The Express Restaurant - Italian Eatery — Restaurant in Hamilton

In July, following our very small intimate wedding which includes our immediate family and a couple of very close friends, we had the pleasure of hosting our wedding dinner at The Express restaurant in Westdale. The evening surpassed our expectations as it continued with our wedding theme of family and intimacy. Santino went over and above in delivering an exceptional authentic family themed dinner with endless courses that continuously surprised our non-Italian guests “You mean there is more food coming”!! The courses included a variety of antipasto (platter style) including Caesar salad and a grilled veg salad…both were amazing. Assorted bruschetta and pizza. Then bring on the seafood course which included grilled Calamari and Mare Monte (shrimp dish…this is one that our guests are still raving about). Next on the menu…choice of red and white pasta dishes followed up by a delicious rosemary chicken dish accompanied by grilled veg and potatoes. Each course was served platter style which was exactly how we wanted it…to feel like one big family sitting at a warm table filled with love enjoying an delicious meal together. Our guests are still talking about the food! Also, as we had several food allergies amongst our guests, Santino took note and provided safe alternatives which were discretely delivered to our guests. Most importantly, our servers Natasha and Lindsay were exceptional…highly attentive and maintained the flow of evening with ease. We cannot thank Santino, Natasha, Lindsay and the kitchen staff enough for making our wedding dinner a very memorable and joyful experience. Perfect way to launch us into married life…because it is all about the food when you marry an Italian! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, Mike and...

I haven't had Alfredo this bad since I was 10 years old and tried making it myself for the first time. The $21 Alfredo was thick fettuccine noodles and watered down classico Alfredo sauce. I was confused that there wasn't any chicken in the dish despite how expensive it was. It costs $2.50 for a pack of fettuccine noodles and $4.58 for a box of whipping cream. But I get it prices will be higher since you're at a restaurant. The sauce was bland and watery, the noodles were undercooked and large. I looked up at my wife and without speaking to each other we knew exactly how bad the food was and started laughing to ourselves. The poor waitress asked us how the food was and i feel bad for lying to her face but i said it was "good". For an "authentic Italian restaurant" I was severely disappointed. I kinda wish I was able to challenge the cook to a cook off to show everyone what the dish was actually supposed to taste like. The service was good and the atmosphere was also good, not a bad restaurant at all. But that was the worst fettuccine Alfredo I've had in a very long time, so bad that I will remember this day for years and compare all future Alfredo dishes to this one. I will say to my wife in the future "at least this isn't as bad as 'the express Italian eatery' it could be worse." My wife couldn't finish her plate so after we left we went to McDonald's so she could actually eat something without being...

The food was simple yet delicious! They really stick to authentic Italian style cooking to bring meals to life without adapting to local context which is great for the experience!

We got the Aglio e olio and the lobster ravioli. Boat pasta dishes were cooked well; texture was great (Al dente). The flavor of the lobster ravioli was perfect; I only wish we had the choice of non shredded, meaty lobster as I would have preferred instead of the shredded/minced stuffing.

The breads were a nice touch with the pasta as expected. They also had roast pepper dip and cheese at each table which added a nice touch. The peppers are nice if you want a bit of a kick in your dish but a bit on the salty side from what I suspect might be olives in the mix!

We also had tiramisu as dessert; it was okay, not the best I’ve head and nothing wow about either. It would have been great to have it layered perfectly but this was served in a jar so might be better if served and layered differently.

There was just the one waiter who was rather effective at serving multiples tables and attending to new guests so we didn’t feel like service was slowed.

A number of reserved tables so you might want to book ahead but we walked in and were able to get a spot quickly! Nice music and not too loud; great for conversation

Overall good experience, would...