A large open air restaurant just across the road from the ferry terminal in Manly. The place has a great energy and we stopped in for lunch on New Year's Eve and got seated right away. This place has a huge menu of authentic Italian specialties including about 50 kinds of Neapolitan style pizzas that come in a tradition size (T) for one up to a 3 or even 6 meter size for large groups. It took some time to work our way through the list but we each finally settled on a different pizza: Margherita, pizzicia (Italian sausage +), BBQ chicken and a forth with goat cheese and prosciutto and figs. All of us were more than satisfied with our choices and none of the group was able to completely finish the "T" size. Probably would have best to share 2-3 for our group. Like every restaurant in Australia we have visited this past week, you will find prices significantly higher than in the states. Each pizza was around $25 but you have to keep in mind that already includes tax and tip. Bottom line: high quality and tasty food. Definitely would recommend for lunch. read more

Criniti's - Manly - Large open air restaurant right off the beach - Italian Near Me - Manly, NSW

We had high expectations after hearing good things about it from friends. Unfortunately we were disappointed. It is a handy location on a busy corner opposite the Manly Ferry wharf and had a good vibe with energy. It also had 2 Ducati motorcycles on display and at times Ferrari and Lamborghini cars. Unfortunately the food was just average. A good selection from antipasto and salads to pasta, pizza and calzone. It seems that the huge range and quick turnover mean not enough care for each dish. Presentation was good but the taste was a let down. My pasta dish labeled as hot had barely any zing at all, it certainly did not rate a chili next to it on the menu. The service by comparison was excellent. Quick and helpful. No issues there at all. Come for the range, location and quick service. Just don't come for the food. read more

Criniti's - Manly - Italian Near Me - Manly, NSW

The service here is a disgrace. Solo business traveler who waited over and hour for the ravioli Rosa. The stuffed mushroom appetizer was flavorful, and was brought to the table timely but it all fell apart after that. So many servers servicing multiple tables that I honestly think they just forgot my meal. read more

Criniti's - Manly - Italian Near Me - Manly, NSW

Decided to go there for after-lunch coffee with friends. We sat outside in front of the coffee, ice-cream bar. After 5-10 minutes waiting there a staff came over asking if we were there for food or drink. After responding we were here for drinks she just left - then why bother asking??? 10 mins later: still no one and as there is no sign saying if you have to order over counter we asked a waitress. Response: this is not my area but I'll send someone over. 10 more mins later: a waiter comes over and apologise for the wait and start taking our orders. After realising we only wanted drinks he tells us it would be best to go and order over the counter. Sure but why the 2 other staff didn't mention this... Going to the counter: I wanted to order a Vienna Nutella hot chocolate. Staff advised you can't order that at the counter as the Nutella is on the restaurant section... Additionally, we had to wait near the counter to get the other orders as staff couldn't be bothered giving us a number since they were overwhelmed by number of people waiting in line. Later one of the staff came around asking how was everything so we told him about above. He kindly offered us complimentary biscuits in some nicely wrapped boxes. We saw a lot of people leaving with those boxes... Looks like we were not the only one unimpressed by service. The venue was not like packed so not sure why all the staff were looking like super busy especially when some of them were just walking around asking question to customers but not doing anything after... read more

Not really impressed at all. The service is like a slug trying to walk slower than usual. The staff run around like headless chickens and ask if you need help and send someone else. Maybe the staff need training?!?!!! The coffee is so burnt and tastes terrible like mud puddle water. We all had one sip , threw it in the bin and left to go to jellyfish. Seriously not worth anyone's time. Teach your staff how to make coffee! Barista courses are not that expensive!!!!! The food is over priced for what you get. It's not that good either. It's actually below par. "I love Pizza" their pizza is 10x better than here! The food is salty and yuck! The decoration however was ace and the location gave this place 2 stars! Apart from that don't bother. read more

A restaurant depends on the front of the house. We went today to answer our craving for pasta. The man seating us had to have the last say, so we left. The place was empty. There are way better places to eat a hundred feet away. read more

If only I could give zero stars... Had a booking for 615pm (quiet time) took 15minutes and three different staff to seat us as they'd put us outside near the road when we had a 2yr old and I'd specifically requested inside seating. Took another 10 min for anyone to come over for drinks. Food was less than average quality and extremely salty. Bill came out with another tables entrees which they had to rectify twice. Overpriced, bad food and even worse service. Do not come here!!! There's so many lovely restaurants around manly this is a tours it trap for the brand name. What a waste of money and time. read more

As a group of four we had two coupons, 2 for $69. There were no restrictions on what we could order and the choice of wine was "red or white". There was plenty of choice on the menu and there were also "deals" starting at $44 pp. The coupon was definitely the best value for 3 courses and a bottle of wine for two. Unsurprisingly, the place was crowded for a Saturday night. It was noisy and bustling. Despite this, our wait staff were attentive and our meals were delivered in a timely manner. There were groups of kids sharing monster pizzas, groups of adults celebrating birthdays (one wait person banged a drum whilst another delivered dessert with sparklers) and couples just having a meal. Our food was good and plenty of it. We were there for over 2 hours and it was a relief to walk out and out of the noise. We were obliged to drive there so had to use a nearby parking station. Parking in the street is nearly impossible. The parking station cost $11. The restaurant is directly opposite the Many ferry terminal and there are plenty of buses so public transport is a better option. I can see why tourists would roll up here for a meal as Criniti's is a chain and follows a formula. However, there were plenty of locals enjoying their meals too. Without a voucher the cost was too high per plate and whilst the food was good and plentiful it wasn't great. read more

A member of my party went to the restroom, saw a roach, killed it, flushed the toilet, and saw baby roaches pouring out. When we informed the manager, we told him that we would pay for the alcohol and not the food and that we were leaving immediately. His response was to first ask us where we were from, as if that makes any difference. He then told us the place was sprayed "a couple of days ago" and that every restaurant in Sydney would be the same. No apologies, no empathy, just an attempt to make us feel like country rubes (we are far, far from such a characterization). I've worked in bars. I know pests are a constant battle. How this manager handled this situation is embarrassing and tells you everything you need to know about the care they'd show for their customers. I'd avoid this place. read more

Food was ok (salmon salad good, little too much dressing, steamed veggies great, chicken burger good)... but: The service is a disgrace!! We were wondering if this was all part of their Italian spiel, to be all unorganised, the staff struggling with basic English, and just no one taking your orders but soon came to realised they just had absolutely NO idea what they were doing. Asked for mustard three times ('mustard? What is mustard?') but didn't forget to charge for it. All the tables around us were equally as frustrated (almost made it comic again!!)... we lived in Italy for 3 years - but this made us speechless. Sad part is, they will never care because they're in a prime tourist spot with plenty of walk-ins... we live here and will never come back again. read more

Great place, fairly pricey, food was delicious. I had the steak & rib combo, the steak was juicy I had the diane gravy/suace and the lamb ribs were succulent the meat came right off the bone they had BBQ glazing. Very good location right across the road from the Manly ferry Wharf you won't miss it. It had a great vibe with lively music, two Ducati motorcycles and what I believe to be a Ferrari engine. Very modern design with a touch of Italian design. read more

Food is ok, service is shockingly poor. Will not be going back under any circumstances.

They make a great pizza. A very large restaurant, we were there for lunch and ate the whole pizza. Their dough is made fresh daily. Service was good and the price was right. They also had a full bar, with all your favorites. read more

Attention fellow coeliacs and gluten intolerants: I regret to inform you of my experience at Criniti's Manly. Early December, I was served normal pasta instead of gluten free pasta, despite having ordered gluten free pasta and told that this was doable. I did not realise it was normal pasta when it was served to me and I ate it all. The next 6 hours were spent on the toilet (lovely I know). Having contacted the Criniti's customer service team countless times, all I can tell you is that they don't care that this happened. If you are a coeliac/gluten intolerant, I suggest not dining at Criniti's because they seriously don't realise that this is an allergy. read more

It's hard to express the disappointment at tonight's meal at Criniti's to celebrate my son's 10th birthday. I made a 6.15pm reservation requesting to sit near the car in the middle of the restaurant (asking the reservationist "is the sports car still in the restaurant?" "Yes" I was told. Um, No, it isn't), and also requested the famous birthday Bongo's for the Happy Birthday. Our waitress was lovely - albeit run off her feet - and the food was good. But by 7pm the food was all finished and we requested the Birthday plate and Bongos, and then we waited, and waited. By 8pm we were done. The waitress said the staff we all too busy and she couldn't get anyone to do it. So we left. The 10 year old in tears and zero birthday celebration. So the next time you want to spend $250 on a birthday dinner, my recommendation would be to go somewhere that actually makes you feel like a guest. read more

Absolute rubbish TOURIST TRAP. Busy because tourists come off the ferry and it's one of the first restaurant's you see -- but do yourself a favour and keep going. Noisy, slow, lousy service, average over salted food, stale pastries and overpriced. With so many options available in Manly it's too bad that this ripoff restaurant is where unsuspecting visitors will end up. read more

If I had seen the mediocre reviews I may have skipped this place, but I had one of the best burgers I ha e eaten in ages. Service was pleasant too. On Sunday afternoon this place is a zoo, but glad I tried it. read more

This is one of those places that is just ok. The look of the place is modern and funky. Ducati motorcycles and Ferrari engine are a nice Italian touch. The service was fast and relatively efficient except when we couldn't find anyone to take the desert order. But the main reason you go to a restaurant is for the food and this is where they fail. The pizza crust starter was reasonable if a little doughy. The pasta had way too much gluggy spaghetti with a sauce that was tasteless. The seafood that went with it was obviously of a low quality and there was no fish in it even though mentioned on the menu. The other meals were not much better. Desserts, slightly better but odd. The profiteroles turned out to be one giant one and the canoli pastry tasty but hard as a rock. All in all not a good experience and we won't be back anytime soon. read more

A really fun mod level Italian, an outpost of the same restaurant in Wooloomooloo. Featuring a gorgeous real Lamborghini in the middle of the restaurant and a couple of Ducatis along the back wall. It's a big noisy place but the food was both fairly innovative and very tasty. Clever idea of making pizzas by the meter which is especially great for big groups. Decent house wine at a gold price. Killer desserts including canolis. Service could be a bit more prompt. We'll be back. read more

Crinti's is mid-range food at prices that are approaching fine dining but it is far from fine dining. The restaurant itself is nice enough, it's massive so atmosphere is always difficult to maintain in a place that size. The staff are friendly, they usually manage to find you a table even when you haven't booked and the service is basic but good enough. The menu it absolutely huge, they are pretty much aiming to cover everything that could be considered remotely Italian and provide multiple variations of each. I'm not a fan of massive menus, it always feels like there are several dishes that almost the same so I get analysis paralysis deciding what to order. That's completely personal and I wouldn't hold having such a large menu against the restaurant except to wonder why they don't just do one really well instead of several variations ok-ish. The issue I have is that Criniti's feels like a "fancy" family restaurant (they gather around and sing happy birthday when a table is booked for a birthday - cute and fun, but that says "family restaurant" to me) yet the prices for a lot of the menu is approaching or at fine dining. There are a number of starters that are $25 to $30, the main chicken dishes are all mid to high $30 and the meat and seafood dishes are all pretty much around the $40 mark with many over $50 each. I have no issue paying that when they are superb dishes but these are just "nice". Let me be clear, there is nothing wrong with any of these dishes I just don't see that they are worth paying what they are asking. There are a stack of Italian restaurants that serve food that is pretty much the same quality and inventiveness (albeit with much smaller menus) but doesn't cost anywhere near enough. I've been to Criniti's several times, usually because others arrange it and it's easy to get into and every time I visit I tell myself it's the last time. It's not a mid-range-meal night out cost wise but that is what the place is serving. There is food equally (or slightly better) as good in Manly that is cheaper and food much, much better for the same price. read more

Beautiful, newly renovated space. Exposed brick, tin pressed ceilings, and gorgeous marble countertops. One of the best places in Manly for groups like birthday parties, family get togethers and Holiday dinners. Set menu for a variety of groups numbers and budgets. A bit expensive but great bang for your buck with huge, traditional Italian portions. Theres also a great cafe open in the mornings. Delicious coffee and homemade pastries. With the open window bakery, you can watch the chefs bake yummy pastries while you drink your coffee. read more

I've been here a few times now and sometimes I do have a great meal. But the service is always really poor . Backpackers with no idea what their doing . The last time I was there the girl couldn't understand what I was saying because she was South American she had to bring another another girl over to take my order but couldn't understand me neither they were just looking at each other saying I don't know what he's saying in a pretty rude way like I was stupid or something . I was just trying to order a garlic bread and I speak perfect English .Also someone had graffitied the menu which I found amusing but it shows that lack of detail . I'll stay away from now on there's better places in town for less the price read more

This was one of the better restaurants on our Australian trip. Food was very good. Tables are a bit cramped. Get the antipasti plate, it was big and delicious. Risotto was very good. read more

Went for Father's Day breakfast this morning. After two disappointing dinner experiences which the staff had apologised for we thought we would give it a chance for breakfast.. What a mistake! First of all, as per our previous experiences we had to flag someone down to order after waiting with no offer of water or anything for an unacceptable amount of time. We then finally were able to order after calling the waitress over. I literally had to point to every item we were ordering on the menu (including tea and coffee!) as the waitress didn't even know the menu. Finally we had ordered and we were waiting for our food for at least 15 minutes when the waitress came over and asked how we wanted our eggs and told us there were no Nutella waffles. We told her how we wanted our eggs, she wrote it down and literally ran away.. No opportunity to order a second meal for our daughter. Our daughter then ended up in tears because she thought she wouldn't get breakfast.. We waited for our waitress to return but she didn't. We called the floor manager to tell her and she apologised and got our daughter a waffle cone with some Nutella in it which was lovely and did cheer her up.. But our waitress still didn't return to add to our order. My partner went to where you pay to add to our order after it became clear the waitress wasn't returning. Then two milkshakes came out for our boys.. This was after around 20 minutes. We assumed our coffees and tea would follow but they didn't. Then our sons Nutella pancakes came out. He said they were horrible and we didn't believe him. My partner tried some and said that they tasted like rubber, by this stage we had 2 of five drinks and one of five meals.. We waited. And waited. And when it reached the point where we have been waiting for 40 minutes for coffee we left. The man at the counter understood and said we didn't need to pay for the food we had received (lucky because it was uneaten). What a disappointing experience! It put a real damper on Father's Day morning and at 1030 we had to go and find another place to eat breakfast. So unhappy and I will be sharing this experience with all of my family and friends. read more

This place looks great inside, has a vibrant atmosphere and excellent quality food & drinks. However, we had a poor experience at this restaurant, we experienced a number of errors in our order (wrong food being delivered). We also experienced long wait times for food being delivered and in between waiter visits. read more

Had a lovely time! Manager Steph was fantastic and really made sure we were taken care of. The place was abuzz on a Saturday night but all staff kept on their smiles and were lovely and kind. Portions are massive! You will have plenty of left overs to take home. Thanks Steph and Crinitis! read more

This is the worst place I have ever had to deal with... very expensive and the managers are non responsive. The barista did not return my card, and after the 5th call no one helped me find it or resolve the problem. This is not a place to waste your money. read more

Service is terrible, so bad after waiting 20minutes to actually take our coffee order we walked. It was not busy there was only one other table being used inside. Never again. Way better places in Manly to go where service and food is fantastic. read more

We liked it so much the first week, we went back. Great coffee. Had breakfast or early lunch on a Sunday morning. Not too crowded. But there were some unruly children running amok. Convenient right across from the wharf. Had their version of eggs benedict and Franks Benedict. Good taste! Servers are great. Watch the pastry chef do his art. As we were leaving, we used the toilet and this is where Critini's loses a star. I saw a cockroach in the pizza area, by the sauces. As I was exiting two children were fascinated by a cockroach on the glass in the bakery, Nutella jars. Time for a clean up day! read more

The last time I went to Criniti's for dinner, I ordered the lobster pizza. One of the best pizzas I've ever had! The menu has a large selection of food and drinks which makes it so there is something everyone will love. It's conveniently located right across the street as soon as you get off of the Manly Ferry. read more

Terrible, just terrible service. I understand not everyone's English is great but not being able to understand me or my pointing to a menu item is a serious flaw. It's noisy, the service is slow and it's extremely expensive. On the upside the food is fair, but not great, certainly not good enough for the price. read more

Let's just say this is the worst service I've ever experienced at a restaurant. Save yourself the pain. There are plenty of options in Manly that make this an easy one to walk past! read more