One of the hottest places to check out is Cafe Roma, a cozy restaurant on St…read more Clair Ave. West that serves authentic Italian food and was featured in the magazine @streetsoftoronto Their menu is inspired by Italy's diverse cuisine. With fresh seafood, Italian pizza, delicious appetizers, daily specials, classic pasta dishes, and desserts, they have something for everyone! If you're searching for a good Italian restaurant in the Hillcrest Village neighbourhood, this is the place to go! They have good food, nice ambiance and friendly staff.

Popped in for a small dessert of cannelloni with cherry cream filling and it was a sheer delight as…read morewas the staff and vibe. Made in house and brimming with quality and care. Can not wait to taste more from the curated menu. Va bene Cafe Roma!

Food is consistent and amazing! Must try their tiramisu :) super friendly service, casual ambiance…read morepairs perfectly with delicious Italian comfort foods!

This rating is based on a casual dining restaurant experience…read more 3 of us came in for dinner on a Thursday night. I made the reservation in advance and wasn't sure what to expect. The place has been here for years but this was my first visit. It's located in a plaza on the south side of Hwy 7 so there's private parking. As you come in, there's the bar and the entrances to both the main and private party dining rooms. We were quickly greeted and given our choice of seating in either room, as the private party room had only a small birthday party in a little section. We could enjoy a colder temperature in the private room, or average room temperature in the main room where it would be less noisy. We chose the main room and it wasn't uncomfortable. Our host provided our menus and gave a choice of bottled, mineral, or tap water. Tap water in stemmed glasses with ice was fine with us. To my surprise, it came with a full basket of complimentary bread, butter and spicy oil. I have not seen this for years and we appreciated it. We ordered a rice balls (4 pcs) appetizer which came with marinara. They were a good size and had some cheese pull. Our entrees were a Ricky pizza (one of their 20 specialty pizzas); chicken parmigiana; and home made pappardelle with chicken and pesto cream sauce. Our orders were served within a few minutes of each other, all huge, and piping hot. We were offered additional grated cheese tableside. Besides our host, the owner (I assume) came round to serve my husband's Montecristo cocktail and wish him a happy birthday. He continued to check in along the way as well. This restaurant reminds me of being in Calabria at eateries just like this, meaning, the Italian equivalent of the British neighbourhood pub experience. There are families with children who may roam, groups of ladies getting together for a meal, singles having their pizza and beer after work, all in a space that somehow makes you aware of being connected in your mealtime. The food is what you may remember enjoying as a kid at your Italian friend's house: nonna's home made everything, from the bread and oil to the pasta and tomato sauce. It's not fancy, it's plentiful and hearty home food. The tomato sauce is fresh, exactly what all my family produces from their own jarred tomatoes. My chicken was cooked through without being dry. The pizza was nicely crisp and charred, straight from their wood oven. The pesto cream pappardelle was delicious, with plentiful pieces of grilled chicken. Both my daughter and I had half our meals left to enjoy later. You can order half portions for half the price. My husband managed to devour his whole pizza. He even ate the crust - which he never does. We didn't order wine or dessert as that was waiting at home. I didn't think to check if they offer any prosecco besides the basic wine list but their website is very well done, so I will look again, because I would definitely return. It will be like being back in my family town in Italy.

We recently dined at Paola. They have an outstanding wine selection. To be honest we weren't a fan…read moreof the bruschetta. It was a little burnt and didn't have the taste we would have expected. The Gorgonzola gnocchi was incredible. The penne spa vodka was very nice. The cream sauce was simply perfect. Risotto Frutti Di Mare was very well cooked and all the seafood was fresh and delicious The Fettuccini Pomodoro was good but not up to the standards of the other dishes we had. The service was good as we had two serves during the evening. The ambiance was very nice.

I made a reservation at Parola for a family event and I was not disappointed!…read more It's an intimate, small restaurant with exceptional cleanliness. The service was amazing. We ordered grilled calamari to share. And it was really delicious, grilled perfectly, not rubbery at all. The balsamic vinegar glaze was also very tasty. For my main I ordered the grilled jumbo shrimp. I've been thinking about these shrimp since I left. They were so good. I especially loved the garlic lemon sauce. It wasn't overly garlicky or sour. It was the perfectly done and complemented the shrimp and veggies. I will definitely be coming back to try more!

Loved this place! Brought me back to Italy, didn't even feel like I was in Toronto…read more Ambiance: From the old school, but fancy, decor, to the oil paintings, to the tiny bar and the mom & pop feel, I loved the ambiance of this place. It honestly felt so European and I loved it - made me forget about my life for a bit and took me away. Food: 4.5/5 - I asked for a recommendation and got the house made gnocchi with the meat (veal) sauce. It was fantastic and will definitely be back again one day when I'm in the area for this. It truly was a delicious meal. A little on the pricier side, but worth it. Service: 5/5 - very kind and attentive waitress, who I assume might be the owner! Overall, loved it and looking forward to having this again one day.

Just drove to the place randomly on a weekday with hubby for lunch and we are glad we did. The…read moreplace is owned and run by an italian woman, who loves to cook and feed. The portions are great and food is freshly made with perfect taste. The arancini and risotto we had was delicious along with refills of bread was enough for us of us to be full. The wine selection is pretty decent. I loved how the she was making tiramisu from scratch with actual real alcohol, i can swear by the authenticity of this place, and the warm service!

This place is fantastic. The food, service and drinks are all top quality. The place is…read moreunpretentious and feels very warm and cozy inside. The portion sizes are huge and there seems to be many repeat patrons which is always a good sign. Looking forward to coming back here for another special occasion soon.

B'Day celebration. 8 Guests. All the food was fresh, delicious, served hot and the service was…read moreexcellent! It was tough for many of us to order just one entree. The appetizers got us primed. Garlic shrimp and Bruschetta, followed by the entrees which arrived simultaneously. That we all appreciated. Desserts were just as tough to choose from as they all sounded delicious. In the end Tiramisu, Creme Caramel, Raspberry Tartufo, Chocolate Fudge cake with Truffle Mousse and Chocolate Brownie Cheesecake arrived to our table. No disappointments there. Will return again.

Ate here last night with my extended family. If you are looking for some wholesome Italian cooking…read morein a pleasant lively atmosphere this is your place. It's busy and frequented by many local families, a large and helpful staff, and a busy kitchen. I had some Bruschetta to start, some Calamari as an antipasti, a Stracciatella soup (egg drop), and Veal Marsala for the main course. I skipped the desert because I was so full then by the generous portions. Food was tasty and what you would expect from a wholesome home cooked meal, maybe not a gastronomical delight, but definitely a pleasant meal.

Came here for lunch with my mom having spotted the sign from the road. Upon entering the restaurant…read moreI was blown away by how open and spacious the area was, the bar and the private areas available for events and bookings. We ordered a mushroom risotto and penne with pancetta bacon in a rose sauce. Both came out piping hot and perfectly cooked. The risotto was the perfect balance of creaminess and so umami. The pasta was perfectly Al dente and I couldn't get enough of the sauce it was so delicious. Id recommend this place to any pasta lover and would happily go back again to try all the other dishes.

We went with another couple. It's a nice restaurant where the tables are one on top of the other…read more It was nice to not be sitting so close to someone else like in many other restaurants today. The menu is quite varied. We had a Caesar salad and a mixed salad to start. The Caesar needed more dressing as it was a little dry. The citrus salad dressing on the mixed salad was one of the best I've ever had. I would return to Osteria Gente for the mixed alone. For the main, my wife selected the Gnocchi Lobster and I got the Paccheri Con Gamberi. The gnocchi was good and there was a small lobster tail cut in half. If there was crab meat, it was hidden as it wasn't obvious. The Paccheri was green? and it tasted ok, but not great. There was some cut up pieces of shrimp at the bottom of the plate and 3 good-sized shrimp on top. The portions were a good size. For dessert, we got the homemade Italian donuts. This, too, was a good portion. It was good but could use more flavour. The cappuccino and lattes were nicely served. Overall, I'd consider returning as they have a good menu. Perhaps pizza next time? It looked good.

Had a birthday dinner here several days ago and it was amazing !…read more Service was great! Staff were friendly as always! Food was hot, tasty and delicious! Atmosphere was amazing! Will definitely go back and higher recommend this place!

A local friend brought us to Farro Ristorante for lunch one weekend, and we really enjoyed our…read moreexperience there! The restaurant usually closes for special celebrations/events during the day on weekends, so we were very grateful that they could accommodate us this one-time :) The service was A+, very friendly and welcoming host and servers. I absolutely loved the soup of the day: Minestrone. It was so hearty, delicious and filled with so much ingredients. The beet salad with arugula and feta cheese was delicious. The Genoa pizza was nice and thin, and loaded with pesto, pine nuts, chicken, mushrooms and cheeses. I would definitely come back to try more items on the menu (I'm eye that risotto our friend was having that day lol). Can't wait to come back!

We came here for our anniversary and it was simply delightful! I ordered the Quattro Pizza, wife…read moregot the lamb shank, and ordered the seafood pasta for the 4 year old (thinking we were set for the week). My pizza was decent, but the wife's lamb shank was extremely tender and rich. Couldn't really evaluate the seafood pasta....but it seemed pretty good as our kid killed the entire order. The tiramisu was really really good, but what really was impressive was the ambiance and the service. Staff was so friendly and very very attentive....though quite possibly just taken back by our kid's appetite.