Arianna — Restaurant in Toronto

I was excited to visit Arianna until I saw a slew of middling reviews criticizing the service and bland food. As someone who rarely, if ever, leaves a review I felt compelled to write this one to provide a dose of intellectual honesty.

Here's the bottom line: this is a very good restaurant and undeserving of an aggregate score of less than 4.4. Let me break it down:

Decor & ambience: much has been made of the extraordinary renovation expense, and it shows. The entirety of the H60 building boasts opulence in excess, and if you ask me this was an incredibly foolish business decision. Even the finest restaurants in the world, let alone the most successful ones in Toronto, don't use gold marble and splurge for high-priced original art to this degree. The only likely reason why would be to wash dirty money. Anyway, it's gorgeous and completely unnecessary. If only they spent the money to make sure the elevator was working properly so we didn't have to take the stairs up and down the building.

Service: friendly staff was reasonably attentive at every point of our dining experience. Despite this being a new restaurant, they were knowledgable about the food, the history and inspiration behind the venture, and recent changes made to the menu. I found that my server was honest about her recommendations and didn't encourage me to over order. My water glass was never empty, food came out in a very timely manner, and the staff was never pushy about me ordering more alcohol or upselling. The manager even comped my first cocktail because the bar prepared an old fashioned instead of a Manhattan, which I appreciated.

Food: the complementary house-made focaccia was very solid. Spongy and tasty, with a hint of rosemary. They serve it with a really delicious and rich olive oil, which was among the better EVOO's I've been served in Toronto. Our appetizer course consisted of the caesar salad, the steak tartare and the cheesy frittelle. They were all very good, but the highlight of the three was the caesar, which I would put up there with the best in Toronto. I'm a big tartare guy and appreciated the tomato jam that gave this dish a different profile than a traditional French preparation. However, I think they should ditch the "gnocchi fritti," which is really a ravioli-shaped cracker, and serve the tartare with grilled bread or similar. The frittelle was tasty, but I'd skip it due to the high cost of the dish, along with the fact that focaccia is complementary.

For our mains we ordered the bone-in 20 oz strip and the pappardelle bolognese. The steak was delicious and perfectly cooked, as you'd expect from H60, but I was most surprised by the bolognese. This is one of the most well-executed and delicious bolognese recipes I've had in Toronto, and I can assure you I've been to every notable Italian restaurant in Toronto (and several of the most authentic ones north of the city).

Finally, we ended with the tiramisu, which was very nicely presented and tasty.

Value: this is one of the most expensive restaurants in Toronto, full-stop. If you're sensitive about value for money when going out to eat, this restaurant will trigger you. I spent more on a dinner for two, with a couple drinks a piece, than I have for meals of four at some of Toronto's most popular and decorated restaurants. Again, H60 is going to have to recoup the cost of that insane renovation somehow, and unfortunately it's going to be by overpricing simple low-cost high-margin dishes.

So yes, I would say the value for the money is not there but this should be somewhat baked into your expectation of visiting Harbour 60. You're going in no small part because of the brand and that should not take away from what is a very good upper-end restaurant experience that offers delicious food. It's a 4.4 as-is, and would be 4.6+ if the food prices were more in-line with other comparably high-end...

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ What an unforgettable celebration!

My friends and I visited Arianna on the fourth floor of 60 Harbour Street, stepping off the elevator into instantly welcoming wooden décor, round porthole‑style windows, and the energy of a live DJ playing perfectly curated beats throughout the evening.

From the moment we arrived, the service was impeccable. Every member of the team radiated warmth and professionalism—Erin and her crew deserve a special shoutout for making us feel like honored guests celebrating a milestone. Best service ever, hands down.

🍴 Food Highlights

We ordered a generous selection of starters and mains that showcased Arianna’s bold‑flavoured, modern Italian approach:

Calamari: exceptionally crisp, while the accompanying sauce was nothing short of perfection—balanced acidity, just the right spice, and creamy depth that had us dipping bread and savoring every bite.

20 oz bone‑in sirloin: flawlessly cooked to our requested doneness, richly seasoned and full of beefy flavour. The lamb chops, similarly, were tender and earthy, paired beautifully with jus and sides.

Sole: moist and succulent, with delicate seasoning that let the fish speak for itself—simple and elegant.

Mushroom side: intensely savory and earthy.

Sweet potatoes: surprising highlight—naturally sweet, caramelized edges, almost dessert‑worthy they were that good.

For dessert, the tiramisu was light, airy, and perfectly balanced—espresso-soaked ladyfingers with mascarpone that delivered a soft, indulgent finish without heaviness.

🍸 Ambiance & Bar

The bar at Arianna is stunning—sleek and sculptural, with moody lighting and plush seating that make it ideal for sipping craft cocktails like Negronis, Dirty Dills, and others from their inventive beverage lineup. The atmosphere felt lively yet refined, ideal for a special evening out.

Overall Experience

If you're looking for a place to dress up, celebrate, and indulge in one of Toronto’s most stylish Italian dining experiences, Arianna is a top choice. With its avant-garde Italian cuisine, breathtaking skyline views, attentive and genuine staff (Erin, you rock!), and lively late-night vibe, this place elevated our friend’s birthday from “very good” to absolutely unforgettable. And shout-out to the DJ for playing a birthday song for my friend!

We will definitely return—and already can’t wait to try more from their refined menu.

Shoutout to the entire Arianna team—thank you for a spectacular evening. Highly...

So there I am, waltzing into Arianna at Harbour 60 with three of my most decadent compatriots, like the cast of Ocean’s Eleven if they'd all been expelled from finishing school for seducing the Headmistress. The lighting? Low and sultry—like a velvet whisper in a confession booth. The room was drenched in deep reds and brooding browns, colours that say “I’ve got secrets, but I also own a yacht.”

Our booth was the sort of plush hideaway where you could plan a revolution or nap off a three-day mushroom binge. The chairs? Darling. Fuzzy, furry little thrones of luxury—like sitting in the lap of a cashmere yeti. Honestly, if I’d had a Jeffrey, I’d have rubbed it against the chair just to complete the sensory masterpiece. Furry chair. Furry face. Inner peace.

Now, to the eats. We began with an ensemble of delights: carpaccio so thin it was practically whispering, calamari fritti that gave me flashbacks to a summer fling in Positano, and Arianna’s meatballs—sweet Lucifer, those meatballs. Spherical poetry. I'd marry them if I weren’t already emotionally committed to my hair.

Then came the mains—bone-in strip loin, cooked so tenderly it practically gave up mid-chew. The lemon veal was an operatic number—rich, saucy, dramatic. And the lamb chops? Glorious. Seasoned like a Roman general preparing for battle—every bite a conquest.

Now, two of my guests got rather chummy with the wine list. I'm talking Dionysus-on-a-bender energy. Multiple smoke breaks. At one point, they were so lost on the way back from the elevator, security had to escort them like confused aristocrats at a Costco. One of them tried tipping the elevator. Absolute chaos. Brilliant.

The service? Impeccable. Not the kind that hovers like a ghost at a séance—but confident, knowing, present when needed and delightfully invisible when not. Just the way Harbour 60 likes it.

Overall, it was like dining in the VIP lounge of Olympus. Relaxed, chilled, thoroughly indulgent. I left Arianna full, fuzzy, and...