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.

I'm loving the atmosphere in here. Casual Fine Dining, I think they call it. We need more…read morerestaurants like this.... that serve more than just Italian Food. OsteriaCT is in the heart of downtown, just a few steps away from the Core. It's neighbour, La Bettola De Terroni (also own by Terroni et al.) is a bar/loungey feel, with a very similar daily menu and the added bonus of pizzas. Thursday night at OsteriaCT was bustling. The menu has variety and well priced (except some tricky math...), except a bit confusing (as was the bill later). It says (per person): 5 Antipasti ($15) 5 Antipasti + Primo ($23) 5 Antipasti + Secondi ($28) 5 Antipasti + Primo + Secondi ($35) In the menu, you will see: - the Antipasti for the day. There are no prices. You get all or you get none. - Primos (Pastas) for ($15, except one for $12) - Secondis (Main Dishes, meats and such) for ($15) There are also specials for $22/$28 on the wall, that include the 5 Antipasti If you break this all down, essentially your best deal is the last Full combo, getting the Antipasti + a Beet Salad for free. If you're getting Primo, you're paying an extra $8 (instead of $15) If you're getting Secondi, you're paying and extra $9 If you're getting both, you're paying an extra $5 At first I was annoyed by the math in all this, and we decided to be cheap and order only 3 combos for the table, and share the Antipastis. I take this back after they came, because they were quite yummy. I might even say better than my Primo. Well worth the extra $8. And you won't want to share. I also feared the portions will be tiny, especially since I"ve been to other restaurants and they take the Primo part of it seriously. I was pleasantly surprised when it was somewhere in between, and because it was pasta, quite filling. I would recommend getting a Secondi, only if you're planning on sharing with one or two other people. You want room for dessert! Our server was okay. She wasn't super friendly, and I felt she was a little cold and condescending, but it wasn't anything either way. She spoke fast, explaining to us how the menu worked, and when taking our order, assumed everyone will get getting the Antipasti. I got the Orecchiette with Rapini, Anchovies, Chilli + Garlic. Since on the menu they had a Spelt Orecchiette for another dish, I asked if I can substitute. I was given a blunt "No" and an annoyed look. I gave an equally annoyed look back when I realized that these dishes are either premixed (unlikely) or made in huge batches (more likely, but why not just do another pasta? I'd pay extra). It was an instant minus-one-star moment for me. My pasta was yummy, but some of the pieces slightly too al dente. My boyfriend's Gnocchi in Lamb Ragu was over powered in Cheese flavour, less of the Lamb. Good, but disappointing. Maybe it was the Bread Gnocchi instead of the potato. My cousin ordered the full deal and we got to try the Mung Fish... or wait, was it Munk Fish? (probably) Sitting on top of fennel and olives, and hidden under a pile of shave onion that looks like bonito flakes, were 2 small pieces. Flavourful for sure, but a small ratio between fish and the rest.. For dessert we shared the decadent flourless chocolate cake $9) covered with zabaione (which I learnt is egg yolk+sugar). It's made "especially for you", says the menu - as opposed to everything else.... The olive oil sponge cake was something different ($8) with white chocolate butter cream. We found the butter cream a bit too artificial tasting, but the cake itself was moist and sweet. Perhaps I haven't had Italian food in a long time, and although it used to be my favourite, I've come to realize that ingredients are really basic, but methods and techniques are something to appreciate. The pastas shouldn't cost more than $15 a person, and that's what they do here. With no wine, and dessert it came to about $30-35 per person including taxes and tip. ---- Overall, 4 stars for food taste, prices and quality. Minus one star for the bumps along the way. I recommend the place for groups or a casual meal after work. note: they change their menu everyday, however, I'm looking at it now at the menu dated for March 17th and it does look really similar to last night (March 24th)with a few exceptions. I'm just saying.

I pass by this place every now and then and it is always packed, not surprising as Terroni seems to…read morehave a handle on Italian food establishments all over the city and the location is quite central. Reservation was via open table though it will show up under Le Bettola Osteria. For starters they don't have the prix fix menu anymore. Never mind they have combined the menu of both spots so one can order things from both sides. I was a bit early so went through it again as had to rethink what to order. After a bit of contemplating we settled on ordering Burrata cheese pizza as an app to share I ordered a halibut for the main. My friend ordered a pesto pasta. We were given some good bread to start with a nice olive oil for dipping. Good start. The Burrata pizza is served with cold topping and was good. Then the wait started even though we were checked on regularly there was no sign of the main courses. Halibut though cooked well was nothing special. Not much seasoning which is fine but the sides could have elevated this dish a bit. I did taste the pasta and being my jaded self when it comes to pasta dishes didn't care for it much. For what one pays here I would say I expect better. 2.5 stars.

Paese has stayed on my to try list for a while. I finally get to have dinner here while searching…read morefor restaurants with tables available on spot. There were only a few groups of customers when we arrive, so it was a quiet and relaxed place perfect for chatting. The waitress was friendly as well. The food was with okay but not wowing quality at very reasonable price ($30-$40 per person). For dinner, we ordered Caesar salad and crispy mushroom as appetizers. The salad has very light dressing. The crispy mushroom is flavourful and served with a creamy and spicy sauce. For mains, we tried both the Rigatoni salsiccia and chicken breast pasta. The sausage in Rigatoni salsiccia tastes a bit old and the sauce is spicy. The chicken breast pasta is not bad and is again with lighter flavour. Overall, this is a restaurant I'd consider when I'm looking for simple food and a place good for chatting or spacing out.

Going to work used to involve going south on Bathurst or Dufferin. If I chose to take Bathurst,…read morePaese would be a restaurant that I would pass by. Paese would stick out because going down Bathurst from Vaughan to Allen Rd, there's just no fancy restaurants along the way. For that reason, I've always been curious about Paese. Through coincidence, I had to drop off something to a relative in the area with my older one, which presented me the opportunity to give Paese a try during Summerlicious week. While the value is there purely because of Summerlicious, the quality of food and service is not in sync with the normal prices charged. I'm not saying the service was not polite, but it was definitely not professional enough for a higher end restaurant. I'll share some examples as I go along. The prix fixe courses started with a salmon tartar and my son's deep fried oyster mushroom. Deep fried mushroom is probably not something I would order out, unless it came as a piece from a tempura dish at a Japanese restaurant. I do have to say the mushroom was the best dish out of everything we tried during the evening. The batter was light and although the seasoning was simple, it did its job. Sadly, i couldn't say the same about the vegan lime aioli which tasted like tartar sauce. It just did not pair well with the mushroom. Salmon tartare was disappointing as the taste of capers dominated the whole thing. The whole thing was too sour for my personal taste. Before our starters were done, the server ushered in the main dishes. Why would they do such a thing without asking the patrons? And when the server saw my son's unfinished plate of mushroom, he asked if he can take it away (half of the mushrooms were still there). Wouldn't it make more sense to ask if we are still working on it or whether we preferred it packed away? A critical error that was made was when my son ordered his steak. The server didn't even bother to ask how he would like the steak done. Is it because he's a kid, he doesn't get a choice? Disappointingly the steak came out well done. The salsa verde which we enjoyed salvaged the steak, but I could also tell that they used a significantly inferior piece of meat. The salmon con miele was ok, but it is leaning closer to the overcooked side of the spectrum. There was nothing special about the dish at all. I wouldn't say it would be significantly better than what I can do at home (not that I'm an exceptional cook). Dessert was decent. Nothing jumped off the page. Sticky toffee pudding has never been my cup of tea. So all I can say is, it's too sweet for my liking. The coconut pie is ok. The coconut flavours were mainly engineered from the shredded coconut. All in all, an unmemorable dinner that I definitely wouldn't pay full prices for.

The food was quite good. I tried the fettuccine selvaggia and it was really good, not too heavy and…read morea good amount of mushrooms. The tiramisu was also quite good, not enough coffee for me personally but was still very enjoyable. The service was excellent, the food came out quickly and the server was also attentive. The owner even came around checking in on everyone, which was nice to see. The ambiance was also nice, a well furnished restaurant and ample seating. It'd be perfect for little get togethers as well as large parties. It wasn't too busy when I went so the noise level was fine but I can imagine it getting loud when the restaurant fills up. Overall a very enjoyable experience and worth a spot for anyone wanting a new Italian spot!

Celebrating 10th year anniversary! Novita Italian Cuisine has been around for a decade and…read morehonestly, this is still my favourite spot for Italian food in Markham :) It's great for date nights, GNOs and even large group parties. I have hosted so many dinner parties here in the past years, and I seriously only have praises for this place! Recent visit on a Thursday night for their Twist & Twirl Thursday dinner specials (20% off pastas and cocktails). We ended up going for the seasonal 3-course meal :D Our server was especially warm and welcoming, even though you can tell he is so swamped. He brought us some bread and olive oil dip shortly after putting our orders in. The lobster bisque was chef's kiss. It was so creamy and flavourful; I wanted another bowl lol. The warm beet salad was also really tasty. On to the main: the creamy seafood pasta was amazing, it was loaded with shrimps, scallops and mussels. I would definitely order this again! The duck was also tasty. As for dessert, the tiramisu and the panna cotta are must-orders #nobrainer

This Italian restaurant is pretty above average. The creamy pasta sauce is not super heavy like…read moresome Italian place. The grilled calamari is juicy and fresh, super recommend. Desserts are very typical Italian deserts so you don't have to order it if you don't want to. Service was fast. I

Tutto Pronto is a dine-in restaurant that also offers ready-to-eat meals and dishes for take-out…read more(already on display behind the glass counter when you walk into the restaurant), catering, and events (with large rooms that you can book, along with customized menu options). My experience is based on the catering order. The ordering process is seamless on their website, with online payment option, ability to select pick-up date and time window, and confirmation email sent prior to pick-up time. The grilled vegetables that we got were perfect - still crisp and not overcooked, with just the right amount of seasoning. The small portion size was good for 10-12 people. It consisted of asparagus, red and yellow bell peppers, zucchini, eggplants, and mushrooms. It was served on a heavy and high-quality wooden plate (not some cheap take-out container), so it could be reused. They even gave a large cardboard box as a vessel for the already well wrapped plate, to make transporting it easier.

Came for Winterlicious. Made a call for reservation an hour before arrival that went into voicemail…read moreand they never called back. When we arrived, they made a big fuss over reservation because the restaurant is small and not a lot of tables, which made us feel bad. They didn't do a good job of table management because they kept some tables unseated while waiting for reservations which came much later, and by that time other tables opened up. Appetizer was either mussel or different varieties of salad. Main course was decent but nothing to write home about. The tiramisu dessert was awful. It was too hard and chewy.

Server was a friendly man. After we got seated, he told us the specials of the day (like butternut…read moresquash soup, peach burrata ($30), penne a la vodka ($20), a char dish with roast potatoes ($35), and stirloin dish. He answered our questions (like the bruschetta is the same size as a pizza, and what certain things, like the penne a la vodka comes with pancetta) and told us the pizza and bruschetta are freshly made. We got there at 6:30 and we understood that since things were freshly made, it will take a while. The arugula on the bruschetta was a different take than my regular bruschetta with basil leaves, but still tasty. It was too much food so next time we won't order an appetizer. The pasta was creamy and had a strong seafood taste. Perfect texture of penne. The pear pizza, with ingredients like honey and pear, I was intrigued and thought it would be sweet. Unlike the honey sesame crust on a maker pizza, I didn't taste any honey. The pear was a very delish addition. Since this pizza had cheese, pear, honey, it did not need tomato sauce - the cheese was creamy and melty inside, kinda like burrata cheese. There was some green thing in it, maybe a herb or very tiny pieces of broccoli. Both the pizza and the pasta were tasty but I think we'd try something else next time We'd be back :)

We enjoyed a nice meal at Joia, good attentive service, well prepared food, decent choices on the…read moremenu. They accommodated an appetizer portion of the gnocchi, which I really wanted to try. My wife had two Apps instead of an entree; Portobello stuffed mushroom & grill calamari which she really enjoyed. We shared a chicken pesto feta pizza, which Kai our server recommended, very good choice. I had the veal portafolio which was a great preparation and good variety of complimentary vegetables on the plate, plus a very savoury dish, made to order. This is an established restaurant, with many Moses reviews, but I was impressed with our experience. Great wine selection, little pricy

It is a great place. It has Good service, and the food was excellent see pics…read more Drinks and appetizers were the boom

Last week we visited our Canadian cousins, we are from the USA, and they treated us to this…read morewonderful restaurant. The food, service, atmosphere and total experience was great.

Great local spot located in the heart of an older neighborhood. Great for families and date nights…read more Cozy interior lined with booths, long and round tables. Live music. Very traditional Italian feel. Lots of parking. What we ordered: * Roast Garlic + Garlic Bread - $23 - 8/10 * Penne Alla Vodka - $24.5 - 8/10 * Spaghetti Alla Carbonara $25.50 - 8/10 Everything we tried was delicious. Prices are reasonable given the generous portion sizes. Our server was a gem - super friendly, funny, and attentive. She always came back with water or just to check on us, making sure we had everything we needed at all times. Would definitely visit again!