Chianti Cafe & Restaurant

First time back after 15 years, when I stopped coming due to mediocre service and food. I am so glad I gave it another go. What a lovely surprise! Everything is better! Service, food, atmosphere! Thank you!
We came during the Pasta Frenzy (Monday and Tuesday) when all the pastas are 9.99. The $ 3 salad was amazing and they didn’t skimp on the dressing… mmm. The bread was hot and the service was unbelievably fast. We had the chocolate mousse dessert and the chocolate raspberry ganache cake, which is to die for. Do not miss that cake, it will change your life.
Sara was our server and treated us well. We will definitely return.

The pasta frenzy offer is great. I go every week to try a different plate of pasta. My favorite is the Supremo with the smoked salmon. I am happy with the service. The place is old but cozy and warm.

Had a good experience here. Split a pasta and potato soup between 3 ppl and it was filling. Ashley our server was nice.

I had the special seafood cannoli stuffed with sun dried tomatoes and spinach. It came with two pieces of shrimp. It was very good and tasty. The shrimp were over cooked. My husband had the ravioli nothing special there. The calamari was greasy, over cooked not very good. Our server was very knowledgeable and polite. If we do come back it won’t be for the calamari and ravioli.
Deco is in need of updating. Don’t think it was worth the 60 bill for a lunch

I admit that I do not come here very often anymore. When I am in the mood for Italian, I typically like to go to Café Amore, Picolino Bistro or Sicilan PK. My friend suggested eating here since it was close by and it was their Monday Pasta Frenzy. On Mondays and Tuesdays, Chianti offers most of their pasta dishes for the affordable price of $ 9.99. Their starter caesar salad and chocolate mousse are at a reduced price, as well as their house wines are $ 5.00 for a 6 oz glass. I ordered the Mediterraneo Penne that is regularly priced at $ 16.95. It was delicious! There were generous portions of the spicy Italian sausage and it was so tasty — spiced and seasoned perfectly. The red pepper, black olives, feta cheese and spinach didn’t overpower the dish and rose sauce brought all of the flavours together very nicely.
I also had a glass of the red house wine to accompany my meal. It was a little bitter for my palate. I would probably try a different wine on their menu next time.
This is a very affordable and nice place to bring your family and enjoy a nice meal out on the town, especially on the Pasta Frenzy nights.

I love the idea of Chianti’s. It’s got a good location, a great atmosphere, and all sorts of the good things going for it. Unfortunately, the food is not one of those things.
It’s incredibly sub par. I ordered bruschetta to start and it was very not flavourful, in addition to being underripe. My penne was dry, with barely enough sauce to cover the noodles. Half of my dish was cold, the other half was just lukewarm. The meat was chewy and overlooked. All in all, not a restaurant worth revisiting.

Food was mediocre for all 6 of us. Pasta was weird– do they try to do «homemade»? Sauces were heavy. Menu is too big, nothing executed very well. We did not enjoy canneloni or fettuccine or salmon. Wine and bar service was not knowledgeable. (Horrible glassware undermined the unremarkable wine.) Food was served not uniformly hot.
Service was friendly.

We just had our company Christmas Party there and the food was amazing! Not to forget the fantastic service we received as well!
Thanks Andy

I SO wish there was a way to give a 2.5… again, the rating here is based on one solid thing… the service. Our server was attentive and quite nice. The food… well, let’s just say that I feel like it is a better place for appetizers and drinks than a full on meal (in our case, pasta, anyway).
I have been curious about this place since we moved to Edmonton and so finally, on our Friday night «culinary adventure» we were here. From the outside you don’t get a hint of what is on the inside and there is a LOT going on, everywhere. In this regard, it is a «neighbourhood» spot combo with the university crowd and it works actually, quite nicely. The menu, on the other hand, not so much as it is VERY large and there are so many pastas one wonders why there are so many pastas.
We ordered the «Olive nere with olive oil and garlic» for an appetizer because we knew we were going to order a pasta dish. Big disappointment… the olives are the small, Kalamata black olives that look like they were bought at Costco and then drenched in olive oil that has sundried tomatoes in it (the oil was red, hence why I am guessing this is the reason the oil was red). We got a flat plate just full of them and that was the appetizer… :-(
Onward and forward with the pasta which fared better… although both our pastas (mine the Carbonara, his the Vongole with Cream) were OVERcooked, they weren’t salty (in fact, mine was beyond BLAND even with the bacon in it… how is THAT possible?). My companion said his was «okay» though he would have preferred it less «creamy» since he felt there was a bit too much.
Having finished our pastas we decided on dessert since I love dessert and well, you would like to hope that it will finish off your meal well… sadly, NO :-(I ordered the Tiramisu’ and guess what, I think I found the second worst (old Allegro downtown was the worst) Tiramisu’ i have ever had :-(Served in a glass, it is mostly cream (of some VERY sugary sort) and I was able to count the pieces of lady fingers (3 halves) in the cup which also had 2 strawberry halves (not sure what they have to do with Tiramisu’). My companion had the Kahlua Cheesecake and wondered where the flavour of the Kahlua AND the cheesecake were :-(To say it bluntly, when I got home, I had a Bacio Perugina to take away the taste I had from the dessert… only then did I actually feel like I had dessert.
So, sorry folks… it may be a great «neighbourhood spot» and I am totally in agreement with that, be VERY judicious in what you order… the menu tries to do too much, thus the kitchen is working harder than it should … and thus quality is affected despite the lively, casual atmosphere this place has to offer.

Excellent Gnocchi with creamy pesto, olives and blue cheese were very good, rolls were piping hot Caesar salad was fresh and flavorful. Topped off with pistachio gelato and a shot of expresso finished off the meal. Great service and very quick.

The tastes are average, but price is reasonable, good location, a servant is really hot, too bad he has a ring on finger.

When I could eat gluten, I loved it so… pasta night is a steal on monday and tuesdays. Big homemade and fresh noodles!!! I suggest the fettuccine Supremo and DuChef: D :D
Now the g-​free noodles and kinda boring and they don’t even use fettuccine :(
Mista salad is to die for!
I have been coming here since I was a young one. Still the best in the city!
Never do we wait in line, always seated right away, the staff are sweet and fast.
It always makes me laugh when people are like, «oh we just went to Olive Garden» I’m like, «haha sucka!»

One of my favourite restaurants in the city! Especially on Tuesdays (½ price pasta)! There are a ton of tables, and a few on the patio. Classic Italian atmosphere, great service and great wine list!
The menu is extensive, and they have the best Caesar salad. You are given very generous portions, I usually eat half and save the rest for lunch.
They are great for meetings, parties, and they cater. There are 2 locations, the one on whyte, and there is one on the north side. I’ve been to both and are equally good. If you’re craving pasta, this is the place to be!

I eat here quite often, both eat-​in and take-​out. The best thing EVER is their Pasta Frenzy special on Monday and Tuesday nights. You can get any of their signature pasta dishes for only $ 9.99. This is a great deal as most dishes are around $ 17 for a full order. My boyfriend and I both had full orders of pasta and a bottle of wine (also on special) for under $ 40 total with tax and tip.
My favourite thing is the Tortellini Alla Romanoff (veal stuffed, with bacon and mushroom rose sauce). I’ve been here 4 times and gotten it every time because it’s so delicious. The bruschetta was delicious as well. Today was Friday and they had a special on for ½ priced appetizers so bruschetta came to $ 3.25.
Their portions are fair, prices are decent and they do pasta well. The restaurant facilities are huge and I’ve never had to wait more than 15 minutes for a table on any night. It is a great place for group events or a romantic dinner on the patio. They have a gorgeous patio with umbrellas and a great view of Whyte Ave.

Just really excellent from start to finish. Amazing service, great Italian, homemade pasta… what more could you ask for? Prices were incredibly reasonable, you can even get a half order of most dishes. I can’t wait to return.

I honestly wasn’t too impressed by this place– I think flavours were generally lacking, it maybe needs a bit more salt. I had the tomato-​based pasta with clams and it was quite tasty. Also, being a bit of a bread snob I don’t fully appreciate plain ol’ dinner rolls– though better than nothing I guess! The best thing was the sangria and chocolate-​raspberry cake for desert.

Oh, my. Have I never reviewed this? Wow — well, this is a definite favourite, so let’s dig in!
Chianti Café & Restaurant is an unpretentious Whyte Ave institution. Its menu offers a diverse array of Italian dishes, and is made ultra affordable with the very popular Pasta Frenzy events on Monday and Tuesday every week (all pastas $ 9.99!).
Service is usually perfect — better than what you’d expect from a restaurant with such a moderately priced menu.
From the crusty-​on-​the-​outside-​but-​soft-​on-​the-​inside buns that you begin with, to the delicious pasta platters of your entrée, to the decadent and flavourful cheesecake for dessert, every course is tasty and well prepared here.
This isn’t a place to push culinary boundaries, but it’s an awesome spot to engage in your preferred Italian comfort foods. My favourites include the baked lasagna, deep fried zucchini and of course the Bailey’s cheesecake for dessert.
Lastly, check out their patio on warm summer days. It’s behind the body of the restaurant so somewhat secluded and provides a great place for a sangria and salad on a hot summer day.

Ok food, good service, reasonable prices.
It’s a home grown Spaghetti Factory.
Great building, pool hall is a bonus.

There is nothing wrong Chianti’s! I I think the first time I ever came here was maybe 15 years ago, it was one the first «grown up» feeling date restaurants that I came to, and I just loved it! It’s not my #1 go-​to, for Italian restaurants, probably not even in my top 5, but whenever I do stop in I always think to myself «gosh that was good, I’ve gotta go more often».
The pastas are all delicious and they are cooked well. They have a fabulous appetizers, a decent wine list, and tasty desserts. There are different areas that are separate from one another, good for a private party or to find some little corner that can be romantic. I think I prefer Chianti’s as a lunch spot mid shopping though. And, they have a wonderful patio out back where you can do some great people watching.

I have such fond memories of Chianti’s that it’s hard for me to see it in anything but a positive light. When I would come to Edmonton as a kid with my parents, they would always take me here, and my first date with my husband was also at this restaurant. I found myself on Whyte Avenue with a couple of friends two weeks ago, and with our first choice for a restaurant being terribly busy, we decided to head to Chianti’s. I hadn’t been there for more than seven years, but not much has changed.
I love the atmosphere and décor of the restaurant. There are lots of windows, and it definitely has the feel of a café or Italian restaurant. The seats wind around the building, so depending on where you are seated, it can feel more intimate than a large open restaurant does. On our most recent visit, our service was not stellar. I’ve had worse, but it was definitely below par. We didn’t get our complimentary buns, and had to ask when we saw them being brought to other tables, and even then they took another ten minutes to arrive. Our food took a long time considering how quiet the restaurant was, and the edges of my pasta were getting cold. Our water glasses sat for a long time empty, and we had a hard time finding our waiter to pay.
Despite all this, the meal was still great. I loved my pasta — the noodles were thick, and the sauce was tasty. The chicken in my pasta was cooked just right, and the size of the half portion was perfect for me. Based on all of the other excellent meals I have had here, Chianti’s still gets four stars. Hopefully it won’t take me as long to return for my next meal.