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| - Having recently moved to the area, I'm slowly going down all the restaurants up Yonge Street. This was maybe our 5th or 6th one, and by far the worst dinner experience.
We ordered a bottle of sparkling water, caprese salad, and 2 pastas - a daily special with red sauce and lamb sausage (rigatoni) and the Chiara, which was rigatoni, pesto cream sauce, shrimp, sundried tomoatoes and artichoke.
Upon arriving to the restaurant, the waitress wasn't very inviting. It wasn't that busy - 2 tables in side, 3 out, plus us arriving - and she shortly told us we could seat ourselves. We did, and then felt vey rushed to order. We were also informed we could not share a dish without paying the sharing cost, which I've only heard of once in my life at a high end Vegas restaurant.
The Caprese was decent, and the highlight of the meal. It wasn't very traditional, and the tomatoes and bocconcini came on top of a green salad mix. There was also no fresh basil, just some pesto on top of each cheese slice. Refreshing, and for $7.50 - meh.
My friend's rigatoni with lamb was not very appetizing. The red sauce tasted like it came from a jar and the sausage wasn't that great, either. The fusili, though better, was barely on par with what you'd expect at The Pickle Barrel. Tasty at first, but got increasingly annoying to eat. The artichokes were disgusting, mushrooms slimy, and basically the entire worlds supply of sundried tomatoes.
Another big taste difference was the fact that the pasta was obviously not made on-site. La Vecchia and Spacco are 2 of the best meals I've had in a LONG time (and both DO make their own pastas). I highly recommend either on the same block, particularly because all 3 are around in the same price point (Spacco has pricer appetizers, but entrees at all 3 are basically on par).
If the entrees were lower priced, perhaps I'd be more forgiving. And by lower priced, I mean maybe the $8-11 range. Overpriced for what you get, not the nicest room, and bad service.
Skip Amore, there's better food inches away.
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