Involtini Ristorante

Third time was not a charm — at all.
After 15 years and 3 really bad and disappointing meals/​service we will sadly not be returning. Ever.
I ordered the «Award Winning» pizza as it states on the front door and was served a dry, overcooked, sat under the heat lamps pizza that resembled something out of a Safeway freezer. Pre-​cooked and hard as a rock.
Terrible.
It took over an hour to be served our «meal» and in a half full restaurant and in that hour our empty salad plates sat on the table along with our empty wine glasses never to be filled by any staff.
What a waste of a Friday night. You guys really need to pack it in. There are so many great places to eat in this city and this is not one of them anymore.

I ordered Vitello Parm and it was the worst veal ever. The crust was burned there were three veal pieces just piled up slathered in a tomato pastey substance and overcooked veggies on the side. We will not be coming back, ever.

Don’t do it.
We ordered calamari, which was so so. Then we had chicken risotto and pasta bolognese with meatballs. It was not very good. Bland is the right word for it. With two glasses of wine and tip the bill was well in excess of $ 100. There are many better Calgary options for Italian.

This place has a lovely room that feels private and cozy. We were sat at a table by a window in front of a closed curtain. No one offered to open it for us. The young lady that sat us was very pleasant and promptly offered us water. It was fairly obvious that the gentleman that served us favored his tables of regulars over new customers. Other tables were visited multiple times before or plates were cleared. Our drinks were never empty but he definitely was short and less than polite and seemed annoyed that we were the «third table in a row to order pizza».
Our actual meal, which took entirely too long to arrive at the table, was subpar and some of the worst pizza I’ve eaten in my life. I was shocked to see they had an award by the door posted by the door for excellent pizza. Our first course (asparagus fries) was nothing special. Asparagus covered in panko crumbs and deep fried then served with a tzaziki style white dip that was basically sour cream with dill. There was no seasoning or flavor to the appetizer. The pizza took an extraordinary amount of time to arrive at our table. The server came to our table after we’d been waiting for a about 25 min AFTER our appetizers were finished to say that the kitchen cooked the pears wrong so they have to be redone. I work in a restaurant and the friend I was with is a chef, both of us were sorely put off by the server blaming the kitchen. When the pizza finally arrived at our table it was cold (despite being told that it was fresh out of the oven). There was about 2 inches of crust and where there were toppings, they were scarce. The crust wasn’t even tasty enough to compensate. It tasted like it was precooked, hard as a rock and about as flavorful as an unsalted soup cracker.
All in all, we were very disappointed with our meal and definitely will not be returning.

Ordered pizza from here the other day based on a flyer we received stating how many awards they have won. Pizza order took over an hour and a half to receive. My wife ordered her favorite, the margherita which only has 3 toppings. When she opened the box she was disappointed to find out they were missing 2 of the 3… No fresh basil and no Roma tomatoes. Just a sloppy mess of sauce and bocconcini. I had the «smokey sweet heat» and despite the fact it was cold… it was also a mess they a dried out, hard crust that the toppings just wanted to slide off of. Judging on the other reviews… This place seems to be on a downhill slide. Never going back or ordering again. Sammy’s is our go to place and will continue to be.

This place has been our go-​to for the past 3 years for birthdays, Valentines Day etc and this was our 4^th time here. And I can say it was our last. It was Friday of the May long weekend for s birthday and just the two of us. Service was fine but the food was way below what I remember and what I expect for the price. Maybe that explains why the place was almost empty the whole time we were there with no more than 3 tables at any time? It was for his birthday and we ordered calamari to start. It’s different, pounded into sort of cutlets, not rings. The breaking was strange and battery/​crumbly and a weird yellow sort of fish batter. Completely tasteless and the «Italian tzatkiki» that came with it was just mayonnaisy and weird, with olives in it. Not good.
We ordered a half liter of wine, but the was SO much sediment in it, we only got a small glass each before we hit the sediment. Come on!
He liked his meal, chicken Marsala. The sauce tasted good, creamy, but the chicken was so-​so. For $ 23 I expect much better, I had angel hair pasta and chose the tomato basil sauce. It was SO far below «meh» I know I could make better, and I’m not a great cook. It was just a small pile of pasta with a VERY bland, basic tomato purée. Not yucky, just very disappointing as I know I could easily make the same or better. Not why you go out for dinner!
He had crepes filled with gelato and «caramel sauce» for dessert. Two small crepes, sliced at an angle swimming in a VERY sweet corn syrup type sauce. It was VERY clear they were not freshly made. One crêpe tasted «ok» but the other had clearly been in the freezer for months, or been frozen, thawed, frozen thawed. It had dry white edges, tasted very «off» and freezer burned. The sauce had no depth and was just a sweet, brown, watery corn syrup. Yuk! They obviously pre make the crepes and roll them. Freeze them, and pull them out. These we beyond stale. So disappointing for his birthday dessert. I was so disappointed in the supper I didn’t even try to order my own dessert and was glad I didn’t.
I saw the other table beside us had a situation where 2 diners had their dinner but the other 2 were served «half» their dinner and told the other half would come out soon. So they each got one cannelloni laying on a big plate and the servers lightheartedly said how this was good so they they could all eat together. Then when the other half of their meal came out that said how nice it was they get a fresh hot dinner twice.
I don’t know if they minded and it’s not my business, but it made we wonder if they were low on food supplies, didn’t receive their order, business is slowing, or what, but they didn’t seem to have the best and freshest food on hand… long weekend and clearing out inventory or not ordering as much as its a slow time of year? I don’t know, but this meal was very, very disappointing.
For a $ 100 meal for 2, including tip, I expect MUCH, MUCH better. Pasta is cheap to make, so you go for the homemade sauces and special touches. Not stale, old, canned tomatoes and bready, mealy tasteless calamari for $ 14.
Involtini, we have been seriously let down and will NOT be back.

Have been ordering pizza from this location for over 35 years. The pizza gets 5 stars. I found my main course last night to be bland. The portion was huge, nicely made but very very bland. I do not recommend the canelloni. The other pasta dishes were good. Salads delicious as was the desert.
Best to stick to the pizza

Shrimp involtini was exceptional! Desserts also decadent, pasta kinda usual, still 4 stars, great service

I checked out this place because I had a Groupon. It’s in the middle of OakRidge where I had never been in the city. It’s hidden inside a strip mall. But when we came in, the décor is fantastic and intimate and seats a lot of parties!
My boyfriend got the Chicken Marsala. I had the Lumache: Fresh pasta shells stuffed with crab, herbs and ricotta finished with a lemon brie cream sauce. Never in my life have I tasted something so unique and delicious.
We stayed for dessert. We recommend the Toffee Pudding. Oh wow! I’m so excited that we discovered this place. We’ll be back soon!