Gente Urban Italian Eatery

It’s nice to know you can dine out and have a real chef create your dishes. We love Angelo and his team ❤️❤️❤️Fun atmosphere

Five well deserved stars! We enjoyed: Zuppa Del Giorno,
Bruschetta, Garlic bread, Confit of Pear Salad and fried Calamari for starters. Dinner: Gnocchi Gorgonzola, Gnocchi Sorento, Chicken Parmigana and Tagliatelle Alfredo. Everything was so delicious 😋 Served to us by a friendly efficient waitress. Best Italian Eatery.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

They did a beautiful job for my mothers birthday , party of 12 and it was fresh delicious and perfect . Thanks 🙏

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

They were really kind with my family and I, and the food was awesome. We ordered a baked pasta, a risotto and a salmon with vegetables and the quantity and the flavor were really good. I'd like to emphazise the attention and gentleness of the staff. I would love to come back there!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Gente

Let's call this review, "No, he won't."
Because he won't. He, being the chef. What won’t he do? Anything that would make a guest happy.
My husband and I dropped in for a second meal nearly two years after our first. We had moderately acceptable, but just vague enough memories of our first dining experience here to take a gamble on a return visit. $168 dollars and many regrets later, here we are, composing a Google review.
It took quite some time to place our order, and about the same amount of time to find the wine we ordered. We took the opportunity to stare into each other’s eyes while thinking about the good old days of Prohibition. The wine – a $49 Pino Grigio, was nice. But it wasn’t nice enough, nor did it pack enough punch, to prepare us for the travesty that was about to follow. I should have got sloshed.
Like a pair of love-struck fools, which we are, we order the most expensive appetizers – the deep-fried calamari, and the crab cakes. For mains, hubby orders the seafood pasta in a marinara sauce, and I order the lamb. Things rapidly spiral downhill from there.
Bread was ‘meh’ and it came with a roasted red pepper spread. I hate roasted red pepper. So I did not eat it. Usually, Italian restaurants provide olive oil. But not here.
I’m not sure if cardboard is a species of calamari, but whatever specimen took a long journey from the deep sea to end up on my husband’s plate, it lost all of its flavour and texture along the way. It must have been exhausted. The inclusion of cornmeal in the bland, unseasoned batter made for a gritty AND tasteless experience. The calamari desperately needed salt and seasoning.
Two crab cakes, paper thin and the diameter of hockey pucks, were browned to the edge of blackness. The tasteless patties barely held together.
Both the calamari AND the crab cakes were served with some kind of a red-pepper mayo. Did I tell you I don’t like red pepper in things? I certainly told our server. I asked, very nicely I might add, for some mayonnaise, you know, the kind a person who doesn’t like red pepper – I know you’re out there too – would ask for. We are legion. But this isn’t a restaurant for ‘that kind of person’ or any other kind of person with a request.
My server responded, “No, he won’t.” She had clearly heard these kinds of requests – the kind that real people make – before. I was out of luck if I wanted to eat something that satisfied my palette. Too bad for me - and apparently anybody with a food allergy!
Hubby’s pasta was OKish. Verdict on the sauce, “Not bad.” Keep in mind my husband is a chef with 20 years’ experience in fine restaurants and hotels. OK is OK. Verdict on the crab cakes and calamari – “Oh my god! No flavour whatsoever and whatever flavour there was was bad!” Did I tell you we agree about most things?
My lamb tasted like lamb, which is not a bad thing, for me. Some people would have found it 'too lamby.' I ate it all. However, the mess of vegetable it was served with, potatoes, a few tiny bits of broccoli stem, and LOTs of – you guessed it – red peppers, tasted entirely of red pepper. I could not eat it.
Alas, we did not stay for dessert, having already been served the just version of our own. No, they won’t. No, they don’t. And no, we won’t – be back. Ever.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 1

Service: 2

Unfortunately came at 5pm and they turned a family of 3 down at the door. Reservations only. Not sure if I’ll be going back.

We came across Gente’s during a power outage a bit late in the evening when no other places in town would seat us. Gente accommodated us and made sure we ate well! We’ve been back a few times since and every time, the food is exceptional. So much so that when our wedding caterer left us in the lurch a few months before our wedding, we immediately thought of Chef Angelo at Gente’s. He curated our 30-person cocktail hour & buffet menu dinner to our requests (including gluten free & nut free options) and made wonderful suggestions. The wedding took place at our property and Angelo put together an ace service team. We were getting guest compliments all evening long about how delicious the food was and how great the service was (thanks Boris & Zoran). It was the best prime rib I’ve ever tasted. Thank you Chef Angelo for delivering beyond our expectations. We will be back for our anniversaries and any time we wish to impress family & friends.

Dietary restrictions: Accommodated GF & nut free

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Crab and Lobster Cakes with Serrano Aioli

2 people for dinner shouldn’t take 21/2 hours from arrival to check! The waiter needs to try a different profession totally overwhelmed and confused. Needless to say we won’t ever be back. Food is actually good what a shame the evening was spoiled by incompetence by a staff.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 1

Dietary restrictions: Angelo is wonderful with working around your dietary restrictions… He is an excellent chef and it’s a pleasure to dine there. I’ve been going there for years.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Pasta with Sausage, Veal Parmigiano, Classic Caesar Salad, Brie Wedges, Fettuccelle Alfredo with Chicken an Peas, Pear Gorgonzola Cheese Pizza, Tiramisu Cake

Intimate little place. Food was remarkable. The brie appetizer and veal parm were outstanding.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 4

I ordered take away this evening. They were busy ,I am guessing on the patio because inside was pretty empty. So it took a while. I was very disappointed by the portion size of the crab and lobster cakes, very thin and "very" over cooked. I was tempted to bring them back but was already home.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 4

2 people for dinner shouldn’t take 21/2 hours from arrival to check! The waiter needs to try a different profession totally overwhelmed and confused. Needless to say we won’t ever be back. Food is actually good what a shame the evening was spoiled by incompetence by a staff.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 1

Sooo disapointing.. came for the pizza, and was absolutely terrible. Little Caesars would have been better. Heck, DiGiorno would have been better. Crust (was it Pillsbury?) sauce, ‘spicy’ sausage, cheese.. all below sub par. Pretty sure the ‘garlic’ bread was a day old dinner roll doctored up. This was my 2nd visit, pasta on 1st visit was just ok, nothing to write home about. It’s not an Italian restaurant, they don’t even know what a Negroni is… Pass on this place, you’ll thank me. Waste of money. Several better options in Fergus and Elora.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 1

It was a wonderful experience: food, atmosphere, service! I can't wait to visit again! And try something different! This time , it was "catch of the day". I will recommend my choice for everybody.
Will definitely bring my friends for a nice meal!

I tried poached pear salad!
If you want something light, exquisite, unexpected burst of flavours, try that! You won’t be disappointed!!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Good experience in the summer. Good service by Boris and the outdoor location is nice.

The food was okay, a bit run of the mill. Won’t wow you.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5