Trattoria Taverniti — Restaurant in Toronto

I had this place on my list since they only specialized in primarily gnocchi which was a few years ago - luckily, as per their server, "our best gnocchi dish is still on the menu!"

TLDR: Food is well made, seasoned perfectly, servers are friendly and knowledgeable of their offerings, and I am keen to return. Also, for where they are located, the pricing is quite reasonable seeing as the portions are generous too.

Even on a good day, it takes me almost 2 hours just to get to this place by transit but it is so worth it. I had the misfortune of getting derailed by a religious parade that incorrectly informed the city of which streets the parade would venture down so it ended up taking me 3 hours to get there instead 🫠 Still worth it, but I had to request the server recommend their stiffest drink to me because of the aforementioned.

Onto the things we consumed!

-[NEGRONI] $14.00 🍸 Negronis are definitely the stiffest drink they have since it is entirely made from liquor: dry gin, sweet vermouth and bitters, then garnished with orange 🍸 This was exactly what I needed so 10/10 recommendation from the server 🍸 Not for the kind of people who are looking for a sweet cocktail as this tastes exactly like what you think three liquors mixed together would haha

-[GNOCCHI GORGONZOLA] $23.00 🥔 Homemade hand rolled potato dumplings in creamy gargonzola sauce with crushed walnuts, black pepper (it is also vegetarian!) 🥔 THIS is the dish the server said is their best gnocchi dish, and I have to agree with her 🥔 I was skeptical about whether walnuts would work in this dish but wow, the added flavor/texture truly elevated the dish - adding pepper flakes was good too!

-[DOMENICO] $22.00 🍕 Pizza made with tomato sauce, n’duja, hot soppressata, mushrooms, finished off with a pesto drizzle 🍕 The pizza is pretty large, and packed with ingredients so this is what I mean by it is worth every penny 🍕 The menu seems to have marked this as a hot pizza in spice level probably due to the soppressata but I like spice so it was delicious to me

-[POLPETTE] $16.00 🟤 Homemade meatballs (3) served with pomodoro sauce 🟤 The meatballs are pretty hefty, but they remain juicy, and well cooked despite their size 🟤 The pomodoro sauce is flavorful to a point where I inquired about ordering bread as to not waste the sauce 🤣

-[POLENTA CHIPS] $17.00 🌽 Crispy and golden fried polenta fingers topped with pecorino and served with gorgonzola cheese fondue (this is vegetarian!) 🌽 Oh my goodness, the polenta chips are so crispy on the outside, yet soft and tender on the inside 🌽 The sauce the chips are served on really ended up causing me to order bread because it was absolutely scrumptious!

-[BREAD] $3.00 🍞 Came with five pieces of lightly toasted bread that had olive oil drizzled on it 🍞 No idea if they make their own bread or where they source it from but it was really good 🍞 Highly recommend you order some because it's even good just eating it plain but certainly better to ensure not a drop of sauce goes to waste

-[N'DUJA E STRACCIATELLA] $16.00 🍞 Toasted calabrese bread with a spicy pork sausage spread, stracciatella cheese, topped with drizzled honey 🍞 The first bite of this was honestly a bit jarring as I was not expecting how sweet it was going to be 🍞 Once you realize the sweetness is part of the experience though, this combination of flavors becomes an absolute pleasure to consume - the ingredients almost tasted like they were only meant to be consumed together

-[VENEZIA] $20 🍕 Pizza made with tomato sauce, red onions, gorgonzola, and proscuitto crudo 🍕 I loved the cook of the pizza this time because the previous time, the crust was a little bit too charred for my liking (I know the oven for pizzas can be quite difficult to control) 🍕 This combination is delicious especially with chili flakes, and chili...

Hello I’m Barbara, I would like to share my experience when I came over for dinner on August 10th with my family at Tav’s Gnocchi Pizza Bar. We planned to dine at Taverniti but they were busy and the hostess suggested the sister restaurant next door, Tavs Gnocchi Pizza Bar. We sat at the back patio, we were 5 ppl, we arrived around 9pm. The service was good, although a very loud music coming out of the kitchen door right across from our table.

I ordered a gnocchi carbonara, the pastas arrived it first, two pizzas arrived 5 minutes after the pastas were at the table. I did not take any food pictures, unfortunately.

There was so much oil, oil from the burnt bitter guanciale, oil from the cheese, oil from the olive oil drizzle on top, a lot of oil for a carbonara.

Our server did not came back after bringing the plates to ask if everything was good with the food or if we wanted anything else. So I waited approximatley 10 minutes for a server to show up after the meal was brought. Nobody was coming throught the back door so I decided to walk into the dining room with my plate on my hand. When I arrived at the kitchen our server was sitting having his dinner (not announced by him previously that he was going to take his break) He saw me and ask if something was wrong so I showed him the pasta, explained to him why was not edible and and a woman who was siting next to him, interrupted us saying that the kitchen was closed and they couldn’t make another pasta for me, and that nobody has complained about the carbonara before.

By this points i was starving, with a super oily carbonada, and having the worst issues with the service. When i questioned her why nobody came to out table to say that the kitchen was closing if we wanted anything else, she said " the kitchen closed at 10 as always." how could a customer with their food on their hand should know that?? I looked up on the walls to check if there was any information available on kitchen hours and could not find anything, so how am I supposed to know if our server did not say anything?

After all this stress the pizza chef right behind me was the only one who offered me to make a pizza last minute. The pizza chef, not our server and not the woman who made it clear the kitchen is close by 10 pm.

My family was already finishing up their meals, and I was too angry and frustrated by the incredibly bad service I was having so I said no to the pizza chef.

I have never thought in my life that I would have a service as bad as that. The lady's attitude towards my problem it was really unprofessional and rude. If you accept a 5 top at 9pm make sure your team is up to actually serve them food, and a service like 6pm otherwise just dont sit them down. Extremelly...

I booked a reservation at Taverniti for my birthday dinner (August 31st) and unfortunately had one of the most disappointing dining experiences I have ever had, anywhere in the world. We arrived at 6:50 pm for a 7:00 reservation and stood at the entrance waiting to be acknowledged. Staff said they would be with us shortly, but it was obvious they were understaffed and overwhelmed. At one point, a server walked by mentioning a table could be cleaned, but when I tried to explain that we had a reservation, she ignored me. By 7:10, more than 20 minutes later, another server finally asked if anyone had spoken to us. When I said we had a reservation, she simply replied “Oh” and then took us to the table.

We sat down, already frustrated, but tried to make the best of the night. We ordered bread, pizzas, and pastas. Then nothing. No bread, no refills on water, no one checking on drinks. The table seated after us had their order taken and were served before us. By 7:50, nearly 30 minutes after ordering, we still had no food on the table. When my friend flagged down the server for an update, she looked confused, said she would check, and then disappeared to the back where we saw her talking but not returning with answers. Finally, at 8:10, the first dish came out, a single pasta dish. At that point, I asked them to cancel the bread and was completely done with the experience. I paid cash for the table, left my own birthday dinner in frustration, and walked out just as the pizzas were arriving. My friends were surprised but knew I was done for the night.

To make matters worse, according to my friends, my sister’s pasta was undercooked and confirmed by everyone at the table. My friends said the pizza was decent, but the damage was already done. This experience ruined what should have been a special evening. I do not expect an apology or compensation, but I strongly suggest the restaurant ensures proper staffing or communicates honestly with guests about delays. If we had been told upfront, we would have found another place and come back another day. Instead, we were left ignored, waiting endlessly, and treated without care despite making a reservation for a birthday. I will not be recommending Taverniti, nor...