Trattoria Giancarlo

Best pasta in Toronto!!! Staff is amazing too and all around the best experience here. One of my fav restaurants I’ve been to.

Best pasta in the city, ordered three types loved every single dish.
I highly recommend everyone go here

This used to be my favourite Italian restaurant in the city, a no-​fail dinner choice. After going this past weekend, I won’t be back for a long time, if ever. The service was okay, the wine was good, the food terrible. I really came here with my heart set on a risotto, however, the only available choice was a seafood risotto and I am allergic so that wasn’t an option. I ordered the Luna (baked cheese wrapped in proscutto) as an appetizer and the ravioli as my main. The Luna was okay, pretty heavy for an appetizer but that was probably my bad choice, should have had the Caprese or something lighter. I really hoped the ravioli would be better and I was highly disappointed. The plate was full of oil (grease) and the grease covered ravioli were disguisting. Luckily there were plenty of gelato places down the street to cleanse my palate ;)

This place is adorable with a cute patio and nice indoor ambience. The food was great and the wait staff was incredible and very attentive. Our only complaint about the whole experience was the manager the night we dined. He rushed us in and through our meal and the whole time seemed like he was trying to turn the table over as fast as possible with little care as to how we were enjoying ourselves — largely just making us feel like a nuisance. The rest of the staff though were all wonderful and redeemed the night for us.

I had a lovely patio dinner at Trattoria Giancarlo last week, and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a fancy meal in Little Italy.
To be completely frank, I usually avoid Little Italy for supper. So often it’s tourists or once-​a-​year diners dining out at Italian places that don’t feel terribly authentic, and I’m often disappointed. Do I love Little Italy? Yes… For strolling, patio wine and gelato, but not usually for dinner.
For the area, Giancarlo is definitely one of the pricier options, but it’s definitely worth it. Beautiful atmosphere, delicious dishes (bruschetta and pasta limone were both divine), and a very attentive waitstaff. My only complaint? The wine list is pretty tiny. Add a rosé please, it’s summer.

I’ve been here so many times and I am never disappointed. We ordered the bruschetta which is not the typical tomato type but grilled and covered in truffle olive oil. We always ordered the beef carpaccio covered in truffle oil and with parm. See my picture the combo of their take on bruschetta with their carpaccio beats a lot of dishes I’ve had in Italy. We ordered the pomodoro which was so fresh and tomatoey, you could see chunks of tomato and the rissotto which was so nice and the perfect flavour. Usually risottos are hard to eat because they are too rich with cre but not here.
Please see my pics, the portions are huge! And the restaurant ambience is perfect. Not too quiet or too loud but always busy!

Highly recommended — highly disappointed! Rude service, average food — definitely
not the experience I was looking for.

I did not hesitate long before giving Giancarlo a four-​star rating for the quality of both food and service. We were seated rapidly and the service was quick and efficient after orders were taken. We had lamb roasted to perfection with sides of potatoes and greens. The best I ate in maybe years since lamb is a delicate meat and very tricky to cook. It is easy to fail if no proper care is given. I could have given 5 stars but honestly the bill was a bit over the top even for the spotless quality.

Had spaghetti bolognese which was good but over-​priced. It’s hard to understand why a plate of pasta costs twenty-something…I’ve had much better for less at Enoteca Sociale where it’s easier to find parking too.

This is an interesting place where this establishment is not located in the main road in Little Italy. Ambient of the restaurant was great and their dishes were great (but a bit salty side — as I was once a chef in a small Italian restaurant before).
I like the half open kitchen where I can see chefs are cooking very hard and I can smell food (can be bad for some people). Their bread is a bit harder side (but they were free). I did not order desert but according to my co-​worker (from Europe), it was very good and delicious. This restaurant seems to be not well sound-​proof. Once this restaurant was occupied by many customers, noisy level is a bit higher than I would like. In any case, this might be a good place for dating and fine Italian dining.
* Price: a bit pricy as all good restaurants would
* Atmosphere: Good (but their chairs are not that comfortable)
* Food Quality: A bit salty side but have great taste. They also have great wine selection but some of them are sold by bottle only
* Parking: Street parking (public metered parking) only
* Avoid factor: They tend to get busy in the evenings and weekends, be sure to make a reservation prior to visit
* Recommendation: Try their awesome desserts

If you are reading this review, you are likely wondering why I gave Trattoria Giancarlo only two stars. I will now share my experience.
This evening, my husband and I along with another couple, decided to try this restaurant after hearing some positive reviews. We arrived for our reservation at approximately 8:15 and were seated promptly in the wine bar area. Our server, Wayne, was quite cordial and immediately greeted us.
From the moment we were seated, we began getting somewhat irritated by a large table two tables away from us. Apparently a birthday was being celebrated and the group of 10 women was exceedingly noisy. I kindly asked Wayne if he could suggest that the women tone it down a notch and he immediately responded that he would not do this.
The table next to us (and between us and the noisy women) also began to get irritated and asked the manager, Tony, to please see if the women would kindly be a little quieter. Tony refused quite rudely. The patron at the next table decided he would take matters into his own hands and ask the women to please quiet down and he did so in a very pleasant and cordial manner. They apologized and agreed to be somewhat quieter. At that point, Tony walked over to the sound system volume control on the wall near the bar and immediately turned the music up to an intolerable volume.
The patron at the next table asked Tony if he was doing that deliberately and Tony approached their table and abruptly told the man he had no right to tell other customers to keep it down. The patron responded that had Tony done it himself when he was asked, he would not have had to do it himself! Tony then told the man and his guests that they should just «agree to disagree and maybe this is not the restaurant for you.» We overheard this conversation and were appalled that a manager would speak this way. The patron asked Tony if he wanted them to leave the establishment and Tony replied, «Yes.» The two couples immediately got up and left the restaurant.
We decided to stay and continue our meal but were quite uncomfortable remaining in the restaurant. Not once did Tony come by to apologize for his behaviour nor did he ever approach our table to ask if we were enjoying our meals. Wayne, our waiter, also never spoke a word about Tony’s uproar which was quite bothersome to us.
So, you are probably wondering, so, how was the food?
Our heirloom tomato, cucumber, feta and onion salad was very tasty. Our friends liked their mushrooms and polenta as well as the large insalata. My husband ordered branzino and specifically requested it be deboned in the kitchen. It arrived to the table whole and not deboned so he sent it back to be done. He said it was very tasty as was my snapper. Our friends enjoyed their lamb and veal chop. The portions were nicely sized and the sides were generous as well.
We elected not to have dessert as we honestly just wanted to leave the restaurant. We were surprised that given one last opportunity when giving us the bill, Wayne did not quietly apologize for the unnecessary commotion that went on during our dining experience. In addition, he should have quietly apologized for Tony’s totally inappropriate behaviour.
Would we return? Never. Any restaurant that employs a manager that is verbally abusive to its patrons is not an establishment that we would revisit. Disrespect is something I would tolerate at MacDonalds, not at Trattoria Giancarlo.
Tony, you spoiled a lovely Saturday evening for two parties of four. You do not deserve to work with the public and are a detriment to Trattoria Giancarlo. Although you elected to not suggest to a noisy table that they be a little quieter, we on the other hand, have no problem telling everyone we know that they do NOT ever, EVER dine at your restaurant.

Overall I enjoyed a solid meal. Wasn’t amazing but definitely good.

This review was extremely difficult to write as I was torn between awarding Giancarlo’s a 3 or a 4 star. At the end, and as you will read why below I went with 2.5 star (and quite honestly — speaking as an Italian guy, it really should be a 2 star)
This spot is located at a great Little Italy location on College in Toronto, If you’re struggling to find it, it’s located write across the street from The Dip. Entering into this place can be a little confusing as the entrance opens to a bar and lounge area — you must be brought around back to the private and open dining areas by a server.
Aesthetically this place is class all the way — couldn’t and wouldn’t change a thing. High ceilings, great pieces of art, exposed wine racks with hand written price tags on all the bottles, exposed brick. Very nice spot.
My family and I visited TG’s for my dad’s birthday dinner, and this traditional Italian family knows its cuisine well — so here is the collective skinny on the food:
Shared appetizer.
Unique tasty take on Bruschetta. Grilled slices of bread with oil and a spread of sorts — no tomato or basil. I actually preferred this method to the typical overdone method.
Appetizer:
They had great options for appetizers but I decided to ask for a ½ portion of gnocchi done with a tomato sauce. That ½ portion came at a whopping price tag of $ 12 for 5 gnocchi dumplings. For those who don’t know Gnocchi, these tiny potato dumplings are no bigger than a ping pong ball, so to get ONLY 5 for $ 12 is a little redic when you can get a full plate for $ 16 – 18 @ most places.
Main Course:
Trying to be a touch healthier I chose to go with the fish of the day which was a Branzino (Mediterranean Sea bass) served with a side of lentils and Swiss chard.
— wonderfully seasoned and the ‘show’ of our server de-​boning the fish was impressive. However, once de-​boned this dish was hardly enough for one person to eat. Sadly between this and my appetizer I was still famished at then end — definitely NOT something I consider to be in true Italian taste.
Overall the taste of the meal was top shelf all the way around. However where they lost MAJOR points in my book was in there price to portion size ratio. Ever member of our party was still hungry at the end of their entrée due to the lack luster portion size. This place has lost its way and become too focused on their bottom line and have lost the essence of a good Italian restaurant which is to fill your stomach and warm your heart.
Again ill repeat. From a taste perspective Giancarlo’s is on point. However, when my brother needs to order a second plate of the ravioli special to add up to a decent portion size. There is a problem with the ratio.
Will I be back — not likely at these prices. The Toronto/​GTA area is far too saturated with good Italian restaurants (those who know what I mean will agree) for me to spend $ 400 on a 5 person dinner and 1 bottle of house wine, when we can literally make the exact same items at home for less than $ 50.
2.5 star rounded down after some consideration. Booo!

Went to Giancarlo’s to celebrate my husbands birthday. The staff were very friendly, Food was delicious but portions were small. Prices were high for what you got. Presentation of food was nice. I was surprised to learn they did not offer a house wine so we had to buy a bottle of wine which was very basic and expensive.
Overall a nice experience but a little too pretentious for me.

Here you can order food with your salt! All 4 of our dished were loaded with salt but it was late and we were tired and didn’t send it back. The nice setting did not overcome the lousy expensive food. Hard to understand why it is so crowded.

Rude service is often a product the culture in a restaurant and this establishment is most likely where that aphorism owes its origin. When I asked for a reco on a Southern Rhone Red I was informed by the irritated manager that this was an Italian restaurant as nearby staff snickered. Fair enough except that I was sitting next to a wine fridge with bottles labelled Première Cru and the main room had French wines listed on a chalk board. It got worse from there as our server, a sneering troglodyte simply could not be bothered to take orders from our table likely due to the large party autograt he saw coming his way, and was short with my daughter on several occasions. When our food arrived more than 2 hours after we had taken our seats I received the most pathetic rib steak I’ve ever encountered, about ¾ of an inch thick, oveclooked to medium/​medium-​well and a tiny little side at the elevated price of $ 40. At this point though, I was no longer surprised, just annoyed.
Unbelievably terrible experience. It looks nice though.

I can only speak for the wine bar facing college street tonight, but talking about that, I can say that the place is good. The staff is friendly and took us in, sat us at the bar, recommended a nice Spanish wine (albeit a slightly pricey one) and we had some drinks on a friday night. The décor in this place is comforting, yet hip at the same time, with lots of hardwoods and cozy decorations.
It was the second time I’d been here, but I think the first time was long ago, and things weren’t quite right then. Now the kinks have been worked out and it’s a place I’d go to if I was in the neighbourhood.

Delicious! Great ambiance, and did I say Delicious?!
I have only been here for a drink previously, and was completely unaware I was in the «new» bar — and had not seen the 25-​year old restaurant in back. It was a birthday treat for me, and I’d go back in a heartbeat. I know as a carboholic I craved a bread basket before our dinners arrived, but my company kept me occupied nonetheless. Ossobuco melting in my mouth, shrimp Linguine (with a cute 3 letter menu name) was superb!
A MUST visit restaurant!

We stumbled upon this place walking around Little Italy for dinner on a saturday night. The menu looked enticing, but it was the environment that really caught our eye. The red brick interior, music that was at a perfect volume and the lighting made it a good place for dinner for the 2 of us.
We were seated quickly and split an appetizer of Fungi (mushrooms) which was fantastic. The 4 different kind of mushrooms just melted in my mouth.
My wife ordered the parma pasta and I the lobster gnocchi. Both were unbelievably delicious and the portion size just right. The parma had a thin broad noodle and was accompanied with a cream sauce filled with mushrooms, proscuitto and tomatoes. My lobster gnocchi was fantastic as well with juicy pieces of lobster in the gnocchi and cream sauce.
My only issue with the restaurant was the service that we had received.
2 people that had been seated after us received their food before us.
There was only 1 server who was getting overwhelmed as restaurant proceeded to get busier. She went from serving 5 to 6 groups of people to 10 – 12.
They gave me the wrong order of food.
The table next to me had to ask for additional parmesan and for pepper. Due to how busy the server was, she did not have time to offer this to the customers (or any for that matter).
I would certainly return to the place, but only if they actually have the staff to properly serve their customers right

Wonderful dining experience.
I was introduced to Giancarlo through a business associate who arranged for dinner there one night. We sat on the patio on a wonderful summer evening and enjoyed wonderful pasta (lemon fettuccine) and wine. The service was perfect, the food was well prepared and overall it was a great dining experience.
Recently I returned again for a business dinner and had a similarly fantastic experience: amazing carpaccio, osso bucco to die for and a wonderful brule risotto dessert. Service again was attentive and friendly.
Atmosphere is warm and inviting, beautifully decorated and spotless.
Giancarlo is a great restaurant. Highly recommended. I will return.