Amano Italian Kitchen — Restaurant in Toronto

Let me start by saying we were drawn to Amano because the other choice nearby was already booked and had no reservations available so this was our second choice. However, the advertised fresh handmade pasta was luring us to really want to try Amano.

Located inside Union Station and we don't venture through often it was a bit hard to find. However, it is above the food court and much easier to find if you enter from the Go entrances on York Street.

Let's get to the food.

We started with just a board full of things $14/person so we ordered for two. What do you see? Yes...MORTADELLA! Waiter told us it comes with prosciutto. After I pointed it out he was shocked and immediately brought us really good 4 pieces of prosciutto. The fried olives with aioli dip were delicious, you MUST have them. We could have eaten more. Lots of freshly cubed pecorino chrese and we loved the pecorino. There were crostini with "Stracciatella" cheese with marinated mushrooms. The cheese tasted like ricotta but this was really good and I could have devoured bigger pieces. The marinated shrimp with mustard seed dip was tasty. Overall this was worth the price with prosciutto, of course!

For entrees, we had Rigatoni, fat tubes with pork & beef bolognese and pecorino cheese $18. As you can see from the picture not enough sauce, a bit dry and the fat tubes did not taste or have the bite of fresh handmade pasta. I even asked the waiter but he told us that all of their pasta were handmade. Perhaps it sat all day or undercooked as it was not eldente! It was thicker than what normally constitutes home made but it is called FAT tubes so maybe I am wrong. The sauce was rich, sweet, peppery from the pecorino and I expected more meat in a bolognese on the plate.

The Pope hats with rosemay lamb ragu far $24 was disappointing. Let me explain. It was definitely handmade with stuffed ricotta but the lamb ragu with overpowering rosemary was too strong to really enjoy the dish. Also, the lamb was too gamey. You can't go wrong with classic pairing of lamb and rosemary to cut the gaminess but somehow this dish just didn't taste right.

Onto the lasagna $18 with extra Bolognese $6 had smoked provolone in it. The pasta was handmade and truly layered and if you like smoky flavour this would satisfy your taste buds. Personally, I didn't like it.

Let's talk about the ambience and service. You can have a romantic candlelit dinner if you want but a bit noisy. The white subway tiled pillars and black industrial pendant lightning, fake windows covered with flowing drapery works well considering it's location. It has an open kitchen and an L shaped bar with surrounding tables. It is a bit tight but well positioned tables. Place was busy on a game or concert night and they will ensure you get out quickly to get where you want to go.

Service was on point, attentive, responsive and gracious. We were presented with extra bowl of pecorino because we told the waiter we loved them so he brought more and perhaps to make up the mistake of the mortadella. We were too full for desert so we declined. However, jokingly he respectfully declined our declination and served us freshly made bombe filled with nutella and dulce de leche. Honestly, we were full but they kept staring at us, these small wonderfull looking pieces of sweetness. They were fantastically fluffy and to die for!

I will give it another visit to try other pastas and go back for the fried olives and leave room for...

I visited this restaurant with a friend I was meeting after 10 months. We had barely two hours together, and what should’ve been a warm, memorable evening turned into something completely upsetting.

We ordered pasta, and midway through eating, we found a long hair embedded inside the dish — not just on the surface, but deeply mixed in with the food. We immediately called our server, who took the plate back. A few minutes later, she returned with a casual and frankly insulting response: that it “might be our hair” since “no one in the kitchen has long hair.” For the record, it was a brown hair. We both have black hair.

This isn’t just about bad service — this is a clear staff management and hygiene failure. How did a hair land deep inside a dish? Was it the cook? The one garnishing it? The server? The fact that the restaurant staff’s first reaction was to deflect and blame the customers rather than investigate the problem is unacceptable. It makes me wonder: how many such violations happen in just a 20-minute window? And more importantly — will anyone be held accountable? Or will this just be another issue brushed under the rug?

Before leaving, I spoke to the manager. She admitted she hadn’t even seen the hair herself. That was a second red flag. If the staff is both cooking and inspecting their own mistakes, how can anyone expect unbiased or fair resolution? That’s why there’s a manager — to supervise, ensure quality control, and make sure incidents like this are handled with seriousness. None of that happened.

What hurt more was the underlying tone of the interaction. I hesitate to use the word “racism,” but I cannot ignore the possibility of discrimination. Had we been Caucasian, I am certain the staff would’ve responded differently — with more accountability, and definitely without accusing us. No matter how much you try to integrate into society, respect its values, follow its rules, and pay your taxes — some people still make sure you feel like you don’t truly belong. That feeling, subtle as it may be, was loud and clear.

This incident ruined not just the dinner, but my entire evening and now the night. I left feeling insulted, unheard, and deeply frustrated. This wasn’t just a one-off mistake — it was a cascade of poor decisions, weak management, and a complete lack of ownership.

Visit details: Restaurant: Amano Italian Kitchen Address: 65 Front Street West, Unit 374, Toronto, Ontario M5J 1E6 Date: 30-Jun-2025, 6:32 p.m. Order: • Amano Fries – $9.00 • Fusilli Primavera – $28.00 (Comped due to incident) • Woodhouse Amber Lager – $11.00 Total paid: $22.60 Receipt ID:...

We were excited to come here due to the high reviews. We traversed Union Station to find this restaurant. When arrived, we ended up sitting at the bar - totally fine. But then we waited several minutes for someone to even acknowledge us with staff all around us. Eventually, my husband was asked what he wanted to drink. He ordered a beer. I was ignored (but in fairness, I was still deciding). The staff went around a bit and then eventually gave my partner his beer after several minutes - from the spout right in front of us. It took 15 seconds to fill up the glass and hand it to him. I was finally asked if I wanted a drink. I ordered the first cocktail on the cocktail menu. The bartender spent about 7-8 minutes trying to figure out how to make my drink (looking for different things, looking at the menu, asking others, etc.). She may have been new so I could’ve let that slide. When I finally got my drink, I did enjoy it. After a bit, I ask the bartender if we could order food. She says yes. I order a pepperoni pizza. I’m told they are out of it. I order another pizza and told its one of the best. I was then asked which salad I wanted with it. I ask for a Caesar. About five minutes later., she comes back and tells me salad doesn’t come with it and it’s her mistake and ask if I’d like to purchase one. I decline. By this point, my drink is empty. I would’ve ordered another but I was never asked. In fact, my husband was asked if he wanted another beer at this point and served immediately. I was ignored. My food is then brought to me. The pizza was not good. I actually felt it was a .5 step above a Totino’s frozen pizza. I didn’t finish it. I ate about half and stopped. My husband’s salad had arrived but his food was still slow to come. I asked (who was seemingly) the manager the status of his food. He said, “let me go check I saw them putting it in the bowl.” His food then comes out almost immediately. My husband described it as “basic pasta - with good marinara.” I rarely have problems and I very seldom write reviews. However, I felt this was necessary. I’m giving two stars as the only redeeming quality for me was the drink was good. I wish I would’ve been asked if I wanted another. We asked for the check and told them we wanted one bill. For some reason, they could only split it. That’s really a non-issue but on top of everything else, it was an...