Ennio's Pasta House — Restaurant in Kitchener

Overall it was 'fine' experience; not bad, but not amazing. I have wanted to try Ennio's for a while so me and a partner dined in last night and were greeted nicely although were notified that their debit/credit machine was down - no problem - but we had to leave to get cash to come back (I don't carry a hundred $$ with me, I understand that some might). I won't fault them too much as I know this is out of their control.

We returned a few minutes later to be sat at a booth that could use some love, the cushions seemed very worn and weren't very cushiony. We ordered the same drinks and they were made differently from each other, mine had more orange juice in it than my partner's, and the refills we got were different than the first. The ambience was nice and definitely "old world" style but could use some slight updating in my opinion.

The garlic bread and starter salad were okay - again, fine, not amazing, but the real star was of course the pasta dishes (which I have heard such praise over). They were fantastic and definitely homemade with excellent sauces. It is fairly pricey at $20-$25 per dish - but you get what you pay for. Although an additional $3 for a side salad is a bit much, I would wish for perhaps a smaller salad to be included. Also the non-alcoholic drinks we ordered apparently weren't free refills.

The quality of the pasta made up for every other slight inconvenience and the service was pretty good as well. Because of them however, I think I may enjoy takeout more so than dining in. And while the food was fantastic, I'm not sure it will leave a lasting "must go again" impression. I was really hoping it would from the good things...

I can't say today was a good experience. I have been a previous customer for years and have always been happy with the product and service until tonight. I took advantage of the Valentine's Day promotion and ordered a dinner for two to be picked up at 5:30 and arrived 10 minutes early to ensure that it was still warm for when I arrived home. I stood outside the restaurant in the cold with 22 other customers until 6:37 before I finally had had enough and inquired about the meal that I had ordered. While the staff were very apologetic and did provide me with the meal that I had ordered which had been sitting on a table within the restaurant for more than 10 minutes I was not too happy about the situation. Be better organized or inform the customer of the unexpected long wait and give them the option to either leave or stay. Don't leave them out in the cold with no recourse other than frostbite.

Melissa contacted us and apologized for the miscommunication and lengthy wait and we are satisfied with the situation.

On Saturday Feb 20th we chose to give Ennio's another try and we are glad we did. Having had a previous bad experience we were given an extremely pleasant experience with both the quality of food but tremendous service as well. Ennio's has handled the situation exactly how you wish all restaurants handled complaints and I want to thank everyone involved in changing what was a poor experience to a great one....

Unfortunately, since Ennios has been under new ownership, things have changed. This is the third time we were there now since it has changed ownership and we won’t be going back. First of all, could they make the rolls they give you before the meal any smaller? They used to be a decent size but I guess they are trying to save money now and they’re like a one bite roll. Plus we had to wait for them as they “were in the oven”. Which I heard the server also tell a table behind us. I’m disappointed that they changed the dressing for the Caesar salad from homemade to bottled. I ordered the Rustica, which was always one of my favourite pasta dishes. Always very creamy and flavorful. Not anymore it had a very bland taste to it and it was dry. My Mom had the spaghetti and meatballs and she said her meatballs were very salty. My daughter had the Capelletti and she commented it was ok but didn’t taste the way it used to. I’m sorry that the family decided to sell the business after Ennios passing. You love a place for years and then soon as it goes under new ownership everything seems to change and most times not for the better. This was our 3rd try so we gave it enough chances but I’m sorry we won’t be back. It’s an expensive menu as it is and we need to find someplace else to spend our hard earned money. Sorry but I had to be honest. But hey this is my party’s experience. Maybe other people are happier...