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| - Visiting TO we dropped in for a late lunch on a Wednesday afternoon. The place was very quite, we had it mostly to ourselves except for a few other, probably tourists. This was great to walk around and take in the ambiance. Which is the main reason we went. I love the large Tiffany stain glass lamps and eclectic collection of historical photos and period posters. Not to mention the street car, something like an old phone and Mary Go Round that makes for very interesting seating arrangements. Easily accommodates large groups. Sadly the giant gumball aquarium with the gold fish was gone. The fish must have died of old age, I think my last visit was after a Blue Jays game, probably 25 years ago.
Food is average, good heavy comfort food. Nice on a cold autumn day. Lots of pasta at a good price. Forget "super size", you can FACTORY SIZE your spaghetti and increase your portion by 65%! Arrive with a hollow leg! They keep the bread coming as long as you want it have combinations with soup, salad and ice cream desert with most menu options.
Very close to CN Tower and downtown Toronto, maybe a block from St. Lawence Market, its a good location. They are also connected to two pubs, the "Amsterdam Bicycle Club" which is basically the bar side of the restaurant. They also connect to the Scotland Yard Pub (next door) internally, which looked like a very comfortable place to hang out. Its their sister pub so their share washrooms.
The building really is an old factory, (black smith shop apparently) from the turn of the 20th century. I found it ironic the roof was made a sold timber, which today is called NLT, Nailed Laminated Timber. It's considered cutting edge sustainable technology. We are currently using some on a college library project. I say ironic because there it was in an industrial building 100 years old.
If you like Italian comfort food and fun atmosphere, drop by for sure.
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