La Palma — Restaurant in Toronto

We decided to try La Palma restaurant because we saw a video on IG of their 100 layer lasagna. I looked up the restaurant several times but decided not to make a reservation because there were multiple times available after 9pm but I was not sure when we would get there. We ended up getting there around 9:45pm and I knew the restaurant was closing at 11pm so we had time to order food. Walking by the restaurant and into the restaurant there were over 5 tables empty but we were faced with 3 or 4 hostesses that said that because we didn't reserve, we would have to sit at the bar or the bar in front of the kitchen. We took the option of sitting in front of the kitchen but because I saw so many empty reservations earlier I decided to check again if we could still reserve a table. There were still 2 or 3 reservations available for 10 minutes later at 10 pm. So we "reserved" a regular seating option. We asked them what regular seating was now that we made a reservation or if we still had to sit at the bar. They said that regular seating was upstairs, like this was a well-known fact, even though we did not even know there was an upstairs to this restaurant. The hostesses did not seem happy that we were able to make a reservation which is what they asked for to begin with. Because it was 950pm and our now reservation was for 10pm they asked us to get up and stand at the entrance. My husband said we can just wait at the bar since there is no one at either bars. We were then told twice that we either sit at the bar and eat at the bar or we get up and wait at the door for our reservation since our table will not be ready until 10pm. We complied and went to stand at the door while looking at many empty tables. Another 2 hostesses said that we could sit and wait at the other bar by the door but we advised them according to the other hostess we are not allowed to sit and wait. Within the next couple minutes she asked us to follow her outside and up the stairs to the indoor/outdoor enclosed patio, where we found also more than 5 tables empty even though we were told our table would not be ready until 10pm. We felt like this was some sort of game as we saw more than 10 empty tables. Also usually in my experience, if a restaurant is busy, it is pointless to look for a reservation the same night especially a Saturday night. Usually it will give you options for the following Saturday. And we were able to get the reservation for 10 minutes from coming into the restaurant. I believe the hostesses had a problem with the way my husband and I looked because it felt like we were playing a game with them like we were blind to the fact that there were free tables everywhere we looked. Unfortunately we did not enjoy our first and last visit to La Palma. We are always looking for a great place for work functions, family dinners and events like my parents upcoming 45th wedding anniversary. The highlight of our night was Jeff, our waiter. He was professional and attentive. He was the only friendly person we interacted with who made us feel welcomed and we were so happy that we got him as our waiter. The food was mediocre and the 100 layer lasagna that we came for was quite disappointing. If the service of the hostesses was better and friendlier and didn't make us feel like they had a problem with us coming into the restaurant, I would not take the time...

We went as a group of 6 to celebrate my partner's birthday and opted for their Summerlicious 2025 menu. Warning: The entire table must choose either the Summerlicious menu or a la carte. You can order add-on items from either menu but no mixing between guests. I had thought that it was a fixed 3-course menu, but was pleasantly surprised to see that we have 3 choices for each course of Appetizer, Main, and Dessert.

SERVICE Service was fantastic, but unfortunately, we were quite disappointed on how unbalanced the food were, details below.

DRINKS I love the drinks menu. I ordered the Pacific Passion which taste exactly as I'd hoped. Others in our group tried cocktails, seltzer, and beer. The cocktails are on the pricier side but that's to be expected for Toronto restaurants.

FOOD Unfortunately, the food was where things fell short (especially the Mains). They were unbalanced and "strange" portions (for lack of better word).

Appetizers: The salads were fantastic both for presentation and flavour. The Cucumber Burrata was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! Easily 9.9/10! The only thing missing was a light crunch element for texture. The Mizuna Salad was delicious - fresh, light, sweet, and tangy. We didn't try the Fava Bean Crostini so can't comment on that one

Mains: This is where things gets very confusing, unbalanced, and mid at best.

*Clam Pizza - My partner's choice and unfortunately a miss. It was a full size pizza, but he ended up only eating a couple slices. If you like seafood you may like it, we don't.

*Pesto Gnocchi - Others ordered the gnocchi and it was underwhelming. It was fresh and light but the portion was very very small, they could've added 7-10 more gnocchi to make it more appropriate size in comparison to the chicken and pizza. Presentation was bland, just gnocchi with pesto and drizzle of olive oil.

*Wood-Fired Chicken - This is what I ordered, picture included. It was the best bang for your buck, for sure. The portion was huge, it's a HALF CHICKEN (breast, thigh, and drumstick) with no sides. It was a lot of protein for one person in my opinion and quite salty, considering there is no starch/veggie to balance it all out. It has a lovely smoky flavor from being wood fired, but it needs a bit more sweetness added to balance out the flavour profile. I ended up taking half home. I just had the leftover with Japanese cabbage slaw & sesame dressing and it was fantastic (something for the kitchen to consider). If I had known, I would have ordered the chicken and asked my partner to order the gnocchi so at least we can share a more balanced meal.

Desserts: They were great! Some of us got the Panna Cotta with strawberry compote and it was very delicious! Some got the cannoli which was generously sized, bigger than the ones you find in bakeries. And my partner got the Olive Oil cake as recommended by our server, which was good but a bit too dense for my liking. They did add a candle on the cake for my partner which was a very sweet & thoughtful gesture.

All in all, while the service was really good, the inconsistencies in the mains made the overall dinner disappointing. In hindsight, we probably should have ordered a la carte, and try their famous lasagna instead. For $55 per person, their Summerlicious menu needs significant reworking in terms of portion balance and flavour profile. Hopefully they see this and can improve their...

This restaurant has been on my radar for a little while now this past year as it has been given a lot of really great reviews... needless to say when my best friend wanted to try a new restaurant for double date, I immediately thought of this place!

Ambience is really nice - very cosy, almost like a modern diner feel but more quaint :) We were able to make a reservation for a Sunday dinner and the restaurant was mostly filled by the time we got there.

My hubby and I ordered an app to share and then each of us ordered a main and shared 2 desserts, and here are our thoughts on them:

Ricotta, Pear and Honey Crostino - cute little dish, came with a big piece of bread so i had to cut it in half to share with my hubby. I loved the pairing - the pear and honey gives a bit of a acid and sweet tone along with a savoury spin from the ricotta - you really can't go wrong with these ingredients on a nice piece of bread :)

100 layer lasagna - this was the highlight piece of the night - both me and my best friend got this dish and believe me when I say this, this is amazing and almost to die for! The noodles are fresh, thinly layered, and mixed with the classic bolognese sauce with mozzarella - this is a great twist to the classic lasagna dish. Pasta lovers, if you ever set foot in this place, you HAVE to try this dish!

Crispy Pork Belly with Savoy Cabbage and apple - my hubby chose this dish and although the dish doenst' look like it's a lot - it's actually quite rich! the pork belly was crispy and yet juicy and tender when you bight into it, and i really liked the vegetable pairing - cabbage is a great accompaniment to this dish and i love the apple taste - can't ever go wrong putting pork and apple together :)

My best friend's hubby had the cornish hen - crispy skin, juicy and tender on the inside. The portion is actually quite large for an entree - lots of meat! He didn't finish all of the hen and packed some of it home.

Dessert round came along and at that point all of us were feeling a bit stuffed up after the entrees... so we ended up sharing the dessert:

gingerbread mousse - amazing mousse - light and smooth with a very heavy tone of gingerbread.. anyone who likes gingerbread will appreciate this dish! It also came with some honeycomb and verjus pear and it was a nice balance of sweetness - the citrus from the pear cuts the sweetness just a bit which was nice - I didn't find it too rich!

Bombolone - this is basically what you would call a stuffed small donut. Fried dough on the outside with grape jelly added on the inside topped with some icing sugar. Very light and fluffy - the smaller sized donuts make it a great dish to share!

All in all this is a great place! I saw some families eating in there so aside from being a great place for date, it can also be okay for kids as well. We also had La Palma cocktail and it was great!!!

Def would recommend this place if you're ever in the...