Stefano's Diner — Restaurant in Toronto

I’ve been to Stefano’s before and had a great time — the food and ambiance were both really lovely. But this time, the experience was pretty disappointing.

There happened to be a festival (Dowefest) going on right outside the restaurant that night, which we had no idea about when booking. I know that’s not the restaurant’s fault, but it definitely affected our experience. It would’ve been nice to get a heads-up at the time of booking or even a quick message the day of, just so we could’ve prepared for the noise or had the option to reschedule.

Because of the festival, there were drunk people wandering in and out trying to use the washrooms. Staff were doing their best — they said people could only use the washroom if they bought something (including a shot at the bar) — but it was still disruptive. The music outside was insanely loud (there was a speaker right outside the door), and we could barely talk to each other over the noise.

Service also wasn’t great. It felt like the restaurant was really understaffed and hadn’t planned for the busy night. Our server brought us the food menu and water, but forgot to offer drinks — I had to flag her down after she took our food order to ask. The drinks only came once the food arrived, and they were staggered — two came out first, then the other two about five minutes later. We also had to ask for glasses for the beer cans and one beer was no longer available.

Food-wise, it was hit or miss. My mom and I got the eggplant parm sandwich and didn’t enjoy it — everything was super soft and kind of mushy, and it just tasted overwhelmingly like garlic and olives/salty. We couldn’t really taste the eggplant or the cheese at all.

The vegan salmon itself was tasty — good texture and flavour — but the dish overall was underwhelming. It was just a big bed of baby gem salad with a piece of salmon on top. For $28, we expected a more complete or thoughtful plate, maybe with some sides or more variety.

The meatball sandwich was better — good flavour and texture — but the bread-to-filling ratio was a bit off. It was kind of heavy on the bread.

Overall, I’ve had a really good experience at Stefano’s in the past, which is why this visit stood out so much. I totally get that some things were out of their control, but the lack of communication and prep really affected the night.

We did appreciate that the owner reached out to us the next day over the phone to apologize and ask for feedback. We were able to provide many of the same comments. She also offered us a $50 gift card to visit again, which we appreciated.

For context my family has been vegan for years and has visited all the vegan...

I recently got recommended to eat here and I can’t believe I haven’t heard of it sooner! An incredible dining experience, my partner and I have eaten here over 5 times in the past month.

The first visit I enjoyed the Stefano’s veggie sandwich and had quickly become one of my favorites. A soft seeded bread, fresh veggies and vegan cheese is the perfect combination to keep you satisfied but not too full! Accompanied by the hefty French fries and vegan mayo was the perfect touch. Also, our waitress Nicole was welcoming, personable and quick!

Our second visit wasn’t long after the first and we enjoyed a tasting of several different appetizers and mains. We had the mozzarella sticks to start and the Italian sub and rose pasta as mains (I forget the exact name). The mozzarella sticks are to die for, my boyfriend especially loved the marinara sauce that accompanied it. Both mains were fresh but we especially liked the pasta! Only complaint is we wished there was more ;)

The main attraction of it all is the Tiramisu. Unlike anything I’ve ever had before. It’s filled with a delectable cream and generous bits of biscoff cookies. Omg. To. Die. For.

We’ve also tried the crispy chicken sandwich and smash burger. Would say the smash burger is better than any beyond meat burger I’ve had. Filled with flavors and all the topping go perfectly. I’d recommend getting the double patty if you are sharing with someone else!

The most recent new try is the Brie, the Brie was very yummy but we found the accompanying bread to be too hard (maybe that is how it is meant to be enjoyed), but personally would not order again.

Vegan, vegetarian or not everyone needs to visit this diner. The interior is well decorated with comfortable seating, warm lighting and very friendly workers! Huge shout out to Joel who has made all of our visits a joyful experience! Everything is reasonably priced the only note id make is the stairs, not accessible for all.

Will never stop...

A cancelled baseball game at Trinity Bellwoods had us at loose ends...seemed like a good opportunity to check out Stefano's as our consolation prize. First off...the picante panini cocktail is my new happy place. Sweet, tangy, mildly fiery, citrusy, morey. If I wasn't such a lightweight I'd happily power through a couple of these new besties. Cauliflower appetizer was delish. The muffaletta sandwich was enormous in size and tastiness, the "salmon" was a hit with one of us (though for the price I think there could have been a wee bit more of the potato -celaric base, or maybe something else with crunch to add one more dimension to the plated meal - a small quibble but there just seemed to be one thing missing). Desserts were large and delightful. Service was friendly and engaged even though it was very busy. It's a pretty and clean lined space (anyone else feel like they were on a classy yacht?). Why only 4 stars for atmosphere? It was obtrusively loud. All hard surfaces in a skinny room had sound amplified beyond comfort levels. It's the only thing that would make me hesitate to return. And honestly I kept thinking about the poor staff who have to work with that. It can't be good mentally or physically to have that level of harsh noise. If I was a kind-hearted owner (and I have no reason to believe the owner is anything but) I'd think about ways to ameliorate the volume. Maybe some textile art on the walls? Even plain white stretched canvas on a few walls (keeping the pared down aesthetic) might temper things. So big thumbs up for the delightful food, chef, staff and whoever is the brains behind...