This is one of my favorite spots in Toronto for real Italian food. The dining room is small with a cute open kitchen in the middle of the room. The staff is very knowledgeable and easy-going.
I treat myself to this place maybe once every few months. The lunch menu is reasonable and there is even a fixed lunch for $14 or $15 dollars, which is silly cheap for the quality of food. Dinner can get a little expensive with wine (in the $60-80 per person range).
The weakest part of their menu is their appetizers. The salads are pretty uninspired. You are better off with a carpaccio of some sort. Pay attention to the specials though, I did have an amazing venison tartare starter once, but it was a seasonal item.
You can't go wrong with any of their homemade pastas. My favorites are the wild mushroom with truffle oil or the tomato and beef brisket. The venison steak is also excellent (a tad more expensive than the pastas). An appetizer and pasta dish is plenty for one person. You will want to save room for LEMON TART (see below).
Here are some quirks I found out about this restaurant:
1) They don't serve chicken. Apparently in Tuscany (this restaurant is Tuscan), people don't eat chicken when they go out to a restaurant. You won't even know its missing.
2) The chef was trained in Italy and her and some of her staff visit Italy annually. Though she is blond, she speaks fluent Italian.
3) The lemon tart with pine nuts is probably the best food I have ever tasted, weird considering I am not a huge fan of lemon or tarts. Huh. This is a must for all visitors.
4) They are ridiculously unapologetic in the food they serve. They don't win awards for being one of the most authentic Italian restaurants anywhere by serving you butter with your bread or a chicken ceasar salad. Alice Fazooli's is down the road.
I bumped this up from 4.5 stars to 5 because I don't think the bad reviews are warranted! The food speaks for itself.