Tappo Wine Bar & Restaurant

We enjoyed a great dinner at Tappo, a beautiful Italian restaurant located in the Distillery district. This included 2 antipasti, 2 pastas and 4 entrees. We chose the suppli al telefono, (similar to an arancini with tomato sauce) and the braised bison short ribs for our appetizers. For the pastas, we chose the spaghetti with clams and the buccatini with bacon. The antipasti and the pastas were all pretty good. For our entrees, 2 of us ordered the veal medallions. Although it had a great taste, the veal was extremely overcooked — with one commenting on how leathery it tasted. Our waiter came by 10 minutes later and asked how our meal was, and we both told him how disappointed we were in the veal. Rarely do I complain about food when I go out to restaurants, but the meat was really tough and dry. He offered us free coffee and a couple of desserts — cheesecake with blueberries and tiramisu, both of which were pretty good.
It was a pretty busy night, with lots of people waiting. Maybe if it wasn’t so busy, it would have been a better meal. The food wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t stellar either — it was good. I would definitely be up for trying this restaurant again.

The food on Sunday night was awesome. All the 7 of us enjoyed very much so … My pasta was amazingly delicious, but the portion was kinda small tho

This review of Tappo Wine Bar is based on a wedding I attended here in October.
A small intimate wedding dinner/​celebration for around 100 guests. Tappo staff was just so wonderful the whole evening providing all the guests with excellent service.
I was a little skeptical when I found out the dinner was not set up as a fixed menu but with choices for App and Main for each individual guest. But ended up the service was fast and food was excellent. My steak was cooked perfectly Medium Rare and so was my tablemate that requested to have his Medium Well.
The after dinner party was held inside the main dining area and the dinner was held underneath a tent in their patio area worked like a charm.
And the drinks at the bar was well prepared much better than other drinks I had at wedding in a banquet hall.
Definitely recommend if you want to set up a private event at Tappo. You and your guests will have so much fun!

I came with a voucher. That’s how I discovered this place.
The deal comes with one appetizer one pasta, and two mains.
Appetizer was the beef carppacio. The beef was really thin, dish was very oily. Not feeling it.
Pasta was the mushroom cream papperdelle. This was excellent. I’m still thinking about this one.
Our mains were the beef tenderloin. It was suppose to be medium rare but came out medium well. The cut wasn’t the best and honestly, I would not pay regular price for it. It was pretty flat and priced at $ 44. Unless they are using this cut just because I have a voucher because otherwise, the plate itself should only be priced at about $ 20 – 25.
Overall it was an okay experience. The atmosphere was nice, almost has a winery feel to it. The service is decent, but the food is not very good

Food was great. Atmosphere was amazing. This is located in an old whisky distillery. A lot of history around. Very busy, but worth the wait.

I went there for the second time using a Buytopia voucher. Just like the first time we went, the food was pretty good but it takes forever to get your meal. It took one hour and a half to get our main course. Also, I purchased a voucher for a 3-​course meal. Well, 2 of these courses were shared. This should be spelled out on the voucher.

What a disappointment! I’ve always wanted to try this restaurant — it has a huge patio that’s right in the centre of The Distillery District and it’s always packed, so I figured that it must be good, right? Wrong. I jumped on the Groupon deal when it came up (I paid $ 100 for 4 people, we each had a three-​course meal) and thank goodness for that! The dishes (taste, quality, presentation) was definitely not worth the prices that they were charging on the menu. We started off with the antipasti dish — Costatine di bisonte ($ 20) braised bison short ribs served on savoy cabbage with an Amarone reduction. All that was on the plate was one piece of rib that my husband and I had to share. Next was the pasta — pappardelle ai porcini ($ 26) egg ribbon pasta tossed in a white wine garlic butter
sauce, porcini mushroom garnished with freshly grated pecorino chesse. While we did share this dish, they did put each portion in a separate plate. The pasta tasted great (fresh and was likely made in the restaurant), and the fresh parmesan was a nice touch. Lastly, it was the main dish. I ordered the polipo alla griglia ($ 36) twice cooked octopus on a sautéed rapini and topped with salsa verde, while my husband ordered the bistecca di manzo all’espresso ($ 44) a 10oz «AAA» Alberta beef striploin served on a bed of Lyonnaise potatoes with an espresso and red wine reduction. The octopus was bland (I’ve had better at dim sum), the salsa verde was a green pile of mush, and the rapini was overcooked. The striploin was definitely not worth $ 44 (if I had to pay the regular price). All-​in-​all, I would NEVER GO BACK! If you’re in the Distillery District and are looking for some good grub, it’s better to head over to the Mill Street Brew Pub or Pure Spirits Oyster House.

Disappointed. I read mixed reviews, but took my chance with a Groupon.
I called to make reservations for the same day, a Wednesday night. The guy who picked up was pretty rude which was a big turn off for me. Made the rezo for 8:30pm since that’s all they had.
I get there at 8:25pm and I’m told they’re running 15 min behind. I asked to be seated outside and was seating immediately since it was a cool night and outside was empty. Waiter was really slow (likely cuz it was busy), but he compensated by being SUPER nice. He didn’t bring our water until about 9pm, that’s how slow/​busy he was.
I wanted the rice balls but they ran out apparently so I got the bison ribs to start. They fell off the bone and was pretty good. Second dish was a clam pasta, but I swear I didn’t taste any clams at all, BUT it was still a very good pasta dish.
For entrees we got the steak and veal medallions. The steak was probably the size of your face, but the veal were these 2 tiny pieces the size of a butter pack (refer to my uploaded pics) and the dish itself was pretty skimpy. For a dish that was like $ 36 it was a rip off. We complained and they very nicely brought out 2 more medallions. The waiter commented on the steak we got normally isn’t that large.
With the combination of experiences, I give this place two stars. Decent food depending on what you order, but a little over rated. With a place like this I expect better overall service from beginning to end.

I wanted to like Tappo, I really did. What, with it being a beautiful restaurant in the Distillery District, boasting fine wine and sumptuous Italian food… it should have ticked all the boxes.
Instead… well, I was just ticked off. I’m no expert on fine dining, but there are many things I expect from an establishment like that. One, prompt seating. Two, refinement on the plate. Three, minimal hitches in the dining experience. Four, prices in the stratosphere.
Unfortunately, Tappo ticked only one of those boxes (scorching a hole in my wallet in the process!) We arrived at the restaurant before our 8:30pm reservation and were seated forty minutes later. Forty. Minutes. Later. I guess with a limited number of tables it’s expected that you’ll experience delays in seating, but forty minutes of a wait is unacceptable.
The menu is lovely though. We ordered suppli and braised bison ribs to start, which were excellent choices. The braised bison was definitely the star of the evening — fall off the bone, delicate and indulgent. I also enjoyed the pappardelle with mushrooms in a garlic sauce (slightly too much salt, but a light and satisfying dish regardless). The veal with scallops and shrimp in cream sauce was unevenly cooked: overcooked meat, just-​right seafood.
You know how they say you eat with your eyes? Well, my enjoyment of the meal would have increased substantially if more attention was paid to the plating. It looked like the food was just slung on the plate haphazardly, with no care for how it looked. It was slightly off-​putting, to tell you the truth. Made me wonder how much care they put into the creation of the food itself!
Finally, it seems like the credit and debit machines have been «down» for months (according to Unilocal reviews, diners back in January of this year had the same experience). Hmm… a bit suspect to be honest. Oh, but don’t worry — there’s an ATM conveniently located in the restaurant so you can pay with cash only. That annoyed me to no end. Draw your own conclusions.
The saving grace was our excellent server, and the wonderful Chianti; however even those aren’t enough to get me to come back. If I want fine dining I’ll go elsewhere.

Awesome food and a beautiful atmosphere. We went on a Friday night and it was absolutely packed. Luckily we had a reservation and I HIGHLY recommend you make one too if you decide to visit. The staff were very nice and made sure we got a side table. The restaurant is basically one big room with a bar so it’s best to request a table along the wall if you don’t want to be stuck in the middle of the crowd. It took a while to be greeted though but it was understandable with their amount of staff and how busy they were. I ordered a mushroom pasta which was delicious. For the vegetarians out there you do have options! :) I also ordered their last bottle of rosé which was amazing. Highly recommended! overall great time and I highly recommend visiting even just to see the beautiful décor and old building.

Tough place to review. Several extremes…
Extremely good: Service! Hosts! Food! Imaginative Menu! Wine! The space itself!
Extremely perplexing: No beer! Missing menu items on a slow night. Expensive. Asked for guests to pay in cash due to «network down».

I bought a Groupon for $ 55 and came here the other night to treat my father to a nice dinner. With the Groupon we got one antipasti and one primi pasta to share and one secondi pesce or carne each. We got to choose any two person table we wanted, the first one was wobbly so we moved to the one beside it. We sat down and they explained how the menu works with the Groupon. Basically there were a couple of exclusions and they were out of gnocchi. We were also advised that they were currently in the middle of changing their wine list so when we were ready to order I asked our server what she would recommend as a white wine in the $ 40-​$ 50 price range for seafood as we were both having seafood in our mains. She recommended a sauvignon blanc from Chile and promptly brought it to our table to let us try. I generally like white wine from Chile so I knew I would probably like it and I did.
For the food we ordered the tagliere di casa and the bucatini to share, and the salmone al braccio and the terra e mare as our mains. First we were given a basket of bread and a little plate with oil and vinegar. Then came the charcuterie board with a selection of meat that included proscuitto and two salamis, one regular and one hot with three pieces of each. There was also one type of cheese and some peppers that were tasty. Can’t comment on the olives though, as neither of us like them. The bucatini pasta was served already split into two bowls with bacon and pecorino cheese in a spicy tomato sauce. Upon serving we were asked if we wanted parmesan cheese, pepper and chili flakes. We said yes to all and it was very good, although we decided it was very good as a split portion and we probably wouldn’t want to eat any more than what we had in our bowls. Finally, our mains, the seafood smelled delicious as it came out of the kitchen to our table. I really enjoyed my atlantic salmon, it was cooked perfectly and the tomato and onion relish on top was the perfect accompaniment. The veal medallions came with only one shrimp and two scallops in a white wine cream sauce. Minus the fact that there was only one shrimp, the dish itself was very good as well. As you can tell there was no room for dessert.
The service was really good, maybe too good since we basically had 3 servers all night which means we were interrupted more than we needed to be to answer the same questions. Overall, our experience was really good. I enjoyed the service, the food, and the overall setting of Tappo Wine Bar & Restaurant. If it wasn’t for the Groupon, I probably would have never found this place and it’s good food, but I don’t know if I would come back and pay full price.

I took my out of town relatives to this restaurant, thinking the food will reflect the rustic restaurant décor and ambiance, BOY WAS I WRONG! The food was horrible along with their service and prices were through the roof! We all went out for pizza after! Worse food in Distillery!

Firstly I want to say, booking reservations is a hassle. They have several weddings and special events, especially during weekends so don’t have a set date on coming to tappos.
But with so many special events held there that means it has to be good right? WELL ITS ACTUALLY BETTER.
Me and my boyfriend went there on a Tuesday night with reservations made the same day. When we got to the location in the heart I the distillery district, it was literally packed to the rim.
This is what we ordered:
Antipasti: costatine di bisonte
SO GOOD. The meat was really tender and the portions were more than I thought they were.
Pasti: spaghetti alle vongole veraci
Essentially clams, cherry tomatoes, and parsley in spaghetti. I’m not a huge fan of spaghetti but this one is iight. Not one of the worst.
Main: bistecca di manzo all espresso
ie) beef striploin with a side of potatoes and a red wine/​espresso reduction. The sauce was amaaaazing and the beef steak was perfectly tender. It’s honestly excellent food and my photo doesn’t do it justice.
Our entire meal was tip top for Italian cuisine (but then again I’m not too experienced in that department).
The servers were more attentive later on the evening when the restaurant started to clear up a bit.
The atmosphere is beautiful. This is where you would take a date if you wanted to impress them and be all fancy shmancy.
Personally, the prices are way over my wallet for an everyday thing, but it’s a gem in the distillery.

I used to work as a line cook for an Italian restaurant. So I am anal about Italian food. This place was good. I had the food risottos which was not the best but still worth it. I tried the rest of our parties food (being foodies we share) and it was good. The price was a bit high but average prices for a restaurant in the Distillery District in Toronto. But the one experience that made this place a class act was the customer service experience. Had reservations for 8:30. But the party b4 was running late. No issues with us. We said we would wait. They could not get us the table in time so they quickly set something outside. AND they gave the first round of drinks on them. There was 10 of us. Very nice of them. We did not complain or ask for it. Also the servers we very good. Energetic and great at telling what was good and describing it.

Tappo is simple but so nice. It makes for a great lunch spot in the Distillery District.
I wasn’t looking for anything heavy and since it was a cool day outside, soup sounded like the perfect choice. They had an egg drop soup on special that sounded good, so I went with that. It didn’t disappoint one bit. My mom also chose a special: the garlic and olive oil pasta. She raved about it through the day, and still to this day will bring it up if we talk about our Canadian vacation. She really liked that dish.
Oh, and for the most important part? We chose glasses of Riesling to accompany our meal. Thumbs up.

We’ve walked past Tappo a few times at the Distillery and had been wanting to try it for a while. So when they had a groupon advertised, we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to do so! We tried making reservations a few times but were always told that they had tables available before 6 PM or after 9 PM on most days. We could finally get reservations for 8.30 PM on a Thursday evening.
When we arrived, the place was packed and we waited at least 20 mins to get seated. We only got someone to even serve us only after 9 PM! I don’t know if this is how busy they are every day or if its just poor service! We were totally put off by the service. The glasses on our table were also dirty which they promptly put away and got us some clean glasses.
Coming to the food — we started with the arancini — quite good! For the first course, we split the ragu paparadelle — This was quite well made and the portions were good to be shared. For the main course, we got the grilled octopus and the lamb chops. Both dishes were very well made. The octopus was one of the nicest dishes Ive had in a while!
I would go back to Tappo only if they worked on getting their service better and if I could use a groupon again. At that price point, there’s as good food and much better service in many other places in Toronto!

This restaurant is beautiful! It has an incredibly intimate setting and upon walking in, I declared I wanted my wedding there — despite already having a deposit put towards another venue.
The food was fantastic. The gnocchi was incredibly light and the portion size was perfect. Our server recommended a fantastic bottle of wine after I indicated my taste and the tiramisu was to die for.
Besides the door being impossible to open I absolutely adored this place and can’t wait to return!

Despite having issues opening their front door (which could have been the fault of my travel partner and I having drinks prior) everything after that was pure awesomeness. We headed to the bar as we were not interested in food, it was my first and last night in T.O. and i wanted to drank!
The Mixologist of the night name was Neil they dont do cocktail menus you describe what you want or like and he mixes shit up for you! I liked his vibe right off the bat.
My friend got some manly «makes you grow chest hair» drink and after hearing what I like (champagne bubble with a kick) Neil whipped me up a Negroni… I ended up not liking it because I’m a punk but the way he made it was so artful I tried to force myself to drown it. Upon further research on Negroni’s I found it is compared to Campari’s and I knew for a fact I hated those! Neil noticed my distaste, gave my drink to my friend for free and made me something less adventurous by my request.
What made me rate it a 5 star is being Neil and other personnel were über friendly, telling us the late night spots to attend while in Toronto even giving us info about a speak-​easy bar located behind a freezer of a restaurant!
Good vibes and good times!

Very nice trendy yet traditional restaurant in old Toronto. Price is high but it is a good place to celebrate something with a few friends. The steak and veal is amazing. The seafood is nothing special so stick with the real meat.
Yes the service is slow, that is what high class restaurants do. If you are in a rush, why are you here in the first place? This is a sit back and relax joint.