Calvino's Restaurant and Wine Bar — Restaurant in Toledo

I'd heard some good things about Calvino's and, as such, we were interested in giving it a try. Located in a little Shopping Square on Central Ave. near Secor, it is convenient though the storefront (and the building in general) seemed a little tired. There are two levels for dining. The lower level is certainly the main dining area. We were seated in the upper level. It was a little plain in appearance, but adequate.

Our server did a very good job. She was quite efficient, given that she was up and down the stairs all night attending to tables in both dining areas. The menu was decidedly Italian, with Pizza and Pasta at the fore. We started with a small Tomato Basil Bread, which was a perfect opener. The cheese was not overwhelming and the bread was nicely toasted, with an accompanying dipping sauce.

For her main, my wife got a large Roasted Vegetable Salad. Saying it's a "salad" might be a misnomer, because it was really a plate of grilled vegetables, mainly eggplant, zucchini, red peppers and pine nuts. But this was what my wife was expecting based on the menu description, and she was quite pleased. She took a good bit of it home for another meal. I had the Gyro Stromboli, which struck me as an unusual offering. The taste was unsurprisingly dominated by the dough, but fortunately this was very good. It was done well and tzatziki dipping sauce was a nice touch. I also had enough of my serving left over to bring home for another meal.

With food, drinks (water and one coffee), tax and tip, our final bill was $39.00. At $19.50 per person, this was a reasonably good value considering the quality of the fare, the service and the fact that we squeezed second meals from each of our two servings. We'll look forward to coming back to...

I was really excited to find a small Italian restaurant. Usually, it's pretty authentic or at least tasty. Let's start with the dining room. We sat downstairs in what felt like a carryout restaurant. The decor is laughable. To charge someone 14 for fettuccine then ask for meats to be added separately starting at $5 a piece. $8 for shrimp is a bit much for the environment I'm sitting in. I don't mind expensive, but the I'm just not sure why? The glass of wine was flat. The appetizer (meatballs) not worth it. I didn't even order food after my appetizer arrived. I'd already decided we would eat elsewhere. The walls are not clean. The carpet is chopped in squares. The tables look like lunchroom or break room chairs. No cloth napkins... They didn't even have a book to put your check/payment into for the waitress. Plastic cups, wine glasses with a ridge on the top, dollar store silverware... I can go on, but I think you get the point. After having the meatballs, which I do not recommend...at all..we left. ASAP ps. We ate at...

We have been going to Calvinos for many years and always loved the delicious food. Last week my husband and I dined out and once again chose Calvinos. It was a mistake. We were both surprised and disappointed at not being able to rely on a long standing restaurant for its usual good food. I ordered the beef ravioli. It tasted suspiciously familiar. When I asked the waitress, she said that Calvino does not make its pasta. My ravioli was purchased from Sofo’s Italian store. My husband ordered the linguine with mushrooms in olive oil. It was a small portion with some grated Parmesan cheese and so few mushrooms that he had to look for them. The olive oil sauce was good. The lettuce in our small salads looked like it had seen better days especially now which is peak vegetable season time in northwest ohio. This was a below average experience which indicated to us that little or no imagination was given to quality of food or the vibrancy of good preparation. Extremely...