasta. Not terribly expensive considering the premier location. Has a nice bar with lots of cocktail choices also. I would go here again if I had the chance.

So much to like about this place.
The wood fired garlic & mozzarella pizza (sold by the meter) was excellent.
Tasting menu also got rave reviews.
Great atmosphere on the water, and cool vibe to this restaurant.
Definitely give them a go.

Beautiful views, good food, and okay service.
I stopped by on Anzac day for a late lunch. The restaurant wasn’t especially crowded by this point with no wait and numerous open tables. My server was polite and helpful, but he had a tendency to disappear for 15 minutes at a time. I went with his recommendation to go with the Carne Amore wood-​fired pizza. It came quickly and the smokey flavor lived up to his promises. The pizza was a bit greasy and got soggy after sitting a bit though. However not a problem if you are anything like me and tend to stuff your face like a wood chipper.
I was a bit disappointed that they only had 3 beers on draft: Coors, Peroni, and Yenda pale. So I settled for a liter of Yenda, but they had a pretty wide variety of cocktails by the glass and by the pitcher. It would be pretty easy to kill a couple hours drinking here by the harbour. The open air dining looks across Darling Harbour and gives you some pretty spectacular skyline views. I will definitely stop by again when I’m in the area.

Fun Upscale Italian
A hot spot with a hot view of Darling Harbor can be experienced inside Sydney’s Criniti’s. Tourists and locals join in on appetizing Italian food, with a garnish of Australian flair. Start with Colosseum-​embossed, fish-​bowl-​affiliated mega sangria, a gag drink for a loved one’s birthday. Continue the obnoxious oversized, family-​sized fulfillment and order a Pizza Bianche. This is a lengthy pizza stretching the span of your table, and beyond. Or, you can go small and sift through delicate medium rare lamb racks, wrestled with light pistachio crust and red wine jus. Finish the visit with a darling view of the harbor with dessert wines and gelato. Be sure to arrive early, unless you enjoy waiting and starving.

Its a very loud place, very popular place for birth day celebrations. The staff bring the birth day cakes while jumping around and playing the drum!!!
We had a pizza, it was very ordinary.

‘Cos on Thursdays they all try to catch them unawares!
Came here for a Thursday late lunch. The space is actually really nicely laid out. A huge red chopper makes an eye-​catching centerpiece on the bar island, whilst the wiccan-​style décor gives a homely feel (wiccan is my portmanteau of wicker and rattan cos I could never tell which was which and… well… it’s kinda bewitching in here). Big, over-​sized wire chairs in the outdoor section conjure up cigars, a nightcap of scotch swirling with ice and a post-​wedding de-​brief with best mates.
Staff were attentive, very pleasant, and served us well. Nothing to fault here. Counted more staff than diners but we were in no-​mans-​land at 3−4pm and they were possibly preparing for the Thu night crowd when I bet it is all kinds-​a-​busy.
The menus are monumental, and unfortunately so are the prices. This is the textbook tourist trap, and they must catch a few unawares every day of the week.
We had pizzas (thin base, generous topping, crispy and tasty), and whilst they were big, at nearly $ 30 a pop they’d wanna be bigger. I finished mine, and at that price I should be leaving a slice or 2.
Companion had a banana split and it was $ 16. It looked exceptional, but even B1 and B2 woulda been slip sliding down the stairs in pyjama horror at that level of exorbitancy.
I’d probably come here again to impress (or intimidate) a date with my stupendous wealth (or stupidity). The food was good, it just doesn’t match the price. Even with the location, it takes the «s» out of sexy.

Decent Italian despite the price…
Spaghetti Polpette was buttery. The meatballs were on the large side and tasty.
The lasagne made with homemade pasta seemed to melt in your mouth.
The service was very good.
The décor was interesting and the location made for a beautiful evening experience.

Darling harbour — not traditionally the crème de la crème of food options. But surprised was what we were when we had two pizzas (seriously oversized!) and they were not overdone with toppings but had a good amount of quality ingredients. It’s no Rosso Pomodoro, but it was seriously good stuff. It’s tourist prices though, so be warned.
And I’m not kissing when it comes to size — we could barely finish half of either pizza, so doggy-​bagged it. Wait service was attentive on the day, but the place was barely quarter full, so that’s expected.
Worth a visit if you’ve a hankering for a good pizza. They also do a calzone/​pizza. Seriously, a half pizza and half calzone. It’s gooood.

OMG!
Everything about this place is amazing.
The service.
The menu.
The motorbike above the bar.
The spirit selection.
The cocktails.
The wine list.
The process of being seated.
The food.
The prices.
The décor.
The sheer size of the place.
The atmosphere.
The cocktail glasses.
The pizza.
The pasta.
The salads.
Everything! Go here, take lots of people order a dish each and share just so you can sample more of the menu.
Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum.

I had this ribs craving and went straight for Hurricane’s at about 5:20pm and there was already a huge queue. Criniti’s had lots of free tables, so we decided to go in.
THE WELCOME
Despite having half the restaurant empty at that time. The «please wait to be seated» lady came across very arrogant as if she was doing me a big favour, fair enough we did not have a booking. The right thing to do instead was to welcome us with «let me see what I can do to accommodate or please make a booking at another time». In the end, we were seated at the edge of a reserved table of 20 and were «accepted» on condition that we leave within one and a half hours (which is a huge amount of time).
One thing to note is that, the restaurant was still half-​empty by the time we left.
SPAGHETTI E POLPETTE — Homemade spaghetti with mamma criniti’s meatballs, cherry tomatoes & sugo di pomodoro
Pasta was cooked al dente, the sauce was tangy and tasted very fresh. The star of the show was the delicious meatballs. Although they were classic in terms of seasoning and spicing, they were a classic done well.
PIZZA CARNE AMORE — veal, salame, ham, pancetta, sausage, mozzarella, origano & bbq sugo
Pizza was very delicious, smoky from the woodfire, fresh ingredients from the pantry and a balsilmic dressing over did make it delicious at first.
Why at first? the downside is that, the pizza has to be eaten fast as the dressing does make the base very soggy within 15 minutes. Veal was tender, the thinly sliced cured meats’ fat got rendered and the slightly charred ends did deliver good flavours.
Service once inside was pretty good! most waiters seem to be the real deal, that is Italiano and scanning the room. One sour note is that compulsory service charge! I do not mind tipping when they deliver good service, what if they don’t? can I get a 10% discount?
Conclusion
Good restaurant for big groups (6+) as they have 1+ metre long pizzas and a great bar. Not much of foodie destination, although the view on the balcony is pretty good and if you get your timing right, VIP seats for the fireworks on Saturday nights are two of the only reasons to dine here.
@thesydneynoob

What’s up with Sydney’s obsession with EXPENSIVE GOURMET PIZZAS?
Came here with a bunch of coworkers. Had the intentions of eating something OTHER than pizza since I just had two (2) Dominos pizzas to myself the day before. The menu looked good, but not for the price. $ 30 for a main pasta dish!?! No thanks! I’ll just pitch in for the meter-​long pizza.
SERVICE:
Friendly and quick. Our waitress was on the go! No complaints there!
QUALITY:
*Fries w/​Aoli, Ketchup and Spicy dipping sauces — Bomb
*BBQ Chicken Pizza — mediocre. Not enough chicken and sauce
*Chicken and Avocado — mediocre. Not enough chicken or avo
*Margherita Pizza — blah. So salty!!!
*Seafood Fettucine Marinara — tasty, but it was such a small portion!!!
VALUE:
Honestly, I’d take a $ 5 Dominos pizza over this any day… Maybe I just don’t have the palate for gourmet pizzas. But even the pasta wasn’t worth $ 30. I can make a better pasta to last me for 4 days with $ 30!
My favourite part of the meal? The amazing view of Darling Harbour.