La Contessa Ristorante — Restaurant in Ontario

Really wanted to like this place and went back a second time after bad meal is the first. Allowed 2 hours before a show nearby and informed the server of our timeline. Started asking about food 45 minutes after ordering. Salad showed up then another 40 mins and two more inquiries before food showed up leaving about 15 minutes to eat. Restaurant was half full. Bison steak was ordered and we were informed that the chef suggested medium rare only so we asked if they can get it as towards medium as they felt comfortable with. Showed up well done with not a trace pink in it and tough as a puck. When we manage to flag down the The server we asked if there was something very quick the kitchen could send out in place as there was no time for cooking another steak. We were informed all meals are fresh cooked and would take some time so we had no choice but to just eat the rest of the meal sans meat Two of the other dishes were mediocre at best with the sachetti being very good. They offered to buy us a dessert for the $40 steak we didn’t eat but of course it was an empty offer as they were aware of our timeline and we were already late for our show. No time to even argue the fact that they didn’t even remove the uneaten steak from the...

The food was mediocre. Their Truffle Fries are OBVIOUSLY not "steak cut" and are straight cut store bought fries with barely any truffle or parmesan. The arancini wasn't great either. If it weren't for the sauce, it would've just been balls of deep fried white rice. When you cut into them, they're literally just white. Their Caesar salads are definitely not anything to write home about either. Very watery, lemony dressing with bacon bits. Not even sure if real bacon was used. The service wasn't good either. We waited over an hour for our food. We saw the waiter for the table behind us more then we saw our own. When we did see them, there was no apology for the wait. For a Saturday on Erie Street it wasn't too busy either. They were also out of, what I'm assuming is, one of their most popular menu items. That would have been fine, if we were told about that at the beginning of the evening rather then looking forward to it only to be told upon ordering that they're out. I would not recommend this place. The drinks...

We recently had my daughters 1st Birthday Party at La Contessa Ristorante for 15 people and it was absolutely amazing! They were in constant contact with me, always answering my questions even from booking 5 months prior to the Birthday Party. When the day came they allowed me to come in early to decorate and the room was already set up beautifully (I really didn’t have to decorate.) The two waitresses who waiting on us were great, always attending to everyone’s needs even when the restaurant was very busy! They were superstars. Ok, now for the food THAT WAS AMAZING!!!!!!! Best food on Erie St BY FAR! We had antipasto, penne, salad, chicken parm, roasted potatoes, veggies AND cheesecake. Everything was so delicious and the portions were massive! No one had to ask for extras! Another thing I’d like to point out as well is the breaks between courses were perfect. We didn’t feel rushed at all. Thank you La Contessa for making my daughters birthday perfect!!!! BEST FOOD...