Allora — Restaurant in District Municipality of Muskoka

October 9, 2024: I visited Allora while on vacation with my out of town family, hoping to enjoy some wood fired pizza on a dreary October evening. While the ambiance seemed pleasant enough, we were completely ignored for over ten minutes before finally being greeted at the host station. At that point we were told that unless we had a reservation we could not be seated. We left and thankfully were able to be seated quickly (after waiting mere moments) at the Family Place restaurant down the road, which I highly recommend for the welcoming staff and delicious comfort food.

October 21, 2024 - my response to the owner's feedback (see below):

I never imagined having to respond via my own review, but felt I had to clear up a few erroneous assumptions / statements made by the owner. My hope is that the owner does in fact take my review seriously and learns from the feedback.

As a first point of correction, we did in fact experience the restaurant's service, as service begins the moment one enters a restaurant - this is truly restaurant management 101. Any frustration we felt was not due to having to wait to be seated, but due to being completely ignored for over 10 minutes by multiple staff members that passed within feet of our party without extending a greeting of any kind (there were no additional parties waiting ahead of us). We did not expect to be seated immediately, as we were well aware of our walk-in status, not having a reservation. At no point during that 10 minute wait were we spoken to, nor was it "clearly outlined that all remaining tables were reserved". If that had been done promptly, upon entering the restaurant (which would take no more than a few moments, even at "peak service" - the restaurant was not full at the time with at least 4 empty tables) we would have simply left with no issue. The first interaction happened after 10 minutes, at which point we were asked if we had a reservation, and told that unless we had a reservation we would not be seated that night. We politely declined having the staff member book us a table for the following evening as we had already made plans and were only in town for 2 nights. Attempts were not "coarsely rebuked", rather we were simply unable to accommodate alternate options. To state that the staff does "everything we can to accommodate both walk-ins and reservations" was not evident, at least during our visit.

As another point of correction, one of my many meters of a good restaurant is the ability to promptly engage with a walk-in party, not how quickly said party is seated. Upon entering a busy restaurant my expectation is that it will take some time to be seated, not that I'll have to wait to establish if that is even possible. If the restaurant "faired best" by turning away customers, then I suggest that the owners revisit their business strategy.

Finally, I would never penalize a restaurant, family owned or otherwise, for being busy - that is absolutely a desired outcome of any business. I'm simply calling out poor reception and now add to that, the arrogant and rudely sarcastic nature of the owner's response, which is unfortunately in line with other review responses they have...

As soon as you walk in the doors to Allora you get the impression that something good is going on here. You see high ceilings, beautiful lighting, a sparkling bar, fire in the tiled pizza oven in the open kitchen and hard wood stacked against the far wall.

When one looks closer the story gets better. I spied the bags of Caputo flour, DOP Dan Marzano tomatoes, and Durham Semolina flour near the woodpile which are all crucial ingredients for Vero Pizza Napoletana (a designation for exactly how to make proper Naples style pizza) and house-made pasta.

This place screams attention to details which promise that you’re in for a treat. But does it deliver on that promise?

You bet it does.

The night we were there, Nick, the owner was faithfully working the pizza oven, managing the fire and artfully encrusting each pizza with perfect blistered charring. The pizza itself had the perfect amount of sweet tomatoes sauce and milky mozzarella. It was truly one of the best Naples style pizzas I have had in a decade, outside of Italy.

You wouldn’t think much could be said about a mixed greens salad. But again, the attention to detail here was on point. Most of the time when you think of a good salad you think of the dressing. Allora shows you that is the deft selection of greens that make for a great salad experience. The dressing was light. The combination of greens was delicious.

The pastas, a carbonara and an all’ Amantriciana we’re delicious. The carbonara was done right. You could see there was a soft yellow colour to the sauce which means a whole egg was used. Carbona or (miners pasta) is made with a bit of pork jowl (guanciale), pecorino romano cheese, a whole egg, and a bit of pasta water. It’s an ild recipe based on miners who would make this meal. Many restaurants either add more egg yolks or omit them. Can you imagine a miner discarding any part of an egg? No way. Whole eggs. Either one or two depending on the amount of sauce you’re going for. This pasta had the right idea.

Finally, the desert. Usually, great chefs aren’t great at making desserts. Not in this case. We ordered both the chocolate cake and the lemon meringue cheese cake. Seriously, forget your mom’s cakes. These are the best two deserts I’ve had at a restaurant in years. Simple. Delicious. Perfect. Nick puts gold leaf on the chocolate cake for extra flair. Details. Details. Details.

I could go on. But I will spare you. Just know this. Allora is the real deal. It is certainly made Huntsville a regular destination for me know. The community is very fortunate to have this place. Congratulations.

I can’t...

First visit for a couple's special dinner out.

Ambience was fabulous. Can I have your scrumptious leather couch by the door? Music was soothing. Lighting warm and inviting. There is also a bar along one side and a cute patio outside. Love the bud vases and candles along with the carafe of water for the table. If you are lucky you will have a seat facing the incredibly sexy pizza oven!

Menu was small so it was easy to choose something quickly. We chose the beet salad, bruschetta, gnocchi, papperdelle al ragu and the gelato trio. We always share our meals between us so we can both try everything. Beet salad was fabulous and the whipped goat cheese was yummy. The hazelnuts and pea tendrils added the perfect amount of crunch and greens. Bruschetta was soooo fresh and delightful. A thicker sourdough may have made the ratios perfect. The gnocchi was a taste sensation unto itself. It helps that I love mushrooms and the sauce was dreamy with the house made dough. Papperdelle superb with tender beef and oh so soft pasta rolling off the tongue. We both don’t really care for tiramisu and so chose the gelato trio for dessert. So glad we did! Flavours were amazing and you can choose what flavours of gelatos you want. We chose hazelnut, vanilla and stracciatella. All were phenomenal with vanilla being my favourite surprisingly. I would have liked to see something crunchy in the dessert bowl for presentation and flavour, like maybe a Pirouline rolled wafer.

We had a great night and thoroughly enjoyed our dinner. Service was a little slow once it started to get busier toward the end of our meal but we forgave our server as she did say she was newish. Our gelato sat on the counter for quite a few minutes before she realized it. And we waited to settle our bill but she still deserved 20% and we were just pretty darn pleased with the place!

Will definitely return to try some different dishes. I keep thinking about the softness of those noodles on my tongue…and I’m sure I’ll be dreaming about ...