7 Numbers Restaurant

Nice cozy atmosphere. Food was good for the most part, the pasta dishes were surprisingly boring.

Rosie and family provide one of the best Italian dining experiences in Toronto. Don’t miss the calamari, veal sausage and lamb shank. Terrific service, food and ambiance are why this restaurant remains one of the most popular in the Eglinton strip.

Didn’t know what to expect coming here, but gotta say I left very full and very happy.
We ordered to share:
— Calamari (delicious! loved it)
— Grilled shrimp with spicy pea purée (meh, would pass on this next time)
— Burrata (delicious as well and good to share)
For my main, I ordered the fish of the day, which was a well-​cooked, simple yet very tasty sea bass. My fellow diners ordered the meatballs (heavenly! really they are great and taste like meatballs I’ve never had before), the veal lasagna (he said it was great) and lamb chops (also good feedback).
We ordered the flourless chocolate cake for dessert which was nice.
Overall, very simple preparations but clearly the way it’s cooked really makes each dish shine. Would come back again for sure!
Also major points for the service — our waiter was very friendly and fun.

We had a great time there today. Great food, wine and atmosphere. We ordered fish of the day, shrimps and lamb, all meals where just amazing

My friend and I went to the restaurant for the first time this evening. The staff was most welcoming and helpful. She ordered the eggplant parm and I had the veal lasagne. Both came hot and were delicious. As we had theatre tickets we could not linger. The only down side was the noise, as there was a large party and with the low tin ceilings, it was a stretch to hear. Will go back again as the food was excellent.

Part of my new foodie escapades, my friends and I were contemplating which Italian restaurant to try out. I suggested few locations, not including 7 Numbers, however my friend told me that it is a great place, and it is definitely worth it, particularly the family share meal. I took his word for it and we all went.
Finding the restaurant is not a problem, and as for parking goes, one can park on the side streets behind the restaurant. You either have street parking or paid parking. When we entered the restaurant, it was busy — normal for 7:45PM and we were immediately greeted and seated down. The ambiance is very rustic, hip and the lighting was semi dim. The noise level was average, and this place is definitely for a date, as I think one cannot hear another.
That being said, we decided to go for the family share menu, which consists of 3 dishes from the antipasti, all three pastas from the primi, and one main from the secondi. The price for this is $ 34 per person, not including gratuities of course.
We told the server that I am vegetarian, and he assured me that there is no need to worry, as most of the dishes are vegetarian. To start we had the calamari, of course I didn’t touch this, the Pepperoni (no not meat — Roasted red peppers with arugula and goat cheese) and the Caprese. It did not take long for this to come, and my taste buds sure had a memorable feeling. I guess you really can’t mess up the above, either way, it was tasty.
Onto the Primi which consisted lasagne, orechiette and the linguine. The lasagne, I did not have, as it was made with ground veal. However the other two pasta dishes were perfect. The texture, flavours and overall taste were fantastic. I have never had pasta like this before in my life, and I can definitely vouch for it.
Last but not least, the Secondi. Being a vegetarian, my choices were limited as it is, and that being said, there was only one option to choose from. This was the palmugiane.(Pan-fried eggplant baked in tomato sauce). It looked like the traditional eggplant parmigiana, but it was not. The portion size was perfect and the sauce was great. However, it had a huge aftertaste of egg. I could definitely taste it, and it was on the high side. You know the taste when cookies, pasta have a lot of egg in it? Well this was like that. Would I order this again? Definitely not.
Now you wonder why I docked a star? Well, one primarily being the fact that their secondi menu has only 1 vegetarian item, and the other being the palmugiane having a lot of egg in it, 1 star was docked off. If someone who is reading this does not like the aftertaste of egg in their mouth, or rather noticing the huge taste, this dish is definitely not for you. Heck, even the pasta you couldn’t taste the egg flavour to it.
Overall, I’d definitely visit this place with my friends again and highly recommend it, regardless whether you are vegetarian or not.
Foodies, definitely check out this place!

Came here for Summerlicious with 2 friends.
Ordered the veal lasagna with the fried cauliflower as a side.
I can honestly say that this meal was horrendous. The veal lasagna was swimming in grease and the noodles were so overcooked that they were like mush. Furthermore it was totally tasteless.
I can’t even find words for how awful the cauliflower was. It was certainly not fried. It was boiled, overcooked, sitting in water, and totally devoid of taste. I would not serve this to a senior in a hospital.
Just returned from 10 days in the US, where I ate fabulous food everywhere — fresh ingredients bursting with flavor. We ate at a cool bistro in suburban Detroit that had the most delicious brussels sprouts (locally grown) I’ve ever eaten made with agave nectar and sharazi. How can this be compared with the awful cauliflower of last night!
Toronto needs to learn a few lessons in good cuisine– don’t know how Joanne Kates can think that this is even palatable food– it was gross and this morning I even feel ill from all that grease.
Wake up Toronto.

Great place! We visited it during Summerlicious and there were a couple of vegetarian items on the menu which was great. My pasta was delicious and my boyfriend’s panfried eggplant was amazing as well. We were quite full and took our desserts home for later but they were amazing too. Filling, a variety of items. Seemed like a fair price for the other items as well. It was a bit packed but that would be because of Summerlicious.

I came here with a group of friends for summerlicious. The inside of the restaurant is a lot nicer than the outside so fret not if you think the exterior is chintzy. The start of the dinner was good with my veal meatball appetizer, which was easily the best dish of the night. It was juicy, perfectly flavoured and just delicious. Unfortunately the rest of the meal made me wonder if I just don’t get Italian. The next dish was the veal lasagna, which was also good but very salty. I was downing that water to settle my taste buds. Next up the fried cauliflower, which sounded great on paper, was very bland. I had to pour the parmesan cheese on it to add some flavour. Lastly for dessert I picked the lemon tart, which had a veeeery lemony filling and a stragenly hard crust. Honestly, if it werne’t for the veal meatball I’d rate this place a ²⁄₅ but it’s kind of unfair I guess because summerlicious isn’t always representative of a restaurant’s true quality.

I went to the Danforth location last night. I was told that this restaurant had the best lasagne in the city. For some reason, they like to serve luke-​warm water to their guests. I asked the server twice for ice, but she did not bring it. The restaurant only had one other table for two in it. The restaurant was not busy at all. The caprese salad was good. I liked the mozzarella and the basil was very fresh. The olive oil and bread was… okay. I expected better quality. The lasagne came, and I was really excited. Unfortunately, the lasagne was very greasy, and I could not finish it. The meat and noodles were under seasoned.
I don’t know if I would come back to this restaurant because there are soooo many restaurants in the city. I felt that I had purchased better frozen lasagnes in the past. I don’t consider myself a great cook. However, I know that I can make better lasagne myself.
Very disappointed.

Alright. So first of all, I have to admit that I am very cheap. I don’t like paying more than $ 15 for a meal and if I do that, I want to be full at the end. $ 20 at tops, if I’m not doing buffet or all you can eat. This isn’t my kind of restaurant, not because it has small tasting plates, but because these tasting plates are not in my desired price range.
Had:
Calamari ($ 8.50) — about 7 – 8 small pieces of calamari. A small mixed lettuce salad below. Calamari was tender, but quite salty. Also not fried as crispy as I would like it. Salad was more a garnish than anything. A palate cleanser if you will.
Caprese salad ($ 12.50) — I’ve never paid $ 12.50 for four slices of tomato and three average sized slices of cheese, two or three basil leaves and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and olive oil before. I feel incredibly ripped off. Yes, it was buffalo mozzarella, but for that price, I’m still expecting more. I’ve had buffalo caprese before, for cheaper, and there was considerably more of it. Quite disappointing.
Burrata ($ 14) — for $ 14, this was the most decent appetizer we got, from a price/​portion/​quality ratio perspective. Good enough portion of burrata to share between the four of us. Probably about five cherry tomatoes halved (so ten cherry tomato halves). Two thick wedges of bread. It would have been nice to have more bread. The burrata was quite nice, but I expected the inside to be slightly more creamy. It was lovely and fresh tasting though. Super light. Went great with the olive oil and a touch of vinegar. Yum.
Veal Lasagna ($ 10.75) — This wasn’t horrible for the price, but I expected it to be bigger. If this is the $ 10.75 portion, I’m quite curious as to what the $ 7.50(?) portion looks like, but not curious enough to come back to check. Taste-​wise, it was quite good. Tomato sauce wasn’t overwhelming. You could taste the veal, which was nice. The pasta was quite tasty. The parmesan cheese was served on the side, but I opted out of it. My dad, who did put the parmesan cheese on, said that the cheese + the lasagna was quite salty. Mine (sans cheese) was only slightly salty. I attribute it to the bite of the cheese inside the lasagna.
Pork chop ($ 15) — Alright in terms of portion, but by no means outstanding. Modest sized chop. Frenched. Served with a small portion of roasted onions and peppers. Shared among four people, it amounted to about a bite and a half per person.
Service was lovely, although there was a slip up of a mistaken order. We were served two things that weren’t ours, and after we let them know, these two were removed from the table (I think I might have accidentally breathed on the server’s arm as he put those two dishes on the table, or I may have breathed on those dishes themselves… sorry to whoever received them after). It was very nice of them to recommend Hotel Gelato for dessert after we told them we weren’t interested in cake.
The ambiance was comfy, if a tad small. Our table had two candles, and with the olive oil and the vinegar bottles along with the candles, it left not much space for our plates, which we were sharing. I almost burned my arm a couple times.
Interesting thing to note. We had four people at the table. Two had steak knives and two had butter knives. Odd.
All in all, the food here is good, but the portions leave something to be desired. Would I come again? Sure… if I wasn’t paying.

3.5÷5! Cute homely resto with very affordable family style meal :) the pasta is fresh and the meatballs are very well seasoned. My favourite was definitely the calamari

Came here a few times in the past year and am finally getting the chance to review it.
The restaurant, to me, is perfect. The ambiance and food go hand in hand. Food is delicious, I always get the lasagna and it always blows my mind. The appetizers are all delicious and I always have a hard time deciding what main to get because they all sound amazing.
Location is great, right in eglinton with street parking and cheap green p paid parking all available. Rosa in the front is always welcoming.
Will keep on returning so long as the food is this good.

I made plans with a group of 6 last Friday for a Saturday night dinner in midtown – not exactly the best timing. Thanks to Unilocal I discovered 7 Numbers Restaurant. Luckily they take reservations of 6 or more, so they had a table for us. (It’s not easy booking a large reservation the day before).
7 Numbers seems to be a family business. There’s an open kitchen at the front and you can peer in through the window from the street which is a pretty cool idea. They have an ever-​changing menu displayed on a chalk board. The space is small, but they did a good job of spacing out the tables and the noise level was fine despite it being full. I’m happy we were a large group because there was a lineup almost out the door last Saturday at 8pm. I suggest you get here early or eat with a group of 6 if you come here.
The service was very good once our group arrived. The wine list by the glass was small and I had a chianti which I wouldn’t recommend.
We had:
Barretta — ²⁄₅ skip this, I have had much better Baretta. It was cold and bland. I like the pickled vegetables it came with.
Beet salad — ⁴⁄₅ if you like beets go for it! It was beets, gorgonzola cheese and almonds.
Caprese salad — ¹⁄₅ It looked dismal. Small balls of cheese with pale slices of tomato.
Veal meatballs — ⁵⁄₅ everyone loved these
Veal lasagna — ³⁄₅ 2 people ordered this. One person loved it, one person though it was Okay.
Fish of the day 5÷5− it was a Branzino and it was AMAZING. There were some bones in it, but it didn’t even matter it was so tasty.
Somebody had the linguini I didn’t try it but she loved it. I can not give it a rating.
Also, the Osso Buco was sold out by 8:30 when we placed our order, so it must be really good.
Desert:
apple cheese cake ²⁄₅
Flourless chocolate cake ²⁄₅
Both desserts were bland and a bit on the dry side.
The bill came to $ 200 with the tip. VERY REASONABLE.
If you’re looking for a casual, no fuss, home-​cooked Italian meal 7 Numbers is the place for you. If you want something a bit fancier with more complex favours, it may not be the best choice.

I had a very, very lovely evening here last night — the memory of the flavours makes my eyes roll back in my head!
I was brought here as a surprise for our second anniversary because Sweetheart knows I’m a huge Italian food fan, and he wanted to bring me to an authentic place. At most Italian restaurants, I just order pasta, because the meat doesn’t really interest me that much, I love my carbs, and especially because usually the pasta is more than enough to fill me up — especially if I want any appetizers or desserts.
But here at 7 Numbers, they do it the right way — the portions are smaller because they’re designed to be eaten through, and the prices reflect that (very reasonable prices!). So you’re supposed to have an antipasti (appetizer), a primi (pasta course), and secondi (meat course) with contorni (side vegetables, usually in the form of veggies).
I was eyeing the fixed price menu but I had a picky eater with me, so we decided to pick everything out ourselves. We got the calamari, a large lasagna portion, the rapini linguini, the sexy duck leg, the grilled pork chop, and we got a slice of the flourless chocolate cake to go.
The calamari was delicious!!! It was very generously seasoned, cooked just right, and came on a bed of assorted lettuce. We squeezed the lemon slice it came with over it but I kind of wish we didn’t because the coating on the calamari was the kind that wilts as soon as it hits liquid. But it was very, very good and the lemon went very well with it.
The pastas were really something to write home about! They were quite salty to me, which means Sweetheart found them perfect, and they were cooked a little longer than I liked, but the flavours were just wonderful. The rapini linguini was beautifully garlicky and olive oily, and the tomatoes in it were magically not acidic. The bitterness of the rapini cut through the richness very well. The lasagna was very, very hearty and rich. At first bite I kind of thought the sauce was too acidic but once you have it with the meat sauce and the cheese inside, it’s perfect. The tartness of the sauce goes perfectly with the meat sauce, which must have been cooked for hours! I need to re-​emphasize how rich and almost heavy the pastas are — the portions are smaller, which is perfect, but if anyone’s squeamish about seeing a puddle of oil at the bottom of their plate, this pasta is not for them!
The meats were good but not as impressive as the pastas. The sexy duck leg was encrusted with rosemary, which made it taste very herbal, but it was very good. Kind of small though, and quite salty — but good. The grilled pork chop was delightfully thick and succulent — as juicy as a grilled pork chop could be! But the braised onion/​pepper garnish it came with DELICIOUS. It was super savoury, kind of like they were lifted out of a super flavourful stew, and they melted in my mouth. Delicious. The grilled asparagus was just right — they tasted like high quality oily oil, they were crunchy, they had the delicious grilled flavour — very nice and basic.
We saved the flourless chocolate cake for home because we didn’t want to skip it but were too full to have it right away. It was dense and chocolatey and sweet without being too sweet. Very good.
Our server was also quite pleasant and patient with us despite our questions and indecisiveness! I’d love to come back again and I hope to join the cooking class one day! :)

I’ve been coming here for many years and i have to say, the place is always a hit for me. It’s just one of those restaurants i know i can rely on for a good meal and a nice night out. The menu is great — the food is heart felt — the service is personal — rossa is always there. On the first monday of every month, she even does a cooking class.
Compared to the danforth location that her sons run, this location is less ‘party’ and more family.

Happy Birthday to my Hakka Wife!
This restaurant was another recommendation from my co-​worker Eli. It was Saturday night and I was planning to take my wife here for her birthday. We decided to ixnay on the reservations and just go and wait.
We park on the street and walk to the restaurant. There was only one couple in front of us which was great. The host said that it would be a 20 minute wait, and it was that long. All the tables were filled and man, it’s so loud in there. When you walk inside, the famous Italian mom Rose was cooking in her tight little kitchen. She had about 6 helpers/​servers to dish out her cooking and clean.
The place itself is kinda tiny, I think max 50 seats available.
The menu is always changing so this time, it was Veal Lasagna, Linguine with Rapini and Orecchiette with Ricotta. $ 10.75 a bowl? You can’t go wrong! A table for 2 opens up and we are seated. We are told everything is tomato based pasta which was fine. I saw a whole ton of peeps buying the veal meatballs and it looked delicious.
We decide to order veal lasagna, veal meatballs and orecchiette pasta. The waiter gives the bread and within 5 to 6 minutes, I kid you not, our food came out, hot and fresh. The food was steamy but we couldn’t wait, we fork it out our mouths quickly.
Veal Lasagna was good! It was not intact in a square like in other restaurants. It is more of the shredded kind. It didn’t blow me away but it’s homely, tomato-​y, and rich as hell. You totally need to eat it with the complimentary bread to dilute the sauce and oiliness. 2 Veal Meatballs came loaded with tomato sauce and was absolutely tender. We pushed a fork in it and it crumbled. Delicious and soft no doubt. The cheese in the veal lasagna and the veal meatballs have this distinct flavour. I was not really a fan of it because it was strong. It kinda reminded me of lamb, which was weird. I trucked through it and was really satisfied. The best part was that my Hakka Wife enjoyed eating her pasta.
What was kinda annoying was that it was so loud in the restaurant. I found myself shouting at my wife and asking her to repeat what she said. After a few people left, the sound level got better.
This comfort food just sticks to the bones and although rich and oily, gives a taste you will remember, just in case you come back for more. It’s great knowing that it comes from a real Italian mother and a very affordable price. Stays true to the authenticity of the cooking. I plan to return in the distant future.

came here with a group of friends for an 8pm reservation. we were seated immediately and saw the italian nonna that was featured on the website, so i knew the food was going to be good. we went with the family style meal which came with x many starters, x many salads, x many pastas and a main of individual choice. i went with the «sexy duck leg», because i live and breathe for duck. and let’s be honest… the name expresses my sentiments towards duck precisely.
the salads were descent, but who screws up salad, right? the calamari was DELICIOUS and included plenty of tentacles (my fav). the pasta was LEGIT AMAZING. so i had high hopes for the duck leg.
i got my duck leg and it was COVERED in fennel. CRUSTED in fennel. nowhere on the menu does it say fennel because i would have ordered the lamb shank instead. fennel = deal breaker.
so i removed the skin completely to try the meat, just to be hit with an unreasonable amount of salt. my dad is from shanghai… we eat A LOT of salty food. i’ve been told that i prefer things much saltier than the average person. this duck leg was one of the saltiest things i’ve ever had in my mouth in recent history, short of eating salt directly from the shaker. i ate it anyway, punctuated with large gulps of water in between each bite. when the server came to collect the plates, he asked how it was. i said that i was very salty. the host came to me and said, «sorry you got a salty duck leg. it usually happens with later reservations.» i appreciated his apology for what it was, but what does that MEAN exactly that duck legs get saltier later on in the evening? do you marinate it in salt water or something???
i would definitely go back for the pasta. not for the salty sexy duck leg.
the lamb shank was amazing though and fell off the bone. highly recommended.

My girlfriends and I came here on a Sunday night and surprisingly it was decently busy. The restaurant don’t take reservations for parties under 6 so we were lucky to get a table since the place isn’t too big.
I have been to the Danforth location and the menu items looked the same. We decided to order 2 apps and an entrée for each of us. The items we ordered:
Spicy grilled shrimp with this avocado salsa
Gorgonzola, strawberry and walnut spinach salad
Veal meatballs with a side of linguine
Orechiette pasta
Linguine with a rich tomato sauce and rapini
All the dishes were delicious and satisfying. The portions are actually really good for sharing. The flavours of each dish were well thought out and super tasty. I would say its Italian comfort food if there are such terms :)
The service was awesome and the servers are very attentive and knowledgeable. It was a really enjoyable evening with great food and atmosphere!
I definitely recommend this Italian restaurant and will be back again in the near future.

The chef and owner greets you warmly when you walk in the door. We went in without reservations on a Saturday night– not because we didn’t call ahead, but because they told us that they only take reservations for groups of 6 or more. (we were 2 people)
We stood in line, without really any greeting — no one telling us how long it would be, or acknowledging our presence (besides the warm greeting from the chef). A group of 4 walked in behind us – «How many?» one of the servers asked them. «4,» they say, and then, lo and behold, 2 minutes later, they get sat — as they passed out one of the customers said, «Don’t be mad, we had a reservation –» but I thought they only take resos for 6 or more people? And then why did they ask you «how many» and not for your name? Probably regulars, and there’s nothing I hate more than money favouritism. I didn’t realize regulars’ money was worth more than mine.
One we were seated, the ignoring continued throughout the night — glasses cleared but never asked if we wanted anything else to drink (maybe that’s why new customers don’t seem worth it money wise — we don’t get a chance to spend any money!), never asking if everything was ok – we had to flag people down whenever we wanted to order something. The space is cramped, almost seems romantic until the baby at the next table starts screaming.
So how did this place manage 3 stars? Well priced, and the food really was good. The service and the snobby atmosphere may go hand in hand with the neighbourhood, but they should watch Pretty Woman again for a lesson in how to treat a customer that, for all you know, eats out a lot and spends a lot of money doing it.