Why Not Italian

Dining room is dirty, glassware and utensils, dirty spotted unpolished, lipstick still on glasses, food is overpriced. Very small selection of bar often out of items.

Reading all these bad reviews, I don’t know HOW. I have gone multiple times never once have I had bad food & the service is always amazing. I’ve had better food here than some of the best restaurants in Calgary.

Rude obnoxious people. We had guests from out of town and we wanted to take them out for Tiramisu at this restaurant. The restaurant owner asked us to go to a café for dessert lol. We used to go to this place for dinner regularly but after that we never went back.

Previous experience here has been ⁴⁄₅ stars, but not tonight. Tonight was so bad that we aren’t going to come back.
First of all, the table wasn’t clean. There was sauce on edge from whoever had been there before. My wife ordered the same thing as she usually did, which is a modification of something on the menu. I also ordered my usual, the gnocchi primavera.
Right after we ordered we heard the cook loudly complaining about the modification. It took about 30 minutes for the food to get to us, even though the restaurant was literally empty other than us.
My wife’s meal was good, but the normally clear sauce was mixed with tomato (didn’t affect the flavour but wasn’t as visually appealing as normal). My gnocchi on the other hand was overcooked and the sauce tasted burnt. I ended up eating a third and just leaving the rest. It was edible, but not enjoyable and definitely not worth the price.
I’ve been very happy with the food and service before, but tonight was enough to turn me off this place for good.

The food is nice home cooking Italian. I would say it is above average but I would probably not drive a long distance to come here but I have been here several times b/​c I live close by. We had bruschetta and cesear salad to start, and chicken and shrimp pasta. The appetizers were average. The pasta above average.
However the service was slow. It took about 1 hr for our main dish to come out and we weren’t the only ones noticing this. Hopefully this was just an off day.

Happy to see a few others had a positive time here from seeing the reviews — we did not and I could never recommend this spot to anyone. Ever.
I was going to give it a 2 star — until my husband and I got very ill on our way home after eating here.
We had made it a point to try to eat somewhere other than downtown or in the NW for dinner tonight. Through Unilocal,we came up with this spot in Strathcona. We went in — waited and waited at the front in an awkward little spot — in the way as there was no other place to stand. Finally, we were seated on the lower level when everyone else in the restaurant was seated high up at the windows. It was like being a little kid again, banished to the card table with your distant cousins at X-​mas, not good enough to sit near the adults.
Service was horrible in this lower area as you could hear the 2 wait staff that were on bickering at each other, ordering each other around and everything going on in the kitchen. Service, almost deplorable. Abrupt, no menu knowledge, slow.
The buns were good, fresh. The Veggie Minestrone soup was OK, Hearts of Palm salad so-​so… and then the food slid downhill. We each got a different dish but got the same pasta sauce, a rose sauce where it should not have been in either dish. I guess the kitchen had had enough for one day and served everyone the same. It sure was hot in the restaurant so not sure I can blame them. I hardly got any sauce on my plate, hubby got it all, so no balancing on plates from obviously cooking it all in one pan. The biggest offense though apart from the spongy mushrooms was the chicken. It was BAD! At first I thought it was just dry, hacked up with absolutely no seasoning on it and then we realized that it made both of us sick. It was so bad that I told the waitress how lacking it was to which she asked, «Do you have a complaint?» Uh, no, guess not. At this point I just wanted out. Waste of money triple fold. I paid, cringed to tip, finally hit some fresh air and… you can guess the rest.
Side note — The washroom was filthy — they need to throw out all those fake flowers with the ½ inch layer of dust on them, wipe everything down in there and get some soap for the dispensers. The place has potential but is lacking in good food, service, cleanliness (table cloth included) and structure.

Waffled on a 3 or 4, had lunch with a limited menu, reviewed the dinner menu and it looked impressive
I had a garlic shrimp appy and fettuccini with sausage and mushrooms in rose sauce
Very solid 3 out of 5 a little too traditional and limited choices on the lunch menu,
I would go back to see and taste the dinner dishes ie lamb shank, veal, seafood dishes etc.
Service was great

We were looking for somewhere to eat that was new and not too far, Matt was craving Italian, and this restaurant came up high in the Unilocal search. After arriving, I realized I’d already eaten here, years ago! Funny how you forget. It hasn’t changed, which isn’t a bad thing. The front entrance is a bit narrow, so beware anyone with mobility issues. In fact, I bet larger wheelchairs would have a heck of a time, if they’re able to make it through at all.
It’s not a large restaurant, although perhaps a little bigger than one would think looking in from outside. They manage to get a lot of seating in, anyhow. When we arrived on this visit, there was a family of four with two small children eating, so it’s obviously a good joint for adults and kids alike, although we were pretty early so I imagine the age of diners would go up the later the evening wanes.
The service is great — the food awesome. We liked the little bun with a «bottom» the bruschetta comes on because it means that the middle doesn’t get soggy and the tomatoes fall through. The pasta dishes were awesome. I broke my no dairy rule to have the gnocchi gargonzola. It could have used a touch more «blue cheese» taste, but otherwise amazing and creamy. Worth the pain later: P
And the price is right. Definitely affordable. Parking is ample, especially in the evening when most of the other stores are closed. A gem in an unexpected strip mall.

Oh my goodness. Why are there so few reviews for this place? Why isn’t this place known more? (I’m not going to do a name drop pun, Don’t look at me like that!)
I freely admit in my recent travels I’ve been craving Italian food and had been struggling to find one in Calgary. Good thing I tried this place.
Came in on an evening. Now. Normally I wouldn’t associate fish dishes with Italian. But this place just blows it out of the water (Again with the puns!). The Shrimp and Alfredo Pasta was. lovely, it’s been such a long time since I’ve tasted proper alfredo! Garlicky and a lil greasy but in a good way! It actually hit the spot nicely.
For the main course I had the Parmesan Chicken. It was very well prepared I must admit, it was very succulent and tender, It did not last long on the plate.
Actually, nothing lasted long on the plate, I guess I was very hungry that night!
Overall, Fantastic place, very good ambiance and quiet. Brilliant Service as well. And no. Not going to end on a name drop pun either. I think I’ve fulfilled my pun quota on this review (As well as the reviews for the rest of the year!)