Farro Ristorante — Restaurant in Vaughan

First off, I want to say the food here is exceptional and definitely worth the visit. This was my third visit to Farro, and by far the most disappointing experience I had (originally given 5 stars on TripAdvisor and OpenTable).

Last year, I came here to celebrate my girlfriend's birthday and the staff were so exceptional. They went above and beyond in providing great service and also read the note I provided on OpenTable asking for a surprise dessert at the end. I did not expect the dessert to be complimentary, but they insisted and in turn I definitely wanted to come back.

We returned to celebrate my girlfriend's birthday (three of us), I input the same notes in OpenTable. I know it's not guaranteed to be read, which is fine as I could remind the staff. I understand it was busy which can be the reason they did not have time to read it. This was not the issue however…

The issue was with the waiter (I believe his name was Jack). He placed us in the worst spot of the restaurant (right beside the front door and beside the waiter's computer). He said no one ever uses the front door so we decided to stay. Well, almost everyone was using the front door and it was fairly cold. We stuck through it, letting that issue slide.

The real issue was after dinner. He handed us the dessert menu and time had passed since he left. I realized they did not look at the reservation notes on OpenTable. So I told him it was my girlfriend's birthday, he came by and quietly said "Happy birthday" and left without asking if we wanted anything…very odd.

So I got up, spoke to the manager/owner and told him it was her birthday, the waiter quickly comes by and says "Yeah I know, I gave you the dessert menu". Seriously? I obviously wanted to get her something without her knowing from the start. I still ordered the dessert, unhappy at this point. I did not want anything given to us complimentary and paid for the dessert.

We spent a fair amount at the restaurant, so in return I expect some courtesy or appropriate service like we were provided on previous visits.

I unfortunately will not be coming back to this restaurant or referring individuals based on...

Last night, I took my wife for a birthday dinner. When we entered, there wasn't anyone by the door hosting so we were unsure if we should just sit anywhere, or just wait and see if a host would come to greet us. Needless to say, someone did come and seat us.

Instead of an appetizer, we opted for a Primi to start. We had the Mushroom Risotto. It was creamy and full of flavour, and I would highly recommend it. The portion was large and easily shared by two.

For our mains, my wife had the Grilled New York Striploin, requested to be cooked medium-well. It came with roasted potatoes, grilled vegetables, 2 grilled shrimp, and served with au jus. The portion was a very good size. I chose from the specials, and had the 12oz bacon wrapped Filet Mignon, requested to be cooked medium-rare (picture attached). It was served with roasted potatoes, grilled vegetables, and served with a green peppercorn au jus. The portion size was just right and full of flavour.

I believe our steaks were cooked in reverse, and my filet mignon was cooked medium-well instead of medium-rare, but I didn't complain as the meal itself was satisfying.

My wife had water to drink, and I had a half bottle of the J.Lohr Cab Sauv which was a perfect compliment to my meal.

The location is semi-quaint and the ambiance was perfect. The music wasn't too loud, despite being near the speaker, and my wife enjoyed singing the Italian songs.

The staff were great and didn't hound us. They checked on our meals and came by to top up waters regularly.

Overall, 5 stars. No stars lost for the lack of host or the cooked steaks, but rather an advisement to Management.

I recommend this place, and will likely be coming back...

I very rarely write reviews but I felt it was necessary in this case.

When my date and I arrived the restaurant it was about 27 degrees with what seemed to be no air conditioning in the building.

I asked my server about the specials which they only had one pasta special. I ended up ordering the pasta special which was supposed to be a short rib pasta. What arrived at my table 15 minutes later was a pasta with cream sauce and scallops which I cannot eat due to allergies.

When I asked the server why I received scallop cream pasta instead of the special short rib, he immediately got frustrated and said I pointed at the menu asking for the pasta special which just happened to be a dish on the regular menu. He accused me of pointing at the item on the menu but I literally had the menu closed on an empty seat beside me because my order was NOT listed on the menu.

After being confronted by my server I just decided to abandon the argument and told him I’d keep the pasta and pack it up to bring to someone else.

The server later apologized for the experience but we were never visited by a manager (which is typically standard procedure when an order is this wrong) and never offered to receive the pasta for free or any other complimentary items.

The worst part of this other than being confronted and accused of doing something I didn’t was paying for this dish which was $40 and I couldn’t even eat it.

I will not be returning to Farro after...