Vitaly Italian & Woodfire Pizza Restaurant (Matraville) 501 Bunnerong Road, Matraville, New South Wales 2036

"OK, my wife is a private chef, so we are hard to please when it comes to food. But this place was excellent. Not overly fancy, but nice atmosphere. Friendly staff aaaaaaaaand, drumrolls, the food is fantastic. Creative but still authentic, delicious, nicely presented. What's there not to love about it? Highly recommended."

"Great food and restaurant. Visited on a Saturday night and the restaurant was busy so booking ahead is recommended. The whole table loved our meals and my son said it's the best Gelato he's ever had. Definitely visiting again."

"We booked for a 7:15 Saturday night sitting and arrived to a busy and bustling restaurant which is great! Unfortunately the wait staff did everything in their power to avoid eye contact with us and we were left standing at the entrance until 7:30 when we managed to grab a waitress who then told us to wait for another staff member. Five minutes later we were squashed into a corner in front of where they store the dinnerware - basically had someone crouching next to us our whole dinner! Food was ok - nothing spectacular but tasty enough once it was ordered (again struggled to get the attention of wait staff) and arrived (did not take too long). Paying the bill proved almost impossible and we were once again left standing at the front of the restaurant considering if we should just walk out. I am fully aware and sympathetic that the industry is facing significant shortages, and I also think it’s great that the restaurant is doing so well within a few weeks of opening. Hopefully the team can iron out these customer service issues - I honestly wouldn’t have minded waiting considering the industry issues if we had just been acknowledged at any time during the night. Won’t be coming back in a hurry unfortunately."

"We didn't realise it at first, but it turns out we came here on what happened to be the big opening night! In honesty, the service staff was really struggling. We observed 4 other tables arrive after us and all 4 received their food well before us. Twenty minutes after staff had taken our drinks order they still hadn't even started preparing it. Luckily it's BYO though, so we ended up cancelling that drinks order and walked around the corner to get some wine from the bottle shop instead. However, once the food came out it became clear that it'd been worth the wait. Every single dish was absolutely top notch and we all loved it. Fantastic pizza, beautiful pasta and delicious gnocchi. Generous servings and totally fair prices. It's totally understandable that the machinery isn't running smoothly in the beginning. The friendly staff and the brilliant food means that we're now booked in again for a second visit later this week. All in all - definitely recommended! EDIT - we came back again for a second visit a week later. This time the food was still delicious but importantly the service was also top notch. Friendly, attentive, quick and on the ball. Two very enthusiastic thumbs up!"

"From the moment you walk in you are greeted with friendly staff. You can either sit at the bar and have a cocktail before you sit down for your delicious meal. I highly recommend. You should try this for yourself. I guarantee you will not be disappointed. I certainly will be going back! Tina"