The food and service was amazing! We will definitely be back!
Diya Saigol
Food was excellent, exceeded my already high expectations. The only downside is the tables were tiny and seating very squished/close together… I considered knocking a star for this but decided to keep it at 5 because of the food. Service was also very good. Plenty of vegetarian options.
It is hard to mess up a classic pasta, but it’s such a basic food it’s also hard to get one that’s above and beyond and so memorable. Mine was. I got the mushroom agnolotti with black truffle added - it was spectacular! Very unique thanks to the strong lemon flavor. A relatively generous portion. And it went perfectly with the added truffle. The mushrooms were perfectly cooked, which is rare - usually I find them soggy or unpleasant, even at top notch restaurants. These were perfectly melt in the mouth, chewy but not overly so, not overly soggy or water filled either - and fully flavored from the inside out. The sauce was buttery without being too heavy. And the lemon kick was throughout - in the filling and the sauce, cutting through all the richness. Beautiful shavings of parmesan added on to the mushroom umami.
The fava bean starter was also excellent though a little small. The dandelion greens are a bit chewy and bitter, but I liked it. Most importantly, it was doused in pecorino which made it so flavorful.
I tasted my friend’s squash pasta and it was also excellent.
The reviews said not to miss dessert, and they were right! The sticky toffee pudding was to die for, perfectly made. I also tried the terrine and even though I don’t like mousses, it was excellent - the bitter chocolate and flaky salt cut through the richness, and olive oil added an interesting flavor.
My mocktail was great - Moscow mule with a zero proof herbal “liqueur” that added a very interesting undertone.
The service was very good, and the waitress described the dishes very well. Water was also refilled promptly. The only thing is there was quite a wait between receiving the dessert menu and ordering dessert - we had to flag her down after waiting around 15min.
Now to the main downside, and it’s quite a bit one. The seating was horrible. We were squeezed on a bench with not even 1 foot of space between the other two parties - their feet were under our table. The table was also TINY - seriously wasn’t big enough for our two plates of pasta and two drinks… if we had ordered any sides or a third dish to share there wouldn’t have been space. I had to think through where to place my fork and water glass so as to not knock anything over. This seating situation is so unpleasant that it might keep me from retuning quickly, and I do hope they rethink it because the food was really spectacular. It seemed to be mainly the 2 person tables like this, so I plan to only return with 3+ people.
Overall, food was excellent but they really need to revamp their seating to be larger tables and more spaced out.
Vegetarian options: Plenty of options if you eat cheese!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sticky Toffee Pudding
Anna Antczak
THE BEST PASTA I HAVE EVER HAD.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jonathan Pelikan
Fantastic ambiance, amazing food, great service. Quite literally one of the best steaks and stick toffee puddings I have ever had.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Gnocchi Tomato Chili & Smoked Ricotta, Green Salad & Pecorino, Burrata Salad, Rib, Sticky Toffee Pudding
Christian Holle
I think I had the best Italian food of my life
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Paula Terres
The food excellent. We ordered two dishes of amatriciana pasta and they were excellent. One of the pastas we ordered was gluten-free (handmade) and it is one of the best gluten-free pastas we have tried. The service was very attentive and the restaurant is very nice and had a very comfortable and pleasant atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nado
Really hyped but food very mediocre..Tiny burrata for $32...not worth it...dishes not authentic. Cocktails were delish..tables too small..seating uncomfortable....bread was great...cacio pepe was terrible...terronis way better..really disappointed. Not going back. They need to improve inflator and taste..reduce prices!
Vegetarian options: Mediocre
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Bread & Olive Oil
Conor Crump
I have never experienced such great service. The staff was extremely attentive and friendly. Our waiter, Dick, was very knowledgeable and thoroughly walked us through the menu. The food was fantastic. My only issue was that I only had so much room in my stomach to try out the dishes! Loved it all!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Raiyan Khair
Been here 3 times over the past few years and it’s gradually been getting a little lacklustre for me.
The food isn’t anything too noteworthy. One word to describe my meals would be “salty”. I can’t taste anything else as the flavour of the dishes gets overpowered by salt. I was not a fan of the chicken liver mousse from this spot. Taste was far too metallic for my liking.
A saving grace, the desserts here are well made, can’t go wrong with those. Personally a fan of the lemon ricotta and pistachio cannolos.
Still worth a try, maybe it’s just me. This is still a well respected establishment in the city. Hopefully your experience will be better than mine!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Mark Offtermatt
Went here for dinner solo on my last night in Toronto. Prices are in CAD so for someone from the US hitting that exchange rate the value is superb.
Dinner started with sparking water and a glass of Montepulciano D'Abruzzo. Ordered the house bread, consisting of about four slices of sourdough and four slices of focaccia with olive oil to drizzle. The focaccia was excellent but that sourdough was tangy with a perfect bite, soft and chewy.
The main courses was the Bucatini All' Amatriciana, made with Guanciale. The noodles were housemade, very fresh and cooked very well.
Dessert was a small espresso with Sticky Toffee Pudding with Vanilla Gelato and a cardamom sauce.
I would go back here again. The environment was very pleasant and the bartender was great, although the host seemed to take umbrage with me wanting to dine in, and he seemed to want me out of there as soon as possible, despite it being a relatively quiet night. It's not worth taking a star away. People like that you just ignore and maybe take a little bit longer just to irk them some. If you let me live in your head I will do so happily.
Doesn’t have much going for it, overpriced and overrated. The bald server is awful too, trying to sell us on bs like we’ve never seen real Italian food.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 1
Jess Lynn
The roasted chicken is amazing!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Brandon M
I've eaten at Enoteca Sociale many times over the years, so I was excited to take a group there who had never been. Unfortunately, we left disappointed and I had to agree it was the worst meal I've ever had there.
We ordered the tasting menu - basically a prix fixe comprising some of the same items on the a la carte menu - which ended up being plenty of food.
Standouts were the breads (always some of the best in the city); arancini (a stalwart); and burrata salad. The cacio e pepe and mushroom cappelletti were also pretty good.
However, the bucatini all'amatriciana - my usual favorite - was almost cold, with noodles bordering on mushy. Our steak was badly overcooked. It was supposed to come out medium rare but was closer to medium-well. For a dish that goes for $100 on the a la carte menu and is a $35 supplement on the tasting menu, that should *never* happen. I found the chicken quite dry and the lightly fried sea bream was also slightly overcooked, though the fried zucchini strips with which it was served were very nice.
Dessert was quite good, a moist chocolate torte served with a drizzle of hazelnut sauce.
Service was very good, fairly attentive and prompt, though it did take too long to get a second bottle of wine brought out after we ordered it midway through the meal.
It seemed like maybe they had a bit of a challenge with the tasting menu for a group (though we were only 6), as dishes were not uniform temperature. The fact that double-portioned pastas were served on a plate (instead of a bowl) was also a bit awkward and probably contributed to them going cold quickly (with noodles spreading out all over).
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Andrew Rizk
I sampled most of the menu here, and while a few dishes were underwhelming. The overall experience was enjoyable. The 42-day aged steak, unfortunately, tasted a bit stale. However, the rest of the food was great, especially their unique selection of pastas
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Mike Hejmej
Cool spot. Average food. Tried many pastas. The smaller dishes / stuffed pastas are good. Pretty overpriced for both the quality and the quantity of food.
The food and service was amazing! We will definitely be back!
Food was excellent, exceeded my already high expectations. The only downside is the tables were tiny and seating very squished/close together… I considered knocking a star for this but decided to keep it at 5 because of the food. Service was also very good. Plenty of vegetarian options.
It is hard to mess up a classic pasta, but it’s such a basic food it’s also hard to get one that’s above and beyond and so memorable. Mine was. I got the mushroom agnolotti with black truffle added - it was spectacular! Very unique thanks to the strong lemon flavor. A relatively generous portion. And it went perfectly with the added truffle. The mushrooms were perfectly cooked, which is rare - usually I find them soggy or unpleasant, even at top notch restaurants. These were perfectly melt in the mouth, chewy but not overly so, not overly soggy or water filled either - and fully flavored from the inside out. The sauce was buttery without being too heavy. And the lemon kick was throughout - in the filling and the sauce, cutting through all the richness. Beautiful shavings of parmesan added on to the mushroom umami.
The fava bean starter was also excellent though a little small. The dandelion greens are a bit chewy and bitter, but I liked it. Most importantly, it was doused in pecorino which made it so flavorful.
I tasted my friend’s squash pasta and it was also excellent.
The reviews said not to miss dessert, and they were right! The sticky toffee pudding was to die for, perfectly made. I also tried the terrine and even though I don’t like mousses, it was excellent - the bitter chocolate and flaky salt cut through the richness, and olive oil added an interesting flavor.
My mocktail was great - Moscow mule with a zero proof herbal “liqueur” that added a very interesting undertone.
The service was very good, and the waitress described the dishes very well. Water was also refilled promptly. The only thing is there was quite a wait between receiving the dessert menu and ordering dessert - we had to flag her down after waiting around 15min.
Now to the main downside, and it’s quite a bit one. The seating was horrible. We were squeezed on a bench with not even 1 foot of space between the other two parties - their feet were under our table. The table was also TINY - seriously wasn’t big enough for our two plates of pasta and two drinks… if we had ordered any sides or a third dish to share there wouldn’t have been space. I had to think through where to place my fork and water glass so as to not knock anything over. This seating situation is so unpleasant that it might keep me from retuning quickly, and I do hope they rethink it because the food was really spectacular. It seemed to be mainly the 2 person tables like this, so I plan to only return with 3+ people.
Overall, food was excellent but they really need to revamp their seating to be larger tables and more spaced out.
Vegetarian options: Plenty of options if you eat cheese!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sticky Toffee Pudding
THE BEST PASTA I HAVE EVER HAD.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Fantastic ambiance, amazing food, great service. Quite literally one of the best steaks and stick toffee puddings I have ever had.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Gnocchi Tomato Chili & Smoked Ricotta, Green Salad & Pecorino, Burrata Salad, Rib, Sticky Toffee Pudding
I think I had the best Italian food of my life
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food excellent. We ordered two dishes of amatriciana pasta and they were excellent. One of the pastas we ordered was gluten-free (handmade) and it is one of the best gluten-free pastas we have tried. The service was very attentive and the restaurant is very nice and had a very comfortable and pleasant atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Really hyped but food very mediocre..Tiny burrata for $32...not worth it...dishes not authentic. Cocktails were delish..tables too small..seating uncomfortable....bread was great...cacio pepe was terrible...terronis way better..really disappointed. Not going back. They need to improve inflator and taste..reduce prices!
Vegetarian options: Mediocre
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Bread & Olive Oil
I have never experienced such great service. The staff was extremely attentive and friendly. Our waiter, Dick, was very knowledgeable and thoroughly walked us through the menu. The food was fantastic. My only issue was that I only had so much room in my stomach to try out the dishes! Loved it all!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Been here 3 times over the past few years and it’s gradually been getting a little lacklustre for me.
The food isn’t anything too noteworthy. One word to describe my meals would be “salty”. I can’t taste anything else as the flavour of the dishes gets overpowered by salt. I was not a fan of the chicken liver mousse from this spot. Taste was far too metallic for my liking.
A saving grace, the desserts here are well made, can’t go wrong with those. Personally a fan of the lemon ricotta and pistachio cannolos.
Still worth a try, maybe it’s just me. This is still a well respected establishment in the city. Hopefully your experience will be better than mine!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Went here for dinner solo on my last night in Toronto. Prices are in CAD so for someone from the US hitting that exchange rate the value is superb.
Dinner started with sparking water and a glass of Montepulciano D'Abruzzo. Ordered the house bread, consisting of about four slices of sourdough and four slices of focaccia with olive oil to drizzle. The focaccia was excellent but that sourdough was tangy with a perfect bite, soft and chewy.
The main courses was the Bucatini All' Amatriciana, made with Guanciale. The noodles were housemade, very fresh and cooked very well.
Dessert was a small espresso with Sticky Toffee Pudding with Vanilla Gelato and a cardamom sauce.
I would go back here again. The environment was very pleasant and the bartender was great, although the host seemed to take umbrage with me wanting to dine in, and he seemed to want me out of there as soon as possible, despite it being a relatively quiet night. It's not worth taking a star away. People like that you just ignore and maybe take a little bit longer just to irk them some. If you let me live in your head I will do so happily.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Sticky Toffee Pudding
Restaurantji Recommends
Doesn’t have much going for it, overpriced and overrated. The bald server is awful too, trying to sell us on bs like we’ve never seen real Italian food.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 1
The roasted chicken is amazing!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
I've eaten at Enoteca Sociale many times over the years, so I was excited to take a group there who had never been. Unfortunately, we left disappointed and I had to agree it was the worst meal I've ever had there.
We ordered the tasting menu - basically a prix fixe comprising some of the same items on the a la carte menu - which ended up being plenty of food.
Standouts were the breads (always some of the best in the city); arancini (a stalwart); and burrata salad. The cacio e pepe and mushroom cappelletti were also pretty good.
However, the bucatini all'amatriciana - my usual favorite - was almost cold, with noodles bordering on mushy. Our steak was badly overcooked. It was supposed to come out medium rare but was closer to medium-well. For a dish that goes for $100 on the a la carte menu and is a $35 supplement on the tasting menu, that should *never* happen. I found the chicken quite dry and the lightly fried sea bream was also slightly overcooked, though the fried zucchini strips with which it was served were very nice.
Dessert was quite good, a moist chocolate torte served with a drizzle of hazelnut sauce.
Service was very good, fairly attentive and prompt, though it did take too long to get a second bottle of wine brought out after we ordered it midway through the meal.
It seemed like maybe they had a bit of a challenge with the tasting menu for a group (though we were only 6), as dishes were not uniform temperature. The fact that double-portioned pastas were served on a plate (instead of a bowl) was also a bit awkward and probably contributed to them going cold quickly (with noodles spreading out all over).
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
I sampled most of the menu here, and while a few dishes were underwhelming. The overall experience was enjoyable. The 42-day aged steak, unfortunately, tasted a bit stale. However, the rest of the food was great, especially their unique selection of pastas
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Cool spot. Average food. Tried many pastas. The smaller dishes / stuffed pastas are good. Pretty overpriced for both the quality and the quantity of food.
I will say the desserts are excellent.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sticky Toffee Pudding
Loading...