Thats Italian Too

Always cold and sometimes the wrong order. I could get better Italian at a takeout place

This place has (and I think will always be) my dad’s fave Italian restaurant, so of course we knew where we were going for our family dinner when my dad said he had a hankering for pasta.
Although the restaurant is a bit small (it’s situated in a strip mall), it’s cosy and has a cute Italian charm to it. As we got seated at our table, menus were handed to us and the table tea lantern was lit. Glancing over the menu, I went with the penne pollo e gamberi (chicken & shrimp in a lemon & garlic wine sauce), my dad ordered his usual for my mom and him to share — linguine al limone (chicken, mushroom & broccoli in lemon cream sauce) & penne paesano (Italian sausage, olives & red peppers) and my sister got the linguine pescatore (variety of seafood in a tomato sauce).
While we waited, they brought out biscuits for us to munch on (dipped in oil/​vinegar of course!) and it wasn’t long before our entrées arrived.
I got to sample everyone else’s dishes too — and I’d have to say that the linguine al limone was my favourite of all of them (not to say mine wasn’t good, I just really liked the lemon sauce the linguine came in!)
You’re looking at ~$ 15/​dish, which I think is worth it for what feels like a home cooked Italian meal — plus if you’re like me, you’ll have leftovers for lunch so it’s like you’re getting two meals!

When I first moved up to the area I was so excited when I seen a little Italian restaurant with the red & white table clothes, just everything that gave you that «little Italy» vibe. But when me & my family ordered from there it turned out to be not very good at all. At least for me it wasn’t, I ordered a lasagna and after eating it I don’t think I’d go back again.

I called and talked to some guy at this Italian restaurant and asked him the cost of the entrees and he said they were from $ 9 to $ 26, but to look on their site, to which I replied ‘but we wanted to come over there right now and don’t have time to look up the menu on line’ and he didn’t really seem to care, even though when I asked if they were busy, he replied that there were 2 tables occupied and it was a slow night!
We had an SUTP coupon for $ 10 off so we decided to go down and try the place out. He took us to a 2 seater table that was too dark even though there were only two other tables occupied in the whole place. We just turned around and sat down at a 4 seater while he kind of glared at us! We tried to ask him questions about the entrees available, but he was so busy serving up alcohol drinks and beer to a larger table, that he didn’t have time to answer anything! They asked him a few times to take pictures of their group while they were allowed to make raucous noise that was disturbing us and he obliged while total ignoring us!
When I managed to catch him walking by us, we had to ask if they served bread and when they only brought two little pieces of white bread we asked if we could have more or if there was a charge, he walked away without saying a word so were surprised when he did bring back more bread a few minutes later. When he was over serving more alcohol to the larger table across from us, I motioned him about getting butter and tried to say something and he held up his hand as if to say ‘be right with you’ and he never did return to ask me what I wanted, so we just ‘got by’ with the 2 butter he gave us! He never asked us if we needed anything else or wanted more water or anything.
We waited a while a while for our dinner and the SUTP coupon said we had to order drinks, so we asked for pineapple juice and asked what the price was and at first he said $ 2.50 and then it changed to $ 3 and he said ‘we don’t put on the menu’, which was quite obvious, cause we looked for beverage prices on there! Kind of convenient, cause they can just quote you what they feel like! Anyway, while waiting for the meals, I observed that he just filled our glasses up from these little generic brand juice boxes they kept in the fridge and then he brought them over! We got the lasagna and a chicken and prawn dish I can’t remember the name of. The food was average, portions small to average and the dish that was supposed to have chicken and shrimp had only 3 little pieces of shrimp and barely any chicken and this one dish alone was $ 16!
We had moved to the 4 seater table because it was brighter, but then discovered that one of us was looking into the sun, and upon asking the waiter (which I later found out was the son and the mom worked there too) to please close the blinds, he said there was nothing he could do, and that it wouldn’t kill us to get some Vitamin D! How rude! He was quite fast about giving us the bill, not asking when we were done dinner if we wanted anything else or the dessert menu!
Anyway, we were tired of the service and just wanted to leave, and after receiving the bill, we said we had a coupon, and he remarked ‘oh of course you do — to be expected’, so at that point we decided we would never return! By the time we bought the juices for $ 3 each and order 2 pastas at $ 13 and $ 16 each the cost came to $ 35 and then used the coupon at $ 10, the cost still came to over $ 26 with GST and if we had gone to Fiore’s or one of the other Italian restaurants in town for their deal night (it was Tuesday night) we would have ended up paying no more than $ 18 plus tax and would have got a better, bigger meal with better service!

Review #12 of Unilocal’s 30 Day Challenge 2012
I came here a couple years back for a Christmas Party. It’s very cute inside, not very large but good for a small group (we were less than 40 I believe). We enjoyed our party here… the food was just ok but sometimes that’s what happens when you bring in bigger groups so I never thought much of it.
Recently hubs has shown interest in stopping in for some pasta since he’s never eaten here and always been curious. So last Friday night we opted to go out and Thats Italian Too came up and was agreed upon. We arrived around 6ish with the kids in tow. There were only 2 tables inside being occupied yet we were directed to take a table for 4 closer to the door/​window instead of ones closer to the kitchen/​washrooms. I expressed my concern with sitting away from an opening door and so we were able to sit about mid restaurant. The entire time we were there only one other party came in to be seated.
I was very pleased to learn while there was no specific kids menu they had 3 options for kids at half the price of which the server kindly explained. Even more pleased when the food arrived they were kids sized portions. Nothing worse then seeing the kids get an adult/​heaping size portion of pasta and 2/3’rds of it goes to waste. This time the kids cleared their plates.
Hubs and I started off sampling some bruschetta. It was really nothing special. Next. I am a carbonara fan and so that’s what I was looking forward too… but it too disappointed as it was lacking in flavour (although the ham did impart some taste into the meal) and it also had a lot of oil sitting on the bottom of the bowl. Hubs had chicken Parmesan and there were huge onion chunks mixed into the tomato sauce which was mixed with the pasta. This was separate from the side dish of grilled veggies he also had on his plate. He ate the chicken on top… I ate the grilled veggies and that was about all he could eat since he doesn’t enjoy onion chunks in his food. He ended up eating most of my carbonara too since for me it wasn’t sitting right with all the oil in it.
I was further surprised at how much our bill was for what little we had. I think the food is slightly over priced.
I have always have been one to support the locals which is why I’ve been community hopping lately seeking out local haunts. Everyone has different tastes and I’m sure this restaurant has a faithful following. I really wanted to like this restaurant but with so many new restaurants out there to try and return to… if we are not wowed the first time we more than likely won’t be back.

Valentine’s Day dinner turned out to be awful. The resto is small and tonight it was pretty much all reserved for Valentine’s Day. The host was able to find a table for me and my 2 friends, right by the door. I sat closest to the door so unfortunately I got the draft of cold air every time it opened. Perhaps the wine I ordered would warm me up inside.
The waiter took our order and came back with a basket of bread. I’m not going to say it was fresh because I honestly didn’t think it was. I’ve had better bread from the local grocery store. This stuff was some kind of white french bread that was flavorless, not fluffy or chewy, and ice cold. I took one bite and that was it.
Our meals came out after a bit of a wait. I had the lasagna. It was terrible. Dry pasta, overcooked, burnt cheese, and just icky tasting. Chef Boy R Dee makes better pasta than Thats Italian does. I tried to eat it but just couldn’t. It was the worst lasagna I’ve had in years. My friends were enjoying their meals: chicken parmigiana and rigatoni with mushrooms and Italian sausage. The rigatoni looked pretty good but I thought the chicken parmigiana looked a bit bland and the past looked dry. I wonder if they actually prepare the pasta here fresh or if it sits around all day.
The waiter came by about to hand us the bill but we stopped him to ask for the dessert menu. We waited and waited. He finally came to the table with 3 little cards with pictures of desserts. This was the menu? Oh and they also have cheesecake and tiramisu. My friend decided on the chocolate ice cream shaped like a pear and dipped in chocolate. Sounded yummy. Too bad the waiter never came back to take her order. I think we waited for almost ½ hour. Some other waiter came by and we simply asked for the bill. We’d had enough of sitting around watching them serve everyone else dinner, drinks, coffee and dessert.
This was a complete disappointment especially after reading the reviews. The food was horrible and the service matched it. We weren’t offered drink refills once. Basically we were ignored. I will not be returning. I went home and made myself a peanut butter sandwich. Yumm.

Great for a nice date night!

We’ve lived near That’s Italian Too for over 3 years and have never stopped to check in, but today we decided for lunch it sounded good. And was it ever good.
That’s Italian Too is a small family owned eatery in one bay of the Hunterhorn Plaza, but don’t let it’s meagre surroundings fool you. Inside is a nice, decorated location, with a real Italian feel (as a prairie boy would imagine it to be). It’s a tight fit, and you have to kind of wheedle around tables and other patrons to sit, but that just means get there early.
The service was great, very kind, and even though they ran out of two of the things we ordered they were very apologetic and willing to help make our meal pleasant. It’s a small family run place, with about 15 tables between the mother/​son team serving so don’t expect them to be falling over you to serve your every whim. But they do provide good service and were always quick to get us what we wanted.
And that doesn’t even begin on the food… The food was fantastic, just the right amount of seasoning, in a good sized portion, and quickly prepared. The only way to describe it is to try it, I know I am looking forward to trying more entrées, as I will be back again, soon.
So, in review, this place is too good to share, so please, if you try it don’t tell anyone, otherwise none of us will be able to find a seat.

This restaurant is a neighborhood gem. It’s intimate and perfectly casual. You’d never expect it based on the location. My meal was stellar and the service was great. I’ll definitely go back and would recommend it to anyone. You’re missing out if you live nearby and haven’t been there yet.