Oretta Midtown — Restaurant in Toronto

We were looking forward to having a great night with our friends. First impression wise the place looked great. Interior and the atmosphere looked great. We made reservations for 9:30 for a party of 10 on the opentable platform. After reading the policies, I knew that there was also a 10-15 min grace period in case we were also late to the reservation. A few of us arrived early to the restaurant, at around 9:20 PM. Upon arrival, the first thing the hostess lets me know is that their kitchen last call is at 9:45 so we need to all order food by then. This made no sense to me since there is about a 10-15 min grace period as well. If we have arrived at 9:40 PM it would mean that we have 5 mins for all 10 people to order. Which isn’t such a big issue but like why would I want to rush. Some of my friends were also coming from fairly far distances so they also needed to rush to the restroom once they arrived but they wouldn’t have time for that either. When I expressed this to the hostess, I was told that she was very new and wasn’t able to help me. So she suggested she bring out the manager and I speak to her. So now the manager steps in and tries to deal with the situation. She was very kind and handled the situation very well. She understood my frustration and went to kindly ask the kitchen to extend their closing time about 5-10 mins to give us a bit more time to order. By this point I honestly just wanted to leave and find another place but after looking on google all the places were already about to close as well and it would be too difficult to find a place for 10 people. So we decided to stay and just order as soon as possible. Most of the guests arrived on time except for two so we had to call them and order for them in order to make the time. Honestly it is not that big of a deal but by this point I was pretty frustrated by the fact that they allowed a party of 10 to dine in at 9:30 when their last call is 9:45 with no warning. (Keep in mind this reservation was made over a week prior).

Now.. the server. She comes out to take care of our table. There was honestly nothing too terrible but to be fair she came off a bit passive aggressive? Maybe a but of attitude? I completely get that she wanted to leave ASAP because we are her last table but after this whole issue I expected her to be a bit more happy? It was just pretty obvious she did not want to be there. Once we sat down, she asks if we would like water and gives us two options: sparkling or still. I usually don’t pay for water at a restaurant because I usually don’t mind the still tap water so I say still. At the end of the meal we get the bill and it seems like she charged us for the water? Not the biggest deal but it’s just the fact that she couldn’t clarify that we would have to pay for the water. Felt like she was just trying to make more money off of us because there is an automatic gratuity fee for larger tables. I don’t know just felt like that was kind of scummy, feel like she could have just mentioned that especially how aggressively she was pouring the water for us like it was free. Paid like $60 extra for water haha.

Anyways would probably not go back, food was good, not great, didn’t eat the dessert but looked good. Atmosphere was good but seems like the bad service thing and the water thing is a pretty common issue if you do a bit of research.

Go and try the food if you like, hopefully you guys have a better experience than me, guess don’t make...

Tried to hit up Mia's across the street for brunch, found out it was closed for the first 2 weeks of January. Why not try Oretta? Right across the street.

We'd never tried it before given the size and look - it's pretty, but the enormity and style of it made me think it was a mostly surface-level spot. The summary of this review is that it proved itself to be exactly that. Maybe the server was new or had a bad day, don't hold it against them. It was not particularly busy yet, so I can't think they were understaffed, especially as they had 2 hosts just standing by the door. The food was definitely a let down. After reading some reviews here, it's clear that our experience wasn't particularly unique. We're always willing to spend good money for a good meal in a good restaurant, but this wasn't worth the bill.

Seated quickly by the 2 hosts dressed in pajamas, which I assume is a product they sell? That's weird.

The place was relatively empty in our half of the first floor of the restaurant, maybe 4-5 tables when we arrived. Server was polite but we were not offered water. Ordered a couple of drip coffees, which came relatively quickly. Forgot to ask for milk - also was not asked if we wanted any - but eventually our server came back, took our food orders and we then asked for some. We sat there for a while letting our coffees get cold as the milk just never came. Eventually I went to the bar and asked for it myself because I was dying for some caffeine.

Wife ordered Panino Salicia and I got the Che Fame with a side of potatoes as we just really wanted some brunch. Food came out quickly, which was great. Our table still had empty wine and water glasses on it, which meant there was no room for the food + coffee on plates + side of potatoes. The person who delivered the food was nice enough to take the wine glasses - this was the food runner and not our server. We still didn't have enough room, so I just moved the empty water glasses to the empty table next to us.

Both of our dishes were underwhelming and the potatoes lacked any real seasoning. You could see the oil and parsley pooling at the bottom of the dish, but there was not even close to enough salt on them and none available at our table. Somehow the sausage in my dish was under-seasoned as well, which was odd. My wife's panino could not be eaten like a sandwich, as she took 1 bite and the entirety of the egg ran all over her hands. She had to deconstruct the remainder of it and eat with a fork and knife. The food was not special nor worth the price tag. Brunch should be easy and comforting, whereas this felt like a poor attempt at being "upscale" all while missing the point. You can put interesting twists on the brunch, but it still has to hit the spot.

About halfway through our meal - as in, we had eaten half of our food - our original server finally came by with the milk. By this time, we were basically finished with our first round of coffee.

Our server finally did check in for coffee, etc., by the latter quarter of our meal, which was good, but we were already soured on the experience.

By the end of it all, we probably should have just hit a pub up for standard brunch fare. Afterwards, we actually debated if a McDonald's breakfast would have been better - more satisfying for the right price - and that's a brutal assessment, I think. Lots of fluff here,...

I have to point out this rating is only for the booking process and not related to food at the restaurant. I sent a FB msg asking to speak with management about my feedback on booking but didn't get a response so I think leaving it here they can read for themselves.

On October 11 I sent an email to reservation specifically asking to reserve the Benedetta room for a party of 12 on to hose a baby shower on December 7. I got email confirmation same day confirming the reservation ( you can check your email system or I can post those emails).

Work and life got in the way so I only remembered to update the restaurant the latest number of attendees to be 15 instead of 12, by sending an email the day before. All along I was wondering why no one reached out about the party meals selection as posted in the website, but I didn't think too much about it, assuming that can be done at the restaurant. Then I got an email back saying party over 12 will be handled by event specialist. First time hearing this. It was the night before but I thought I already have the room booked so its only a matter of fact about confirming meals when I get to the restaurant. I emailed again asking would it be a problem because I reconfirm the number of attendees late. Got an email saying shouldn't be a problem.

When I got to the restaurant on December 7, only was told they did not expect a party at the Benedetta room. The reservation was only for the main dining room. They did not have me booked for the room to begin with. They would not seat us at the party room because they did not 'plan' for this, even I showed the manager ( I assume) the email about my reservation asking for the room.

At that point it was too late for me to do anything. Guests of honor and other guests were arriving. I suppressed my disappointment and ensure my guests had a wonderful time. No one complained but it would be different if we could celebrate in the party room where everyone can move around and mingle, instead of my guests of honor stuck in the middle of the long table. Hardly able to take pictures with other guests during the shower.

Our server tried her best ensuring us having a wonderful time and got what we needed. But I have not seen the managers again checking in on us. Nothing was offered about the screwed up in reservation. Cake cutting at $5 per person for a party of 15 was fully charged.

It's a nice establishment, I give them that. But with this booking experience I will not consider hosting any event there again.

Please don't tell me its my fault that I did not reach out earlier. I am the customer and I was ready to spend some money (I was told for party room I need to sign a contract and commit to a minimal spend). Please train your staff better by reading the email correctly....