Fellini Koolini's — Restaurant in Ontario

We enjoyed dinner on Dec 6 to celebrate our daughter's 18th birthday. We've been to Fellini a few times before (always enjoyable) but this time ended up being one of the nicest and most enjoyable restaurant experiences we've had in London. Here's a brief review to describe our excellent experiences.

There is some free parking right behind the building. It's a small lot, but you can usually find a space. We made a reservation for a party of 4 for 630pm on a busy Friday and we were greeted as soon as we walked in. The restaurant has several seating options, and all are nice. But we like the main floor best. So we asked if they could seat us downstairs and they obliged. It's warm and cozy and (this is important to me) its acoustically well-designed. Unlike many newer or corporate places that feature lots of metal, hard wood, and exposed surfaces, the rooms here are small enough and full of different surfaces that noise is muted. Even when full of people talking, you can still talk to each other and your table. Some of the upstairs places are even quieter and more private.

Our waiter, John, was so good. He was funny, informative, and offered helpful suggestions. The food arrived when it should and he checked in just often enough. We all agreed that it was John more than anything else that made this such a nice dinner. Big thanks to John.

There is a good selection of local beer and a decent wine menu, including some good options by the glass. Fellini Koolini's is Italian comfort food and the drink menu matches this.

The food, emphasizing classic Italian-style comfort food, is delicious. Now it's not meant to be a super high-end Stratford restaurant. I do not mean that at a criticism at all. I like many kinds of foods and restaurants and try to enjoy what they offer. And I really enjoy what Fellini's has to offer. The fried calamari is a favourite and I'd say that their's is probably the best fried calamari in London. It's a portion big enough for 2 to share or combined with a salad, it could even be a whole meal. Honestly, that would be probably a good standing order if I were one of those people that went out to one restaurant on a regular basis. Like every Tuesday, my wife and I could stop in for Calamari to share and a Caesar salad and a glass of pinot noir at Fellini's, at "our" table. We don't actually do this, but the more I think about it...I would seriously consider making this a bi-weekly thing at some point.

But back to my review. There are good tapas and other small plates which we enjoyed as starters along with a very good tomato salad. We also enjoyed their garlic chicken cannelloni (a great choice). Their pastas are flavourful (we had a Mediterranean one that was vegetarian and the lobster one which was not). Their pizzas have a very thin, chewy crust. We had their special, the Tuscan pizza with rosemary and pancetta among other things. No desert as we had a birthday cake waiting at home.

In conclusion, I'd have to say that Fellini's has become one of our favourite restaurants in London. There are a lot of good places around, but Fellini's gets just about everything right. It's charming, friendly, warm, and the food is delicious. I recommend it...

Former employee review incoming:

Although there were SEVERAL staff I enjoyed working with and miss to this day, it feels like the atmosphere is run like a reverse union, meaning you've got employees who all seem to belong to the same friend group on a power trip to eliminate anyone that they don't like, although my initial time was good when I started it became clear that they no longer wanted me there, the more I let things slide the worse it got, SEVERAL employees told me that I deserved a raise or the promotion I had asked for from day one, asking for a promotion was my worst mistake, the promotion was offered to an employee who worked there SEVERAL less months than me after making it known several times I wanted the promotion before it was even mentioned to the other employee. Subsequently the Kitchen Manager on one occasion tried to start a physical altercation that resulted in me having to be seen by CMHA a few days later, I complained to senior management who offered a promotion only as damage control, from that moment I was harassed, bullied, talked about when people thought I couldn't hear, mocked, discriminated against based on disability all in an attempt for constructive termination. In September of last year I suffered an EXTREMELY bad concussion that had permanent effects, the GM at the time continously lied through texts and calls rushing me back while only 70-80% recovered only to terminate me without me having the slightest clue and being dropped off from Clarke and Gore to the restaurant for what I assumed was my first shift back, the termination itself and refusal for any help paying for medications caused further regression thus making it so I have continued to be injured as a direct result of their actions.

During the time from my meeting with senior management to my termination 2 of the collection of staff that seemed to have more control than the previous GM were promoted around the time I was concussed, I sent 7 shifts messages to both and talked to one in person whilst dropping off doctors notes pertaining to my injuries, not even so much as a thank you through the app, one's only comments were that he saw my message on 7shifts but still no thank you.

Simply put I do not recommend working in this place unless you're willing to accept being treated like an animal and fired when you want better for yourself.

PS, I have begun processes for legal complaints through various...

HM, the hostess was nice and the service was fast. The ambiance is great. But, I went for great food; particularly something in the seafood category. As my appetizer I ordered the halloumi it was yummy. Truth be told I could eat that all day. Who doesn't love cheese bathed in Pernod and set ablaze right before serving. Stop a bed of greens like basil with I think...grilled, cherry tomatoes. 5 stars on that dish. My main I figured fill my craving with their seafood spaggetini with a white sauce. Was it an Alfredo? In my mind I imagined the scallops those large firm buttery sweet things I only buy once in awhile. As they are more of a special occasion dish in our house because my Paella is a big dish and we are only two. I dreamt of some large shrimp you know the ones that are caught of the coast of exotic places like Argentina then flash frozen to preserve their taste and of course extend the storage. Boy, I was a little surprised smallest scallops I've ever seen and while there were many I felt like they should have been more at home in a seafood chowder. The shrimp were ok maybe a bit slightly over done... The sauce was bland. It had a nice texture but certainly lacked the sort of Italian flavors I had hoped for. Sorry, I should tell you it was my 40th birthday and I love to eat so yes perhaps my expectations may have been too high. That being said, I know it costs me around ten bucks to make that dish at home. But, I was not cooking on my big day and at 29 dollars I expected more. The desert had the right flavors but sorry that is not tiramisu. It was like some sort of packaged looking thing they through on a plate and drenched in whip cream to hide the obviously packaged look of it. Got to love GFS. Anyways, in short if you don't like to cook international cuisine at home and just want ambiance, paired with friendly friendly staff. Then eat here. Personally, I'm a little bummed out. Good thing, I was in good company and the front end service was excellent. Or I might have been a different kind of guest. PS I recreated the dish at home the very next day. Mine was soo much better even my husband went...