Service was impeccable - fresh ground pepper and fresh parmesan ready on standby, water refilled without even asking. I was worried because of the reviews, but after going I feel like the restaurant got a bad rap because of guest's expectations before they even step in to the restaurant. The place doesn't have a cool hipster atmosphere like places downtown. Neither does it offer a world class chef curated menu that you'd take Anthony Bourdain to in his Toronto stopover. It is not a dive either - and the food isn't the 'comfort food' type where it is loaded with grease and whole-flavouredness (*ahem* Dantes *ahem*). What it does provide is a casual, healthy approach to Italian food. I think the restaurant is best categorized as ''neighbourhood italian fare', similar to what you'd find at your health-conscious Italian sister's place (not grandmas)?? Dishes aren't over-seasoned or greased up. It was simple and yummy. I can tell they make their own tomato sauce. It reminded me of simple food in Italy. I liked it, I'd probably go back again. read more

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First time here, for 2018 summerlicious, with family and friends. Service is OK, the atmosphere is not as nice as expected, food is not impressed ... A little bit disappointed actually, feels it's not worth of $33 dinner value... Don't think we will visit again. Not recommend. read more

Italian food..pasta la vista baby!! The scenery here is very mature; almost to the point where I felt kind of guilty for having on my snap back hat. However, there is a bar and a TV playing sports. So I guess they are trying to cater to every age. TBH- I am very generic when it comes to Italian food- so half the time I had to google image what I wanted- Ordered the bruschetta and much like everything on the menu it was on the $$ side for what the value is. However- their entree's were fairly moderately priced. I ordered the rigatoni della nonna and asked my server to make it very spicy. He answered in his italian acccent- which makes the place feel a little bit more authentic. However the indian chef knew exactly what I was talking about- woaah! he made it fire. Delicious hot fire! Thankfully, I had my friend's penne veronese to sample- which my mind only allows me to translate as really really good mac and cheese with mushrooms in it. Helped stabilize my burning tongue and the creamy cheesiness was delicious as well. They have a nice little bread basket that they serve . Overall the price is on the higher end . However experience and quality wise- SURE! give it a go for some authentic italian food! read more

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Nice casual place to go. Great server. Their calamari fritti is one of the best in town. Pasta is excellent too. Not so sure about the risotto but pizza and pasta, you won't fail. read more

Friendly helpful staff. Lots of smiles and recommendation. We Had the antipasti plates, selection of various breads with dipping oils and butter. Penne with seafood and my favorite veal Marsala with grilled shrimp. Nice selection of beers. Kids went with pasta and pizza. This is a medium price dinning house. Thirteen people ate and drank beer n coffees. Bill came to $500 plus tip. Again. Great attentive service. read more

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Attended a private function and was very, very impressed. Some staff didn't show up so the owner lassoed his family. Service was outstanding and extremely friendly. Tables were beautifully set and the food! So, so good. A great place to hold a party. Close to subway and lots of parking. Loved it all. read more

Abominable restaurant with no respect for its customers - told us we had no reservation even though our name was visible on the list, put others ahead, after an hour, still had no table for us and no idea when they would. Nowhere to sit and wait, patrons waiting - all unmasked, people and tables very close together on patio. We left - will never return. At some point, who cares what the food is like? read more

I want to put as 3.5 star Both Pasta and Pizzas are good. They have some cut pizza and French bread as free bread ( which is a surprise! ). The reason I put as 3.5 star as the service is 'AWKWARD'. I went 3 times before and everytime the service was unusual. 1. Some waiters do not tell us about the special dish for the day unless we asked. They do not mentioned about the price of those dish. 2. Sometimes, even the restaurant is not that busy, they still ask you to sit in the small table for 2 and I found that there is not enough space for the food. 3. There is a time the waiter did not give me the dessert menu and he told me that he will tell me what they have. He explained the dessert menu is not up-to-date. If the service is better, I will have a higher rating as the food is always good over there! read more

Third time I've been to this place and I never had a complaint. The fried calamari, carpaccio, roasted vegetable salad are amazing. I've had the orecchiete and the ragu, definitely favourites ... last time i had the seafood with cheese risotto, quite a nice portion! My friend did get the mushroom truffle risotto and we had to send it back as it was lacking flavour, she got the ragu, all good. The server was accommodating even though he started to get busy and we were a large group. Prices are good, wine list is nice. Order a half litre, great for two people. Will go back again. read more

I've ordered a delivery from these guys and I feel like I need to leave a note of praise! The order was delivered even before the time that was emailed me! And it was a surprise for my wife as she didn't expect any pizza )). Now about the food: it was awesome! Pizzas aren't the ones I ate in Rome but are very close! For Canada this is really great! Godiva double chocolate cheesecake was eaten the day after as we were full with pizzas )) and the dessert was atomic!!! I don't really like cheesecakes but this one was kind of an exception! read more

Mezza Notte has been in Willowdale for years. We ordered a takeout pizza recently and loved the quality and taste and the reasonable price. A similar pizza at Il Fornello would have cost a lot more. A much-needed, quality Italian restaurant in the neighbourhood and we're glad they've survived the pressures of Covid. read more

It was great to finally get out. First restaurant experience in 2 years. Sevice was amazing. Attentive, friendly etc. Pizzas pretty good...7-8/10. Seafood rissoto just ok. Seafood a bit over cooked but very tasty, rice dry and bland but not terrible. Dinner for 4 $130 incl tip. Would expect a bit more quality for the $$ but all in all not bad. read more

Hair inside my dish. Food is not good. An inspector should come at this place. Reallly really grossed out. ..... The menus are sticky as well! Serious hygiene problem! read more

I WAS a loyal long time customer of Mezza Notte, until tonight. I made a reservation in advance for New Year's Eve. Upon arrival I was told extremely rudely by both the hostess and the owner that "my name was not on their list". I told them I had made a reservation in advance so obviously there was some sort of mix up. Instead of apologizing and trying to make the situation right like they should have if they had any decent customer service skills, they again told me my name wasn't on their list and looked at me like I was lying about my reservation. They then walked away and talked amongst themselves for a few minutes. When the hostess returned she waved at a table right in front of the door and said this is all I have, then walked away without actually seating us. Talk about rude! It gets better though. When I asked to have my pasta with just tomato sauce, no cream, because I'm lactose intolerant, I was told I would have to pay a substitution charge. Yes, because of an allergy I had to pay extra. This was probably one of the worst customer service experiences I've ever had. I used to order take out from Mezza Notte a few times a month and visit regularly. That's definitely not happening anymore! read more

Years I've passed by this place, turned off by the garish Benz that never seemed to move, and the fact it's right next to a "Aren't We Naughty." But it's become a staple on Yonge North, and the online menu suggested that this wasn't a very pretentiously priced place. I took my best friend Tia. I don't understand the lighting in Italian Restaurants, it always feels as if I'm seeing things through a whiskey bottle. I guess it's supposed to be romantic, but if that were the case, let's just turn off all the lights altogether. I'm not well versed in Italian cuisine, so although the menu had descriptions, it still looked like a foreign language novel to me. I left the ordering to our very charismatic waitress who was patient enough to become my pasta encyclopaedia. I got some kind of cheese sauce tortellini, and Tia ordered some kind of potato pasta. I also order the mixed grilled vegetables as an appetizer, and request zucchini with it. Apparently, I didn't know how to pronounce zucchini... So, our Entrées came first..but somehow I ended up with spaghetti. When I notified the waiter of this, three staff came out apologizing to me as if it were some international incident between China and Italy. There were so many different wait staff trying to console me, I felt like pulling out a whistle and waving a red card. So Tia didn't like the mixed veg because it was cold, I didn't realize this until she pointed it out. I was busy telling another waiter that it was okay that the orders of which the food came didn't offend me. The bread here was mixed, and tolerable. We didn't get any wine, as neither of us were fans of Italian. Our waitress was ultra attentive, but I suppose it was because the restaurant wasn't buzzing by any means. In fact, she was such a regular at our table, I almost offered her a seat. She was however, very entertaining..and so our impression of her was a good one. I might have though made the novice mistake of talking to her breasts half the time. In my defence, they were eye level. I must say, it was perhaps her friendliness that saved the experience. I mean, there were a total of six tables, how can you possibly get my order wrong? There is miniature statue of an Italian Knight by the door...I have no idea what that's about. The décor was boring. If it were any dimmer, I'm sure I would have mistaken it as a pub. There was a photo of this gorgeous strawberry cheesecake exploding in strawberries. I refused to share with Tia, so we ended up getting two. When it came...it was something completely different, with no strawberries. Or rather, the strawberry was this wave of colour in the slice...yeah, it was good, but we were disappointed. Two entrées, two desserts, one water, two sodas, and an appetizer ended up costing $71, plus a $25 tip..I didn't actually expect this dinner to cost me $96 dollars. The food certainly was not amazing, although I did have a enjoyable time. I just don't know whether the food was worth that price. I mean, virtually ever other restaurant nearby serves a full meal for two for half that price, or cheaper. If this was to be most expensive restaurant in the area, then perhaps they could find a niche...and being Italian ain't one. Perhaps their niche could be a connecting door to Aren't We Naughty...yeah? Now there's an untapped market! read more

Mezza Notte Trattoria - Italian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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We celebrated a friend's birthday on a Tuesday night and I was pleasantly surprised to see a fully booked house. The service was pretty quick between taking our drink orders, food orders and when the food came out - surprisingly so since it was so full. Onwards to the food: The focaccia/bread was deelicious and completely went with our Penne Mezza Notte that we shared. It's a $40 gigantic dish to share which had generous portions of mussels, squid, clams, shrimps...and KING CRAB! The broth was so good with all the seafood juices and tomato sauce. I did prefer dipping the bread rather than eating the penne though. We shared a bottle of the Sangiovese Montepulciano, IL Brecciarolo (Italy) which was a lighter red which was so good on its own and great for pairing with the seafood. This is definitely not the cheapest Italian restaurant I've been to but I think the prices are reasonable for the large portions and quality that you get. We had a great time and I'd definitely come back here when I have an Italian craving again. read more

Tried this place with my family ,they sat us fast because we made reservations. Was packed busy. The waitress was kind of cold, she got us drinks took 30 mins to bring us cold bread . Salad had no taste ,I was really disappointed. Service was slow as well. Pasta was good ,meat was ok husband said. I won't be going back . read more

Portion, check. Service, double check. Food...meh. I got the whole wheat fettuccine Siciliana, and for $20 (tax +tip) the portion size is good. The food is pretty bland though, regardless of the plentiful ingredients (green/red peppers, mushrooms.zucchini, eggplant and chicken.) Had it been more flavourful (or not-bland, maybe?) it would have been perfect, but this will not be somewhere I would go again. The service was good though! But then again I went at three oclock in the afternoon and was the only one there :P read more

We made a reservation for 8 people at 6:30 on Sat nite. Although the food was good, the service was not. Bread was brought to one end of the table and we asked for a basket of bread for the other end- it never arrived. The salad came for 2 of us, and an hour later we flagged the manager to inquire about the entrees. Three of us got the order and for the rest of us it came later. We had to ask for water, glasses were not filled automatically. All in all it was a disaster. This level is unacceptable. read more

I was hesitant to go here because of the inconsistent and mixed reviews, but they rocked our dinner and I was very happy with the whole night. We had a large group - 18 - so we booked the room at the back which worked very well for us. Service all night was friendly, fast and accurate, and I was very impressed by the efficiency of the staff. The wine list is small but respectable, and we were able to find some good selections at reasonable prices. We started off with an assortment of appetizers - the carpaccio, bruschetta, fried calamari, the rustic della casa platter, and the caprese salad. We gobbled it all up pretty quickly, and nobody had any complaints, so the first course was a success. The entrees were as good or better. I had the veal chop, which was really good. Also getting very positive reviews were the seafood risotto, the grilled mixed seafood, the pizza, heck, pretty much everything we had. The tiramisu also went over really well, but I was too stuffed to have any dessert by then. This place may be inconsistent, but they were on the night we visited, and they fully deserved their rating. Yes, I will be back. read more

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I originally wanted to get the PAPPARDELLE with lamb ragu but the kitchen was still cooking the lamb and won't be ready for another hour. So I had to change my decision and went with the SPAGHETTI CARTOCCIO - squid ink spaghetti, mussels, clams, tiger shrimp, calamari with white wine, tomato sauce. The pasta came in a parchment bag and it was opened right in front of me, that was pretty neat. The squid ink pasta was homemade, it was very chewy. There was a lot of mussels but the meat was tiny, the calamari was very soft, not tough to chew. The tomato sauce was very tasty. Everything mixed together was ok, I've had better pasta dishes so I was not especially impressed with the dish. Maybe also because I had my heart on the lamb ragu so it didn't add up. The service was good though, and the place was getting packed later on the dinner shift so it is a popular place. read more

As others have already pointed out in previous reviews, everything is there for this restaurant, except for food quality... and also maybe that it is located in a sketchy plaza with a dirty looking sex shop. As for the food, I'd rather get a quarter size of their portions and more flavour. The dishes were either overly salty or incredibly bland. The pasta was cooked very well, but it lacked what some would describe as passion and love for the food itself. My seafood fettuccine had seafood in it, but it just didn't have the seafood flavour. Perhaps the seafood was from frozen, or the cream sauce didn't have any seafood juices in it. The service was great though, she managed a large group of us and helped us pack our food and out the door in a timely manner. It made for an acceptable turn-around time for a lunch outing during work hours. read more

The first time I dined at Mezza Notte Trattoria (MNT), it was a casual fine dining restaurant, with many pricey main entrees to choose. It simplified its menu and removed the pricey mains a few years ago. Therefore, I now consider it a lower-end casual fine restaurant. The atmosphere and decor are what lifting it to the "fine" level. The food is a different story. MNT serves mainly pizza and pasta, plus a few veal and chicken entrees. The pizzas are okay but not much better than the gourmet pizzas from boutique pizzerias, such as Mama Pizza and My Little Pizzeria. The pasta with red sauce is tasty but the one with rose sauce is average. In conclusion, MNT is an okay restaurant. It is a good, old, stable neighborhood restaurant that you can come every month for weekend dining. I'd like to compare it to Swiss Chalet, Pickle Barrel or East Side Mario. It is unsurprising but reliable, like an old charming pal. read more

We just had a fantastic dinner at Mezza Notte. Since I noticed that there have been some mixed review, I wanted to make sure that I posted a review. Several things stood out: 1) Bread basket is AMAZING! Such a pleasant surprise. We were expecting a typical bread basket of white bread and butter, but instead we got spiced tomato focaccia bread, garlic buttery focaccia bread, and yummy Italian bread. 2) Dan was a fantastic waiter! He put our pizza in right away to make sure it was timed to be an appetizer. We had great service the whole time. 3) Vanilla tartufo was incredible! Perfect temperature of the ice cream, not too hard or too melty. 4) Our main courses were delicious and the pasta was cooked well. We are definitely coming back! Great experience and reasonably priced too! read more

We ordered a calamari in spicy tomato sauce as an appetizer. The calamari was very tender, and tomato sauce was fresh with a kick. With the wonderful bread/focaccia, we sopped up every bit of the sauce on the plate after the calamari was all gone. The main course was angel hair with mushroom in a tomato sauce. The pasta was cooked just perfectly, al dente, which I find difficult as angel hair gets overcooked a lot. The sauce was very fresh and seasoned very well. We also ordered a tiramisu. According to the waiter, this dessert was made in the restaurant (unlike the cheesecake that was the other choice... from Cheescake Factory). The tiramisu was light, just the right amount of rum. Very nicely done. Our waiter was friendly and very helpful. We did find the place a little noisy, but it was totally packed on this Saturday night, but the ambiance was acceptable. read more

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Been here a number of times but not for a few years....the reason being that it's is over priced and the service is meh. That and there are cutting fees when you bring your own cake for a party. I resent that after spending $250, they have the nerve to do this. As to the food, it is good but I always feel robbed. They are not reinventing the wheel here. read more

I have heard good things about this place from someone but after reading the reviews on yelp, I never thought about going until my friend suggested. The yelp review was correct. We went with a group of 7 and it looked a bit busy on an early sunday evening. The atmosphere was nice, however, none of us really enjoyed the food there. Most of the dishes we ordered either lacked of flavor or had too much tomato sauce. For similar price you could get much better italian food somewhere else. read more

Mezza Notte Trattoria - Vegetable pasta with tomato sauce - Italian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Best calamari I've ever eaten. Pizza was alright, pasta was good. Good service. Would go back again

I used to work in 5150 Yonge building, so a frequent flier at this place. Nothing bad, nothing great, it's the kind of place that you feel safe to take a group to, knowing everyone will find something to his/her liking but don't expect anything to blow you away. Service can be a hit or miss. read more

This has been my family's go-top restaurant for many years. We have had countless parties (Dine-In & Take out) here. Every single item on the menu is fantastic. Gus& Rob always make everyone who walks in the door feel like family. The ambiance is great for a quite date night, girls night or even a family dinner out. My personal favourite is the Penne Veronese! read more

I don't get it. This place is almost always full and a lot of the diners are Italian families, so I was expecting the food to be amazing like the restaurants in downtown Little Italy. But it was a big letdown. We got the oreccheiette aromantica (pasta with crumbled sausage and olive oil) and the crespelle napoletana (crepe pasta stuffed with different cheeses bathed in tomato sauce). Both were average at best (oreccheiette: dry sausage, pasta was on the hard side of aldente; crespelle: good flavour but too much sauce that it was almost a bit soupy). Maybe this place used to be great, and you can see hints of it in how the dishes tasted. But how they were cooked definitely didn't do the recipes justice. Too bad, was definitely hoping for more. read more

The staff were amazing and so helpful. we went yesterday for dinner and ordered INSALATA CAPRESE and CALAMARI FRITTI and were so good. and for the main course we ordered ORECCHIETTE AROMANTICA and a special dish (chicken breast stuffed with cheese and spinach and vegetables on the side) and that when it went totally wrong. Main course took around 30 mins to be served. The food was horrible, the chicken was under cooked, too sour, it was not stuffed with anything and it came with bones! spinach was below the chicken and the cheese was melted on top of the chicken chew skin :(, half a spoon of mashed potato that did not taste good and couple of carrots scattered around the dish. The pasta dish was tasteless, the sausage was extremely chewy and not cooked well with no spices nor flavor what so ever. The pizza was saggy and wet! we returned the chicken dish. and the waitress apologized many times. I think the chef has no idea what italian food is about. I do recommend the service but not the food! Not going ever again! food was not good at alllllll read more

This is definitely your average Italian fare. I was overly unimpressed but I've definitely had better gnocchi.

Came here dinner around Christmas time to catch up with my cousin. Reservations were made a week before. The restaurant was busy and there were only 2 servers. We sat down but they toally ignored us for 15 minutes, didnt ask us if we wanted any drinks or bread. Until we tried to flag one of them down. Finally they bought us some bread, a nice selection but it was really cold. Would be nice if they warmed it up. We ordered mussels (but they ran out) so we got calamari instead, pappardelle, tortelinni and pizza cosentina. The food was excellent and the portions were good. I loved that they had a selection of homemade pasta. When we got out bill it looked a bit high, they forgot to take the mussels off and we had to get them to correct it. Overall horrible service but excellent food. Hopefully the service will be next time. read more

I had a lovely time their with my wife for date night last saturday. We ordered Calamari fritti and a tortelini with rose sauce to share and a rustic pizza. I also love their bread baskets. Things can get a little pricey but such a nice restaurant for date night. read more

Visited on a Sat night, we had a group of 13. We were seated in the private room, it felt like we had the place to ourselves it was so quiet. They were even able to accommodate a semi-crying 2 year old. It was earth hour that night, so they dimmed the lights. I got the Pizza Genovese which was wonderful. We stayed a good 2 hours +, thanks Mezza Notte for a wonderful evening! Only thing that was a hassle is the tiny parking lot in front that only fits about 8 cars. I took the TTC so it's a good 5-10min walk to North York Centre Station. read more

We ordered a pizza like we do most weekends and it came burnt very over done so we called them to inform them that their pizza came over done and the guy on the phone did not care. He said that they were very busy but that is no excuse to send a burnt pizza I called back to talk to the manager and he told me that the manager is too busy to talk to me this is ridiculous and they have lost a loyal customer. I will never order from them again there is tons of pizza places in the area that I will try read more

i dont really like italian food (well, until recently til tappo and paganelli's.. but anyways). i used to find pasta so boring, plain & bland that i would always end up eating some bland pasta covered in permesean/black pepper. theres no exciting flavors, it just doesnt wake up my tastebuds. THIS was the exact scenario at mezza notte trattoria. plain, boring, bland pasta. bleh. it didnt help that the server was pretty snotty & stuck up, looking so displeased and forced serving us. the pasta dish i ordered was also recommended by this server as well. i dont think i'll ever come back. read more

The food is not bad, but the service is horrible. Our waitress had an attitude did not once check on us or ask us how our food was, and when we asked for water, the person serving looked like he had better things to do. The salade caprese was not the best I have had. How can you make salade caprese with stale mozarella cheese and unripe tomatoes? Pasta was fine though, and I would give this place another chance because of that. read more

We ordered for delivery and weren't too impressed with the food. It was a little bland and nothing special for the price.