Last week I had a delightful dinner at Marinella at Grace and College with my girlfriend.
We weren't so sure at first due to the Opera music piping into the dining room ... and walked to a few other place, but returned because we liked what we saw on the menu.
One of the owners was in the front of house and greeted us as we walked to our table with our server.
The warm home-made whole buns were brought to the table with Olive Oil and Vinegar ... super-delish.
We shared a salad of beets, buffalo mozzarella and tomatoes - with a few tostas on the side
Fantastic.
The buffalo mozzarella was soft and gooey ... and was served with a couple of dashes of reduced balsamic.
We shared two mains (you can order half or full orders), the Spaghetoni Aglio e Olio, as well as the Wild Mushroom Truffle Risotto.
Everything was home-made.
I have never had pasta taste like that before ... it was perfectly al dente ... it had texture, nothing was over done ... just right. The pasta dish also came with chopped tomatoes and black olives.
The risotto was amazing. Not too much truffle, as my girlfriend said ... and not over-cooked.
There was a wide range of wines on the menu ... and I thought that the wines served by the glass were a little expensive for what they were.
But, we had a nice bottle that the owner recommended and it was under $50.
Bottles are the way to go at Marinella.
The owner was kind enough to chat with us at the end of our meal and enjoyed talking about food.
Definitely one of the best restaurants in Toronto.