Acquolina Ristorante

I love this restaurant. The quality of food is excellent, especially considering the price, the owners and staff are warm & friendly, and the grilled calamari is THE BEST I’ve ever had.
This neighbourhood has lots of restaurant options, and I would heartily recommend Acquolina as a favourite; I’ve eaten there frequently and have never been disappointed!

In a neighbourhood filled with good Italian restaurants, why would Acquolina, whose food I’ve always considered quite good, never gain popularity?
The same reason I’ve encountered there in the past– the poor service. Specifically the 69 year-​old head waiter whose snarky arrogant attitude and indifference has no place in an overcrowded restaurant market, like Toronto’s.
Although my wife & son both enjoyed their most recent meals, I made the mistake of ordering one of the specials of the night: Lobster & scallop pasta. For a mere $ 27, I received a meager overcooked lobster tail and a single (!) scallop over an otherwise tasty pasty with cherry tomato & fresh basil.
I would have shared my dissapointment with my pompous waiter, but once the plates were on our table, we were completely ignored by him, two foodrunners and the manager/​owner (sho has always been hlpful & friendly in the past). In the end, I asked for my cheque… twice. The tip I left reflected my feelings, but being in the industry myself, I declined leaving nothing at all, despite my urges.
In the future, my money will be spent at restaurants like Ferro and Marcello’s, who’ve figured it out, great food + great service = great experience.
In summary, Acquolina: Good food + Lousy service = we will not be returning

My friend and I tried this restaurant out during Winterlicious and we enjoyed it well enough. My recommendation is if you’re in the area and in the mood for Italian, yes, give it a try. I can’t say I’d visit again given the endless restaurants in the city I still long to visit but I’m still happy I gave it a try.
My friend chose the carpaccio to start, then trout, and tiramisu for dessert. I opted for the mussels, pizza, and chocolate mousse cake.
Likes:
–Oil and vinegar brought with bread
–Mussels were amazing!
–Pizza was delicious; definitely give it a try!
–Service was very pleasant; I especially appreciated the knowledge of the wine from the main lady working that evening
–Ambience is pleasant, but nothing fancy or exciting
Dislikes:
Quality of bread — Boring, bland, old bun. I expected something with my texture and definitely fresher
Carpaccio was flavourless — would never order this again
Coffee was offered after our desserts were served (Personal pet peeve of mine; I like my coffee there when my dessert arrives. Who wants to stare at their dessert while they wait for their coffee to be served?)
FYI — The do not take debit.

I’d heard good things but found our first meal here a little disappointing. The arugula salad was nice, but the mussels were just on this side of salable and served in a tomato sauce that was a little overwhelming. The pasta was better, but the lamb shank was disappointing with nowhere near the flavor you’d expect. The wines-​by-​the-​glass selection was excellent, as was the attentive service — with a little more work on the food, this could be exceptional, but not there yet. We will go again to give it another try, but there are better places on the St Clair strip.

terrible summerlicious menu — cheap bland food that they obviously pass off for the summerlicious menu for a cash grab — overly greasy fish with no flavor, potatoes baked with no salt or anything else on them, pasta with bland tomato sauce, packaged ice cream put on a plate (I say this because I saw them just take it out of plastic wrap and put it on the plate) just spent $ 100 on the worst meal.

Acquolina Ristorante confused me. I enjoyed my experience, but for the life of me I couldn’t figure out if my food was supposed to be a high-​end or a low-​end meal.
A down-​to-​earth, friendly server invited us into the restaurant while we were loitering at the door, looking at the menu. «C’mon in and give us a try,» she said, «We make all our food fresh to order and have something for everyone.» It was a hard invitation to resist, although we did note that the restaurant was mostly empty at 7:30 on a Saturday night. So maybe not for everyone?
She quickly brought fresh bread, sun-​dried italian olives and olive oil and balsamic vinegar for the table. Nice opening. We’re starting to wonder why more people aren’t populating this lovely place. The menu is pretty standard with pizzas, pastas and mains. The soup of the day is a cold gazpacho. I brazenly ignore the fact that it’s a spanish dish and order it, along with a pizza. My husband orders a squash agnolatti with a tomato basil sauce. I thought that was an odd combo (I’m more of a brown butter and sage person with squash-​filled pasta myself), but it sounded good.
The gazpacho arrives quickly and it is delicious — bright and creamy tasting (maybe some olive oil inside?).
But the mains were strangely put together. My pizza had a perfectly chewy thin crust, but the toppings looked and tasted bland (except for the very good olives). It oddly had very little flavour and the cheese was cheap tasting and heavy. It was like Pizza Pizza meets Pizza Libretto. Weird.
The pasta dish had the same problem. The sauce was delicious. Very rich and flavourful — like you’d expect from a high-​end restaurant. But the pasta itself was overcooked and the filling had the density of the spackle we are using to patch the walls of our new house. No flavour at all and leaden. What’s going on here?
My guess? The chef has a split personality and only one of them can cook.
Vegetarian score: ⁷⁄₁₀. Choices typical of any italian restaurant.

The food was okay here, but the service was TERRIBLE — the owner was a pretentious ass that had a chip on his shoulder… when asked about why he was so rude, he immediately got defensive and was extremely rude in his reply.
I will never go here again, and I discourage any and everyone from going to this restaurant.

Loved Acquolina when it was on Mt. Pleasant Road before but now moved to St. Clair Avenue West. It has great unpretentious Italian Food. Lots of choice in the menu, great salads, pastas and entrees. YUM!!!
We are big eaters and the plates were almost too much… sadly though not too too much!
Try the Tiramisu!
I do hate what the City has done to St. Clair Avenue West street-​scape but that is not Acquolina’s fault. Check it out!

Visited Acquolina last night for Summerlicious and was very happy with the meal and service.
Acquolina’s menus offers a great variety of Italian fare — so much variety that there is definitely something to please everyone.
Carpaccio and mussels appetizers were quickly brought to our table and very fresh. For our main we enjoyed Agnolotti with spinach and ricotta in a cream sauce along with Penne Salsiccia with sausage and a tomato wine sauce. The serving sizes were more than enough to fill us up. Great Italian wine selection (Chianti!) and tasty desserts topped off our meal. The service was friendly, unrushed and attentive.
The restaurant has just had a complete reservation — neat, clean lines with an elegant interior design.
Overall a great value for the dollar; tasty food, nice sized servings and good service.