GATTO Wood Oven — Restaurant in Toronto

To preface, I have experienced what Gatto has to offer from a takeout perspective, and just recently from a dine-in perspective. Both experiences have led me to deem Gatto a relatively confusing restaurant.

Gatto prides itself on being a restaurant specializing in pizza and pasta. Their pizza, regardless if you choose to dine-in or do takeout, is very, very good. They offer a variety of types, and all maintain a consistent and high standard of quality.

Unfortunately the same sentiment cannot be shared with their pasta. The takeout pasta dishes were rather subpar and truly tasted like slightly flavoured cardboard. Regarding their dine-in pasta, I had recently come in and ordered a gnocchi gorgonzola special. I’ve had this dish at other restaurants before, and have always been satisfied. Gatto broke that streak of satisfaction. The cream sauce was missing that definitive taste of gorgonzola and was completely masked by an overwhelming amount of salt. It was essentially a super salty cream sauce with gnocchi.

I had also ordered their baked shrimp prior to the pasta. The shrimp was well done, but the sauce it came in was overpowered by what seemed to be an incredible amount of balsamic vinegar. It had the same problem as the gnocchi with the sauce having too much of one ingredient that essentially ruins the ability to enjoy the dish.

Regarding service and ambiance, Gatto could do better. It’s a relatively small restaurant, and it seemed that they had 4-5 active waitresses yet they weren’t overly attentive towards their clients. We had to wait around 30-40 minutes for our mains after our appetizers. Acoustics were relatively bad. You have to yell for the person seated across for them to hear you. Gatto tends to be more fit for a family restaurant, it lacks a sense of maturity that is present in other restaurants. If you intend to come for something casual, than Gatto is the place for you. It’s a good setting for families with young children as the pizza section of the kitchen is open concept and they can walk up and see how it’s made. If you’re intending to go out for a date night, I’d advise against coming here and instead looking for other restaurants in the area.

TL;DR: Great pizza, in and out. Family oriented restaurant. Very casual atmosphere. Lacking in other dishes. Some...

I have to give 3 star instead of 5 as I had a mixed experiences. Most of my experiences were good except one. In that experience I felt that I was being ignored when there were only 3 tables of customers including mine. The new girl seems to have difficulty understanding customer. I won't say she should be laid off but definitely need more training. The manager at that shift didn't sound friendly nor welcoming... it could be her tone though. I just hope that manager doesn't have problem with oriental customers..... Maybe she always talks that way.. this was complete opposite with my other experiences when other waitress/manager were serving. In other experiences, food and services were always good. Waitresses even the chef were considerated and welcoming. I honestly don't think I deserve that bad experience as a returning customer.... I think going forward I need to see who are working before deciding whether I should dine in...... I was considering bringing my family there but now I am reluctant to do so...... It is hard to imagine one unprofessional manager, one bad experience could ruin...

EDIT 3: Finally got the new and improved chili oil, and it's excellent.

EDIT 2: And AGAIN there's no chili oil included despite being specifically requested. From 3 stars to 1, this is stupidly inept.

Better than Queen Margarita.

Chili oil has a pretty good olive oil base and it shows. Chili blend is average, Vivo Pizza's flavour complexity is much better.

Very good core ingredients and preparation in the cheese, sauce, and dough. Pizza is slightly undercooked.

They've skimped on the toppings which make the various pizzas, they are not up to the quality of the core ingredients. Cheaper and obviously so, the menu reads better than the toppings taste.

Very skimpy with the 'Nduja and basil, see photo.

Very strange plastic twisty piece included in pizza, see photo. Pity they couldn't have included something better than a bit of the packaging.

EDIT: Tried it again. Cooked better, great crust. Wanted to try the new and improved chili oil but staff ignored the request...