"1"^^ . "Read the one- and two-star reviews before going!\n\nMy sister was in town for just one night and we wanted to treat her to a special dinner. We've got a short list of terrific Italian restaurants that we could've taken her to, but decided to try something new. The reviews of F'Amelia on Yelp were a mixed bag ranging from excellent to poor. In this case we should've paid closer attention to the negative reviews.\n\nFirst impressions were quite good. F'Amelia is set on a leafy side street with a quaint terrace out front. We started our meal outside but moved in when it began to rain. The interior is decidedly less charming and is a rambling mishmash of materials with no real personality to speak of. Atmosphere could've been overlooked if the food and service were top-notch, but they were both lacking. \n\nService was fair but perfunctory and completely lacking in any sort of personal connection. We were there to have fun but the server never attempted to engage. The food on the other hand was uniformly poor and unoriginal. Arugula salad was just that--a pile of arugula. A $23 full-portion pasta was TINY and dry. But by far the worst was the baked lasagna that was served dangerously hot and was nothing more than too-much ground meat and noodles. When it finally cooled down we all agreed that it was bland to the point of tasting like a Stouffer's frozen entr\u00E9e. \n\nThe final insult was when the bill came. Before tip it was almost $300 for the three of us. Two appetizers, three cocktails, three mains and one mid-priced bottle of wine (a very tasty 2008 Sangervasio Toscana). We were astonished that such a mediocre meal could cost SO much more than other memorable meals we've had in town.\n\nUgh. With so many other fantastic Italian restaurants in Toronto, F'Amelia is one restaurant that you can afford to miss."^^ . . . "2012-08-06T00:00:00"^^ . "0"^^ . . "7"^^ . "1"^^ .