Campo Restaurant — Restaurant in Toronto

Disappointment in customer service. Take a read... My friend celebrated her 30th birthday at Campo restaurant. For the occasion, I made a birthday cake, and upon entering the restaurant, I was greeted by a man (who I later found out was the owner), and asked him if it was possible to have the cake in the restaurant and if there was a cutting fee. He said it was no problem but that he didn't know the cutting fee. At the time I also mentioned to place any cutting fee on my bill, and as he was taking the cake, he mentioned to coordinate the cutting with the server. The dinner went on, and eventually we got to dessert. The server mentioned that the kitchen had started cutting the cake. Once we got the bill, everyone at the table was charged $5 (totalling $45 for the cutting fee, as there were nine of us). I told the server that I mentioned to the man for the fee to go on my bill, and had I known that it would cost $45, I wouldn't have cut the restaurant in the cake. I asked that everyone get reimbursed, because I didn't get permission from my friends to charge them, and this put me in an uncomfortable situation. She said that it was too late, so I requested to speak with the owner - surprise.. it was the man who greeted me at the front (and ironically, didn't know the price of cutting a cake in his own business). I asked him to reimburse everyone and why he didn't share with the server the details I specified, and he stated that it was my responsibility to coordinate the details, execution and pricing with the server. In hindsight, I do take responsibility for not being more deliberate in my ask and clarifying, but everything is more clear in hindsight. But, I do also think, as someone who has worked in the restaurant industry, that there is responsibility on the staff to communicate expectations and possibilities (i.e. could we have cut the cake ourselves to save costs? And how we wanted the cost to be distributed?). Then, I asked the owner to lower the cutting fee price to half the price ($20) to remedy the situation. He said, no problem. Then, he gave me the $45 in cash to reimburse my friends, and proceeded to give me a $40 cutting fee bill. I told him that I was disappointed that there was no consideration for the confusion and discomfort, so he proceeded to barter by saying, "how about $30? You need to understand that because no one bought dessert here and that I have a business to run, that you need to pay." A comment like this coming from a restaurant owner is astonishing to me, and I left the restaurant paying for the cake that I made. I also would like to mention that the food quality was very good, but the portions are small. I was hungry after 3 hours again. You also cannot pay with Visa (only debit or cash). Sounds like complete frugality in my opinion. I certainly do not prefer bartering and advocating for what is right with a business owner. I also believe extreme frugality in the long run doesn't lead to success. Definitely not coming back, and please consider not bringing a cake.. you'll end up paying for the cake you made (and while cutting fees are a standard practice in the industry, there are many places that will make an exception and even offer the birthday person a free item.. I'll be frequenting...

3.5 stars

A definite nice local spot in the west end of the Toronto. I would say that most people dont realize a good restaurant is here as there's very little near it other than Toronto urban suburbs. The locals definitely know about it as it was pretty packed on a random Thursday evening at 8 pm.

This quaint place focuses on a small and refined Italian menu that only has 1 or 2 dishes per type (salad, appetizer, primi pasta, and entree). I do recommend to grab a reservation as the restaurant is equally as small. There are maybe 10 to 14 tables with most being 2 seating only. I would say that you are definitely snug here... If there is a loud couple, you will hear them ... A LOT. If anything, I would say its a big draw back. The acoustics make this more of a loud bar like atmosphere instead of a romantic intimate space. We had one couple that just made it near impossible to have a conversation. We were across the restaurant from them. I cannot imagine what it is like to sit only 6 inches away from them.

Arugula salad - Possibly the best dish of the night. Flavourful and lightly dressed that balances the nice natural sweetness of the peaches. I liked the addition of the crunchy almonds that give it a nice nutty note and a good texture to the crisp lettuce. 4/5

Cauliflower soup - Their daily offering was a cauliflower soup with a bit of smoked fish added. The smoked fish was a nice touch and really help elevate the flavour overall... otherwise it would have been pretty bland. 3.5/5

Gnocchi - I've had a few excellent gnocchi in Italy recently and this gnocchi was executed well. Bite sized fluffy and light without being too chewy or doughy. I really enjoyed the dumplings. The sauce is a bright gleaming red but it was a bit too light on actual flavour. I would have loved a bit more spice to it. 3.5/5

Meatball & Polenta - Meaty and large in portion, this is a hefty dish. It looks deceivingly light but the meatballs are dense and larger than a golfball. It feels more like a small burger patty than anything. Though generous in nature, I found the meatball touch dry and chewier. The polenta was very smooth and creamy... definitely could have used more of the tomato sauce to give is a flavour lift. 3.5/5

Tiramisu - A very interesting take as it does an open tiramisu where the savoiardi cookies were left relatively untouched and unsoaked between the filling. It had a nice balance between the crunchy cookie and the creamy filling and a good kick of coffee to flavour it. It wasn't large so it be a nice ending to the meal. 3.5/5

For the price, I did find it on the more expensive side and approaching the same prices I found in the best places in Toronto. It didnt hit the same tastes or flavours as those places. Though everything here is good, I wouldnt necessarily trek back here for a...

I was at Campo on Friday night. I dont normally do reviews but this place stood out. I had reserved for 8pm and i was with 2 of my friends. My first impression was wow. It was very busy and felt so locally driven. The owner Carlos came over directly and introduced himself and said welcome. Who does that anymore ??..I immediately felt like we were going to be taken care of. Once we were seated our server came over. I believe her name was Emily. She was so sweet. She didnt rush us and she made some recommendations for wine and suggested family style so we can try different things. We tried this platter of mushroom toast with chorizo and these olives of which i asked for more. Best olives I have ever tasted..Lobster mackeral salad was lovely fresh and light. A seafood pasta and bitter greens. The gnocci was to die for...My friends ate the beef cheek and they said never tasted meat so tender. Dessert came...the chocolate pudding salted caramel was sooo good and loved how it was presented i think a mason type jar. The servers suggestions and ...omg...the gnocci was to die for.. did i say that again. Lol.. Loved the front table. The atmosphere was amazing. The pricing was very fair...actually for the quality and experience. We are definately coming back. The server mentioned they have a patio in the summer so we are going to come back then for sure. Such a cool spot in the city and parking was so...