Osteria Giulia — Restaurant in Toronto

Last week my partner and I went to Osteria Giulia for his birthday – our first visit. It’s located at Ave and Dav. This local gem is a renowned Michelin Star restaurant that is always busy, and quite a challenge to get a reservation. To ensure we got a table, I stayed up until midnight to make my reservation 2 weeks ahead of the big day.

Upon arrival we were warmly greeted at the door by Melissa. Our jackets were hung and Melissa escorted us to our table for 2, sitting snuggly in a row of similar tables. Despite the proximity to our neighbors, we never felt encroached upon. The décor is warm and calming, almost minimalist, but not jarringly so. Our server Mackenzie offered us still or sparkling water while dropping off the drink menu.

We perused the cocktail menu that offered a very decent and interesting list of Italian Aperitivo, martinis, negronis, zero alcohol cocktails, and by the glass sparkling, rose, white and red wines. We eventually landed on a glass Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo for my partner (we both love this grape) and a Ligurian white for me. What I really appreciate at this restaurant is that Mackenzie brought the bottles of what we were having to our table, poured a tasting sample for us, and then left the 2 bottles at our table. This allowed us to taste while considering the label details of what we had in our glass. As it turned out, I was not taken with my choice (coastal Vermentino -too round for me). Mackenzie happily suggested we sample a couple of other BTG wines, which I/we did. I selected a crisp Friulano and my partner stuck with the Cerasuolo.

For starters we ordered Focaccia di Recco, a substantial Stracchino Stuffed Ligurian Flatbread served on a copper baking dish, listed as a House Specialty, and Vitello Tonnato, a large plate of veal carpaccio, Albacore tuna, caper leaves, lemon and olive oil. Delicious. We could have shared one of these. But it was a birthday, so….

For the main, we ordered the Grilled Rack of Lamb, Wild Fennel & Sea Salt for Two, with Cavoletti – brussels sprouts in smoked anchovy butter and breadcrumbs. Wow, what a dish. Eight pieces on the bone, medium rare. So tasty and so worth ordering. The Cavoletti also a joy to taste. We paired our mains with a glass of red: Bastianich Refosco | Schiopettino from Friuli; and a Susamaniello from Puglia. Good choices.

We ended with two desserts: Millefoglie al Cocco – White chocolate and coconut mille-feuille and tropical fruit; and Poached Pears in rum with Chantilly cream and roasted almond crumble. The former arrived with a candle in honor of my partners birthday. A nice, simple touch. Both desserts were outstanding. Again, one could have been shared… but for the birthday… We paired dessert with a glass of Recioto della Valpolicella (La Rogose, Veneto) and an Amaro from Calabria – “Roger” by Magazinno Dogonale.

The Carta dei Vini is quite notable for such a “small” and unassuming restaurant. I love the way the list is presented with Italian descriptives. Whites and reds are not categorized by Region, but geographic provenance: By the Coast, From the Mountains, From the Plains, From the Islands. The listed wine will then state name, producer and region, offering a sense of the wine style owing to its terroir, be it a Ligurian coastal wine or Sardinian wine from the island. But be forewarned – these wines are not inexpensive. They are, however, worthy of the outstanding food that is served here.

Also significant to the experience here was the premier service offered. Osteria Giulia truly is a team effort, with numerous front of house members quietly attending to our dining experience. Nothing seemed left to chance. Kudos to whomever orchestrates the show.

In summary, selecting what to order is a challenge, with so many wonderful-looking plates on offer. Be ready to open your wallet. You may not need to order 2 starters and 2 desserts. But why not, when it is all so good. It’s all a reason for returning, perhaps with friends. As long as I can stay up to midnight 2...

I’ve been wanting to try Osteria Giulia ever since they opened, even before they got their Michelin star. I finally got a reservation to come here for my birthday dinner and I was disappointed.

TLDR: the service was bad and the food lacks depth and refinement and therefore isn’t worth the money - it does not compare to other Michelin restaurants I’ve been to.

~ I’ve worked in restaurants and also have my fair share of experience dining at high-quality restaurants around the world. I’m more than happy to pay lots for good food, but in my opinion this was just pretentious and not worth it. I wish I’d chosen a different restaurant for my birthday, especially given the bad service…

The first thing I noticed when me & my boyfriend walked in was the not so friendly greeting by the hostess. I don’t know what it was but the interaction with her was very underwhelming and gave me a bad first impression of the restaurant. she asked us if we wanted to do coat check when we were already at the table - it was a bit crowded and weird that she didn’t ask us when we were at the front. Also no birthday greeting (from anyone throughout the whole night) but it was noted on the reservation. Just acknowledging these small details makes a huge difference to the overall experience! But also as a restaurant with a Michelin star, their standards should be a lot more refined with how they treat their guests.

The waitress did not come by for a while after we sat, and when she did she also lacked any warmth or friendliness in greeting us, asking us how we were doing, if we’ve dined here before or offering to walk us through the menu - she did not let us know about the specials they had that evening, and I know this because I heard another server telling his table when we were already halfway through our meal. This waitress was very standoffish and did the bare minimum. She literally took our orders, and besides me asking what she’d recommend as an appetizer, that’s the extent of the interaction we had with her. For this calibre of a restaurant she needs to be doing much more in terms of friendliness, making us feel welcome, and showing passion for the food they serve !! The rest of the staff who walked our food out to the table did a good job of explaining all the components of the dishes. I’m mostly just very disappointed with the waitress.

The food we had: • foccacia - this was good. I love all things with cheese, but a little more salt would have made the flavour even better. • calamari - this was decent but didn’t feel refined based on my expectations for this place • my bf had the vongole - he liked how it had lots of flavour • lobster ravioli - also lots of flavour and I liked the corn and ricotta but again was missing that refinement I was expecting. it wasn’t bad either but it’s just not a dish I’m obsessed with or would come back for

Overall the flavours didn’t feel balanced. Food was not bad but not up to my expectations. To be fair, I just came from having meals at some outstanding restaurants in New York and Miami so my expectations are high, but at the same time if you have a Michelin star you need to do better. If I’m thinking of Italian restaurants to dine in Toronto, this would not be the first that comes to mind and I wouldn’t recommend based on my experience. I could have chosen a different restaurant for my birthday, potentially spent way less, and been way more satisfied.

because of the disappointment, we decided not to get dessert. when my boyfriend asked to get his wallet from his jacket in coat check, the waitress brought mine as well as if we were being rushed to leave. not a pleasant experience.

on a positive note, I loved the beautiful interior! I feel bad saying all the criticism because I’m sure the kitchen does put a lot of effort into their work and I really wanted to like this place but my experience was underwhelming and the food unfortunately wasn’t amazing enough to make up for the...

My friend and I came here to celebrate the holiday season a few weeks ago and our experience was fantastic. Starting with reservations, they are a MUST; however, they only become available a couple weeks prior to your intended dining date so I highly recommend setting a reminder to reserve a table (lest you don’t mind 9:30 PM dinners and sore backs from bar seating).

Although the exterior screams “fancy establishment,” there is no sign or mention of the restaurant name to grab your attention — we walked right past it the first time around (could have also been the drinks we had prior).

As with many other up(per)scale restaurants, the interior (not large, but cozy) is very well designed, immediately giving a very warm and inviting environment. Coat checks were offered and we were led to our seats by the bar.

We started off with a bottle of wine (had to wait a bit for the connoisseur, busy night) but thinking back, I wish I had a cocktail in addition. The level of concentration and detail (they branded the ice cubes) the bartenders put into making the drinks was fascinating — and we had front row seats!

For starters, we got the Focaccia di Recco (Stracchino Stuffed Ligurian Flatbread), the one thing that was disappointing this meal as it was too oily and not as flavourful as expected, and the Crudo di Ricciola (Raw Yellowtail Amberjack), nice and light with subtle flavours of the pomegranate, peppercorn, and lemon.

Next, came the two pasta dishes, and I hope I do these justice. The first was Lorighittas al Mare (Hand Braided Pasta with Wild Squid and Scallops). This was a fun dish as the squid (prepared in the shape of an “O”) and the hand braided pasta (prepared in the shape of an “O”) were difficult to discern. Each bite was a surprise… Did I grab the pasta or the squid? Continuing on the theme of seafood, the second pasta we got was Spaghetti Neri ai Gamberi (Squid Ink Spaghetti with King Prawns). Such a well-executed dish with the meat of the prawn coming off the shell with ease. Between both dishes, we were getting blasted by seafood… in a good way.

We got one last dish, Spigola alla Griglia (European Sea Bass). The fish was cooked to perfection with a crispy/crunchy exterior and soft interior packing flavour with every bite. Small point on the fish though — it was topped with microgreens, which I thought took away from the flavour of the fish.

To finish off, we shared a Tiramisu alla Giulia (no explanation needed) for dessert. It was decent, but after blowing expectations out of the water on the seafood (no pun intended), this one was alright.

Overall, I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who enjoys seafood (they don’t mess around). Amazing food, fantastic service, great...