Kneading Ruby

Great food and the escape rooms are awesome fun

Great food, vibes, and environment

Great restaurant with amazing food and comfortable atmosphere.

Nice food

The garlic bread is amazing

Beautiful atmosphere, cocktails and food. Love this restaurant

(4.5 stars) You’ll find Kneading Ruby in a laneway warehouse conversion, sharing space with the steampunk-inspired Breakout bar. The 80-seater restaurant was jam-packed for Sunday lunch a good five years after opening, demonstrating that it continues to meet the needs of Wollongong locals. Cocktails cut new ground, with lemon building a bridge between Makers Mark and fresh strawberry pulp in the Strawberry Fix ($18), and aquafaba (a vegan-friendly egg white replacement) getting a foamy head onto Ms Ruby ($19). She’s made on local (North Wollongong) Seacliff vodka infused with jalapeño and balanced with passionfruit, sugar and lemon. From the chalkboard menu, the star of the snacks is a quartet of crackers piled with white anchovy, grilled trevisio, cashew and buttermilk ($12). That said, Kneading Ruby’s garlic bread ($9.50) is a stroke of genius: a partially separated hot bread roll with silky confit garlic butter poured over it at the table. It’s so good, it prompted people at the next table to recommend we order it when we asked our waitress what to order. Team it with a Stone & Wood Cloud Catcher pale ale ($10.50) or a glass of the 2017 Parous Chardonnay ($10.50) from South Australia. Raw kingfish ($22) has been “cooked” in acidity a bit too long for my liking, but the flavours the kitchen teamed it with were so interesting, I ate it with relish anyway. Dabs of persimmon purée and vanilla mascarpone are balanced on the plate with elderflower and jalapeño, still leaving a hole to taste the fish. Pipis ($22), switched out for clams with our permission, have a lively burst of chilli and enough ginger, butter and parsley to make the sauce compelling over the char/grilled bread. A winter blanco salad ($14) with cabbage, radish, fennel, leek, celery and burnt pepitas wants for some Pecorino to work on its own, but is a perfect fresh healthy foil to pizza. Bases here are thinner and lighter than the Neapolitan standard, eating well under pork and fennel sausage, cavolo nero, mozzarella and lashings of confit chilli sauce ($24). I’m going to come back to order my neighbour’s pork cotoletta ($30) served in a puddle of lemon butter and capers. After all, she was right about the garlic bread…

We came for dinner tonight and can’t rave enough. The food was delicious (as always) with a pizza and a pasta, and the fried olives were a delightful little treat. Mostly, I’d like to commend the service and atmosphere. The server who welcomed us to our table was so warm and really made us feel valued as diners. The next server who looked after us through dinner seemed to have a 6th sense and was always there for the next step at just the right time, despite a really busy dinner service. He also offered great suggestions while ordering. We can’t wait to come back or try the new pasta restaurant.

Hi Kneading Ruby's I gave a 1 star rating due to the disappointment of sudden lockdown. Please, this review, has nothing to do with Kneading Ruby's itself. Ur restaurant is wonderful, and the 1 star rating was only a disappointment star, as everything was cancelled so suddenly. Pardon me and my apologies. Just a simple misunderstanding.

Food was amazing, one of the best dining experiences we have had all year. Our waiter Nathan was an absolute champion, recommended the best dishes and wine to suit, very passionate and knows his stuff!!