Barbara Caffe & Ristorante

Went out on a limb and tried this place because a friend has chosen this place for their small wedding reception.
The atmosphere could use a update. It was clean and I loved the fresh linens on the tables! We were a party of 6 and all ordered something different. I had the penne a la vodka. It was delicious as was the bruschetta. My husband started with the boconccini and pomadoro. The fresh basil makes this salad! His steak was cooked to perfection. Another one of our guests ordered the chicken parmesan that came with a side of spaghetti. There was steam coming from his spegehetti while he was eating. We were all looking forward to dessert and coffee. Unfortunately the dessert fridge was broken. Our server offered Italian cookies which we declined. All in all a great Italian meal!

I was invited to a party at the Barbara café on a busy Sat night.
Antipasto gets a ⁵⁄₅. The lasagna that was served was so mushy, someone without teeth could eat it. Taste 2.5÷5. I think it was the veal scalloping … I’m not sure. Paper thin not a bad flavor would have been much better if it was smaller in size and a little thicker. Cake was fantastic! Café gets cakes from Crivellers in Niagara Falls.

we’ve driven by this place a few times and when our usual lunch spot wasn’t open we decided to pop in and give it a try.
we were very surprised when we asked what the rissoto of the day was and our server said it wasn’t ready yet. we were not the only ones in the restaurant and to think you’d open without having the special of the day ready is a little unprofessional.
FOOD: my breaded chicken sandwich was nothing to write home about. the chicken was pounded so thinly all I could taste was the breading. it seems they’re taking one breast and pounding it (which is fine) but then giving the guest only half a breast because I barely had a full serving on my plate. the salad was mainly romain with a few mushy tomatoes and very very thin slices of cucumber. it also had a very bitter after taste. our pork schnitzel and chicken parm dish with pasta was smothered in so much sauce and the meat was pounded so thin you couldn’t tell which one was pork or chicken and both pork and chicken servings were very small.
SERVICE: our server greeted us with a smile, and then it ends there. she was friendly enough but once she dropped the food she never bothered to touch the table again or refresh our drinks. we watched the other server greet the next table beside us, explain some of the specials, and then bring over a bread basket to their table. which our table did not receive.
VERDIT: most likely will not be returning. nothing blew us away. We felt like there was no value for our money.

I drove by Barbara Caffe while in Stoney Creek, and decided to pop in to give it a try. This place seems to be a blend of an Italian sandwich shop and an upscale lunch spot. I could definitely see it as a powerlunch spot, if there were suits in the area that is. They have a pretty good selection of desserts (no Sicilian cannoli sadly), wholesale coffee, and chocolates. I didn’t see a menu, so the owner recited all the sandwiches off the top of his head. I went with the veal sandwich ($ 5.99) and an overpriced can of soda ($ 1.75). You have a rather limited choice of toppings, grilled onions, peppers, and mushrooms, and the veal came with no sauce or cheese whatsover. The ciabatta bread was okay, but I’ve certainly had better. It was convenient for me as I on my way to work, but I’m not sure I would go out of my way to try this place.