. "2016-08-07T00:00:00"^^ . . "1"^^ . "Just finished dinner at the new Goodfellas location on Bloor West....overall a disappointment. The quality of the food and the experience simply doesn't justify the prices. I'm sad to say it because I was really looking forward to a good restaurant in my neighborhood. First of all the decor is like a Disney version of what an Italian restaurant looks like. Second of all, it's all hard surfaces inside so it's so loud that we had to yell all night to be heard on the other side of the table. More importantly, it's about the food. The amateur tomato sauce is way too acidy and salty. These are definitely not San Marzano tomatoes from Italy. I'm betting they are San Marzano seeds grown in the US. The gnocchi has no delicacy to it. I'm betting these are bought frozen from a grocery store. Tough like plasticene. The veal was a disaster....imagine shoe leather cooked endlessly until it's tender, but it's still flavorless shoe leather. The pizza was the only item that was okay, but again the sauce was questionable, over salted and no rich tomato basil flavour. Nothing like Pizzeria Libretto or Terroni. What it all comes down to is there simply is no subtlety or sophistication in any of the food or the ambience. Like Disney World. Yet their prices are significantly higher than Libretto or Terroni. Goodfellas has good branding and talk all the right talk, but they don't walk the walk. This may be high quality food in the suburbs but it's low-end mediocre in Toronto. The only exception was the excellent, friendly service from Tibor. However that was almost ruined by some bald guy who I think was the host. Quite frankly he came across like a tacky Gino from Woodbridge who again talked big, but when we told him about a problem which he said he'd take care of, he just disappeared and continued going around chatting with tables like a 1950's lounge singer in a bad suit. It's a new restaurant, so there's still a chance to change. If I was the owner, I'd spend the next month eating at Giancarlos on College, Libretto on Ossington, Enoteca Sociale on Dundas, Buca on King or Campagnolo on Dundas. These are all restaurants in the same price range, yet the cooking is an entirely different universe than the mediocre and beginner level Italian food being served here. Remember, Italian cooking is about choosing incredible quality ingredients, cooking them exactly right so the texture is perfect, and letting the natural flavours come through. I'm guessing this owner does most of his ingredient shopping at NoFrills. Put some sound absorbing panels in the ceiling. Make them in interesting shapes and colours and it can also add some ambience. Maybe hire a professional interior designer to add some subtle touches to get rid of the Disney World feel. Lower your prices at least to Pizzeria Libretto's. Their Caprese is $11 and exquisite. Yours is $20 and all about size, no quality."^^ . "4"^^ . "16"^^ . "3"^^ . .