Cafe Roma — Restaurant in Toronto

A bit of a Jekyll and Hyde situation here, so I struggle on the star rating.

I'll start with the good - came here several times for their pizza lunch special, and it was incredible, and a crazy good deal at $15 (that deal is no longer offered, but they do offer inexpensive lunch-sized pizzas). Their pizza was absolutely delicious - light, airy crust, and fresh ingredients. Actually, it was one of the best I've had in the city. Their Caesar was also good, and the cherry canoli was amazing!

As for the bad - we decided to try them for dinner last night, and oh my, what a disaster! The mussels, in a tomato sauce that was far too thick and the flavour far too concentrated, were dry and fishy. The sauce tasted like a can of tomato paste. The pastas were a complete fail. I had the so-called Cacio e Pepe, which bore absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to authentic Cacio e Pepe pasta. It was basically a plate of spaghetti (cooked in what must have been unsalted water, because it was tasteless), swimming in a bowl of milky brown truffle sauce with the slightest sprinkling of parmesan on top. The dish was totally tasteless (could not discern any salt or other seasoning at all), and all you could taste was the truffle oil/paste of the soupy goopy mess of white sauce. My partner had the Papardelli ragout, which also had zero flavour, and the sauce was the furthest thing from a proper lamb ragout we've ever had. On a positive note, one friend had the lamb, which, while not exactly a beautiful presentation, tasted quite delicious.

By all means, try their pizzas (assuming it's the same chef that used to make them), but as for the pastas and mussels, give them a wide pass!

So disappointing for a place that had so much promise to boost the neighbourhood with a cute little Italian café. Fingers crossed they'll take the (several) terrible reviews of their pasta to heart and work on making a proper italian pasta!

Service was extremely pleasant and the very affordable wines were well-chosen and reasonably priced.

I wish I could say I'll give them another try, but alas, with a meal that bad, I...

This place deserves a great review.

Atmosphere - 5 - Family friendly patio Very family friendly. We came here on a whim while walking down the street with our toddler. It was a late dinner and toddler was in full meltdown spiral by our 8 pm arrival. He wanted pizza and the store sign said pizza pasta coffee gelato so we tied our dog to the patio gate and parked our stroller next to us on the patio. Patio space calmed everyone down. Waitress very kindly quickly served the little one his pizza first while we browsed menu. Toddler watched traffic go by while eating delicious Italian style pizza, husband and I decompressed with moccachino and americano coffees. Everyone had space, everyone enjoyed a quiet patio experience. Baby napped in stroller outside, dog napped next to stroller and we all ate a calm meal.

Food - 5 - Great Lamb Ragu + Pistachio Gelato The lamb ragu was insanely good. For $20 it was a hearty, filling, and incredibly uniquely delicious meal. Highly reccomend.

Pistachio gelato was likewise very uniquely delicious. Tasted truly like pistachio churned cream. Highly reccomend.

Asked waitress which item was heartiest bc we were hungry. She recommended bolognese and it was very tasty and more than enough food.

Pistachio Cannoli also delightful. Was nice to pair with the pistachio gelato bc cannoli was not too sweet.

Service- 5 - Very sweet and good service staff Our server was very friendly. Our toddler insisted on eating fruit from a fruit stand at the restaurant and she was very playful with him. Very friendly all around made the experience very much worth the random restaurant selection.

Price - 5 - Very fair value for food quality and amount

At $30/person we got specialty drinks, fresh focaccia bread, an entree and dessert each. All top in flavor profile. Very worth it.

I have only ever bothered to write a handful of short reviews but this place deserves my time. Thanks for the great family dinner. Families should stop by and enjoy a nice dinner with their littles in what feels like a very family friendly atmosphere. Will recommend to...

What a gem … Cafe Roma, a cozy Italian restaurant located in the heart of St Clair Village🎄❄️⛄️

Nearly everything is made from scratch in their own kitchen at Cafe Roma🧑‍🍳

Starting off with some refreshing Italian inspired mocktails, they even make their own dried fruit garnishes! 🍹🍹

A very Italian evening and a must to order some antipasti to share and linger over a glass of wine and fine company. The Polpo, charred octopus was smokey and tender. The Burrata with house made candied cherry tomatoes was so refreshing and flavourful and was lovely with the Radicchio Salad. The Charcuterie Board, an excellent with a fine selection of meats and cheese from Italy. 🥗🥖🍷🧀

The pastas and pizza doughs are hand crafted and keeping it authentic, they only use Italian sparkling water to ensure a light and airy texture. They only use the best products such as olive oils and cheeses are imported directly from Italy 🫒🧀🍷🍕

Everything was just fantastic starting with the apps right to the end with dessert. You can definitely taste the quality of the ingredients used here!! 🍰🍩

What we tasted: Antipasti Polpo - Charred Octopus Burrata - with candied Cherry Tomatoes Radicchio e Mela Charcuterie an assortment of Italian meats & cheese

Pozzi Pizza - Spinach & Mushroom with Fior di Latte Spaghetti Carbonara Gnocchi Al Forno

Secondi Whole Baked Butterfly Branzino Chicken Parmesan Rigatoni

Dessert Zeppole - delicious Black Cherry Cream Cannoli - Pistachio and Cherry Tiramisu always a crowd favourite. What a way to end the night! ❤️

I highly recommend you make time to visit Cafe Roma this holiday season 🇮🇹 The portions are generous and so well priced. Check out their early bird specials Aperitivo Hour which is from Monday to Friday 4 pm to 6 pm.

Tip: be sure to make a reso, it was full when we arrived at 6 pm on a Monday night❗️

@cafe_roma_toronto 807 St Clair W Toronto

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