Napoli’s Cafe

A great restaurant — from special occasions for fine dining to date nights with pizza… this place has it all in a really comfortable — somewhat authentic Italian setting.

My boyfriend and I ate here the other night and it certainly didn’t disappoint. I ordered the Pizza Primevera which was absolutely delicious. The crust was crispy, the vegetables were perfectly roasted, and the pesto sauce was amazing. I highly recommend ordering this.
My boyfriend ordered the Seafood Linguine (Linguine Di Pesce) and was rather pleased that they are quite generous with the amount of seafood that they put in the dish (they don’t skimp, that’s for sure!). He said he loved his dish, except for the fact that the linguine is more like spaghetti…
The one complaint that I have about this place is that they raised their prices significantly since the last time I visited (which was about 6 months ago). Also — the prices on their website do not match their in-​house menu. Each dish seems to have increased in price by $ 3.00-$ 4.00. My pizza, which was formerly $ 17.95 is now over $ 20.00. My boyfriend’s dish was around $ 22.00 when it used to cost $ 18.95.

I’ve been here twice now, most recently with my husband and father-​in-​law for dinner. The food is very good, but rather expensive. I believe that they are owned by the same people who own Napoli’s on Richmond Road (but Napoli’s is much cheaper and much more casual. However, Napoli’s serves mostly pizza, pasta and other «diner specialties» and not some of the fancier stuff they serve at Napoli’s Café).
On this visit I had the Salmone ($ 31). It came with a starter salad (mixed greens or Caesar, I choose mixed greens) which was a generous size. It was fresh mixed greens with tomatoes, cucumber and red onions. The dressing comes on the side and was a lemony vinaigrette. I was pleased with the salad. The salmon was a 7 oz filet, perfectly cooked and it came with grilled zucchini, red and green peppers, carrots and green beans. The menu said it comes with asparagus, but I didn’t get any. It did come with a «risotto cake» which was a flattened ball of risotto rolled in breadcrumbs and deep fried. It was heavenly. The risotto inside was soft and creamy and the crust outside was crunchy. It they put some ham in it, they could sell these my the plate and I would buy them.
My husband had the Pollo Pancetta ($ 30), a chicken breast wrapped in pancetta in a gorgonzola cream sauce. It also came with roasted vegetables and the delicious risotto cake. His main also came with the starter salad. I had a bite of the chicken and it had a nice smokey taste to it from the pancetta. My husband loved his dish.
My father-​in-​law had the Tenderloin steak ($ 39), it came with grilled vegetables and a cone of french fries, and also the starter salad. He really liked his dish as well, although he had asked for the steak medium-​well and he said it was a little rarer than he would have liked. The fries were medium cut with the skins on and not battered.
We also got complimentary bread: slices of white bread and slices of a bread covered in poppy and sesame seeds. The bread tasted fresh but was not all that remarkable.
Service was great. They were very attentive and professional. The server checked in on us often. We were asked if we wanted more bread and they also re-​filled our waters when our glasses were running low. Food presentation was good.
I saw people there in jeans, but I think it’s a bit of a business-​casual or dressier kind of place.
On my previous visit I had the Canelloni ($ 16.95). It was fantastic, but honestly, it was just as good as the canelloni at Napoli’s on Richmond Rd which sells for $ 10.95 — actually I think the canelloni at Napoli’s on Richmond is better.
Anyway, Napoli’s Café is great, but it’s pricey. If you like the pasta at Napoli’s Café, head over to Napoli’s in Westboro/​Hintonburg and you can enjoy the same pasta for cheaper.
Napoli’s Café is in a strip mall, so there’s lots of free parking.

This would get a 3.5 stars from me if it was possible. I have been here a few times, although I don’t come here too often. But I really like this restaurant; their food is consistently great, their server was pleasant and effiicient, and I will go back — and bonus: it’s a local restaurant for me.
But I had a bit of weirdness for this particular event: I asked to book a table for 10 people for 6:00pm, and was asked to shift it to 6:30 (try telling THAT to your guests, last minute!) I gave the restaurant the benefit of the doubt, thinking they must be asking because they think their chef will be overwhelmed if we come it at 6:00, and they have a nice bar area where we could sit at to wait it out if we need to. At the time of my call, I appreciated that they had another big party coming in at 6, and they were just pacing themselves. But when we got there, 4 of our guests were already seated at our table, and although there were other guests, it was maybe half full — I couldn’t see their point, since it wasn’t THAT busy — and although a few other couples or foursomes arrived while we were there, the restaurant didn’t get overwhelmingly busy, and it didn’t get too loud to hear the other people talking at your table. Maybe my reaction to this experience is due to the fact that I’ve been spoiled from recent restaurant activities that ranged from stellar to abundantly too busy.
In any event, I ordered the veal marsala, which I love! I should really learn how to cook this myself, I love it so much! But these guys to a wonderful job of it, so I don’t need to learn right now! :-) Everybody’s pasta looked and smelled wonderfully delicious. And they really fill their plates — not everyone finished their meal and took the rest home.
All in all a good experience with great company.