Cellar Door

This place is a gem in south Etobicoke! We love it here, and eat here often. Their homemade pasta and pizza dough is spectacular! Next to my Italian Nonna, this place makes my favourite Italian food! Eat here!

The food was very good but the service not so much. Since we like to support local establishments we decided to try the Cellar Door based on some decent reviews. I have to say they need some more experienced servers/​hosts. Although the restaurant was only ¾ full on a Saturday night the atmosphere could be described as sort of laid back scrambly. Very disorganized floor staff. We waited about 15 minutes before anyone even looked at us. As soon as they did we were seated at a half set table. Our server was decent– fairly attentive and quick as opposed to the others we saw. Our food came quickly and it was really quite good.
Arugula beet salad was simple yet amazing. Will get it again.
The pizza had a super thin crust and it was superbly put together. It was better than anything offered in the area– including FBI and Even Dino’s .
The gnocchi would have been excellent with more (some) sauce and without the roasted sweet potatoes that were basically chewy pieces of blech…
The homemade bread which came halfway through the meal was also very good but too late.
I will go back because the food makes up for the poor service plus maybe they will have new floor staff next time.

I have been here a number of times now. As usual the food was excellent. I had the fired artichoke, my wife had octopus. Both were excellent. The last time I came I ordered the octopus which was good but the portion was very small. The one last night was much better and nicer presentation. So I am not sure if it is change in the dish, different chef or just a different night, but keep it from last night! Our server was very good, but service was a little slow. The restaurant was quite busy for a Wednesday but not packed. They could have used more than one server or a bartender, as it seemed our server was also making drinks for the entire restaurant. The pizzas are amazing! I find the pasta dishes a little on the small side. It certainly won’t stop me from returning … but … food for thought … for Cellar Door management.

Well, let me say this… love the atmosphere, minus the music. But we are not here to listen to music, arent we? I actually came to celebrate my boyfriend birthday… we got beet arugula salad– must say very good, presentation and taste 10/10:)…then we decided to get pizza, with bacon, as bacon is the way to go.
It was good… wish the dough wasnt kind of wet-​ish in a middle. Overall 7/10…the only thing i did not enjoy is the attitude of the staff… head down not so up:)

I went with my wife and 2 other couples. Had read a really positive blogto review and it’s fairly close to us so thought we would try it. First impression was good — our server (Zack) was fun and personable. We went on a Saturday night and had a 6:30 PM reservation. When we got there, it was crowded and the atmosphere was nice. The décor in the restaurant including all the local photography is a nice touch. Overall, the food was good. More hits than misses. The octopus appetizer had good grill taste and the scallop special was nice. The pizzas were decent. The pasta was definitely the best part! My wife had the braised pork shoulder pappardelle and it was delicious and a huge portion. I had the pasta special — a rapini pesto with homemade Italian sausage. It was delicious too but I wish my portion was as big as the pappardelle. The not so great part of the meal was the end. It literally took us over an hour after we finished to pay and leave. They were so slow coming to finish us up and give us our bill. I think they were short staffed or something. And then they only had 2 working credit card machine. Anyway, it wasn’t s great way to end. I’ll try it again but hope the service is better.

To echo R.B.‘s comments, I would say that Cellar Door is a solid 3.5 stars, but could easily be bumped up to 4 or even 4.5 with a few operational improvements.
Our waiter, Zach, was very attentive, charismatic, and super funny. Thumbs up to him for making our experience great!
To start, the lot of us got a pizza, octopus, and scallops. The pizza was phenomenal, the octopus had a nice grilled taste to it (and wasn’t overly rubbery) and the scallops were tender and juicy. The portions were small, but hey! It’s an appetizer!
For a main, I got the papparadelle with pork loin. The pasta was perfectly al dente, but I would have probably reduced the amount of meat in the meal (there was more meat than pasta!) and added more salt (unless the restaurant is catering to a high blood pressure crowd.).
The cannoli cheesecake was delicious! Great combo. Small, but again, we were so full we were practically rolling out of the restaurant. Not too much sugar in the cheesecake either.
Complaints: the mains took a LONG time to get to our table. Between dessert and the bill, it took us an hour to get that transaction done, which was really strange. (They seem to only have one credit card machine?) Thankfully, we were in good company so that didn’t matter so much, but I would recommend that Cellar Door 1) amp up the salt content slightly 2) get another card machine 3) figure out timing a bit better, 4) get more wait staff other than Zach (he seemed to be serving the entire restaurant!). With these amendments, this place would be perfect!

I’m going to give this place a 3, although it very easily could have been a 4 or more with some improvements.
I have had two experiences eating here so far. The first was a couple of months ago, a friend booked a birthday dinner with a set menu for about 15 people. There were several courses including a charcuterie board, salad, pasta and pizza for 50 dollars per person. Each course was generous in serving size and I was really impressed especially with the pizza and the pasta. This good experience really made me want to come back in the future.
I came again last Friday with my boyfriend, father and his girlfriend. We came at 7:45 with reservations and the restaurant was extremely busy. It stayed very busy and loud for the rest of the night. It was the night before Halloween and there was one table hosting a Halloween party and a couple other tables full with large groups of people, so it may possibly have been more full than usual.
We ordered the charcuterie board and a salad to share to start. Charcuterie board was good, my only suggestion would be that they add some more of the only cheese on the board (a very good ricotta) or add a couple different options of cheese as well. The toasted bread that came with the charcuterie board was excellent.
I ordered the 45 day aged steak and ordered it *very* rare, my dad’s gf ordered the same medium rare. My father ordered spaghetti and a pizza with salami, mushrooms and requested anchovies on his, and my bf ordered spaghetti as well and a margerita pizza with prosciutto on top. The wait for our mains was long. Again, it was an extremely busy night so that was probably part of it, these things happen in the restaurant business so it’s understandable.
The steaks came with a side of shoestring french fries and a nice little salad in a small side pot. The cut of steak was very nice, although the steak I requested as *very* rare definately came out as a medium rare. My dad’s gf’s steak which was ordered a medium rare came out a medium. We both agreed the steaks were good, just overcooked to our liking. Now, I find this is a problem in the vast majority of restaurants you eat at in Toronto… they always overcook your steak! I think I will now have to start requesting it Blue to get a nice rare. Probably people complain about «raw steak, oh the horror» so most restaurants are overcooking it now to be safe… except a few best steakhouses in Toronto… but anyways…
My father’s pizza came without the anchovies he requested. I think this is because the waitress took all of our orders including appetizers at once, not writing anything down. My father did not complain, but it probably would have been more helpful to her on such a busy night to have written the orders down!
Overall, my father and bf were happy with their pizzas and pasta. I think this place does a very nice crust.
When it came to dessert, they do not have a dessert menu. The waitress said this is because all the desserts are made in house and that the menu changes according to what they have. My father and his gf both ordered gelato and I ordered the «deconstructed cannoli cheesecake». My father and bf both ordered an espresso.
The desserts were slightly dissapointing. There could be more improvement here. My father and his gf’s gelato was just one scoop, slightly small. Most restaurants will give you two or three scoops so this could have been improved. I was also undewhelmed by my dessert, which again, I thought was rather small. The deconstructed cannoli was just 3 small squares of filling on some crumbles or a cannoli shell with some pistachio on top. I would have rather just had a cannoli! Or the serving size could have been improved. Again, the waitress forgot my dad’s espresso… he didn’t say anything, but at least he was not charged for it.
So overall, our second experience was ok. Improvements could be made in the service, desserts, and how they are cooking the steaks. It was also a quite loud so I would not come here for a date on a Friday night. They seem to be doing very well and I would not rule out coming again in the future, maybe not on a Friday though.

My favourite neighbourhood place for dinner… great atmosphere and amazing food, wood oven pizza, pasta and mains are all fantastic!

A great addition to New Toronto. I’ve been here a few times now and the food & service has always been exceptional. I highly recommend you try it out.

Had a great dinner here last night. The caprese salad with burrata was fresh and the cheese was so creamy. The grilled octopus was my favourite, tender with the perfect amount of char and a flavourful romesco sauce. The wood oven pizza has a great crust, crispy and light. The gnocchi was fluffy with a rich mushroom sauce.
Service was friendly and attentive. A great environment and place to sit eat and relax!

Food is very good. The pizzas in particular are amazing and that huge italian wood-​fired oven at the back is a thing of beauty. I’ve had pizza at libretto and QMP and would take cellar door’s margherita over those two places’ any day. Décor could use some updating… it’s overly stark and lacks warmth. Sound really bounces off the walls too.

Came here last night for the first time with the girls. Very happy we were all up to try a new place!
It was busy, but made resos via email the day before (Quick response too!) Atmosphere was very cozy. Great for date night or for family dinner. I had the Rosa pizza — So good! Thin, crisp, great toppings and the cheese was on point. Service was great. Everyone was lovely.
Happy to have a great Italian joint so close to home. Don’t think I’ll be going to Terroni as often… That’s how pleased I was with the pizza :)

This area is really becoming known for good dining options. Full disclosure our friends nephew works here. The Caprese salad was exceptional. The pasta was cooked perfectly and the sauce was ok. A little richer Bolognese can be had but it was good. The Margharita pizza I sampled was good. The wood fired oven ensured a terrific crust.
Service was attentive and the prices (with the exception of the house wines) were good. We will be back!

Discovered this place by accident while trying to find another Italian restaurant in the area. Saw the great reviews and decided we should check it out.
Like: The pizza! It was delicious and very well made. We also really liked the caesar salad, though I will mention it’s fairly garlicky. Prices as well are reasonable.
Dislike: The service. Sat for about 15 minutes before asking someone to come take our order. They apologized, however we seemed to have a group of people serving us and no real rapport with anyone. People that sat after us ended up eating and leaving before we even finished our food, and it took forever to get the bill. Also, we both found the pasta dish bland.
I was really excited for this great find after stumbling across it but I’m uncertain if I would come back. I don’t live in the area and it’s definitely not a place that I would drive out of my way for, though I understand why people like it so much. I think we just had an ‘off’ experience.

Atmosphere is great. Good service. Love the pizza variety there. Have dined in and take out. Not a fan of the pastas selection. Tried a couple and all werent to my liking.

A good new find in an area of West Toronto we are now spending more time in. Parking was easily found right outside the entrance early this as day night.
Margarita pizza, quickly prepared, was 3.5−4, beet and leafy green salad with dollops of yogurt was a 4.5. My gnocchi mains was a solid 4.
It is an interesting somewhat eclectic space that is still finding itself but rest assured we shall return because there are more dining options that were calling our names from the Cellar Door menu.

I love handmade pasta and this definitely satisfied my craving for it. Good quality ingredients and delicious plates. The pastas are very simple but the flavours are perfect. Everything is handmade they day of and the bread to start (house made foccacia) was sweet and tasty and different than any bread I’ve had at a restaurant before; very authentic.
We shared the octopus starter which is the best I have had. The flavours again were lovely and the texture of the octopus was amazing, the chefs definitely know how to cook it properly. For entrees we had the spinach tagliatelle which was very simple and tasty and also the pasta e fagioli with rabbit, I loved it. It was light; not a heavy dish; and the texture of the pasta was great. I can’t say anything bad about our meal. Wine pairing and our server were also excellent.
Inside is very nice, classy yet cozy and a comfortable atmosphere.
Looking forward to returning for more pasta and also to try the pizza!!!

My wife and I came here for our 1 year anniversary last night. We showed up for our reservations and we were pleasantly greeted with a «Happy Anniversary» from the staff. Pizza is great, ambiance and décor were modern rustic. Would go back for the pizza.

Classy king west style restaurant on the lakeshore.
The gnocchi is awesome. The gluten free pasta option is boring but at least they offer the option.

The first time we went to this restaurant we had just returned from a trip to Italy, where as we know, the pizza is as good as it gets. We thought it was a bit risky to order pizza and be disappointed but instead we were delighted by how delicious it was. The crust was crisp, the toppings fresh and tasty and the size was generous. We have been there several times since and always look forward to the next.