Sicilian Sidewalk Cafe — Restaurant in Toronto

Ordered the Baci Tartufo and thought it was tasty. I thought our server was really good…until the end.

Towards the end, we all witnessed an older gentleman walk slowly past our table while giving us a dirty look. We had no idea what this was about but after we paid our bills, our server went on a 10 minute rant regarding my friend who posted a negative review about this place. She said things like “we are a small business and this review really affects us,” “you say you didn’t like your food but you ate it all,” “the owner (older gentleman) had to leave for the day because the review upset him so much,” and “if you want to write reviews about me, go right ahead.”

I found the way the server and owner dealt with this situation to be inappropriate. This is the first time in my life I have seen the server giving a lecture because she didn’t like a review. The proper thing to do would be just apologizing for the experience and taking the feedback into consideration to improve the business but her pride got in the way of doing that. If she thought her giving the lecture was going to help, it clearly did the opposite because my experience shifted from positive to negative due to the lecture.

If the owner had an issue with the negative review, he can speak to us rather than giving dirty looks. Anyone who runs a business should realize there are people who do not have positive things to say and if one negative review upsets you to the point where you have to leave for the day, then being a business owner is not a good...

I am rarely in Little Italy but for some reason this year I decided to check out the Taste of Little Italy and while walking around had a craving for some sweets so dropped in this place.

The menu consists of ice cream, waffles, crepes, sandwiches and my favourite milkshake among other things. I immediately gravitated towards the waffles and milkshake naturally. I ended up ordering the Nervoso waffle (espresso ice cream, chocolate chips and chocolate sauce) as well as a canoli milkshake. The espresso ice cream was great with a nice coffee taste and the waffle was fluffy and soft. I didn't find the waffle to be overly sweet as well which is great in my book. As for the milkshake, there were chunks of canoli in there which I wasn't really expecting as I thought the canoli would be ground down to much smaller pieces. The taste was just like a vanilla milkshake so I am not sure if it was worth it to order this instead of just a regular milkshake. I probably would not order this again.

In terms of service, it was fairly busy when I was there due to the festival so I found the service to be ok but nothing amazing. I was on the patio which had a lot of seating and was really nice to be on a hot summer day.

Overall I had a nice experience here at Sicilian Cafe. I enjoyed the ice cream waffle though I did find things a tad on the pricier side but despite that would...

Payment Issues and Service Below the Expectations of a Place of This Category

I would like to share the experience of a close friend at this restaurant, as it has made me reconsider visiting it myself. When one invests time and resources in a place with such a reputation, high standards in service and issue management are naturally expected. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

My friend encountered a problem when paying the bill: the terminal indicated the transaction as “incomplete,” so, following the cashier’s suggestion, he used a second card. Later, upon reviewing his bank transactions, he confirmed that both payments had been processed successfully.

The next day, he returned to the restaurant with the intention of resolving the matter in a respectful manner. What truly concerns me as a potential customer is how he was treated: the person who assisted him was dismissive, unwilling to address his case, and refused to check their system to confirm the charges, despite him providing clear evidence from his banking app.

I fully understand that technical problems can occur, even at the finest establishments. However, what is truly disappointing is the lack of attentiveness and professionalism in handling such situations. One expects a restaurant of this caliber to stand out not only for its culinary offerings but also for its impeccable service and ability to manage challenges with grace and empathy.

When we choose places of this level, we do so with the expectation that the experience will be flawless from start to finish. Incidents like this, however, raise doubts and undermine the trust I would be willing to place in such a venue. I sincerely hope that this feedback is taken as an opportunity to strengthen processes and elevate service quality, as those of us who frequent establishments of this category seek precisely that: excellence without exceptions.

Problemi di pagamento e servizio al di sotto delle aspettative di un luogo di questa categoria

Vorrei condividere l’esperienza di un amico stretto presso questo ristorante, poiché mi ha portato a riflettere seriamente prima di decidere se visitarlo personalmente. Quando si investono tempo e risorse in un luogo con una simile reputazione, è naturale aspettarsi standard elevati, sia nel servizio che nella gestione degli imprevisti. Purtroppo, non è stato così.

Il mio amico ha riscontrato un problema al momento del pagamento: il terminale ha indicato che la transazione era “non completata” e, seguendo il consiglio della cassiera, ha usato una seconda carta. Più tardi, verificando con la sua banca, ha confermato che entrambe le transazioni erano state processate con successo.

Il giorno successivo è tornato al ristorante con l’intenzione di risolvere la questione in modo rispettoso. Ciò che mi preoccupa come futuro cliente è il trattamento che ha ricevuto: la persona che lo ha assistito è stata poco disponibile, ha ignorato il suo caso e si è rifiutata di controllare il sistema per confermare gli addebiti, nonostante avesse fornito prove evidenti dalla sua app bancaria.

Capisco perfettamente che i problemi tecnici possano verificarsi, anche nei migliori locali. Tuttavia, ciò che risulta deludente è la mancanza di attenzione e professionalità nel gestirli. Da un ristorante di questa categoria ci si aspetta non solo eccellenza culinaria, ma anche un servizio impeccabile e la capacità di affrontare le difficoltà con grazia ed empatia.

Quando scegliamo posti di questo livello, lo facciamo perché confidiamo che l’esperienza, dall’inizio alla fine, sarà impeccabile. Episodi come questo, però, sollevano dubbi e minano la fiducia che sarei disposto a riporre in un luogo del genere. Spero sinceramente che questo feedback venga accolto come un’opportunità per rafforzare i processi e migliorare la qualità del servizio, perché chi sceglie locali di questo calibro cerca esattamente questo: eccellenza senza...