This place is such a scam! They overcharge for everything. Aside from a few fancy pastas they are just a convenience store taking advantage of people. Go to grace meat market for better sauce and pasta selection. read more

As a pasta lover and fan of all Italian food, I am constantly in search of stores that can satiate this need and offer some uniqueness to what they offer as well as a higher quality margin. So much of the time you are presented with the same garden variety items that you find in the supermarkets and it's not worth going out of your way to shop there. This is where Festival stands out. The pasta selection is fantastic, especially for such a small floor space. I had been searching for Lumache (my favorite pasta shape) for years without success and found it here under a couple brands. They have a good variety of other pastas flat and shaped, and more variety than many of their competitors. Any type of pasta shape you seek can most likely be found here, with good brand names to back them. They also carry a huge selection of tomato sauces and canned DOP tomatoes (from the region in Italy) that make for better quality sauces. There is also frozen pasta available at reasonable prices. If you need to pick up your Lotto Max you can also do it here, and they sell cigarettes for the small percentage of people who still light up. The guy who owns it and a woman who I think I was told was his mother are usually the ones at the counter and they were helpful. Prices are good, I'd say very reasonable. Considering you're getting real Italian quality pasta and so much selection, it's impressive. And they always seem to have what you need. No deli section, but there are some frozen and chilled items available and a selection of American and Italian sodas. Worth the trip read more

Festival's got a great selection of imported Italian dried pasta, including artisan spelt ("farro") pasta which I love and can't find at any supermarkets in town. As well, their stock of fresh (frozen) hand-made stuffed raviolis, and imported olive oils & balsamic vinegars is impressive, and everything seems reasonably priced. If you like Italian shaving cream, they carry that, too! The shop owners are very nice and helpful. Sure, they and their buddies are always watching football or whatever else is on the TV, but who cares? They are helpful, and interrupt their tele-viewing to answer any questions I've had, and are good-humoured, too. P.S. They do not accept credit cards, but do take debit cards. read more

I don't use yelp very often due to ethical issues with the site. However, if someone goes out of their way to be pleasant (or nasty) I will temporarily swallow my misgivings and log in. I just moved around the corner and wanted to support a small business rather than a grocery chain so I came here to do some shopping. There is a lot crowded inside a small overheated space and I quickly started to feel claustrophobic. Although I was the only customer inside and it was hours away from closing time, the sour faced elderly woman at the till was very abrupt and dismissive when I asked her a simple question (What filling is in the cookies?). I expected prices to be more than a chain store but the majority of priced items were about 50 to 70% higher than a standard grocery store. Many of the items were not priced at all or one price was on the box containing items while another more expensive price was hidden at the back of the item. When I noticed the woman ringing up several prices that were almost double what was advertised, I politely asked for clarification. She snapped at me and told me that I had eyes and that the prices were right in front of me. At which point, I calmly told her to keep her groceries. Many of the items looked very nice and I was looking forward to supporting this business but there is no reason to be so dishonest or rude. read more

I want to love this place. There are really some great finds in here and if you're looking for a nice pasta, this is a great place. I live right around the corner so I tend to come here with last minute needs. I've gotten some great things here but I've also gotten a lot of bad things too. I mean literally bad. check the expiration dates because I find a lot of their products are expired. The prices are high but there are some imported items you might not be able to get at the Metro down the street. read more

This store has a spectacular selection of fine Italian products in a very confined space. The best olive oils, hand made dried pastas, a huge selection of the best Italian Espresso and even fresh rolls. The owner is a sweet old Italian lady and I love thse kind of sores that fly in the face of the Walmarts and Costcos of the world. read more

This family run store carries an abundance of true Italian products. They carry dried pasta of every kind imaginable (which you won't find at the local grocery store), but they also have fresh pasta which is absolutely delicious from angelotti, ravioli, gnocci, manicotti, etc. They also have fresh ground coffee, which you have to request at the register, as well as Illy and other coffees. They carry a huge array of olive oils and balsamic vinegars but also such things as pickled eggplants, Italian tunas, dried figs, deli meats and cheeses, chocolates and every kind of Italian biscotti you can think of. Being of Italian descent I love that this small local store also carries Italian soaps, creams, talcum powders and shower gels that you can only find in Italy. They smell so good!!!! Overall, this store is a true gem....the owners are super friendly and whenever I'm on College St. I make sure to stop by and load up on my favorite Italian products. read more