Enoteca Sociale — Restaurant in Toronto

4.5 stars ... great restaurant and wonderful dishes.

Enoteca Sociale is on Canada's 100 best restaurant and so my curiousity about this place was peaked even more than before when that list was announced for 2017. Enoteca would be my 6th restaurant from the list and after my Saturday early evening dinner, I can safely say it belongs there. Service was polite and thoughtful to everyone including to a young family sitting nearby, food was delicious and incredibly well priced compared to other options in Toronto for the same level of detail and execution, and I loved the atmosphere.

We arrived early Saturday evening and was offered a choice of sitting inside or outseide. The patio looked great and eventually was filled with many diners to enjoy the last bit of sun of the day. We chose inside as we knew it might rain (still!) but we liked how the tables inside were nicely spaced out to not be sitting on your neighbour. It was charming with a lot of warm natural light with well spaced tables and it was just the right level of music. The music was fun and a bit hilarious... old school hip hop wasn't my first thought for Italian food but it made for moment where you had that look of "OH wow... I heard this when I was in Grade 9!!"

Arancini - Something so simple looking and yet deliver a response of "damn thats good" after each bite. Perfectly crispy shell housing tender rice grains with a generous molten core of gooey cheese awaits your every bite... add the nicely spiced tomato sauce that gives your tongue a bit of heat and you got yourself one of the best arancini I've had in Toronto and rivaling some of the best I've had from my travels. 5/5

Cacio e Pepe - I debate going between a 3.5 to 4... the sauce was a gorgeous creamy texture that held its wonderful texture for quite a while but the black pepper taste was a bit subdued. You can taste it as a lingering note at the end of the bite. I've had it far more aggressively peppered in Italy but that doesnt mean this version is bad. Pasta was just a touch past al dente but I dont like it too firm. Though this was a cheese on cheese affair, it never felt too heavy and a nice portion to share as a primi 4/5

Amatriciana - The other primi was the amatriciana pasta and this was just amazing. It was a bright tomato sauce with a touch of heat from chilis and slices of guanciale (nice pieces of pork neck that reminds you of bacon). The pasta was a thicker version of spaghetti and so it had a bit more chew but it was cooked wonderfully so it wasn't mushy or firm. A definite winner. 5/5

Roast Chicken - For our secondi, we opted for the chicken and as someone mentioned "I want more of this chicken skin. What did they do to this... its like an addiction". It looks like they pan seared it before roasting the rest and it resulted in this incredibly crackly and flavourful chip like skin that was addicting. The meat was tender, flavouful, and juicy so it was so easy to just tear the meat off the bones easily. The only small note was that some pieces of the chicken was a tad bit oversalted but not all of it. 4/5

Rapini - Generous platter of deep green rapini ... i was pleasantly surprised on the size and thrilled! I'm used to (unfortunately) receiving only 5 sprigs for $10 (True story... just ask Mark McEwan). Generous pour of olive oil topped it off... perhaps a bit too generous but I know a lot of Italian nonnas just douse their vegetables this way. 3.5/5

Green Bean - Another generous side where you have bright greens. These are well cooked as they still retained their crunch while still just edging towards being tender. Nicely spiced with salt and chilli flakes. Great side to the chicken. 4/5

I really liked Enoteca Sociale especially for the price point. With drinks and tips, it came out to be $45 per person and I know I've paid more for dishes that werent as flavourful or well executed. I will definitely return especially knowing that the menu...

Think twice before going. There are better options in the area for same price.

When people learn I live near Dundas and Ossington, one of the first questions they ask is, “Where’s the best place to eat around here?” For years, Enoteca Sociale has earned an honourable mention on my list — a charming, underrated spot with a patio that captures a genuine Tuscan vibe right in the middle of the Dundas strip. It has always felt a little magical.

After praising it to friends time and again, I decided to put my money where my mouth is and return for another visit — with anll the new restaurants that pop up in my area, I find it increasingly challenging to overcome my curiosity and stick with the standbys — I hadn’t been to Enoteca in at least 2 years. Unfortunately, the experience left me more than disappointed.

Woth one notable exception, the service was exceptional — the front desk and cleanup staff were attentive, professional, and unfailingly gracious. Unfortunately, our waiter seems to have seem to struggle with a chip on his shoulder bigger than a Tuscan salami To be fair, he tried but too frequently, lost his inner battle. — at one time, somewhat aggressively refusing to let my girlfriend read the wine list herself Sadly, the food was more in line with our waiter’s disposition and did not live up to either the setting or the service of the rest of the staff.

We began with the heirloom tomato salad, which arrived warm — an odd and unappealing choice — and carried an off, almost spoiled-butter flavour. Next came the octopus and five-bean salad, a bland and uninspired dish notable only for its excessively salty finish. To my surprise, the restaurant did not replace our plates between courses, meaning the vinaigrette from the first dish mixed unpleasantly with the octopus salad. While our server quickly rectified the situation when we asked, this oversight seemed at odds with the restaurant’s otherwise precise and intentional approach.

The grilled artichokes followed. On paper, the pairing of artichoke with a scrambled-egg topping hinted at creativity and flair; in reality, the dish was lacklustre and fell short of its promise.

For mains, we tried the cacio e pepe — a simple pasta classic best known for its elegance — but this rendition was unbalanced, overly spicy, and again carried the same odd butter note from the salad. It felt more like a lesson in how not to make the dish. The mussels with pasta fared better, with perfectly cooked pasta, though the dish as a whole was forgettable.

The wine fared no better. While the wine itself fully lived up to our server’s recommendation, what appeared to be no more than a 4 -ounce pour for $22 strikes me as, for lack of a more apt description, a rip-off.

The bill came to $185 before tip. While the staff and setting remain commendable, the meal overall was disappointing enough that I’ll be removing Enoteca Sociale from my list of neighbourhood...

Food was excellent, exceeded my already high expectations. The only downside is the tables were tiny and seating very squished/close together… I considered knocking a star for this but decided to keep it at 5 because of the food. Service was also very good. Plenty of vegetarian options.

It is hard to mess up a classic pasta, but it’s such a basic food it’s also hard to get one that’s above and beyond and so memorable. Mine was. I got the mushroom agnolotti with black truffle added - it was spectacular! Very unique thanks to the strong lemon flavor. A relatively generous portion. And it went perfectly with the added truffle. The mushrooms were perfectly cooked, which is rare - usually I find them soggy or unpleasant, even at top notch restaurants. These were perfectly melt in the mouth, chewy but not overly so, not overly soggy or water filled either - and fully flavored from the inside out. The sauce was buttery without being too heavy. And the lemon kick was throughout - in the filling and the sauce, cutting through all the richness. Beautiful shavings of parmesan added on to the mushroom umami.

The fava bean starter was also excellent though a little small. The dandelion greens are a bit chewy and bitter, but I liked it. Most importantly, it was doused in pecorino which made it so flavorful.

I tasted my friend’s squash pasta and it was also excellent.

The reviews said not to miss dessert, and they were right! The sticky toffee pudding was to die for, perfectly made. I also tried the terrine and even though I don’t like mousses, it was excellent - the bitter chocolate and flaky salt cut through the richness, and olive oil added an interesting flavor.

My mocktail was great - Moscow mule with a zero proof herbal “liqueur” that added a very interesting undertone.

The service was very good, and the waitress described the dishes very well. Water was also refilled promptly. The only thing is there was quite a wait between receiving the dessert menu and ordering dessert - we had to flag her down after waiting around 15min.

Now to the main downside, and it’s quite a bit one. The seating was horrible. We were squeezed on a bench with not even 1 foot of space between the other two parties - their feet were under our table. The table was also TINY - seriously wasn’t big enough for our two plates of pasta and two drinks… if we had ordered any sides or a third dish to share there wouldn’t have been space. I had to think through where to place my fork and water glass so as to not knock anything over. This seating situation is so unpleasant that it might keep me from retuning quickly, and I do hope they rethink it because the food was really spectacular. It seemed to be mainly the 2 person tables like this, so I plan to only return with 3+ people.

Overall, food was excellent but they really need to revamp their seating to be larger tables and...