The Express Italian Eatery

Umm Benjamin I hope you’re aware of how douchey your review makes you sound. Westdale has a handful of great restaurants within a two block radius, not to mention there are a ton of great eating options very close to Westdale in downtown Hamilton. Suggesting we have nothing to compare it to is ridiculous.
Ok now onto my review… so my boyfriend and I went here last night. He ordered the chicken parm and I ordered the lobster ravioli. We both loved our meals, really good portions, super fast service and really yummy.
The actual place is really small but super cute. Small open kitchen in the back is always a good sign to me because we could see them cooking. We knew it was clean and we’ll managed. The bathrooms are not that nice but on the whole the place is cute.
My ravioli had real lobster chunks in it and there was a lot in there unlike some lobster ravioli dishes so I was really pleased with it. It had mushrooms and onions and oh man my mouth is watering thinking about it haha Had a bite of my bfs chicken parm and it was pretty good, not the best and not the worst. But he loved it and I’m not a huge parm fan.
Prices… Our entrees along with a beer each came to 55 dollars and that included our tip (15%) and tax. I don’t think that’s bad at all for fresh ingredients and a good sized meal. We will definitely return.

The place is OK. They are definitely over priced for what they offer. I had panini with the side of garden salad. My salad was only A LOT of lettuce with balsamic! And even the lettuce looked old and had to pick the fresh ones to eat. More of a challenge!
I was expecting much more and based on the great location I wish they’d done my better.

I want to be kind. I want to be kind. I want to be kind. Breathe. Breathe. Okay, forget it, this just plain sucked. I am in Hamilton /​Toronto for the weekend, and as I write this, I discover that the Leafs beat the Bruins and the next game will be in Toronto on Sunday, so I will be attending my first Leafs playoff game in a very long time. I digress, anyway, I finding myself in Toronto on Friday morning, I met up with a friend in Hamilton early in the afternoon. He suggested we try this new restaurant which is an offshoot of a restaurant I went to on a prior trip to the Great White North. Apparently the restaurant just opened the day prior and I could attribute the extremely poor excuse for a pizza on «growing pains» but they make pizza at the other location.
The fake gas fireplace and the stacked wood logs did nothing to make the experience any better. The Umbra wine holders on the wall struck me as out of place. The Coca-​Cola cooler parked in the back of the extremely small kitchen made the place look like a bodega. Anyway, I ordered the pizza margherita. Pizza is not easy to make — good. There are any number of pizzerias. You can find one on any corner. The recipe is always the same, but a truly great pizza, one that take you to another level are few and rare. I think of Chris Bianco in Phoenix or Motorino in New York. Express will never have to worry about that level of competition, they will never reach it. In fact, by the pizza they served me on Friday, they are well below Domino’s and Pizza Hut. The pizza, for just having come out of the oven, was cold. The cheese was dried out. The crust was pale, yet hard. Not crunchy, or tender or chewy, just hard. When a cheese is that dry it isn’t a true creamy mozzarella, it is probably a packaged, food service delivered part skim cheese. I am not sure why clumps of an oily basil-​esque pesto was dumped on the pizza. The basil was very weak in flavor. Fresh chopped leaves of basil liberally sprinkled over the pizza would be more welcome. So would a whole milk creamy real mozzarella.
I am sure this restaurant will flourish, as there is nothing else in the area, which makes me think that the patrons have nothing to compare it to, so they succumb and enjoy it. Like a Stockholm syndrome for diners.
If I could pass on some advice, avoid it. Find a better pizza or insist the restaurant improves. $ 13.56 for that garbage should be charged as a felony.