Nodo Leslieville — Restaurant in Toronto

We came here based on the highly rated reviews but also trusted recommendation of friends. Although I'm posting about a mediocre experience, I have to believe that we were just unlucky and it was a one-off. That being said, I have too many dearly loved Italian spots nearby for me to give this another, but hope everyone could at least give this place a chance and hopefully come out with better opinion than me!

We were lucky to arrive on a Friday evening and be promptly seated with no wait time at a cozy little table for two. Overall a lively ambience and good service except for one MAJOR hiccup on part of our server and busser. More on that.

We ordered two appetizers which were the most mediocre part of the meal. The four cheese fritters were literally just a bland fried bread with a plain ricotta/cream type cheese in the middle, with a side of prosciutto. The grilled octopus was less than tender and the whole dish was a little too charred and underwhelmingly seasoned. Because we didn't enjoy the apps we asked to pack them to go (I just hate wasting food and I wanted to save room for the entrees). The waitress packs them in an ENORMOUS brown paper bag and plops it smack in the middle of our table! Being a small cozy table there is literally NO ROOM for anything else! I look at my husband and we both chuckle, a little baffled. We didn't do anything at the time because there's nowhere else to put it and we figured they'll notice something is off when they come with our two entrees.

So here come the entrées, duck ragu papardelle and l'americana pizza. Where will they place it all? Will they move the giant take out paper bag? Absolutely not. The busser finds a way. Awkwardly, she is able to have both of our entrees essentially dangling off of the table, and the paper brown bag is kind of sitting atop the plates only staying in place by being sandwiched by our waters. Mind you this is a tiny restaurant with narrow aisles and plates cannot be dangling off the table, not to mention they are not centered for us to be comfortably eating out of our entrees! It boggles my mind that she thought this is acceptable! We had hopes our waitress would ntlige but when she came she thought nothing of it either. Finally we asked if they could stow our take out until the end of the meal, which they did. We really should not have to ask though, especially given the tight quarters of the dining space! It is a service commonly offered to guests. This was the worst part of our meal: unenjoyable appetizers followed by complete and utter lack of common sense.

Anyway about the food. The pizza crust I hoped would be airy and crispy, but instead was heavy and overly crusty. I also think we picked a bad pizza because the toppings were exactly like a supreme from Pizza Pizza (but better pepporini) with the green peppers and mushrooms essentially being unseasoned/raw toppings. Very disappointing pizza. Luckily the duck ragu papardelle was the one saving grace of the meal.

We did not want to risk anymore disappointment and left without dessert. Sadly, I will not be giving this place...

Originally a 4 star review for a work dinner, but had a horrible experience at the end due to a waiter who was not wearing a uniform saying he lies all the time at work and to customers and says everyone lies. We had asked him how the cannoli was and he said: "Do you expect me to be honest? I'm paid to lie. Everyone lies." Unfortunately while he was talking about the ethics/philosophy of lying with the table, I had to urgently step away to the WC (nature called). When I got back to my colleagues, they told me that they told the waiter that they worked in marketing after he asked what we did, and he basically implied that everyone at the table were all liars too. I was shocked and at that point I had already paid the bill and thanked the other waiters at the restaurant for their service and complimented the food/experience. Regardless of what you think of marketers (especially since we try to be responsible and ethical bc we want to change the stereotype that marketers are sleazy), what shocked me was his total brazenness when it came to his own lying and then also feeling compelled to call us liars too. I have never been so offended and to say that to many of the younger colleagues who were just starting their career in the marketing field, I was speechless but I didn't want to create a scene (people were telling me to calm down when I wanted to talk to the owner). It soured the entire evening after we made the reservations and had a good time.

I felt compelled writing this review after, because it just bothered me so much that a restaurant would hire a waiter with this mindset who doesn't believe in the food or being honest with customers.

The food itself and the service was above average - especially since I think the value is good (for the money). Their cocktails were quite good and many of my fellow diners complimented them on it. I will say that the food was slightly worse compared to other locations of Nodo (which were great). I found that some food came out warm. The wild boar ragu I had was a bit bland for my tastes, but the boar was tender and juicy (wish there was a bit more meat). Apps were tiny so order more, the calamari and the octupus were especially stand outs. Bread is tasty and I would say the lamb skewers and the arancini are "ok" to my taste. Best vegetables were the brussel sprouts which a nicer waiter had recommended and they were spot on. Pricing is good and other staff treated us well, but the treatment at the end was...

Went here on a date on a Saturday night, made reservations before hand to be safe. They have 2 floors of seating and we sat on the first floor. The atmosphere is nice with dim lighting but the tables can be a bit small. We ordered the mussels $29 (which came with grilled foccaccia). This was delicious and I would get again, the mussels are soft and the tomato sauce adds good flavor to eat with the bread. We also got the cheese ravioli ($25) with lemon butter which was buttery, salty and cheesy, and the burrata ($25) with peas and arugula (this does not come with foccaccia, not sure why but you definitely should order an extra side of it to eat with this. Although an order of 2 pieces of foccaccia is $6 which is a bit high IMO.) All the food was very good and easy to share. If you like adding spice to your food, I highly recommend asking for chili oil and adding it to your food. For dessert we got the bread pudding with banana gelato. It was a nice dessert, the bread pudding had the right amount of sweetness but was a bit dense for me and the banana gelato flavor could be a miss for some people. I wouldn't get it again but not upset that we tried it. Overall a great experience and would come back again for a special occassion as it is on the pricier end for the amount of...