Risposta Bistro — Restaurant in Milton

Simply put, we had expectations and were underwhelmed. My wife and I had tried to come here before the pandemic and were turned away as we had no reservations. We finally made it back, and did not need them this time - the restaurant was active but not busy. I had a red meat dish and my wife the fish. For an upscale restaurant, we had reasonable expectations of sides to complement our meals. What we received was vegetables and potatoes drawn from the identical bins in the kitchen. The beans were over cooked and had more than a few inedible stems left on them, the carrots had no real flavour and the potatoes needed a sauce to enhance the dry outside and mealy innards. The fish was okay, but the beef had a large amount of unrendered fat and the sauce was muddled - there were a number of conflicting tastes and nothing actually stood out as enhancing the dish. It did liven up my potatoes though. The Caesar salad was a hit one of the best dressings ever have had and the presentation was beautiful. The Caprese salad on the other hand, while beautifully presented, was without any of the generous flavour provided by a ripe tomato. A slight under-ripeness was required for the presentation, but with food a form-over-substance offering is not what I am looking for. We skipped desert - a cheesecake and tiramisu were the only offerings and we felt them likely to be as underwhelming as the rest of the meal. The food was good; middle of the road good with highs and lows in equal measure. The French chef, who did a lovely presentation of a Parmesan pasta dish with a flambé Louis XIII cognac at the table next to us, did not seem to drive either the kitchen or the menu to live up to the expectations of high-class Italian dining with the team “focusing on sustainable onsite farming, preparing, and harvesting our ingredients using authentic Italian techniques.” High expectations going in, underwhelmed going out.

Aug 12 - In response to the restaurant’s offer to discuss, I will be contacting Risposta this week. I appreciate the attentiveness of the team to customer service concerns - something we did enjoy while dining with them. Thank you for...

In the Burlington/Hamilton area, we continue to choose Risposta to celebrate our special days and events. This time, we spent our anniversary at Risposta in one of the plentiful outside seating areas: Risposta now has an awesome expanded patio, outdoor bar, and several covered gazebo-like structures that are both intimate and airy; ours also saved us from a flash downpour! Of course, we were really there for the food and anticipated a great meal all week long. Somehow, our expectations were exceeded again! We rarely get appetizers or dessert at other restaurants, but we make both a priority at Risposta. Every salad at Risposta is visually beautiful--it’s just a given--but the Caprese salad was particularly sumptuous and we both attempted to grab more of our personal share of the super smooth burrata. Mushrooms are a family favourite so the crostini--with local mushrooms--was already a forgone selection. Micro greens and the incredible melted pecorino fonduta (melted cheese) made this hard to just “leave” for leftovers. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to finish the veal cutlet that arrived artfully arranged on a slender plate surrounded by bright vegetables with just the right amount of cheese on top--but, I succeeded. My husband also handily ate all of his veal medallions--too buttery smooth and tender to leave behind or save for the next day. We were dangerously sated by the end of the meal, but there’s no way we would leave without a takeaway tiramisu--the best we’ve ever had. So after digesting a bit on the way home, we ate the dessert in our kitchen, making all the appreciative sounds that would have had us kicked off of the Risposta property if we’d eaten it there. So yes, it was our anniversary, but we’ve decided it’s easy to just say that ALL days are special to justify (if we/you really needed to) a visit to Risposta. It’s just a super special place to go with your super special family members and friends. Thanks to all Risposta staff--you folks are special and you make us feel special (and full!) each time we come for a...

First time visiting this restaurant and unfortunately was disappointed with the overall experience, especially given the price-point. Looked at the menu posted outside the front door and when tried to order Bruschetta inside was told that the menu outside is "only for decor". The mushroom crostini were suggested as an alternative which we ordered to share. The waiter took down my request to hold the cheese but when the dish came, it had cheese on it. I thought the waiter could have handled my request to have it replaced better. Instead of leading with I'm so sorry, let me get it fixed and just taking the dish away, he, not once but twice, said he had written it down and it was the kitchen that messed up. Told us when the order came up he just grabbed it and brought it right out. I should add the restaurant was not at all busy at 7:30pm on a Saturday night and so he did not seem time pressured. Small stuff in the bigger scheme of things but if you don't want to take responsbility for not checking a special request before serving, then at least remain professional and refrain from blaming someone else on your team. I ordered the Spaghetti Pescatore which overall the taste (ie, sauce) for me didn't impress. Will say they were generous with the mussels and the one grilled scalloop on top was delicious. Personally thought the addition of some fresh herbs would have greatly improved the taste. My husband had a striploin with mushrooms, served with a small pumpkin on the side that was not edible because of all the seeds inside. Another disappointment was the hostess who upon arrival wasn't present and didn't welcome us when she got called over. No "good evening", no smile, very little eye contact all of which I did offer up to her. She was also not at the door on the way out to say thank you and good night, small details that at this price point I personally think are essential to creating an overall great customer experience. Bill was $225 (before tip) for 1 shared app, 1 glass of house wine each, 2 entrees and...