Piano Piano Hamilton — Restaurant in Hamilton

This is a solid 3.5 for me. The food was super amazing but I will highlight the conerns below.

washrooms are co-ed with stalls, zero privacy for women or children. I absolutely support gender neutral washrooms, but this is the only reason I won't be back. You are sharing washrooms with the opposite sex in stalls.

servers had no personality, they didnt smile... we went with a vegan friend. I was told when we booked she would be absolutely accommodated. When she asked for a garlic and olive oil pasta, I asked the server about the potential to add veggies, was greeted with a dirty look with no suggestions for vegan options. She said she would inquire with the kitchen. She never came back to say what could be created, and when food arrived, her pasta had loads of veggies, (such as mushrooms), that she would have said no to had she been consulted about her options.

we ordered the chopped salad and had a dairy free friend. We asked for feta on the side. When the salad arrived, it was served on a bed of tzatziki which isn't mentioned on the menu.

ssooooo incredibly loud, omg. Cannot hear the the person across from you after 6pm. Please do not bring hard of hearing or sensory friends here

the main dishes were otherwise incredible. The egg yolk ravioli is absolutely worth the price. Anyone saying otherwise, has never made pasta or knows how much work goes into making these beautiful nests of flavour

not a place that seems to accommodate food sensitivities or preferences. Not a place that seems to care about ambiance because you will want to stuff your ears with napkins with the volume of noise, but the food is so good.

dessert...

This is an honest review from someone who is always rooting for the restaurant industry and especially in this climate. For $300, this was a disappointing experience. The location first of all, sketchy people all around where we parked, which was difficult to even find parking. Waitress didn't understand the menu and when I asked questions about the wine or dishes, she did not know, nor send anyone over who did. We asked if there were any specials and she said no, only explained the Sunday family deal which they were sold out of. Another waitress came by to give us a card that explained the specials? We had already eaten our appetizer, I would have ordered something off the summer special. My lobster dish was ok, my husband's rigatoni was tasteless and the grapes app were underwhelming. We asked for a dessert or something as we were celebrating my birthday (they did know this based on the reservation) and we did receive cheesecake with a sparkler (we paid for it).The decor was nice but something is off, the vibe, and I couldn't put my finger on it. There's a beautiful bar but it felt like it was in a foyer. We enjoy spending money locally but for this price point expected more. We wish them well because I think the location itself is going to sink them. My husband was sick when he got home but I was ok. I've heard great things about the other locations so maybe this was...

I had really high expectations for Piano Piano in Hamilton since a few of my friends kept raving about the Toronto location. Unfortunately, this visit was pretty disappointing.

We ordered a few things to try. The Calamari Fritti were okay, just a bit too salty. They were fine, but nothing special or memorable.

I went with the Rigatoni Carbonara because our server mentioned it was one of their specialties. Honestly, it was a letdown. You can tell from the photo, the color looked off. I get where the yellow comes from, but a good carbonara shouldn’t look or taste like that. It was overly salty, and the guanciale wasn’t cooked properly. The flavors didn’t blend harmoniously; instead, everything tasted a bit disjointed and unbalanced. I couldn’t even finish it.

My fiancé had the Rigatoni alla Vodka, which was definitely better than mine, but still too salty and kind of bland overall.

The service, on the other hand, was great. Our server was very friendly and attentive, and I actually felt bad leaving my plate unfinished.

Overall, the experience didn’t live up to the hype. Maybe the Toronto location really is better, but the Hamilton one left a lot...