Francobollo Posto Italiano — Restaurant in Toronto

TLDR; disappointing service, mediocre food.

We arrived five minutes before our reservation. They didn’t even have our table set, so we waited. They also did not check our vaccination QR codes which is currently mandatory. Then we were seated. We were not offered water, drinks, anything, for the first fifteen minutes. It was clear that they were understaffed, and extremely busy. This wasn’t what I expected for a fine dining experience that I had prepaid for, for Valentine’s Day. The server seemed very rushed and anxious.

When being asked for what kind of drinks we wanted, the server seemed to emphasize only to us ‘Is just tap water okay?’. Not what I expected from fine dining and frankly was a bit offended/taken aback after seeing the way he served other tables. We asked to switch tables and they said it was probably possible. They switched us thirty minutes after we asked, after I’d reminded them. We had asked to switch because the tables are a bit too closely seated for our liking, and there were empty spots around the floor, so I was confused at their seating arrangement. We were the first out of four couples on our floor. We were the LAST to get our bread and food. The appetizers were okay. Squid ink pasta was good, roasted half chicken was okay. It just tasted like fried chicken. I think that their standard menus are better than the set menu they had for Valentines Day. One of the waitresses seemed new and very nervous, did not really look like she knew what she was doing. When placing our food down the plates clattered against the surface.

I was in an off mood for the entire dinner because of the service. Even the couple next to us complained about their food, it’s temperature, and how long everything was taking. They didn’t even end up eating their main courses. They were the last couple to arrive but ended up leaving at the same time as us.

Also, there was another couple that really did not seem to care about other people's privacy and intimacy as they were taking FLASH photos and videos throughout the entire night. Talk about being blinded by love.

In total we paid $280 (with a 20% gratuity, PREPAID) for our meal and experience, which I had thought was reasonable for this setting but it really wasn’t. I feel cheated. I’m not coming...

COVID delivery review

Dishes like their burrata ($22) are ideal dine-out options. The creamy cheese tastes great at room temperature and as it oozes into the accompanying produce, it’s something you’d likely combine anyways. The food quality doesn’t deteriorate: the tomatoes are surprisingly flavourful for late winter (this order originally happened in late March) and the arugula bright and fresh. Francobollo even thinks to send warmed baguette slices that are a must with the starter.

Others do not fair as well. One of my favourite dishes is the decadent gnocchi ‘Terra’ style ($27), the combination of crisped gnocchi with sweet grilled corn, roasted peppers, onions, and peas, in a roasted garlic truffle sauce is absolutely intoxicating.

What makes it particularly amazing is the crust on the pan-fried gnocchi that gives way to its soft centre. Once that sits in sauce in a closed container, the crust vanishes and the pasta turns soft – still good, but that lovely contrast disappears. I’ve even tried re-heating it in a pan the next day, willing the crust to form, but couldn’t re-create the experience.

Of the pasta dishes, the tomato-based sauces seem to work best. After a quick nuke in the microwave to get it hot, the short rib tagliatelle ($24) was remarkably similar to how it normally tastes in the restaurant. Perhaps the portion was bigger, chocked full of short ribs and ribbons of pasta with enough for another meal.

Meanwhile, the creamy rosé sauce in the lobster pappardelle ($29) turns a bit gluey and if you add water to it starts to dilute the existing flavours. At least the dish incorporated large chunks of wonderfully cooked lobster. Based on their latest offerings in late May, it appears the chef realized this and has taken the pappardelle off the menu.

In fact, they now adjust their menu weekly, offering seasonal options and a 3-course Sunday’licious prix-fixe ranging from $45 (for vegan) to $55 (for meat). They’re even expanding into vegan dishes such as panko-crusted lentil cake and cashew-based cheesecake, things I haven’t seen in past visits. Keep up this gusto, the move towards plant-based mains is a great one to help expand the...

First time here on Saturday night, September 20, 2025.

• Lovely meals but more selection is required. It had a special but only for the seafood lover.

• It was cute seeing all the wait staff at the rear of restaurant just waiting to fire outta there to serve its guests.

• We sat on the main floor but a quieter spot is available the 2nd floor. Two washrooms but one was out of order.

• Comfortable padded chairs, elegant atmosphere including the hostesses & female wait staff fashionably dressed.

• Wine glasses on table are huge yet when ordering a glass, you receive 6 ounces & it looks rather piddilly. $17

• Two can share their salads. We shared a caesar salad that was finely chopped. Tiny bits of condiments including corn kernels, a first for me. A bit too light on the dressing otherwise it was tasty. A mushroom salad enjoyed by our friends but it wasn't spectacular.

• Mains: Pasta was too hard & not enjoyed by my spouse. Chicken Parmesana was enormous with some making the journey home. Lobster pasta had tiny morsels of lobster; that guests asked for seconds when it was served to him. He said it was good but the portion was too small. At $37 for a bowl, I agree it was rather small. 4th meal, I forget what pasta dish it was & it went home as well. All mains served without any sides which was odd to all of us.

• Dessert shared: a chocolate strawberry tartofo with a tiny few blueberries, a single blackberry tasted good but at $15, we felt taken advantage of as a 4 pack at Bruno's half a block away is $3.99. The hazelnut whatcha mycallit was a large size & thoroughly enjoyed.

• Dinner for two @ $113 & $160 respectively lemon cello, a capacinno & an espresso.

• Use side streets as parking was limited on Avenue Road.

We would...