Famiglia Ristorante — Restaurant in Hamilton

Our first time visiting. We had been waiting for the soft launch month to pass, and for the restaurant to secure their alcohol licence. We sat outside on the patio. Based on opening month reviews, we came in with mediocre expectations. Famiglia surpassed those expectations and hit the ball out of the park. Absolutely fantastic. Since moving here in 2008, we have often said that Ancaster was missing a simple, Italian restaurant. No white linens. Authentic and rustic food accompanied by a great glass of Italian red. Famiglia has answered the call.

Our server, Shelby, was attentive and understands many of the nuances that drive great service. While we pointed out a few small issues, she was all over them immediately. And she was very proactive in other service areas. She was personable, relatable, and professional. Overall service was timed well, not rushed, with the flow working for us. You can ignore earlier comments from the soft launch period about slow service. There were three other tables on the patio, and everyone received timely service.

Mark Falzon, the owner and executive chef, dropped by our table twice. He is an owner that cares about the customer experience. And it is always wonderful to speak with the chef. It was great to hear his background and journey leading up to the launch of Famiglia. Mark was also very receptive to suggestions, most of which how he could tweak some of the atmosphere. We understand that in any start-up, it is all about growing organically and becoming cash flow positive asap, so we know some of our suggestions, and his own plans, will happen with time.

The real story was the food. She started with the Caprese salad and I had the Arugula salad. While nothing over the top beyond our expectations, both salads were super fresh, tasty, and well-presented.

For mains, I ordered the veal panini and added a few extra ingredients. She requested the fig pizza.

The fillings in my panini worked well together (particularly, the hot but very tasty marinated red peppers), and the toasted (or was it grilled?) fresh bun was complimentary with its soft insides and slightly crispy outer shell. The absolute winner was her pizza. After several decades, I can say she "never/ever" eats the crust on a pizza. Suffice to say, the crust also disappeared from her plate. That on its own was a sign that Famiglia understands why the base anchors a great pizza. I had a taste as well, and it was simply outstanding. We cannot think of another restaurant in the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area with pizza dough as good as this. Where else do the ingredients on a pizza compliment the dough (and not the reverse)? !!!

To accompany the meal we ordered San Pellegrino to stay hydrated, and a fantastic red from Villa di Maser wines - a 2006 bottle of Il Maserino from the Colli Trevigiani region. Getting licensed will be a game changer for Mark and Famiglia!

We finished off with gelato, espresso, and latte. Mark said we had to try the gelato, as he had imported an ice cream machine from Italy. Was he ever right. The gelato was fabulous.

To cap off the experience, from our home in Ancaster, we were able to walk up to Famiglia and back. We'll even do this in the winter. Change is so slow to come to Ancaster, as other residents will agree. But we are a maturing community. We have a recently opened Arts Centre (Mark had a recent tie-in with the Arts Centre for Brott Music Festival's performance of La Traviata ... and he plans more tie-ins), a year-round tennis facility, other recent/new F&B outlets, and now, Famiglia Ristorante. What a win for the community.

Keep up the great work Mark and team (and yes, Shelby, we'll make sure we are seated...

TLDR: they are not ready to be open to the public and need to do some serious kitchen training. I privately messaged the business but received no response. Everyone in my group of 7 who was there had a bad experience. Here is what I said to the restaurant:

To start with the good - our waitress, Steph, was unfailingly kind and polite even in the face of an increasingly stressful and chaotic evening. The bruschetta was also pretty good, as was the gelato.

Unfortunately, the good was not enough to outweigh the bad. Firstly - we ordered around 7:20. We were informed by Steph that the pizza oven was running behind which we all agreed was okay. However - it took 45 mins for the kitchen to realize they were out of figs and 2 people had to entirely reorder their meals.

We did not realize that the food would come out as ready, instead of all our entrées at once. I ordered the fettuccine Alfredo with grilled chicken - it came out and there was no chicken. Steph took it back and about 25-30 mins later, it came back out with breaded chicken, also at the same time as the pizzas for the other members of my party. I was not going to make a big deal about the breaded chicken, it doesn’t matter that much. However - where I am quite disappointed is the state of the Alfredo. It very clearly sat there for the 25-30 mins between when it was first brought out and then returned. The sauce had completely separated and looked congealed, and it was not even warm. I did not eat any of it. Again; I did not bring this up to the server as she was having a very bad night dealing with the multitude of mistakes the kitchen was making - for most of the tables. For $37, tepid, congealed pasta with the incorrect type of chicken is unacceptable.

When it came to dessert and our bills - we got our gelato fairly quickly. We asked for our bills at the same time, but again, we had to wait 20+ minutes. It looked like our server had to cash out another large group at the same time. Was no one helping her?

I also ordered a pizza for takeout for my partner. If I had known our dinner would be a 3 hour affair, I wouldn’t have ordered it. I also wanted to let you know that the price on my bill did not match the menu pricing. It was $21.50 on my bill - “pick your own pizza plus $1.50”. On the menu, it said pick your own pizza was $17 + varying prices for toppings, which meant I should only have been paying $18.50, not $21.50.

Overall, it was a very disappointing and...

Called & reserved a table for 2, Tuesday evening. On arrival, seated promptly, lots of tables available at that time (got progressively busier later). I was hoping to be accompanied by my close friend of Italian heritage on my first visit and he was able to join me. I have local pizza/pasta restaurant ownership experience as well. We asked for ice water and a glass of red wine (we both ordered 9 oz Chianti - $16). Our waiter brought glasses and a bottle of water (suggestion #1 - pour the 1st glass for each patron as opposed to simply dropping the bottle - not a big deal, but a nice touch). The wine was delicious, but I suspect (suggestion #2) - that it may have been a 6oz pour, versus 9oz...this is difficult to confirm without measuring the contents, just an observation. My friend ordered the breaded veal panini, with buffalo mozzarella. He said it was delicious, but (suggestion #3 - serving should include some marinara either on the side, or on the sandwich - it was a bit dry without some sauce). Waiter brought a small cup of sauce when requested). I ordered the pasta and meatballs (2). Various pastas available - I selected the pappardelle. Lots of flavour (marinara and meatballs), and the serving was more than enough to satisfy my appetite. Sauce & meatballs tasted as though they were made in-house versus frozen, good seasoning/quality ingredients. However (suggestion #4), waiter should offer to season with some ground pepper, and/or fresh parmesan during presentation.

Sounds like I am being picky, but I only offer these suggestions as I truly hope that this restaurant is successful, and remains in business for a long time at this location. I expect the capital investment to open was substantial, and it is in everyone's best interest that they succeed.

Note, I recognized the owner (Mark) from Famiglia IG posts...it is a positive sign that he is on site to ensure continued smooth operation of his establishment.

I will return to try other menu items in future....