Oregano by Cirillo’s

Great place to be with friends and the grilled octopus is amazing so is everything else on their menu!

Ate here for 4 days straight one week this February, and I am not just saying this, everything was impeccable. Just perfect.
They were really great about my gluten sensitivity, and were able to make adjustments/​modifications to accommodate my diet.
First night I had the Tomato and Mozzarella Salad (Perfection!), Sea Bass over Risotto (So rich, but so divine!), and the Crème Brûlée. Each bite was a symphony for my tastebuds.
Over the next few days I had the chance to try a variety of their pastas, which were all exceptional, and their amazing Caesar Salad.
Speaking of which, one of my dining buddies kept ordering it day after day after day because it was so good. And he knows his stuff, because he’s a chef. The dressing is made in house and is rich and creamy with just the right ascorbic bite from lemon, and umami from the anchovies. This is a MUST order. Do it, and you won’t regret it!
John Cirillo, the owner, and his staff were incredibly gracious. Oregano’s easily tops my list as one of my favourite places in Toronto for Italian food.
Mangia!

There is a spate of Italian eateries that surround my office along the Dundas St. strip that is just east of Burnhamthorpe Rd. I’ve been in most of them from Pinocchio’s to Thyme 4 Pizza & Pasta. Most recently I dined with some business associates up at Oregano’s. I had never been there before and we needed something in the area so we opted for this location. It was handy because it has its own little parking lot located directly behind the building which on a busy corner such as Dundas & Burnhamthorpe is handy especially when all four us meet up by vehicle.
I love Italian food. It for me is all about the comfort. I grew up in Little Italy and was practically spoon fed on Bolognese sauce. For a mangia cake I know a thing or two about good Italian food. The dining room at Oregano is pleasant and comfortable. The service is the same. The menu hosts all the standards from Veal Parmesan/​Marsala/​Lemone to Pasta Puttanesca to grilled veal chops. It is what I call a safe menu, standard and predictable.
The food is good, not great. I order the veal parmesan and it is plentiful in size but for me, size doesn’t matter. It’s about quality over quantity. The veal is chewy, tough and somewhat sinewy. It is not a high quality cutlet and has probably been hammered on a bit, then over fried when it was breaded. I have found that when restaurants take this tact with veal they then try to bury it under a monstrous pile of red sauce and lots of mozzarella on top, as to disguise it. I am not so easily fooled. They might be able to get away with it if perhaps they used a really great red sauce instead of basically some strained tomato sauce from a can.
One of my associates order the grilled Veal chop. It is thick and according to her cooked just right. It is sided with very standard small potatoes, grilled peppers and steamed broccoli. The others opted for pasta dishes, both fairly standard fair. Innocuous pasta that you could pretty much eat in any of the Italian eateries along Dundas Street.
In all fairness though, the setting is very comfy and the service was also quite good. The waiters didn’t hover yet seem to know when to approach us as not to interrupt our conversations. Before I could ask the waiter if he could pack up my left over piece of veal he offered to do this for me. I think I would like to try Oregano out for lunch the next time I’m in the mood for Italian. I think their lunch time menu would yield better value for us.